The Blandford Express

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From Dorset Gallows to Van Diemen’s Land

From Dorset Gallows to Van Diemen’s Land is the little-known but true story of political corruption, hangings and transportations in Dorset - available in the UK, Australia & the USA as a paperback from Amazon. ‘A must read for anyone with an interest in Dorset’s history. (Mick Robertson, BAFTA Lifetime Television Award winner & former ITV children’s programme Magpie presenter.) ‘My father’s ancestor (Richard Bleathman) was one of the so-called Dorset rioters. He was effectively a political prisoner and therefore convict-royalty.’ (Ria Bleathman, company director, Melbourne, Australia.)

Criminal Capers

Richard Hann (1830-1904) was Constable No. 1 of the Dorset Police . He served at Blandford’s newly opened Police Station, located at the corner of Edward Street and Salisbury Road, from 1865-1867. Among his cases were: Isaac Newton of Blandford was brought up before the Court, in custody of PC Hann, summoned with leaving his wife and family chargeable to Blandford Workhouse. The prisoner was committed for one calendar month with hard labour . (Dorset County Chronicle 13 th July 1865) George Paul of Blandford was summoned by PC Hann for allowing his horse to stray on the highway at Pimperne on the 13 th August last. The case was adjourned till the next Court sitting. Later, George Paul was fined five shillings (25p) for allowing cattle to stray on the highway. (Dorset County Chronicle Thursday 7 th September 1865) Edward Foster appeared to a summons charged with being drunk and riotous in the public street. Although he pleaded not guilty the case was proven by Constables ...

Charlie Whiting's Narrow Escape

Late on Saturday 23 June 1906, Blandford was struck by a great storm. It followed a day of extreme heat and the oppressive atmosphere gave a warning of the tempest which was to come. Lasting a couple of hours, the violent storm caused chaos across the Blandford district killing cattle, stripping trees of all leaves and damaging property. That evening, railway signalman Charlie Whiting was on duty in the signal box at Blandford station. He was to suffer a lucky and narrow escape. The Western Gazette reported: ‘Forked sheet and ribbon lightning illuminated a pitch black sky in all directions with scarcely a second’s intermission. Rain tropical in its violence accompanied the tempest while in some places hailstones added to its intensity.’ Because of the unusual shape and size of the hailstones, where they fell not a single greenhouse survived. The 1906 storm was remarkable also for its temperatures , the range being between 55 (13) and 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27 centigrade). A tree s...

BBC Rampisham Down

Rampisham Down was a major BBC World Service shortwave transmission station and home to a vast array of antennae and masts. Its location, between Dorchester and Crewkerne, was chosen for its remoteness and suitability for radio transmissions with little interference. The station supported services in multiple languages including English, Russian and Arabic. BBC Rampisham Down was established in 1939 just before World War II and during the war’s early years it was subject to several attacks from the German Air Force. Transmission halls on the 189 acre site were separated by heavy blast walls. The facility played a key role in international broadcasting for several decades and represented an alien landmark on a rural landscape. During the Cold War, Rampisham provided broadcasts to countries where access to news and information was restricted. Transmissions in Russian were regularly jammed by the Soviet authorities. During the severe winter of 1963, heavy snow falls caused Rampisham ...

Pancake Day 'Lent Crocking'

Lent Crocking was an old Dorset custom that used to take place on Pancake Day. It was similar to ‘ trick or treat’ although some would say it was ‘ just blackmail’ . Boys would gather in the evening and parade through the villages each armed with a collection of relics of broken pots, washing pans, jugs, dishes & plates. The broken pots originally signified that as Lent was beginning they were of no use. A lead youth would step forward and knock on a door. As William Barnes wrote: ‘When the door is opened, the hero, who is perhaps a farmer’s boy, with a pair of black eyes sparkling under the tattered brim of his brown milking hat covered with cow’s hair and dirt like the inside of a blacksmith’s nest, hangs down his head and with one corner of his mouth turned up into an irresistible smile pronounces in the dialect of his county.’ ‘I be come a-shrovin’ Vor a little pankaik, A bit o’ bread o’ your baikin’. If you’ll gi’ me a little, I’ll ax no more If you don’t gi’ me nothin’...

