PURSE CAUNDLE HISTORY - CHAPTER 3: ANGLO-NORMAN PURSE CAUNDLE 1066-1154

Following his success at the Battle of Hastings, William had himself crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. The Normans did not immediately conquer the whole of England. They apparently did not occupy Dorset and the rest of the West Country until 1068. One wonders when the first Normans visited the area of the village. Also, what the few inhabitants thought about yet further interloping foreigners with their strange tongue. One can imagine, however, their thoughts when only the next year, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, 'The king set a heavy tribute on poor folk, though nevertheless still let his men harry all that they went over.' (See illustration below from the Bayeux Tapestry, which whilst not displaying this particular Norman activity, shows how the Saxon peasants suffered severely from the brutality of the Norman invaders who just before the Battle of Hastings destroyed their property, and pillaged their livestock and provisions as here seen rounding up sheep, cows and packhorses. It could be thus said to be an example of 'To the victors go the spoils.'

Certainly in 1068, and later, King William had new silver pennies minted carrying his name and profile (see illustrations), and sometimes these would be cut into halves and quarters to

create halfpennies and farthings. The Anglo-Saxon mint that had been installed at nearby Milborne Port was now to be followed by a Norman one.

William refused to pay homage to the Pope, but promised that the Peter's Pence (see CHAPTER 2) should be paid. He made detailed arrangements for the collection of this tax, where in some instances demesne serfs would pay through their lord - who sometimes did not always pass it on. A free man who had possessions in the country valued at least thirty pence would pay this tax; but the lord would acquit his bordars, ploughmen, and serfs for one penny.
Saxon estate owners were to be dispossessed, with many lands being farmed out amongst William's followers, including Candel - see below.

Ekwall and Watts both surmised that the eventual name 'Purse' could be derived from the Old English 'preosta', meaning priest: possibly because it belonged to Athelney Abbey. It was also suggested that 'Caundle' was the name of the nearby chain of hills. It is now generally believed to be Celtic, named after the stream Caundle Brook and its own tributaries that run through Purse Caundle and other villages lower down with Caundle in their name. A. D. Mills considered 'Purse' to be manorial, but nobody with that name has been found here; though the name has been found elsewhere in Dorset, but only as early as 1327 at Corfe Castle. Neighbouring Stalbridge is a Saxon name, as is the first part of Bishops Caundle.

Part of [Purse] Candel in the 11th century was within the old Saxon Hundred of 'Brunsella' (or Brownshall), and part [Stourton] Candel within the Sherborne Hundred.

In CHAPTER 1 the problems of determining the various boundaries connected with [Purse] Candel were discussed. Even from the earliest known records it is somewhat difficult to judge the exact boundary and size of what was eventually to be known as Purse Caundle.

Again, in 1083, 'the king had a severe and heavy tax announced over all England, that was seventy-two pence for each hide of land.' Understandably this was to lead to several rebellions against the Normans.

As King William eventually wanted to know what he owned in England, and who held it, in 1085 he ordered a national survey into each county's land ownership, use, population, etc. This consolidated survey of 1086 was to be come known as the Domesday Book. In 1986 there was an exhibition at the Public Record Office in London (now known at The National Archives) to celebrate the 900th anniversary of Domesday Book, and the following details are derived from the Exhibition Guide.

As well as the volume of the main Exchequer Domesday Book itself, the survey for the south-western counties, including 'DORSETE', universally known as the Exon. Domesday (Liber Exoniensis) - Exeter Domesday. This was because it has always been kept in Exeter cathedral, and the only surviving original record of the survey. Exchequer Domesday is probably the final draft made from the returns of the south-western circuit. The text was compiled, with little condensing, from written records of proceedings arranged under each tenant-in-chief in turn. Exon. had several defects. Its compilers had omitted many basic items, such as the names of some manors. They also failed to note the hundreds in which estates lay. Even more crucially, they had failed to understand that they were required to produce self-contained surveys for each county, and had instead listed together the holdings of each tenant. The compilers attempted to correct their mistake and to sort the material into individual counties. The finished text of Exon. is divided into two sections, one of which contains about one-third of Dorset. The information in Exon. was to be edited for the final version of Exchequer Domesday - the data was re-arranged in the required order; details of livestock were removed; errors and confusions were amended; and the language was standardised. More that 90% of the relevant sections of Exchequer Domesday are based on Exon., but the compilers' main error, the omission of hundreds, was not corrected.

Domesday uses throughout the initials 'T.R.E.' = tempore regis Edwardi = 'in King Edward's time' (i.e. Edward the Confessor 1042-1066). William wanted to know how matters had changed since that time, and whether current ownership and tenancies could be accounted for.

Hutchins in the mid-19th century was to record a somewhat condensed version of Domesday:

'In Domesday Book, "the church of Athelney holds Candel. In King Edward's time it was taxed for four hides and one virgate of land and a half. There is land for four ploughs. Of this there are four hides in the demesne, and therein one plough: and two villeins and fourteen bordars with two ploughs. There are fourteen acres of meadow. Wood three quarentens long and two quarentens broad. Alured holds one virgate and a half of this land. The whole is worth sixty-seven shillings and sixpence."'

The 20th century Victoria History of Dorset, Volume 3, contained both versions of Domesday, which clearly showed their differences. Both were written in Latin, with abbreviations and ambiguities. Phillimore's have since published individual county editions of Exchequer Domesday, showing the original Latin survey on the left-hand page, and the best appropriate English translation on the right-hand. Each edition also contains copious notes and explanations, including Exon. additions. Phillimore's were accepted as providing the authorative version.

But now colour digital images of the original , with latest translations, may be obtained through the internet from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline. Here follows the translated Exon. Domesday entry, followed by the two Exchequer Domesday entries to show the differences:

'THE LAND OF THE ABBEY OF ATHELNEY IN DORSET.

(lxiv) The abbot has 1 manor which is called Candel which 7 thegns held T.R.E. and they could go to any lord, which paid geld for 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates. Four ploughs can plough these. Of these the abbot has in demesne 4 hides and one plough and the villeins 1 1/2 virgates and 2 ploughs. There the abbot has 2 villeins and 14 bordars and 3 furlongs of wood[land] in length and 2 in width and 14 acres of meadow and it is worth 60s a year for the abbot's use and for the use of Alvred the butler (pincerna)who holds 1 1/2 virgate of these 4 hides of the abbot, it is worth 7s 6d.'

