The Blandford Express

It used to be possible to travel from Lyme Regis to London (Waterloo) directly by train. True, it would probably have meant sitting in a single Lyme Regis carriage which had to be attached to a London bound train at Axminster. The six and a half-mile branch line between Lyme Regis and Axminster opened in 1903 and there had even been plans for an onwards rail line to be built to Bridport. Lyme Regis station was in the north of the town as the descent down towards the sea was too step for a conventional railway. It was a difficult, steeply graded and sharply curved route with a concrete viaduct being built at Cannington. Problems in construction delayed the opening of the line requiring the railway company to put in place a horse bus connection between Lyme Regis and Axminster. On the opening day, a special train left Lyme Regis carrying not only dignitaries but also 200 local children. Mr C D Ley, a railway booking clerk from Poole, was appointed  as Lyme Regis’ first station master...

John Newman from Hammoon was a champion cudgel player. He was so feared and respected by opponents that it was said Somerset men would not cross the border into Dorset to compete unless he was prohibited from playing. It is reckoned he would play any man in England for any sum. Cudgel playing consisted of two players, each armed with a cudgel, trying to draw blood from an opponent’s head, neck or face. A cudgel was a short thick stick that was used as a weapon to attack or defend against the attacker. Umpires would decide whether sufficient blood was drawn. It was a popular spectator sport at the Blandford Horse Races held annually in the 1700 & 1800s at what is now known as Blandford Camp. When the crowds saw blood, they would shout out ‘ a head’ ! Both combatants, if they were wise, would ‘ gaffle up’ that was to pad the less hardy parts of the body before cudgel playing. John Newman was a powerful athletic man who was six feet tall which was unusual for his times and he was...

Born in Shaftesbury, Tom Dorbel was apprenticed to a glove maker in Blandford. Deciding on a change of career at the age of 17 years, he ran away to London to become a highwayman. At the time, Hounslow Heath, near London was one of the most dangerous places in the country. Across the Heath ran the Exeter and Bristol roads used by wealthy travellers. They provided rich pickings for highwaymen like Tom Dorbel. Crossing Hounslow Heath, Tom came across a Welshman named, Twm Sion Cati. He stopped Twm at gunpoint and demanded his money or alternatively he would take the Welshman’s life. Twm replied that he had no money of his own but was carrying sixty pounds which belonged to his mistress. Reluctantly, Twm surrendered this money. Bizarrely, he then begged the highwayman to put several bullets through his coat. He explained he wanted evidence to show his mistress that he had put up quite a fight before giving up her treasure. Twm took off his coat so that the slightly bemused highwayma...

  At Lydlynch, near Sturminster Newton on the A357 road there is an unusual but unassumingly modest yet strong steel bridge of some local historical significance. It crosses the River Lydden and can be found alongside an older and more traditional crossing which it is believed dates back to the early 18 th century. The more modern bridge takes traffic one way while the older stone bridge takes it the other way. This steel construction is known as a Callender-Hamilton bridge. It was assembled in 1942 by Canadian army engineers as it was evident that the old stone bridge would not be able to bear heavy loads. At the time, it was only envisaged as a temporary feature. It was a Canadian armoured regiment that was the first major military user of the bridge prior to the raid on Dieppe in August 1942. The same route was later used by tanks and other military equipment which moved south to Poole for the D Day Normandy Invasion. This Callender-Hamilton bridge was assembled on site and...

When gentlemen bathing naked was discussed at a Weymouth Town Council meeting in May 1860, Alderman Ayling reckoned the culprits should be horsewhipped. The bathing machines, it was suggested, had been placed too close to the promenade creating this indecency. The machines were essentially mobile changing rooms. Locals paid six pence (2.5p) for their use but visitors were charged nine pence (4p). Railway excursionists from Bath and Bristol were blamed for rendering this nuisance to be increasingly offensive. Apparently, both in France and in Brighton, male bathers were required to wear ‘coloured drawers from the waist to the knees’ so it was reckoned that this regulation should be introduced at Weymouth.  It was proposed that the bathing machine proprietors should provide several coloured drawers and a fine of two shillings and sixpence (12.5p) imposed for each offence. As dresses were provided for women, it was reckoned that something broadly similar should  be provided for m...

Weymouth was once referred to as ‘Swindon-on-Sea’. For it was a favourite holiday destination for workers at the giant Great Western Railway’s Swindon Works. The Works was completed in 1843 and at its peak employed some 14,000 people. Arrival of the railway at Weymouth in 1857 would breathe fresh life into the town as a holiday resort. It also saw the town’s population double by 1914. Known as ‘Swindon Week’, the railway maintenance complex would close in July and thousands would cram the platforms of Swindon station in their Sunday best. Many local businesses would also  temporarily close as Swindon became a ghost town. Every year, some five or six thousand workers would travel to the Dorset seaside resort. There were other possible destinations in  the Great Western Railway’s network including to London. The event would become affectionately known as the ‘trip’. For the better off and more adventurous there was the prospect of crossing the English Channel from Weymouth to Ch...