are then more alert

t is thought mor steeped and lime ution is frequent at is from 17 w2 than wheat. Its ddle of May. The ➡produce aves the heavier mi per acre. The -here the oats a hat the heavies ing wide. Beas 24 inches distant e is considerable more. Turys of three pounds f plants, which

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the surface of the county, or above 300,000 acres, of which
about 6000 are irrigated, chiefly in the sandy and chalky
districts. The meadows along the vale of Blackmore are
extremely rich, and produce much hay, which is used to feed
the dairy cows in winter. The upland meadows are well
managed and frequently dressed with lime and dung. Many
sheep which feed on the downs in summer are wintered in
the vales. The pastures on the hills are not sufficiently
rich to fatten oxen, but are well adapted to feed dairy cows.
The Dorset butter is in good repute in London and Ports-
mouth for ship provision as well as domestic use it is not
so salt as the Irish, and is therefore preferred, although the
Irish is richer when it is of the best quality. Dorset salt
butter, when well washed, is very commonly sold in London
for fresh butter. The best cow pastures will keep a cow on
two aeres during the whole summer of the inferior pas-
tures three or four acres are required for each cow. The
cows are frequently let to a dairyman at the rate of 81. or
102. per cow for the season. This is a great convenience
to a farmer who has arable land to attend to, and is thus
relieved from all care but that of providing pasture for the
cows, and cows for the pasture. The cows eat little else but
straw in winter, and very little hay is made in proportion
to the extent of grass land. The farmer finds a house for
the dairyman and his family to live in, allows him to keep
as many pigs and poultry as he chooses, and a mare to carry
the butter to market. This mare generally produces a foal,
which is part of the dairyman's profit. The bargain is from
Candlemas to Candlemas. A notice to quit given by either
party before All Saints' Day is considered sufficient, and the
dairyman quits the premises at Candlemas. The butter is
made from the cream, and the skimmed milk is made into
cheese. The milk is skimmed only once in twenty-four
hours. The Dorsetshire skim-milk cheese is preferred on
account of streaks of blue mould which frequently run
through it. These streaks are said to be produced by
breaking the curd again after the cheese has been pressed,
and sprinkling wheat flour over the fragments; it is then
replaced in the vat and pressed again.

A few calves are annually reared to keep up the number
of the cows: the calves have milk for three months, and the
dairyman receives an allowance of a fourth part of the sums
which he pays for a cow for each calf so reared. February
is the usual time for weaning calves, because in May when
the grass is abundant they can be turned out to advantage
and get strong before winter.

The cows kept for the dairy in the vales are chiefly of the
Devonshire breed, but the pasture on the hills not being
sufficiently good for them, another mixed breed is preferred
there, which has longer horns, and seems to be a cross be-
tween the old long horns and the Gloucestershire, or perhaps
the short horn. The colour is generally brindle on the sides
with a white stripe down the back and white under the
belly. They are hardy, and in general good milkers on mo-
derate pasture. Crosses with Alderney cows are occasionally
met with, but chiefly in gentlemen's dairies on account of
the rich cream which they give. Dairymen prefer quantity
of milk and larger cows.

The Dorset sheep are noted as a profitable breed to those
who rear house-lambs for the London market. They are
horned and well formed, straight in the carcase, deep in the
body, and the rump is larger than in other sheep; the
breast points forward, the face is thin, the horns are thin
and bend rather backward, the tail is usually left long.
They give much milk and fatten their lambs better than
any other breed.
There is another very small breed
in the Isle of Purbeck, and near Weymouth, of which
the flesh is in repute with epicures: they weigh about
10 lbs. a quarter, and are generally sold by the quarter
like early lamb, and not by the pound. Some consider them
as the real and original Dorsetshire breed. They resemble
the small forest sheep formerly found on all the commons
of the forest of Windsor, and on Bagshot-heath, the mutton
of which was in equal repute as Bagshot mutton. The
wool is fine, but the fleece does not weigh above 1 or 2
pounds on an average. The South-down breed is very gene-
rally found in Dorsetshire, and suits the pasture and climate
better than the Leicester. The management of Dorset
ewes, when they are intended for producing early lambs, is
as follows:-At four years old when the ewes have had two

or three lambs, their lambs are weaned in April, and the
ewes are kept on water meadows and the richest pastures,
without being ever folded, that they may be in condition to