'TERRA ABBATIE ADELINGIENSIS [THE LAND OF ATHELNEY ABBEY]

xv The Church Of Athelney holds [Purse?] CANDEL. T.R.E. it paid geld for 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates of land. There is land for 4 ploughs. Of this 4 Hides are in demesne, and there is 1 plough; and 2 villans and 14 bordars with 2 ploughs. There are 14 acres of meadow, [and] woodland 3 furlongs long and two furlongs wide. Of this land Alvred holds 1 1/2 virgates of land. The whole is worth 67s 6d.'

'TERRE TAINOS REGIS [LAND OF THE KING'S THANES]

SAEWARD holds 2 1/2 virgates of land in [Purse?] CANDELE. He himself held them T.R.E. There is land for half a plough. There is 1 acre of pasture. It is worth 5s.

Two bordars hold the fourth part of 1 virgate of land. It is worth 15d. They themselves held it freely T.R.E.'

A Domesday entry for 'SUMERSETE' contains the following translated entry:

'TERRA COMITIS MORITONIENS [LAND OF THE COUNT OF MORTAIN]

The count himself holds in demesne BISCOPESTONE [Bishopstone in Montacute] and there is his castle which is called MONTACUTE. T.R.E. this manor paid geld for 9 hides; and it belonged to the abbey of Athelney and for it the count gave to that church a manor which is called CANDEL. In this manor, Bishopstone, there is land for 7 ploughs. Of this 2 1/2 hides are in demesne, and there are 2 ploughs and 4 slaves; and 4 villans and 3 bordars with 2 ploughs.

There is a mill rendering 50d, and 15 acres of meadow.

Of these 9 hides Alvred holds of the count 1 1/2 hides; Drogo 1 hide; Dponecan 1 hide. There are 5 ploughs with 1 slave and 19 bordars. This manor is worth to the count £6; to the knights £3.3s.'

This exchange is considered to have taken place c.1069-1070, with Count Robert of Mortain clearly having the better of the deal: exchanging his four plus hides for the Abbey's nine hides. One wonders why this exchange was not mentioned in the Dorset Domesday entry. In his new manor the Count was to build his castle of montacute; and his son William was to found a priory there c.1100. In the Montacute cartulary there is mention of it having at some time the whole or portions of the tithes of Purse Caundle.

Illustrated below is a frame from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting William the Conqueror, and his two half-brothers Bishop Odo and Robert in conference just before the Battle of Hastings.

It will be noticed that one of the Anglo-Saxon thegns at Candel seems to have survived to retain his T.R.E. land holding, though as with all other thegns he could no longer go to whatever lord he pleased. Thegns had not always been big men in the sense of land holding, with some performing very humble services indeed, and owning tiny plots of land. Many of the very small manors (e.g. possibly as at Candel) were to be amalgamated - either under a Norman or ecclesiastical tenant-in-chief. Thaneland also applied to the demesne land held of a benefice (e.g. Athelney abbey), who had to supply when required the military service of the professional soldier. The thegn or thane as such was to eventually supplanted after the Norman Conquest by two titles which have endured to modern times - Baron which was from France, and Knight from Germany.

For an explanation of the different measurements and descriptions in Domesday see previous TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS USED. The extent of the Athelney Abbey's taxable holding here could be assumed to be 525 acres of land, plus 14 acres of meadow and 60 acres of woodland (the largest portion possibly being what is now known as Plumley Wood), a total of some 599 acres. This is only a fraction of the potential area; thus the abbey's holding must have come to include a substantial amount of unproductive or as yet uncleared woodland, and waste. The Abbot of Athelney seems to have held at least half the supposed settlement, less half a hide. But over the years it was to be granted land there from other landowners, as will be seen later. The remainder of the settlement/village was seemingly at some time in the future to be held by the Abbess of Shaftesbury Abbey (Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, volume iii, no. 111; Hutchins vol. iii, page 143). Whilst the abbey of Athelney had but this one manor of Candel, the abbey of Shaftesbury had some fourteen or so properties in the Domesday record for Dorset, and one in Somerset.

Regarding the 'tax for 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates', the details of lordship and villeins' land plus that of Alvred's holding appears to total 4 hides and 3 virgates. But Exon. Domesday says that Alvred held '1 1/2 virgates of these 4 hides': unless the 4 hides was a scribal error for the total 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates, with possibly the villagers' 1 1/2 virgates also a mistake. Although unusual, for there were other discrepancies, it would make the details agree with the tax total.

Alvred [Alfred] the Butler was the Count of Mortain's servant, who also held a considerable amount of land from him in many other counties, including the 1 1/2 hides in the Count's 'Bishopstone'.

Also of interest is that there were 'serfs' or slaves within the immediate vicinity: 'serfs' being the term which generally first comes to mind when discussing the inhabitants of Saxon and medieval Britain.

Windmills had not yet apparently been introduced into Britain, but there were many watermills were appropriate. The Caundle Brook was not to have sufficient running water for [Purse] Candel to have its own mill; but at the time of Domesday there were six mills at Milborne Port, two mills at [Stourton] Candel, and one each at Goathill, Stalbridge and Henstridge.

The CANDEL of Domesday is in modern times now represented by the parishes of: Purse Caundle, Stourton Caundle (originally Caundle Haddon), Bishops Caundle (Caundel Episcopi), and Caundle Marsh (Le Marsh or Le Merssh), spread across the two Hundreds of Sherborne and Brownshall. Phillimore has attempted to clarify the exact relation of these parishes to the nine 'CANDEL' entries in Domesday, where all are separately mentioned, and lands within each accounted for. Purse Caundle is assumed to be the land held by Athelney Abbey, and probably also the 2 1/2 virgates which were in the Sherborne Hundred in 1086, although some may have been in Brownshall Hundred (Tax Returns for the Dorset Hundreds, in Exon. folios 17a-24a). According to Phillimore the Count of Mortaine retained [Stourton] Candel.

