Blandford Throwback Facts I

In 1603, it cost sixpence (2p) to send a message from Blandford to Tarrant Gunville, eight pence (3p) to Shroton and one shilling (5p) to Poole or Wareham.

A hogshead (66 gallons) of best beer together with two barrels of ‘other’ cost one pound five shillings and sixpence (£1.27p).

In 1605, King James I granted Blandford a Charter of Incorporation.

In 1614, Blandford paid one shilling and four pence (6p) for a bottle of claret to be presented to His Majesty’s judges.

In 1615, King James lodged in Blandford on his way to Corfe Castle.

In 1617, the town paid nine shillings and four pence (46p) to purchase wood to set up a gallows in the Marsh.

In 1638, headmaster Mr Gardner claimed that Blandford School was the most eminent academy for the education of gentleman in the entire West of England.

In 1640, future antiquarian, John Aubrey became a boarder at Blandford School.

In 1643, parliamentarian Sir William Waller and his soldiers visited the town and fined it five hundred pounds.

In 1644, King Charles I visited Bryanston and attended service in Blandford Church where he read the lesson. He was executed five years later.

(Illustration: Blandford in the 1600s)

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The Blandford Express

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