P. C., No. 543.

take the ram in May and June, and be forward in lamb by Michaelmas, when they are almost invariably sent to Wey| hill fair, and sold to dealers who drive them towards London and sell them to those who fatten early house-lamb, and who make a very considerable profit on them, if they understand how to manage the ewes to the best advantage. The Dorset ewes frequently have twin lambs, but the single are preferred for fattening. When there are twins, one of them is either killed immediately or given away. The average quantity of wool on a Dorset sheep is 34 pounds. The following fairs are established in the county; but several of them are no longer cattle fairs, but mere holydays: Abbey Milton, Tuesday after July 25; Abbotsbury, July 10; Allington, July 22; Beaminster, September 19; Blandford, March 7, July 10, and November 8, a large sheep fair; Bridport, April 6, fat beasts, cows, calves, bulls; October 11, cattle and pedlery; Broadway, Wednesday before September 18; Broad Windsor, Trinity Monday; Cerne Abbas, Midlent Monday, for barren cows, and cows with calf, Holy Thursday, October 2; Corfe Castle, May 12, October 29 for hogs and toys; Cranbourne, August 24, December 6, cheese and sheep; Dallwood, first Wednesday before August 24; Dorchester, February 14, cows and calves, barreners, Trinity Monday, cows and horses: July 6, sheep and lambs, August 6, sheep, lamb, wool, leather; Emmergreen, Tuesday before Holy Thursday; Evershot, May 12, cattle and toys; Farnham, August 21, cheese and toys; Frampton, March 4, August 1, September 4; Gillingham, Trinity Monday, cattle, September 12, toys; Hermitage, August 26, horses; Holtwood, August 6, horses, sheep, toys; Lyme Regis, February 13, October 2; Leigh, March 25, May 1, September 3; Lambert Castle, Wednesday before June 24, cattle; Maiden Newtown, March 9, May 4, cows, &c.; Martin Town, November 22, 23, sheep, cows, and horses; Milborne St. Andrews, November 30, sheep, cows, &c.; Melbury, Whitsun Monday; Ower Moigne, October 10, pigs and toys; Poole, May 1, November 2, free mart for toys; Pamphill, July 7, October 29; Piddle Town, Easter Tuesday, October 29, cows and pigs; Portland, November 5, sheep; Shaftesbury, Saturday before Palm Sunday, June 24, November 23, cattle; Sherborne, Wednesday before Holy Thursday, cattle, July 18, wool, cattle, horses, July 26, lambs, October 13, wool and cattle; Shroton, September 25, sheep, cows, horses; Stalbridge, May 6, September 4, beasts; Stockland, July 18, cattle; Sturminster, May 12, October 24, fat cattle; Sydling, December 6, cattle; Toller Down, May 29, sheep, 30, toys; Wareham, April 17, cattle, July 5, September 11; Wimborne, Friday before Good Friday, cattle and horses, September 14, cattle, horses, sheep, cheese; Woodbury Hill, near Bere Regis, September 18, and five following days, cattle, horses, hops, cheese, cloth, &c.; Woodland, July 5, horses and cheese; Woolbridge, May 14, cows, pigs, toys; Yetminster, First Tuesday after April 20, October 4.

Divisions, Towns, &c.-The county of Dorset previous to the year 1740, was thus divided. There were five more considerable parts, or as they were termed, divisions,' which took their names from the towns of-I. Blandford, II. Bridport, III. Dorchester, IV. Shaftesbury, and V. Sherbourne. These were further subdivided as follows:

I. The Blandford division contained the boroughs of (1) Blandford, (2) Corfe Castle, (3) Poole, and (4) Wareham: the hundreds of (1) Bere Regis, (2) Coombsditch, (3) Hasler, (4) Hundreds Barrow, (5) Pimperne, (6) Rowbarrow, (7) Rushmore, and (8) Winfrith: and the liberties of (1) Bindon, (2) Divelish, (3) Overmoygne, and (4) Stowborough.

II. The Bridport division contained the boroughs of (5) Bridport, and (6) Lyme Regis; the hundreds of (9) Beaminster, (10) Beaminster Forum, and Redhove, (11) Eggardon, (12) Godderthorn, and (13) Whitchurch Canonicorum : and the liberties of (5) Broad Windsor, (6) Frampton, (7) Loder and Bothenhampton, and (8) Poorstock.

III. The Dorchester division contained the boroughs of (7) Dorchester, (8) Weymouth, and (9) Melcomb Regis: the hundreds of (14) Cullifordtree, (15) George (St.), (16) Piddletown, (17) Tollerford, and (18) Uggescomb, or Uggscombe: and the liberties of (9) Fordington, (10) Piddlehinton, (11) Portland, (12) Preston and Sutton Poyntz, (13) Waybaiouse, and (14) Wyke Regis and Elwell.