Phillimore's notes (for 56.55) say that the 2 1/2 virgates of the land appear in the Tax Return for Sherborne Hundred xxxiv. With the 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates of [Purse] Candel held by Athelney Abbey they form a 5 hide unit (Rotuli Hundredorum, vol. i, page 103b) as the holding of PURS CANDEL except for 1/2 hide held in the thirteenth century by John filius Alani for nursing the King's dogs injured in Blackmoor Forest. This 1/2 hide is probably the 2 1/2 virgates of the present entry and the same piece of land found in records quoted by Hutchins (i.e. page 5 in volume 2 of Inquisitions and Assessments relating to Feudal Aids with other analgous Documents preserved in the Public Records Office AD 1284-1431; page 90 of the Book of Fees (Testa de Nevill - see CHAPTER 4); Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, volume iii, (Edward I) no. 111 and vol. iii, (Edward III) no. 241.

From the given Domesday details it has been estimated that the population in the 'Candel' area was an average of only 8 or 9 persons per square mile. Although actual numbers of serfs and slaves are given, only the number of heads of households were enumerated, not the num,ber of persons in each household. Also not recorded for Candel were any numbers of farm animals as elsewhere. One can only assume there were not any at this time, except it being automatically accepted there would be oxen for the ploughs.

What would the area of [Purse] Candel have looked like? According to the Domesday Exhibition Guide of 1986, England was a rich farming land, long settled. Miles of quiet (green)ways wove through the open corn fields and irregular patches of wood, linking the settlements of villages, hamlets, farms and homesteads which nestled in the hollows of hills. Thick hedgerows of maple, dogwood and spindle often formed boundaries; though the Purse Caundle boundary with Henstridge seems to have become marked at some time with a dry-stone wall built from stone quarried locally. Only 15 per cent of England was now tree covered. In medieval times the word 'forest' was used to describe the tracts of land, not necessarily woodland, reserved to the king and his barons for hunting deer for sport and food. Such a place seemingly was within the Blackmoor Vale. Any other tree-covered areas were called woods. Small Saxon churches built of local wood or stone dotted the landscape, serving the scattered communities and farms around, but were to be destroyed by the Normans - probably as proof of conquest - and to build their own.

One of the questions which the Domesday commissioners asked was "quantum silvae?" - how much wood? It has been seen that Candele had some, with measurements given. The proportion was not great in relation to the size of the manor, thus it would seem there had been some clearance carried out - whether mainly for agricultural or royal hunting purposes is not clear. Woods were valued for game and swine pasture. Timber trees were grown, but probably more important were the coppiced and pollarded trees, which were used to supply building poles, hayrakes, brooms, fences, firewood, baskets and shepherds' crooks. Roaming among the coppices, spinneys and groves of Domesday were wild boar and wolves. There were red and roe deer, and many fallow deer introduced by King William into his forests. There were beaver, foxes and hares, and still some wild swine. While the nobility hunted the deer, the ordinary people stuck pigs, trapped hares and shot small birds with slings. Hawking, or falconry, was introduced into England in the ninth century, though people of the different ranks were allowed only to hunt with a kind of falcon particular to their respective rank.

The first known documented village/manor's names were solely of variations of 'Caundle':

Candel in 1086 Domesday, Exon.; 1091-1106 Montacute Cartulary; 1100-1122 Calendar of Charter Rolls; 1203 Two Cartularies of Benedictine Abbeys of Muchelney & Athelney.

Caundel 1241 Dorset Feet of Fines.

It was not until the thirteenth century that a variant of 'Purse' began to be included - see CHAPTER 4.

At some time around the time of Domesday was the Inquisitio Gheldi: a copy being attached with Domesday. The Dorset Geld Rolls for rhe Sherborne Hundred included the following which may relate to [Purse] Candel:

'. . . et de dimidia hida et dimidia virga quas tenet Sawarus de rege et habet eas in dominio non habuit rex gildum.'

'. . . and [the] 1/2 hide and 1/2 virgate which Saward holds of the king, and he has them in demesne, the king did not have geld.'

This geld tax was 6s per hide - presumably that imposed in 1083. Sherborne Hundred consisted of what would become the settlements, etc. of Sherborne, Bradford Abbas, [Purse] Caundle (part), Up Cerne, Compton, Oborne, Plumber, Stock Gaylard, Thornford, Trill. The adjoining Brownshall Hundred consisted of Stourton Caundle, Stalbridge, Stalbridge Weston, [Purse] Caundle (part).

To quote again from Robert Smith of the Manorial Society:

'Historians are also agreed that the Normans institutionalised the Manorial System in Domesday Book . . . The conquerors also introduced the word feudum, from feuum (the Latin form of the Old English feoh, cattle, money, possessions in general); either a landholder's holding or lands held under the terms of a specific grant.'

1087 During the year King William passed severe Forest Laws, including the penalty for killing deer and boar being loss of eyes.

26th September saw the accession of William II (William Rufus) as king on the death of William I. He mintedhis own silver pennies. Heavy taxation continued, to fund warfare in France.

1094 William II stayed at Gillingham, Dorset, possibly at Edward the Confessor's old Royal Hunting Lodge.

1100, following the death of William II (Rufus) in the New Forest whilst hunting, 5th August saw the accession of Henry I as king. Heavy taxation continued, plus c.1107 some silver halfpennies. During his reign Henry I signed two of his Charters at Gillingham.

1135, 22nd December was the accession of Stephen as king, who minted official silver pennies.

1138-1153 This was a period of Civil War of Accession and Anarchy, during which many French came over to England to try and take the throne for France. Warring forces went around the country, with Stephen capturing the castle at Castle Cary, not quite ten miles northwards of [Purse] Candel. He spent Christmas 1139 at Salisbury, and making several forays through Dorset. During this period there were various local and irregular mintings by the usurpers - see illustration.

This is a reproduction copy of a silver penny of Stephen's son Eustace, showing a standing knight with sword.

With peace finally coming in 1154, and confirmation of Stephen as king. a new coinage was introduced with its distinctive bearded effigy of the king.