Lisztomania & the Assembly Rooms

On Thursday 20 th August 1840, commencing at 8.00pm, Hungarian composer and piano playing genius, Franz Liszt opened an evening concert in the Assembly Rooms in Blandford. The celebrated pianist was at the time the equivalent of a rock star of the period with his flowing locks, slim figure and mesmeric personality. Franz Liszt was so revered across Europe that in Vienna confectioners sold piano-shaped biscuits iced with the words ‘Liszt’. Invitations to attend were extended to members of the local nobility and gentry. Family tickets for four could be purchased for twenty one shillings (£1.05) and a single ticket for six shillings (30p). At the time, a typical weekly wage for an agricultural worker was around eight shillings (40p). Franz Liszt performed the Marche Hongroise, his Grand Galop Chromatique and other pieces from his recitals. The event was organised by Louis Lavenu, a London based musician and entrepreneur. Also on stage, Liszt was supported by opera singer Mademoiselle...

Assembly Rooms

Built in 1771, the Blandford Assembly Rooms once played an important role in the town. They could be found on the east side of West Street near a causeway which led to Blandford Bridge. The Assembly Rooms had a grand staircase which led to a ballroom. Each year at the time of the Blandford Horse Races there was the Blandford Races Ball. In 1829, the event covered two nights. It was said that the dancing went off with great spirit and the ‘company did not break up until past six o’ clock in the morning.’ The Dorset County Ball was frequently held there. In January 1837, upwards of 100 of the county’s great and good attended this prestigious social event. The Salisbury & Winchester Journal reported that the evening ‘passed off with much spirit and animation.’ In August 1840, Hungarian composer and piano playing genius Franz Liszt played in the Assembly Room packed with the local nobility and gentry. Tickets cost six shillings (30p) or twenty one shillings (£1.05) for a fa...

Blandford's Last Races

What links Blandford Camp, motor racing and chocolate? The answer sadly is Joseph Gibson Fry who lost his life on the 29 th July 1950 in a crash in the British Army camp. ‘ Joe ’ Fry was a member of the Fry chocolate family. The company, J S Fry & Sons had merged with Cadburys in 1919. Joe lost his life after suffering injuries while practising for a hill climb event when he lost control and crashed at speed. A bystander said: ‘Fry’s car approached a bend known as Cuckoo Corner at about 90mph. He appeared to drift towards the outside of the course, hit the right hand grass bank and somersaulted.’ He was driving his Freikaiserwagen racing car at the time of the accident. This name had a distinctly German twist and was a tongue in cheek combination of the surnames of Fry and Caesar. Dick Caesar was one of its designers. The Freikaiserwagen was an extremely powerful little sprint and hill climbing machine but was difficult to drive. It is reckoned it set the standard for the ma...

John Love: ‘England’s fattest man.’

John Love from Weymouth was reckoned at one time to be the fattest man in England. By trade, he was a bookseller and publisher but was also an accomplished artist. He did much to promote an interest in art in Dorset. In his shop he had both a library and exhibition rooms. In 1788, he published a Guide to Weymouth. He was so corpulent he regularly wore a waistband nearly up to his neck to prevent his trousers from falling down. John Love rarely wore a coat. Most of the time he just wore his nightshirt in which he was more comfortable. John Love had studied in London under William Ryland, Engraver to the King who was executed for the crime of forgery. Terrified by his master’s shameful death, Love returning to Weymouth. Initially, he was quite puny so his Dorchester doctor prescribed a diet of fatty foods as medicine. Results of this and his overeating soon became evident in his expanding waistline. ‘Giving himself up entirely to wine and dainties’ he ‘gave himself...