IV. The Shaftesbury division contained the borough of (10) Shaftesbury: the hundreds of (19) Badbury, (20) Cog dean, (21) Cranbourne, (22) Knolton, (23) Loosebarrow, (24) Sixpenny Handley, (25) Up Winbourne Monkton, and (26)

VOL. IX.-O

Wimbourne St. Giles: and the liberties of (15) Alcester, (16) Gillingham, and (17) Sturminster Marshall.

Forum, on the Stour, population in 1831, 3109. Of these places, and of the market-towns of Beaminster on the Brit, near its source, population in 1831, 2968, Sherbourne on the Yeo, population in 1831, 4261, and Wimbourne Minster, on the Allen, population in 1831, 4009, an account is given elsewhere. [BEAMINSTER, BLANDFORD, BRIDPORT, DORCHESTER, LYME, POOLE, SHAFTESBURY, SHERBOURNE, WAREHAM, WEYMOUTH, WIMBOURNE MINSTER.]

V. The Sherbourne division contained the hundreds of (27) Brownshal, (28) Buckland Newton, (29) Cerne, (30) Modbury, (31) Redlane, (32) Sherbourne, (33) Sturminster Newton Castle, (34) Totcomb, (35) Whiteway, and (36) Yateminster: and the liberties of (18) Alton Pancras, (19) Halstock, (20) Minterne Magna, (21) Piddletrenthide, (22) Ryme Intrinseca, (23) Sydling St. Nicholas, and (24) Of the other market-towns, Cerne Abbas, Cranbourne, Stour Provost, Cerne, Totcomb, and Modbury hundreds are Stalbridge, and Sturminster Newton, as well as of Corfe for some purposes united: and the liberty of Minterne Castle, a disfranchised borough, and Milton Abbas, the Magna is by some given as united with that of Piddle-market of which has been discontinued of late years, an trenthide. account is subjoined.

The boroughs in the above list are not all parliamentary. Since 1740 a new arrangement of the county has been adopted. The five divisions have been increased to nine, as follows:

Cerne Abbas is on the little river Cerne, a feeder of the Frome, and in the combined hundreds of Cerne, Totcomb, and Modbury, 7 miles from Dorchester. The parish comprehends 3010 acres (a large proportion being downs or sheep-walks), and had in 1831 a population of 1209. Cerne is in a pleasant vale, surrounded by steep chalk hills. It is a very small town, with little trade except what is transacted at its weekly market (held on Wednesday, for corn, butchers' meat, and provisions, and tolerably well frequented), and at its three yearly fairs. The town was formerly notorious for the number of persons engaged in smuggling. Petty sessions for the division are held here. There was formerly at Cerne a Benedictine abbey of great antiquity, rebuilt and endowed in the tenth century by Ailmer, or Elward, or Ægilward, whom Leland calls earl of Cornwall and Devon. Its revenues were valued, at the dissolution, at 6237. 138. 2d. gross, or 5157. 178. 10d. clear yearly value. All that remains of the abbey is a stately, large, square, embattled tower or gate-house, now much dilapidated. There is an antient bridge, once an appendage of the abbey, and a more modern bridge; both are of stone. A mansion-house, called the Abbey House, and chiefly built from the ruins of the abbey, contains incorporated in it some remains of the more antient abbey-house, built by Abbot Vanne in the fifteenth century. Several beautiful overflowing wells still remain, probably the work of the abbots, drawing their sources through subterranean channels from the spring of St. Augustine. The parish church was built by one of the later abbots for the use of the parishioners. It is a handsome building, in the perpendi cular style of Gothic architecture, with a fine tower, which has octagonal turrets and pinnacles. The living is a vicarage, of the annual value of 817., with a glebe-house. There is a meeting-house for Independents. By the edu VI. The Shaftesbury, or Shaston, east division (population cation returns of 1833, it appears that there were in Cerne 21,012) contains the hundreds of (24) Badbury, (25) Cog-1 infant and daily school, with about 80 children, partly dean, (26) Cranbourne (part of), (27) Knolton, or Knowlton, supported by the clergyman of the parish; 9 day-schools, (28) Loosebarrow, (29) Monkton up Wimbourne, (30) Six- with nearly 220 children; and 2 Sunday-schools, with penny Handley (part of), and (31) Wimbourne St. Giles. nearly 150 children (the larger school connected with the VII. The Shaftesbury, or Shaston, west division (popula-church), supported by voluntary contributions. tion 12,510) contains the borough of (9) Shaftesbury; parts of the hundreds of (26) Cranbourne, and (30) Sixpenny Handley, given above; and the liberties of (18) Alcester, and (19) Gillingham.