The threat of famine was always present at this time. Farming was almost entirely done by man's hand. The slow harvesting of crops could be disastrously interrupted by bad weather. Crops included cereals such as wheat, barley and oats, and vegetables such as peas, beans, leeks and onions. But yields were extremely poor compared to modern times. Agricultural technology was still basic. Ploughshares were tipped with iron to turn heavy soil such as that at [Purse] Candel, and ploughs were guided by hand. A large plough was often attached to a wheeled carriage, and on clay soil pulled by as many as eight oxen. Scattering seed by hand was naturally wasteful; and reaping, which relied on scythes and sickles was exceptionally labout intensive. Manure, the main fertilizer, was generally in short supply. The spreading of lime on heavy soils was not yet followed. Pasturing animals on land left fallow for a season could help to increase the soil's productiivity, but peasants' flocks were usually too small to supply enough dung.

The illustration to the left shows cultivation of the ground.

The illustrations below show reaping with sickles on the left, and picking fruit on the right.

1154 King Stephen died 25th October, to be succeeded by Henry II.

PURSE CAUNDLE HISTORY - CHAPTER 2: PRE-CONQUEST PURSE CAUNDLE

Like much of Dorset - as witness for example the extensive chalk deposits - Purse Caundle in pre-historic times seems to to have been under water, but with different younger strata deposits being laid down - see CHAPTER 1 (2: Geology).
According to DNHAS Volume 92, 1970, during September 1970, gas-pipe trench excavations were carried out in a field (Grid ref: ST 687 165) west of the lane running south from Purse Caundle village down to Tripps Farm. In the Fuller's Earth Rock several pieces of a crocodile's















snout were found in the topmost part of the Middle Bathonian Subcontractus Zone, of about 130-140 million years ago, associated with the characterisitic ammonites of this zone apparently found in local gardens, including Tulites modiolaris. The snout was subsequently identified at the British Museum as belonging to Steneosaurus brevidens, originally described from the Oxfordshire Great Oolite where it is common in the Stonesfield Slate (Progracilis Zone), a little earlier than the Purse Caundle specimen. These four specimen pieces are now in the Palaeontology reptile collection of the Natural History Museum in London (Catalogue No. BMNH R 8576) - see illustrations. This apparently the earliest record of a crocodile in Dorset, having been presented to the NHM by Hugh Torrens in 1971, though mistakenly said at that time as having come from nearby Haydon.
The crocodilians, unlike the dinosaurs, persisted through the time of the Cretaceous-tertiary extinctions' event. Steneosaurus was a crocodilian that had become well adapted to a marine way of life. It had a long body and small forelimbs to aid swimming, and a long snout with thin sharp teeth for eating fish. Steneosaurus maintained a heavily armoured body. The rings along the neck acted as protection for the gullet, which was the only unprotected area of its otherwise heavily-armoured body. Its feet had not become modified into flippers. It probably inhabited estuaries rather than the open ocean. A complete specimen has been found elsewhere measuring an impressive 7 1/4 feet in length.
Whether there was any, or how much, Early-Man, Iron Age, Bronze Age, or a later Roman settlement within what would become the immediate village area is not known, as apparently no archaeological research has been undertaken. The heavy clays of the Blackmore Vale inhibited much prehistoric and Roman-British settlement there. However, Neolithic arrowheads are said to have been found in woodland area west of Henstridge village; and probable Iron-Age burials and artifacts on the high ground near Toomer. Pre-Roman Iron Age pottery suggesting occupation has been found as close as adjacent Goathill, as had some Roman artifacts (DNHAS Vol. 80, 1958), and definitely at Marnhull further out into Blackmore Vale.
On the 2001 Ordnance Survey Roman Map, however, it can be seen there was a Roman villa at Sherborne five miles to the West; a closer substantial building just west of Milborne Port; and other finds in the vicinity of Goathill, Henstridge and Stalbridge.
It is thought that with a stream or two, plus springs, within the area of the parish it was possible there would be some later form of early pre-Saxon settlement alongside. With the local water-table being quite close to the surface (in modern times at any rate) wells are not difficult to dig.
Roman and Romano-British items of pottery, etc., and Roman coins have been found - generally by chance - in the area all around Sherborne, including to the East at Henstridge Bowden and Toomer, and south at Bishops Caundle - see C. E. Bean in DNHAS Vol. 72, 1950. A Romano-British cemetery was found by chance at Milborne Port in the 18th century, containing nearly 60 burials, with heads pointing North. No associated settlement has yet been discovered nearby. A same period skeleton was discovered also close to Purse Caundle at neighbouring Stalbridge in 1918. The Romans built the first roads as such, in some instances following already established prehistoric trackways. A Roman road from what is now Weymouth passed through Dorchester (Durnovaria), and onwards just to the west of Yeovil to Ilchester (Lindinis), where there was a large fort. In the Yeovil and Sherborne area it is noted that villas are situated along the line of the River Yeo. (See also CHAPTER 5)
Following the departure of Roman garrisons from Britain c.410, on the severance of Britain from Rome, but not necessarily of the civilian villa occupiers, the Saxons apparently came late to Dorset from the east. They finally overcame the British in the mid-seventh century, in what was later to be called Dorset, to become part of Wessex. The history of Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries has been provided by the British cleric Gildas in his The Ruin of Britain. This has been said to have possibly been written c.550, perhaps in Dorset or Somerset. There was also Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, c.731.
Settlers started to come from northern Germany (Angles and Saxons) and Denmark (Jutes), plus other Germanic groups, and Scandinavians. It was not long (7th century) before Kings demanded protection tribute from the population they governed. The ordinary subsistence farming inhabitants had to render regular payments of agricultural produce (feorm) to their local royal centres. For this purpose the countryside was divided into taxable units called hides - a hide being the amount deemed necessary to support one household.
The year 845 saw the first known mention of the name Dorset: 'Dux Eanwulf with the Somerset men, and Bishop Ealhstan and Ealdorman Osric with the Dorset [Dornsaetum] men, fought against a Danish raiding-army at the mouth of the [River] Parrett [in Bridgwater Bay south of Weston-super-Mare] and made great slaughter there and took the victory.'
Less than a handful of miles eastwards of Purse Caundle is Stalbridge, which is Saxon for 'bridge on piles'.
There is evidence of a West Saxon settlement at Sherborne. But even more exciting has been the information passed to this author that what was considered (by a local doctor) to be a Saxon female skeleton was discovered by chance in the 1980's at Home Farm in Purse Caundle. But unfortunately it was apparent not much cognicance was taken of it by the archaeological fraternity, and in accordance with usual practice it was re-buried.
At Hinton St. Mary (five miles east of Purse Caundle) there is a Roman villa with a 4th century mosaic having a Christian content - XP - the symbol for Christ. There is plenty of evidence of there being Christianity in north Dorset in Saxon times by at least the mid-7th century, at such places as Fontmell Magna and Iwerne Minster. Purse Caundle church apparently has a few Saxon foundation remains of an unknown date, which presumably means there was either some form of adjacent settlement by then, or it was to cater for a collection of scattered surrounding ones. Close to Purse Caundle there were to be abbeys at Shaftesbury (Sceaftsbyri) in 888, and Sherborne (Sciraburn) in 998.
The Diocese of Sherborne was created by King Ine in 705, with his brother Aldhelm (later Saint) being consecrated its first Bishop. Some 350 years later, c.1060, the bishopric was transferred to Sarum.
In 787 there was an early pagan Viking raid on the kingdom from Scandinavia through Portland. Kings AEthelbald in 860, and AEthelbert in 866, the elder brothers of King Alfred (the Great, 871-899), were buried at Sherborne which seems to have become the war-time capital of Wessex during the fight against the Vikings' 'Great Army'. The latter were to be converted to Christianity, and trade with them began. But in early 878 the Danes eventually succeeded in over-running the greater part of Wessex, including Dorset. Alfred retreated to the swampland of Athelney in Somerset, where the legendary incident of his burning of cakes supposedly took place. But in the same summer Alfred defeated the Vikings at Edington, Wiltshire, just north-east of Westbury. He was to eventually push the Vikings back out of Wessex in 880. In gratitude for which he founded Athelney abbey, and apparently endowed it with (Purse) Candel. Before his death in 899 he also reorganised the rota of military service, to forestall any further attacks, and introduced a 'Burghal Hidage' levy.
This military service (or fyrd) was a levy of freemen raised from each hundred, liable to serve in the English Army for a period of two months annually. During that time they were paid and provisioned by the shires. However, if their period of service was extended, then they were charged to the State.
Although it may have already been in existence, it is more likely to have been King Alfred who originated payment of Peter's Pence in the 880s. However, some authorities consider it to have been later by King Cnut (1016-1035), though this opinion was to be based on his letter of 1031 which seems to infer that it was an ancient practice by this time. This was an annual tax payment to the Papal See at Rome of one penny (which were at that time made of silver) by every household in England occupying land worth thirty pence rent a year. Payment of this Rome scot was to be made on Lammas Day (the Saint's Day of St. Peter ad Vincula - 1st August). There was apparently a substantial fine for neglect to pay.