Great Post Office Robbery

When a Langton Long postman opened up Blandford Post Office on a Sunday morning in April 1949, he discovered quite a surprise. A London based gang had blown the door of the strong room wide open. The robbers had got away with £12,000 worth of cash, stamps and savings vouchers (about £445,000 in today’s money.) The thieves were apparently aware that the Post Office would be unoccupied from 9.00pm on Saturday evening until its opening early on Sunday morning. Post bags had been placed around the door to muzzle the noise of the explosion and the door of the strong room had been completely blown out. The Head Postmaster’s office had also been completely ransacked. The police suspected the raiders made their getaway along the Blandford-Warminster road. So, a 25 mile search was carried out along the road behind walls, hedges and fences looking for gelignite and other equipment. The police regarded the break-in as highly skilled. At the time, Percy Carter was the owner of the to...

John White: Dorchester’s American Pioneer

Dorset clergyman, John White (1575-1648) did as much as any person to set up the colony of Massachusetts leading eventually to the establishment of the United States of America. He was Rector of Holy Trinity and St Peter’s Churches in Dorchester, England from 1606-1648. For organising and encouraging emigration to the New World, John White has been described as the Founder of Massachusetts. Yet he never visited the new colony. He was a puritan at a time when there was much religious persecution in England. His first colonial project, the Dorchester Company failed but his second involving the forming of the New England Company was more successful. In March 1830, the Mary and John set sail from Plymouth for the New World with 140. Passengers on board. Upon landing after a ten week crossing the settlement of Dorchester, Massachusetts was founded. Many were from Dorset, Devon and Somerset. Weeks later other ships follows and the Great Migration began. John White was...

Tiger's Tale, Shillingstone & the 'S & D'.

According to railway locomotive driver Andrew Thomas (above) there was a major accident near miss on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (‘S & D’ ) that could have changed the course of European history. It occurred at Wellow station, some six miles south of Bath, and involved the future twice French Prime Minister, Georges Clemenceau. It is believed this incident occurred in 1884 when the Frenchman is known to have visited England. Clemenceau is generally regarded as the statesman who prevented the collapse of the French military forces towards the end of World War I. Such was his tenacity, that he gained the nicknames ‘Le Tigre’ (Tiger) and ‘Le Pere la Victoire’ (Father of Victor y). The French politician was a guest of Lord Wolverton who had been the Liberal MP for Shaftesbury before succeeding his father in the House of Lords. Wolverton lived at Iwerne Minster and had already entertained Prime Minister William Gladstone on his estate. Lord Wolverton decide...

Dorset Fingerposts

Travelling along Dorset’s roads in the 1700s was hazardous. Not only was there the risk of being robbed by highwaymen, but as there were few signposts, an unwary traveller could so easily get lost. It was the Turnpike Act of 1767 which required trusts, who managed many roads and who charged a toll, to show the names of main towns. This was followed by milestones, often made of local stone, showing distances to the nearest town. Outside the Crown Hotel, Blandford there was a milestone which recorded the distance to Hyde Park Corner in London. Dorset has its own characteristic road signs known as fingerposts (see above). They are topped off by a circular finial or roundel which displays not only the place name but also a map reference. The latter was included at the suggestion of the Ministry of Transport in the 1930s. Worried about the prospects of a German invasion during World War II, the British Government ordered navigational signposts to be removed. After the war, to supplement the...

Dorchester’s Sabbath-Breaking Fines

Back in the 1600s, attendance at church on Sundays was compulsory, particularly in Dorchester. Failure to do so could lead to a fine of one shilling (5p) - at a time when the average weekly wage was around six shillings (30p). Costs could also be added to the fine. Legislation on church attendance had been introduced back in 1558. Going to church was not only required on the Sabbath but also on all Holy Days. Both constables and church officers regularly called into the homes of non-attendees. Excuses were varied and those received in Dorchester included: John Facy and his wife said they were too busy baking to go. While a man who missed an afternoon service claimed that his constitution could not cope with three sermons in a day. Despite this he was still fit enough to walk two miles to fetch a horse. Other excuses made included coming home from Blandford and making a deal at Fordington. Barber-surgeon Gabriel Butler was allowed one absence by pleading he was attending a pa...