I. The Blandford north division (population 9198) contains the borough of (1) Blandford; the hundreds of (1) Coombsditch, (2) Pimperne, (3) Rushmore; and the liberty of (1) Divelish, or Dewlish.

II. The Blandford south division (population 15,139) contains the boroughs of (2) Corfe Castle, and (3) Wareham; the hundreds of (4) Beer, or Bere Regis, (5) Hundredsbarrow, (6) Hasilor or Hasler, (7) Rowbarrow, (8) Winfrith; and the liberties of (2) Bindon, (3) Owermoigne or Overmoygne, and (4) Stoborough, or Stowborough.

III. The Bridport division (population 29,585) contains the boroughs of (4) Bridport, and (5) Lyme Regis: the hundreds of (9) Beaminster, (10) Beaminster Forum and Redhoue or Redhove, (11) Eggerton or Eggardon, (12) Godderthorn, and (13) Whitchurch Canonicorum; and the liberties of (5) Broad Windsor, (6) Frampton, (7) Loder, or Lothers, and Bothenhampton, and (8) Poorstock.

IV. The Cerne division (population 8517) contains the hundreds of (14) Buckland Newton, (15) Cerne, (16) Modbury, (17) Totcomb (which three are united), and (18) Whiteway; the liberties of (9) Alton Pancras, (10) Piddletrenthide, and (11) Sydling St. Nicholas.

V. The Dorchester division (population 32,039) contains the boroughs of (6) Dorchester, (7) Melcomb Regis, united with (8) Weymouth; the hundreds of (19) Cullifordtree, (20) George, or St. George, (21) Tollerford, (22) Piddle town, (23) Uggscombe; and the liberties of (12) Fordington, or Forthington, (13) Piddlehinton, (14) Portland, (15) Suiton Points, or Poyntz, (16) Wabyhouse, or Waybaiouse, and (17) Wyke Regis and Elwell.

VIII. The Sherbourne, or Sherborne, division (population 10,953) contains the hundreds of (32) Sherbourne, and (33) Yateminster, or Yetminster; and the liberties of (20) Halstock, and (21) Ryme Intrinseca.

IX. The Sturminster division (population 11,219) contains the hundreds of (34) Brownshal, (35) Redlane, and (36) Sturminster Newton Castle; and the liberty of (22) Stour or Stower Provost.

The hundreds in the above list, it will be seen, are the same as those in the foregoing: but the borough of Poole is here omitted, being considered as a county of itself (population 6459), and the liberties of Minterne Magna and Sturminster Marshall are respectively included in the liberty of Piddletrenthide and the hundred of Cogdean.

The population given above is from the census of 1831. The following are market-towns. Dorchester, the county town and a municipal and parliamentary borough, on the river Frome; population, in 1831, 3033; the parliamentary boroughs of Bridport on the Brit, population in 1831, 4242; Lyme Regis on the Sea, population in 1831, 2621; Melcomb Regis on the Sea, population in 1831, united with that of Weymouth, 7655; Poole, on Poole harbour, population in 1831, 6459; Shaftesbury, on the border of the county adjacent to Wiltshire, population in 1831, 3061; and Wareham, between the Piddle and the Frome, population in 1831, 2325; "and the municipal borough of Blandford

On the southern slope of Trendle Hill,' a short distance north-west of the town, is the outline of a remarkable figure of a man bearing a club, cut into the chalk; the height of the figure is about 180 ft.; the outlines are about 2 ft. broad. There are various traditional and conjectural statements respecting the origin of this figure. It is repaired by the townspeople about once in seven years. On the south point of the hill, over the giant's head, has been an antient fortification, and on the north point a barrow. There are several barrows on the surrounding hills. Cerne was injured by the Irish troops in the king's service in the great civil war A.D. 1644, and by a storm of wind A.D. 1731.