Illustrated on the left is a fragment of a real Anglo-Saxon hammered silver penny coin.

















Below are reproductions of King Alfred silver penny coins of the period 871-891.


In 973 King Eadgar (959-975) carried out a major reform of the silver coinage, which was now to be uniform throughout the whole country. It was to be renewed every six to seven years, when people had to travel to their nearest mint centre (which could be at quite some distance) and exchange their old penny and halfpenny coins for new. Fortunately for the inhabitants of Candel there was a mint at Milborne Port at some time during the Anglo-Saxon period.
It is difficult to equate monetary values of this period with that of the 21st century. According to the website that discusses this problem <www.regia.org/costs.htm> a value of one Saxon silver penny (1d) is considered to be £20. This is a somewhat over simplification, but accurate enough for this website article, and thus this History. The values of various commodities of that period have been considered to be: Ewe and lamb @ 12 pence = £240; Fleece @ 2d = £40; Fox skin @ 8d = £160; Wolf skin @ 8d = £160; Hive of bees @ 24d = £480; and further pro rata a Sword @ 240d, and a Fyrdman's pay per month @ 120d.
In 978 King Edward (the Martyr - 975-978), murdered at Corfe Castle in Dorset, and being finally buried at Shaftesbury the following year. Some time after 980 King AEthelred II (978-1016) brought into use a hill fort at South Cadbury, just over the border in Somerset and only some seven miles from what is now Purse Caundle, to counter further Viking raids and/or invasion. In 982-998 there were further attacks and incursions by the Danes into Dorset, such that by 1001 even Shaftesbury (12 miles distant) was being considered as unsafe for the nunnery there. In 1003, King Swein of Denmark landed at Exeter, and marched to, and destroyed, Sherborne and Shaftesbury. As well as irregular tributes to the Vikings by King AEthelred to buy peace, in 1012 he instituted a Danegeld tax payable by everyone, collectable from every hide of land, to pay for his Scandinavian mercenaries. Some hardship apparently resulted. Archbishop Wulfstan in his 'Sermon of the Wolf to the English', written at the time, describes the sad lot of many poor people, when the heavy demands for tributes were added to years of poor harvests and cattle disease.
King Cnut came to plunder Wessex in 1015/1016. There was a battle between the Saxons and Vikings in 1016, thought to have been at Penselwood, which is three miles north-east of Wincanton, Somerset, and just north of the present A303 trunk road. (There is believed to have been an earlier West Saxon battle here in 658.) Cnut died in 1035 at Shaftesbury, with his heart possibly being buried at Shaftesbury Abbey, and his body buried at Winchester.
England was originally much covered in dense woodland. But generations of Celts, Romans, and then Saxons gradually cleared the trees, starting with the thinly wooded upland areas such as Salisbury Plain. Then moving into the lowlands, making space to grow cereals, and pasture to rear cattle and sheep. Apparently what was to become Purse Caundle was still covered by woodland in Anglo-Saxon times. As forests were cleared, flowers spread, and marsh and river-bank varieties colonised the meadows. There were blue cornflowers and red poppies in the fields, originally introduced by Neolithic settlers from the Mediterranean. The woodlands were carpeted with bluebells growing among the brambles and ferns. On the downlands wild thyme, rock roses, and harebells flourished. There were cowslips, primroses, honeysuckle, wild daffodils, foxgloves and forget-me nots.
Long before William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 a well-ordered pattern of life had been established, not only nationally, but seemingly in Candel - then an overall name for what would have been a collection of scattered homesteads and/or farms. When the Saxons had arrived on our shores some five centuries earlier, they gradually reshaped the land the Romans had left. They parcelled out the land into small divisions, generally conforming to two different patterns, i.e. its configuration, and type of soil. In the instance of (Purse) Caundle, on the edge of the Blackmoor Vale, this was to establish a central farm, and then to clear outlying patches and make smaller farms there, joined to the parent farm by paths through woodland or uncleared common. It was King Alfred who divided Saxon lands into Shires (from the Saxon word Scyre - to cut or divide), and sub-divided into smaller Hundreds and Tythings.












