The Blandford Express

There’s many a link between the county of Dorset and place names ‘ down under’ . On the Australian island of Tasmania, nicknamed ‘Tassie’, the Tolpuddle Vineyard can be found. Located in the Coal River Valley, some twenty minutes north-east of Hobart, it is reckoned to produce some of the country’s finest wines. It gained its name from the Tolpuddle Martyrs who were transported to Australia for forming an agricultural trade union. Leader of the Martyrs, George Loveless, served his sentence working on a property which is now the Tolpuddle Vineyard. A bottle of Tolpuddle’s finest can be bought at Fortnum & Mason in London for a modest £100 and a London restaurant can charge even more! While if your preference is for a beer there is a Dorset Lager produced in a brewery a few miles south of Bridport. Tasmania has its own Land District of Dorset  in the north-east of the island. Near the most north-easterly tip is Cape Portland , while some 50 miles to the west is the seasi...

Langton House was at one time an exceedingly fine country house which could be found a couple of miles to the south of Blandford at Langton Long. Surrounded by trees, it was the home of the Farquharson family and was located on a bend in the River Stour. It had been built for James John Farquharson (1784-1871) who was renowned for his obsession with fox hunting and for his extravagances. As an example, to celebrate his coming of age, he held a great celebration which lasted four days and seated 300 guests. He became a Master of Hounds at Blandford and also the Sherriff of Dorset. Langton House had been built for Farquharson in the 1820s and in the 1840s had a staff of 30 servants. Much later, Langton House became, during World War II, the headquarters 0f the 1 st United States Infantry Division. Known as the ‘ Big Red One’ , they had already fought in Sicily and North Africa. Much of the detailed work for the US Forces assault on Normandy was carried out here. It is believed both Eise...

In 1840, 13 year-old Alfred Chilcott of Burton Bradstock was signed up to a seven year rope making apprenticeship with Ephraim Matthams from Bridport. He was to be paid three shillings a week (15p) during the first year rising to seven shilling (35p) in the final year. His contract required him, during the term of his apprenticeship, not to: 1) Marry or commit fornication. 2) Play at cards or dice tables. 3) Haunt taverns or playhouses. 4) Absent himself from his master’s services unlawfully day or night. Young Alfred Chilcott, in agreeing to sign the contract, agreed to forfeit also any right to follow the trade of a miller or baker. In 1851, he was to marry blacksmith’s daughter Maria Knight in Burton Bradstock. A decade later, with a young family, they had moved to Portsea Island, Portsmouth. No doubt he was attracted by better pay making ropes for the Royal Navy. Around 1870, Alfred moved to the growing commercial port of Southampton living in the St Mary district. Burton Bradstock...

Harry Page, also known as Harry Paye, was a notorious pirate, smuggler and adventurer from Poole. Scourge of the Spaniards and the French, they nicknamed him ‘Arripay’. Operating in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, he would attack Spanish and French vessels and bring their cargoes of gold, wine and exotic goods back to Poole. It has been claimed that he liberated so much alcohol on one occasion that it kept the whole of Poole drunk for a month. Harry was given permission by King Henry IV to inflict as much damage as he could to the King’s enemies. Harry led raids on the French and Spanish coasts from Normandy right down to the Bay of Biscay. To the people of Poole, he was an adventurer and a hero but to the Spaniards and French he was a criminal. In his home town, Harry was regarded as a maritime Robin Hood. In 1398, he sacked the town of Gijon in Northern Spain and stole a famous cross from a church in Finisterre. Six centuries later, Poole sent a replacement wooden cross over ...

Many Dorset towns and villages are twinned with places which can be found in the La Manche Department of Normandy. Such links include: Bridport is twinned with St-Vaast-la-Houge (population 1828 – 2015). In 2019, the latter gained an award as the prettiest village in France. A must place to visit in St-Vaast-la-Houge is the fine quality grocery store, La Maison Gosselin famous across France which has successfully traded there for more than 130 years. Lyme Regis is twinned with Barfleur (population 564 – 2018). Both now are popular seaside resorts but in 1066 it was the port where William the Conqueror embarked before the Norman invasion of England. In 1944, its German commander evacuated Barfleur, prior to any battle with the Allies, to avoid it being damaged because he liked the small port so much. Sturminster Marshall is twinned with Sainte-Mere-Eglise (population 3074 – 2018). In June 1944, American parachutist, John Steele was caught on the tower of the town church. He pr...

George Jeffries, known as the ‘Hanging Judge’ gained a fearsome reputation as one of the English judicial system’s most cruel, unjust and heavy drinking judges. Yet despite this, he was terrified of his wife Anne who had a formidable temper. It was said that while St George may have killed a dragon saving a damsel in distress, George Jeffries missed the maiden and married the dragon by mistake. It was on 3rd September 1685 that Judge Jeffries opened in Dorchester what became known as his ‘Bloody Assize’. It was held to try all those who were suspected of being involved in an uprising against the King. Dorset born author, Frederick Treves wrote of Jeffries: ‘ (Jeffries) remains notorious in history as a corrupt judge, a foul-mouthed, malevolent bully and a fiend who delighted in cruelty. He was a drunkard, a man of the coarsest mind with a ready command of blasphemous expressions.’ During his life he suffered from a painful kidney complaint which may have contributed towards his behavio...

More than 100 years ago, women workers in Gundry’s rope factory in Bridport ‘downed tools’ and went on strike. In February 1912, this dispute broke out when the employer wanted to change pay rates which would have resulted in some women being paid less. After marching around the town singing songs, they assembled outside the factory gates to dissuade others from entering the works. Factory manager Mr Macdonald suggested that West Dorset’s Conservative MP Colonel Robert Williams should be appointed as an arbitrator to resolve the dispute. The women turned this proposal down believing this appointment would favour the employer too much. The strike continued and nine pounds thirteen shillings and eight pence (£9.68) was donated by the public and distributed among the strikers. (This sum would be worth around £1,300 today.) Ada Newton, an officer in the National Federation of Women Workers, arrived in Bridport from London and convened a meeting of strikers in the Hope & Anchor pub in B...

King George III’s favourite holiday destination was Weymouth. Recovering from an ‘attack of madness’, he was advised that ‘taking the water’ was good for the health. During one of his worst moments, it is said, he shook hands with an oak tree believing it was the King of Prussia. Sea bathing was reckoned to be a cure for melancholy, gout and for ‘bad attacks of the worms.’ His first visit to the town in 1789 caused quite a stir but also a problem of etiquette for the Mayor of Weymouth. Advancing to kiss the Queen’s hand, Colonel Gwynn, a member of the King’s court, whispered: ‘You must kneel sir!’  Unfortunately, the Mayor took no notice of this advice and standing upright kissed the Queen’s hand.  The Colonel commented, ‘You should have knelt, sir!’                                                   ‘Sir’, answered the poor Mayor. ‘I cannot…for I have a ...