Cranbourne is a small market-town, situated in a fine champaign country, on the little river Allen (a feeder of the Stour) near its head. It is in the hundred of Cranbourne, 93 miles from London. The parish is the largest in the county, comprehending 13,730 acres, and had, in 1831, a population of 2158, chiefly agricultural. No manufactures are carried on. The market, which is small, is on Thursdays; there are two fairs and one great cattle market in the year. The houses are in general neat and well built. About A.D. 980 a monastery for Benedictines was founded here by Ailward de Meau or Snew, of the family of Edward the Elder. This either was originally, or subsequently became, an abbey; but the abbot and most of the monks being removed to Tewkesbury, it was reduced to be a simple priory and a cell of Tewkesbury. Some time after the Dissolution, the present manor-house was built on the site and from the materials of the priory; it is the property of the Marquis of Salisbury, who takes the title of viscount from

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this town. The parish church, formerly the priory church, | King Edgar. Its stateliness and strength, being situated
which is one of the oldest and largest in the county, will on a high hill, caused it to be regarded in former times as
accommodate 1000 persons. The tower is in the perpen- a fortress of great importance. It was sometimes the resi-
dicular style: the church has portions of an earlier charac- dence of the West Saxon princes. Here King Edward the
ter, and a door under the north porch is Norman. There Martyr was assassinated by his step-mother, Elfrida (A. D.
is a rich wood pulpit on a stone base. The living is a 978 or 981). King John in his war with the barons de-
vicarage, united with the chapelries of Verwood and Bove- posited his regalia here for security: and Edward II. when
ridge, of the yearly value of 151, with a glebe-house. he fell into the hands of his enemies was for a time im-
There were in the parish, in 1833, 6 infant or dame schools, prisoned here. In the great civil war Corfe Castle was
with 60 children; 4 day-schools, with 206 children; and 4 stoutly defended for the king by Lady Bankes, wife of Lord
Sunday-schools, with 402 children.
Chief Justice Sir John Bankes, the owner of it, with the
assistance of her friends and retainers, and of a governor
sent from the king's army. It was however taken by the
parliamentarians by treachery, February, 1645-46, and dis-
mantled.

North-west of the town is a large waste extending into
Wiltshire: it was formerly a free warren or chase, once pos-
sessed by the house of Gloucester, and till lately by Lord
Rivers, who had a right to keep deer all over it. It is
covered chiefly with hazels and blackthorns, with a few
timber trees. It has lately been disfranchised as a chace
by act of parliament. It was very pernicious to the neigh
bouring farms, and was the occasion that few turnips were
sown, as the deer made great depredations on that crop
and could not be prevented. The deer are now destroyed.
Stalbridge is in the hundred of Brownshal, about two
miles from the Cale (which falls into the Stour), 112 miles
from London. The parish contains 4900 acres (including
the tithings of Gomershay, Thornhill and Weston), and had
in 1831 a population of 1773, of which rather more than a
third was agricultural. The market is on Tuesday, and
there are two cattle fairs in the year. The cattle market is
held in alternate weeks. According to Hutchins's History
of Dorsetshire (2nd edit. 1813, vol. iii., p. 239), the stock
ing manufacture is carried on here.

The town is irregularly laid out: in the market-place is an antient cross twenty-two feet high, or, including the base of three steps, thirty feet. There is a dissenting meetinghouse. The church is a large antient structure, with a high embattled tower at the west end. The living is a rectory of the yearly value of 8881. with a glebe-house. There were in the parish in 1833, one national' day-school, supported by subscription, with 115 children, three Sunday-schools, with 308 children, besides several dame schools. Stone is quarried in the parish, and used for building and roofing.

Sturminster or Stourminster Newton Castle is in the hundred of the same name, in a rich vale on the bank of the Stour, 109 miles from London. The town is divided into two parts: Sturminster (by far the largest) lies on the north side, Newton Castle lies on the south side of the river. The two are connected by a bridge. The parish contains 4530 acres, and had in 1831 a population of 1831, of which about two-fifths are agricultural. The market is on Thursday for corn and on Saturday for butchers' meat: the cattle market is once a fortnight: there are two fairs in the year for cattle, &c.

The town is irregularly built; the market-house is a very antient building, near which is the base of a cross, on four he steps. The church is a large building with an embattled tower of moderate height. The living is a vicarage of the yearly value of 7121. In Newton Castle is an antient fortification, probably of the Saxon time, in the form of a Roman D, surrounded on the south-west side and part of the east side by a vallum and ditch: there are the remains of some antient buildings near it. There were in the parish in 1833, one infant school with nearly 170 children, one day-school with 60 or 70 boys, and one Sunday-school of 140 children, all supported by subscriptions or donations and five other day-schools with about 50 children.

thy

The ruins are extensive, and from their high situation form a very striking object. The castle is separated from the town by a ditch, now dry, which is crossed by a bridge of four very narrow high arches. The vast fragments of the king's tower,' says Mr. Hutchins, the round towers, leaning as if ready to fall, the broken walls and vast pieces of them tumbled into the vale below, form such a scene of havock and desolation as strikes every spectator with horror and concern. The plenty of stone in the neighbourhood, and the excellency of the cement, harder to be broken than the stones themselves, have preserved these prodigious ruins from being embezzled and lessened.'