Illustrated left is a reproduction of a silver penny of King Harold II, 1066.





Illustrated below is a fly-leaf of an old Anglo-Saxon Gospel book, said to have been in use in Widcombe, Devon, in the time of the Conqueror.
On the matter of the language of that time, the 19th century Dorset dialect poet, the Rev. William Barnes, maintained "That there was a 'pure' form of English which all native speakers understood. That 'pure' English was derived from Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic origins. If King Alfred's capital of England had not been moved to London from Winchester then the Dorset dialect would still be Standard English. That the Dorset dialect was the closest form of modern English to the Anglo-Saxon language from which it was derived." Barnes published his opinions in the Gentleman's Magazine in 1840. Doctor Alan Chedzoy discussed this in his article 'Those Terrible Marks Of The Beast: Barnes, Hardy And The Dorset Dialect' in The Hardy Society Journal, Autumn 2008. R. D. N. Somerset and W. D. Lang also wrote articles about Dorset dialect words in the DNHAS, Volume 85.
The famed monk AElfric (Grammaticus), c.950-c.1025, wrote books in 'Old English', rather than Latin. From about 987 to 1002 he was at Cerne Abbas abbey, and it was then he wrote his Latin Colloquy, probably for the young novices there. It contained descriptions of various contemporary peasants' lives and trades, quite probably relevant to and thus drawn from the local Dorset area:

'Ploughman "Oh I work very hard. I go out at daybreak driving the oxen to the field, and yoke them to the plough; for fear of my lord, there is no winter so severe that I dare hide at home; but the oxen, having been yoked and the share and coulter [sharp blade] fastened to the plough, I must plough a full acre or more every day . . . I have a lad driving the oxen with a goad, who is now hoarse because of the cold and shouting. . . I do more than that, I have to fill the oxen's bin with hay, and water them and carry their muck outside. . . It's hard work, because I am not free."

Shepherd "In the early morning I drive my sheep to their pasture, and in the heat and cold, stand over them with dogs, lest wolves devour them; and I lead them back to their folds and milk them twice a day, and move their folds; and in addition I make cheese and butter; and I am loyal to my lord."

Oxherd "I work hard. When the ploughman unyokes the oxen, I lead them to pasture, and I stand over them all night watching for thieves; and then in the early morning I hand them over to the ploughman well fed and watered."

Huntsman " I am a huntsman [of the king]. I weave myself nets and set them in a suitable place, and urge on my dogs so that they chase the wild animals until they come into the nets unawares and are thus ensnared; and I kill them in the nets. I can hunt without nets. I hunt for wild animals with fast dogs. I wasn't hunting today, because its Sunday; but I was out hunting yesterday. [I caught] two stags and a boar. I took the stags in nets, and the boar I killed. The dogs drove it towards me, and I stuck it quickly, standing there in its path. A huntsman mustn't be afraid, because all sorts of wild animals live in the woods. Whatever I take I give to the king, since I am his huntsman. He clothes and feeds me well, and sometimes give me a horse or ring so that I follow my trade more willingly."

Because of the nature of the various possible holding of the Manor and lands, these poor inhabitants could have been subject to the lordship of either king, abbot/abbess, or thegn, with varying degrees of supervision - see above and below, and later CHAPTERS and APPENDICES.

According to the Rectitudines Singularum Personarum ('Rights and Ranks of People'), probably dated during the half century before the Norman Conquest, i.e. at the time of Edward the Confessor, among the many obligations described were:

'Thegn's Law: The law of the thegns is that he be entitled to his book-right [land protected by charter], and that he shall contribute three things in respect of his land: armed service, and the repairing of fortresses and work on bridges. Also in respect of many estates, further service arises on the king's order such as service connected with the deer fence at the king's residence, and equiping a guard ship, and guarding the coast, and guarding the lord, and military watch, almsgiving and church dues and many other various things.

About the Ox-herd. The ox-herd must pasture 2 oxen or more with the lord's herd on the common pasture with the cognizance of the overseer. Let him earn thereby shoes and gloves for himself. And his cow for food must go with the lord's oxen.

About the Shepherd. A shepherd's due is that he should have 12 nights' dung at Christmas, and 1 lamb from the year's young ones, 1 bell-wether's fleece [presumably for making of clothing], and the milk of his flock for a week after the equinox, and a bowl-full of whey or buttermilk all summer [possibly for butter and cheese making].'

Nothing was specifically mentioned for ploughmen, but could well have been included in more general rights and obligations of tenants. But all these could vary from lordship to lordship, and custom of the estate/manor.

Long before William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, a well-ordered pattern of life had been established, not only nationally but seemingly here in CANDEL - then an overall name for what seemed a collection of scattered homesteads and/or farms. When the Saxons arrived on our shores some five centuries earlier, they gradually reshaped the land the Romans had left. They parcelled out the land into small divisions, generally conforming to two different patterns, i.e. its configuration, and type of soil. In the instance of [Purse] Caundle, on the edge of the Blackmoor Vale, this was to establish a central farm, and then clear outlying patches amd make smaller farms there, joined to the parent farm by paths through woodland or uncleared common. It was King Alfred who divided Saxon lands into Shires (from the Saxon word Scyre - to cut or divide); and sub-divide into smaller Hundreds and Tythings.

The soil of the kingdom was to be pieced out in large patches to provide for (1) Thegns (thanes) - lesser Anglo-Saxon nobles of the military and administrative profession, and (2) people of the ecclesiastical profession.

