In 1741, two men, Will King and Ben
Fluel, were publicly hanged in the Market Place for robbing Lady Grace
Haynes.
In 1742, scavengers Robert Pitman and
Richard Dutton were paid fifteen shillings (75p) per quarter to sweep the
streets and remove the dung and filth.
In 1744, Blandford Races were revived
after a lapse of several years.
In 1752, a cudgel contest was held in
the Sword & Dagger public house. A two guinea prize was offered ‘to the man that breaks most heads and saves
his own.’
In 1753, during this year, eight
Blandford girls married soldiers.
In 1755, the famous Damory Oak was
felled. It stood 75 feet high and its cavity could hold 20 men. During the
Civil War, an old man sold beer in it. Its wood was sold for fourteen pounds.
During Blandford Races, cockerel fighting
took place regularly in the White Bear and the Cock Inn.
Eccentric Jonas Hanway, the first man
to use an umbrella in London, stayed at the Lion Inn with friends.
In 1756, thirty Blandford men joined
the army stationed on Blandford Down and led by Major-General James Wolfe.
A highwayman stole the horse of
Oxford clergyman, Reverend Collins as he travelled between Shaftesbury and
Blandford. In return he gave the clergyman his old nag enabling the man of the
cloth to continue on his way.
(Illustration: Blandford Market Place)
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