Corfe Castle was a borough by prescription previous to the reign of Elizabeth, who bestowed on it a charter; but the privileges granted by this charter were vested rather in the lord of the manor than the burgesses. Another charter was granted by Charles II. Corfe Castle never sent representatives to the House of Commons till the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was disfranchised by the Reform Act. The parish is now included in the parliamentary borough of Wareham.

The living of Corfe Castle is a rectory, of the yearly value of 685., with a glebe-house. There were in the parish in 1833, three infant or dame schools with 65 children; five day-schools with above 250 children; four of these schools were chiefly supported by subscriptions and donations; and three Sunday-schools with above 200 children. One of the day-schools (supported by dissenters) had a lending library attached,

Milton Abbas, or Abbot, is said to derive its name (which is a contraction of Middleton Abbot) from its situation near the centre of the county. It is in the hundred of Whiteway, in a deep vale inclosed by steep chalk hills on the north and south side, 111 miles from London. The parish comprehends 2420 acres, and had in 1831 a population of 846 persons: above three-fourths of the population are agricultural. Its market and fairs have been given up.

Here was an abbey founded by King Athelstan, which alone gave any importance to the town, which was in former times more considerable than now. The abbey has been numbered among the mitred abbeys, but erroneously. Its value at the dissolution was 7207. 48. 1d. gross, or 5781. 138. 11d. clear. The buildings of the abbey were preserved for a long time, but were gradually pulled down, chiefly to be replaced by more modern erections. The hall yet remains, a noble and magnificent old room: part of the mansion of Milton Abbey, belonging to the Damer family, which enjoyed for some time the title of earl of Dorchester, now extinct. Milton has an almshouse and a grammarschool. The conventual church was for some time the Corfe Castle, a disfranchised borough, is near the centre parish church, but a late earl of Dorchester having built a of the isle' or rather peninsula of Purbeck. It is included new parish church, converted the old one into a private in Blandford south division, and is 116 miles from London. chapel. It consists of the choir, transepts, and tower of the The borough and parish boundaries are the same, and in- old abbey church: the choir is chiefly of early decorated clude an area of 9860 acres: there were in 1831 1712 in-character, the transepts and tower perpendicular. The habitants. general appearance of this edifice is very fine.

:

This town, which is near the castle, consists of two streets, of mean looking houses, built of stone and covered with tiles. The inhabitants are partly engaged in the marble and stone quarries, and clay works in the neighbourhood. The church is a large and very antient fabric, with many Markets were formerly kept at Abbotsbury, Bere Regis, portions of Norman and early English architecture: it has Evershot, Frampton, and other places. The inhabitants an embattled and pinnacled tower, a large porch, and two of Abbotsbury, which is near the western end of the Chesil buildings, one on each side of the church, formerly chapels, but now applied to other purposes. The church was much damaged in the great civil war when the castle was attacked

The living of Milton Abbas is a vicarage, of the yearly value of 1277., with a glebe-house. In 1833 the parish contained seven day-schools with about 70 children, and two Sunday-schools with about 50.

A. D. 1646.

The castle was built, probably in the tenth century, by

Bank, are much engaged in the mackerel fishery. A large
abbey of Benedictines was founded here in the eleventh
century by Orc, steward of King Edward the Confessor.
Very little of the monastic buildings now remain: the
conventual church is, except the porch, entirely demolished.