Regarding the local Candel land-holding seven thegns later mentioned in Domesday in 1086, these and others were persons holding land from the King by special grant. Formerly 'thegn' was a name used of the King's ministers and military companions, and being awarded land by the king or another superior as a reward for military service. Thegns ranked between freemen and hereditary nobles. They were free to choose any lord as their patron and protector of their lands, (as were certain other outright freeholders of land around the country which was not subject to ownership by the king). Otherwise other lands could be 'tied to a particular manor or lord.

Five hides of approximately 120 acres each (a hide valued at 240 pence = £4,800) was considered by custom as the tenement necessary for the proper outfit of a knight or thegn, i.e. a tenement which made him independent of township arrangement and personal work, which raised and contrasted him with the peasant virgaters around him. It implied to begin with, that the thegn was to find means of sustenance not merely for himself, but for his retinue - the heavily armed warrior being as a rule surrounded by a few lightly armed henchmen. Having a holding of 5 hides placed him in the position of a military follower connected to the king by the ties of direct or indirect patronage.

The whole position of thegns is discussed by such as Vinogradoff and Harrison - see the BIBLIOGRAPHY.



It was said in the 1st edition of Hutchins that:

'The manor [of what was to become Purse Caundle] seems in the Saxon times to have been given by King Aethelstan to the monastery of Athelney, co. Somerset, founded by him A.D. 878. Others say, Robert, Earl of Morton gave the manor of Candel to the Abbot of Athelney [in exchange for another].'

Hutchins was prone to inaccuracies, and this is an instance. It will be noticed immediately the disparity in dates, etc. There had been Athelstan I of East Anglia c.850, and the Viking invader Athelstan II of Anglia 878-890. As was stated above, Athelney abbey had in fact been founded by King Alfred of Wessex, who reigned 871-899. His grandson Athelstan's reign was later in 924-939 (having been born c.895). This error was to be perpetuated by the editors of the subsequent 2nd and 3rd editions of Hutchins, as well as by writers who seemingly accepted what was published there.

Phillimore notes that this land is identified with the early record of the unnamed gift of four hides of land by King Alfred in the Sherborne Hundred Book of Fees (Testa de Nevill), page 90 - see CHAPTER 3.

The Chairman of The Manorial Society, Robert Smith, has aptly written a comprehensive but succinct description of Manors, and Lordships of such. At this point it is worth quoting from this:

'Lordships of the Manor are among the oldest titles in England and pre-date the Norman Conquest [of 1066].

'Historians are not agreed on how the word Manor originated. It has been suggested that it is an import, manoir, or perhaps even older, from the Latin, manerium.. Nor are historians sure whether it was a purely Saxon concept, its origins lying in the need for self-defence down the east coast against succeeding incursions by Germanic tribes and later Vikings.

'They are agreed, however, that the Manor was the pivot of the Feudal System, defined by the 11th century "by certain ecclesiastics who propounded the theory that human society was divided into three orders, the oratores, the bellatores, and the laboratores: those who protected it with their prayers and their swords, and those who tilled the earth to support the other two classes." (Dr. A. P. M. Wright, Senior Assistant Editor, VCH, writing in the Bulletin of the Manorial Society of Great Britain, 1981)

'By the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066), the Lord of the Manor, be he the local leader, or some great suzerain, such as Earl Godwinson of Mercia, was the most important person in village affairs, whether it be collecting taxes for the King or dispensing "high justice", the power to inflict death in his courts.

'In return for his protection and the land in gave them, the people on the Manor, from slaves to freemen, owed their Lord certain services, ranging from money rents to working so many days a week on the Lord's "home farm", or demesne, without pay (week-work). In theory, most men held their land "at pleasure", though in practice the "customary tenants", or villeins, were fairly secure, provided they undertook their services: week-work, the harvest boon (precaria) when they helped the Lord get his corn in, used the Lord's mill to grind their corn and his fold for their animals so that he might benefit from the manure on his land.

'If the tenants of the Manor disagreed, they went before the manorial court, presided over by one of the Lord's officers, usually the Bailiff, who decided and imposed fines often called "arbitary" though, in fact, usually determined by custom. If there were some crime committed, the Lord could arrest, try, and punish up to "pit and gallows", gibbet and mutilation.'

At Gillingham, Dorset, in 1042, Edward the Confessor was proclaimed King by the Witan - the royal council. He was to be crowned at Winchester on Easter Day 1043. He died 5th January 1066, to be succeeded by one of two claimants, Harold II. Then just after Easter, on Monday, 24th April 1066, "Men looked to the sky, and there they saw such a token in the heavens as no man had ever seen before. Not only all over England but, as men deemed, over much of the world, the sky was ablaze with a mighty mass of flame, which no man doubted was sent to kindle a fire upon earth." This omen of misfortune was later to be known as the regularly recurrent Halley's Comet, returning every 75-77 years to our skys. On this occasion it was visible in England from 24th-30th April. It was a prelude of course to the Norman invasion at the end of September the same year, and the subsequent decisive Battle of Hastings on Saturday, 14th October, when the Saxon thegns and fyrdmen were defeated, and King Harold killed.

William the Norman, the other claimant to the English throne, was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy - his unmarried mother being Herleve. She subsequently married Herluin of Conteville, and they had two sons: Odo who became Bishop of Bayeux, and Robert later Count of Mortain. Both were thus half-brothers of William, who because of his ancestry was to be known as 'the Bastard'.

The whole episode was subsequently recorded on the famous Bayeux Tapestry. One frame shows the three brothers in conference before the Battle. It is accepted by most scholars that the Tapestry was made in the south of England before 1082. In the Tapestry's borders are little vignettes of life of the times, illustrating such occupations as ploughing, harrowing, and slinging at game.

When William ordered in 1086 the survey of England which culminated in the compilation of the Domesday Book, it was to record the situation as at that time as compared with that twenty years earlier in King Edward the Confessor's time pre-1066 - Tempore Regis Edwardi (T.R.E.) - see CHAPTER 3.

The relevant Domesday Book entries which include the pre-Conquest situation are:

(1) 'The abbot [of Athelney abbey in Somerset]has [in Dorset] 1 manor which is called Candel which 7 thegns held T.R.E. and they could go to any lord, which paid geld for 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates. . .'