O 2

Near Abbotsbury is an antient chapel of St. Catherine, | There were at least two Roman stations in the county, viz.,
which, from its elevated situation, is used as a sea-mark. Durnovaria, [Itin. Antonini,] or Aovviov, Dunium [Ptolemy],
Swannage, or Swanwich, near Corfe Castle, is a place of Dorchester; and Vindocladia or Vindogladia, Vindelia in
some resort as a bathing place.
Richard of Cirencester, which some are disposed to fix at
Wimbourne, others more probably at Gussage, between
Blandford Forum and Cranbourne. To these Dr. Stukely
would add a third, Ibernium, (mentioned by the anonymous
Ravennas,) which he fixes at Bere Regis. Several places
in the confused and barbarous list of names given by Ra-
vennas, are conjectured by Baxter to be in Dorsetshire.
The Icknield or Ecknield way enters the county at its
western extremity, coming from Hembury Fort [DEVON-
SHIRE], and runs east by south to Dorchester, near which
it is very perfect, high and broad, and paved with flint and
stone: from Dorchester it runs by Sheepwick and Stur-
minster Marshall, and the Gussages into Wiltshire. In
this part it is called Ackling dike. Its passing near the
Gussages gives support to the conjecture of those who fix
Vindogladia at one of them. The remains of a Roman road
may be traced on the south-west side of the Frome, leading
from Dorchester in a north-west direction as far as Bradford
Peverel, and Stratton, soon after which it disappears:
another road may be traced from Dorchester, on the other
bank of Frome, parallel to the former road, and uniting with
it at Stratton; a third runs south from Dorchester in the
direction of Melcomb Regis; and there are traces of sere-
ral others.

Divisions for Ecclesiastical and Legal purposes.—In
the earlier period of the Ecclesiastical constitution of Eng-
land, Dorsetshire was included in the bishopric of Dor-
chester in Oxfordshire, a see founded by Birinus, first bishop |
of the West Saxons, about A.D. 626; and afterwards re-
moved to Winchester. In the year 705 when Ina, king of
Wessex, divided his kingdom into dioceses, Dorsetshire was
comprehended in that of Sherborne, from which place the
see was removed, about the middle of the 11th century, to
Sarum. Upon the erection of the see of Bristol, A.D. 1542,
Dorsetshire was transferred to the new diocese, of which
it constituted the chief part, and it continued to be so,
until transferred back by the late act to the diocese of Salis-
bury. Dorsetshire was an archdeaconry before it was trans-
ferred to the see of Bristol. It is subdivided into five rural
deaneries, Bridport, Dorchester, Pimperne, Shaftesbury, and
Whitchurch Winterbourne. While the county was in the
diocese of Bristol the bishop held his triennial, and the
archdeacon his annual visitations at Bridport, Dorchester,
Blandford, Shaftesbury, Cerne Abbas, or Whitchurch: this
arrangement we presume will be continued. The number
of benefices it is difficult to give: Hutchins gives the
parishes at 250; of these some are parochial chapelries;
others, though separate and independent in other respects,
are united under one incumbent.

This county is included in the Western circuit. The assizes were antiently held at Sherbourne; sometimes though rarely at Shaftesbury, but generally, especially in latter times, at Dorchester, where they may be considered as now fixed. The shire-hall and county gaol are at Dorchester. The Epiphany quarter sessions are held at Blandford, the Easter at Sherbourne, the Midsummer at Shaftesbury, and the Michaelmas at Bridport.

Before the passing of the Reform Act, twenty members were returned to the House of Commons from Dorsetshire, vix. two for the county, four for the united boroughs of Weymouth and Melcomb Regis, and two each for the boroughs of Bridport, Corfe Castle, Dorchester, Lyme, Poole, Shaftesbury, and Wareham. By the Reform Act the number has been reduced to fourteen, viz., three for the county, two each for the boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester, and Poole, and Weymouth, united with Melcomb Regis; and one each for the boroughs of Shaftesbury, Lyme Regis, and Wareham. Corfe Castle was disfranchised and included in the neighbouring parliamentary borough of Wareham. The chief place of election for the county is Dorchester: the polling stations are Beaminster, Blandford, Chesilton (in the Isle of Portland), Dorchester, Shaftesbury, Sherbourne, Wareham, and Wimbourne.

History and Antiquities.-This county was, in the earliest period noticed by history, inhabited by a people whom Ptolemy calls Aoupoтpiyes Durotriges, a name which Mr. Hutchins (after Camden) derives from the British words Dwr water and Trig an inhabitant, and interprets to mean dwellers by the water side. According to Asser Menevensis the Britons called this people Dwr Gwyr: the Saxons called them Doprettan (Dorsettan,) whence the modern name of the county. The name Dorsettan is equivalent in meaning to the antient British name, given in a Greek form by Ptolemy. These Durotriges appear to have been of Belgic race. Upon the conquest of South Britain by the Romans, Dorsetshire was included in Britannia Prima.