(2) 'Lands of the King's Thegns . . . Saeward in [Purse] CANDELE holds 2 1/2 virgates of land. He himself held them T.R.E.' [Saeward seems to have also held lands in Somerset, e.g. not far away at Horsington.]

Two bordars hold the fourth part of 1 virgate of land . . . They themselves held it freely T.R.E.''

How the above situation regarding land ownership by thegns applied to (Purse) Caundle is not absolutely clear. As the seven thegns in 1066 who held the land there 'could go to whichever lord they would' implies that such land was not at that time in ownership of Athelney Abbey, but rather of the King. And who then was the Lord of thegn Saeward and the two bordars?

Nobody is sure how, or exactly when Purse Caundle received its full name, being first recorded as such in the early 13th century; or even when it became a separate entity from being just a part of the much larger area known as Candel (or its variant spellings).

Ekwall and Watts both surmise that 'Purse' could be derived from the Old English 'preosta', meaning 'priest', possibly because it belonged to Athelney Abbey. It was also suggested that 'Caundle' was the name of the nearby chain of hills. It is now generally believed to be Celtic, named afer the stream - Caundle Brook and its own tributaries - that run through it and the other villages with Caundle in their name. But this subject will be further discussed in CHAPTER 4.

But now would seem an opportune place to endeavour to determine the foundation or origins of the place known as Candel/Candle/Caundle. As 'Purse' does not occur until the 13th century this would normally be considered not to be the point at which to discuss this naming. That is until one learns about the following situation.

The owner and occupier of Purse Caundle manor house from 1967 to 1984 was Mr. Ralf Winklemann. During that period the house was open to the public on certain days. Amongst one such group of visitors was Mrs P. M. McCarthy from Liverpool. The following correspondence was the result:

'20 Muirhead Ave East

West Derby

Liverpool L11 1EJ

28.9.79.

Dear Mr Winkleman

I am very sorry I have been so long sending you the copy of the little bit of the 'Purse' family, which I promised you on our visit to Purse Caundle.

I hope it will be of some interest to you.

ours sincerely,

P. M. McCarthy. (Mrs)

(nee Purse)'

'5635 Netherland Ave

Avondale

10071

New York City

USA

Oct 20.70

Dear George

Enclosed is a photograph of the two coats of arms which I made a few years ago. The colours have started to fade, also you will notice I have had a few sheets of notepaper printed from the Die you gave me. I have over the past few year done good a lot of research into the family and have now a few facts. I traced the origins of the family to the year 1055 A.D. 11 years before William of Normandy. In the Dorchester records there is a documented [sic] dated 1055 AD which states that Purse the elder applied for permission to build cottages to house 175 serf families on the land he owned which was situated in the centre of the original White Hart forest along the counties hills. When finished he called the village 'Purse Caundle'. About 220 years later they built a Church and a Manor House. The Church is still standing but in the 14th century the manor house burnt down and another one was built. It is still standing, but is now a museum - over the centuries the families sold or gave as wedding dowries all the land - now there is none left. The only piece of farm land is at Chard nearby, owned by a Purse family. The Coat of Arms on the left is the first one issued in Dorset - on the photograph the notation circa 1050 does not refer to the date it was issued, it only refers to the date the family was recorded.. On the right the first record of the Surrey branch was circa 1265 A.D.

I had an expert in New York explain the symbols of the Coat of Arms, and this is what he says. The bull represents the main source of income which was cattle breeding. The helmet shows that they were gentlemen and the six flowers on the shield called "Trifoils" shows that they were noblemen because, it was an award for being victors in "Jousting Tournaments" and only noblemen could compete. More interesting is the Surrey Coat of Arms. The described [crest] shows that a son took the family coat and added his own crest. Also the shape of the Helmet shows that he was a "Baron" which somehow has not been handed down.

Well George I hope this interests you and hope your wife and you are feeling better. My wife has greatly improved. If we come to England next year, I will call and see you.

Best wishes Bert'

There are several obvious errors and inconsistencies in the above letter from Bert Purse. It is a pity the accompanying photograph is not available, for further details of the Coat of Arms and 1265 Purse Family, though a 'Purse' coat of arms appears at the top of both letters. More importantly, the Dorset History Centre has no trace of the 1055 document mentioned.

This author immediately tried to trace the two above Purse family writers, or their descendants, initially without success. He has since providentially been contacted by a descendant who is checking out the above letter's contents; and who was also able in the interim to provide an enlarged copy of the claimed coat of arms.

As has been seen, the origins of the village have not yet been determined. The first firm mention of Caundle (or rather Candele) was in the 1086 Exon Domesday Book. The earliest known mention of the name 'Purscandel' does not appear until 1241 - so what happened just before this date to warrant this additional name? Even more telling, Domesday does not show any concentrated population anywhere near approaching the purported "175 serf families". The total number of families in the whole of the Domesday scattered area of Candele at that time would barely have reached this figure.

There was for instance, however, in the Earl of Warwick estate map of the 1770s, a field in the village called Cutt Purse, situated on the southern side of the lane leading to Stalbridge Weston, at its junction with what is now the A30 main road. This author is of the opinion that it relates to the time in the distant past when people carried purses tied around their waists, and that on one occasion a thief cut and stole such a purse from a traveller at this location.

The heraldic arms of Purse as shown in the letter are given as:

Gules, six trefoils slipped, argent.

Crest: a demi-bull, per fesse, argent and gules.

On checking with the College of Arms, London, this author was informed that there was no record of it having granted such arms. But it was suggested that the Purse family may have borrowed the heraldry of HETON and changed the colours, i.e. Heaton/Heton of Grovelay Hall, Worcestershire; of Winkell, Lincolnshire, and of London: Argent, six trefoils slipped vert, 2 and 1, 2 and 1. Crest: A pelican or, legged sa, vulning herself ppr.

There are a number of catch-penny so-called genealogical research agencies who supply highly suspect and/or false/incomplete information to unsuspecting enquirers into their family histories. This is often accompanied by an impressive looking certificate, and as has been written above, plus a spurious coat of arms. Poor Bert Purse seems to have unwittingly been one such duped recipient. His descendant family relative who is researching the family's genealogy has as far as is known not been able so far to throw further light on this sorry tale.