Of this early period of our history there are several remains in various camps and earth works, stone circles, cromlechs, and barrows. In the north-eastern part of the county and the adjacent part of Wiltshire, are several embankments with ditches they all run in a winding and irregular manner, mostly from south-east to north-west, having the ditch on the north-east side. Vernditch, which has given name to a part of Cranbourne chace, is of these, Grimsditch is another. On the right of the road from Cerne Abbas to Calstock and in other parts of the county are little banks, crossing one another in all kinds of angles: they are made of flints covered with turf. Neither their age nor their use seems to be known.

There are several Roman camps in the county. Mr. Hutchins enumerates twenty-five; and the walls and amphitheatre of Dorchester, and the coins and pavements found there, are monuments of the same victorious people.

When the Saxons established their octarchy, Dorsetshire was included in the kingdom of Wessex; and even after the West Saxon princes acquired the sovereignty of Eng land, they resided occasionally in this county. Ethelbald and Ethelbert, the elder brothers of Alfred the Great, were buried at Sherbourne; and Ethelred I., another brother of the same prince, at Wimbourne.

In the invasions of the Danes this county suffered severely. Egbert, king of Wessex, fought a battle with them at Charmouth, near the western extremity of Dorsetshire, A.D. 833. Seven years afterwards his son Ethelwolf fought a second battle with them at the same place. In A.D. 876 they made themselves masters of Wareham, where they were besieged by Alfred, who obliged them to quit that place the next year, when 120 of their vessels were wrecked at Swanage. In A.D. 1002, Sweyn, king of Denmark, in his invasion of England, destroyed Dorchester, Sherbourne, and Shaston or Shaftesbury.

Throughout the middle ages, few events of historical interest connected with the county occur. The contest of the Roses little affected this part of the kingdom. The towns on the coast were flourishing, as appears from the following list of the vessels which they furnished to the fleet of Edward III. at the siege of Calais, A.D. 1347 Weymouth, 20 ships and 264 mariners, or, according to Hackluyt, 15 ships and 263 mariners; Lyme, 4 ships, 62 mariners; Poole, 4 ships, 94 mariners; Wareliam, 3 ships, 59 mariners. To judge of the comparative importance of these armaments, it must be remembered that Bristol furnished only 22 ships and 608 mariners, and London 25 ships and 662 mariners; so that Weymouth furnished only 2 vessels less than Bristol, and only 5 less than London; they were, however, more weakly manned and probably smaller. To the fleet of the lord high admiral (Howard of Effingham) at the time of the armada, A. D. 1588, this county furnished 8 vessels (3 of them volunteers); the aggregate tonnage of 7 of these was 560 tons, and they carried 290 men; the tonnage of the eighth vessel is unknown; it carried 50 soldiers. The second engagement of the English fleet with the armada was off Portland Bill.

In the civil war of Charles I. the gentry were mostly for the king; but the people of the towns, where the clothing trade was then carried on, and of the ports, were for the parliament. In the beginning of the war, Sir Walter Earle and Sir Thomas Trenchard, partisans of the parliament, possessed themselves of Dorchester, Weymouth, Portland, Lyme, Wareham, and Poole, while Sherbourne Castle, Chideock Castle, and Corfe Castle were garrisoned by the king. The parliamentarians always retained Lyme and Poole, which were fortified; but the other towns, being open, fell into the hands of whichever party was master of the field. In March, 1642-3, Sir William Waller marched into the county with two regiments of horse, but did little; and the earl of Carnarvon entering the county with a body of royalists, took Dorchester and Portland, and raised the

n the county, unium Prole adia, Vindela isposed to fr Fussage, betwee hese Dr. Suke y the anorys Several ps es given by Dorsetshire

he county ta

y Fort (Drva

ter, near wh

d with that a vick and St Wiltshire. I ssing near th those who aRomant ome, lead -as Bradle disappear on the oth uniting

ester in t

aces of e

Dorsetshir evende nty of Ene

siege of Corfe Castle which the parliamentarians had formed. | county, ranking the seventeenth in this respect. Of 37,861
Several engagements took place in the county at a later
period of the contest, but they were of little moment. Corfe
Castle held out for the king till 1645-6. The year 1645
was distinguished by the rising of the club men in the
counties of Dorset, Wilts, and Somerset; their object was
to defend this part of the country from the outrages of
both parties.
Their assembling excited the jealousy of
the parliamentarians, whose superiority was now established.
Cromwell defeated a considerable body of them at Ha-
milton hill, and other bodies were persuaded to disperse.

males twenty years of age and upwards, inhabitants of
Dorsetshire in 1831, there were 16,766 engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits, and only 722 in manufactures or in
making manufacturing machinery. Of these latter 400
were employed in the manufacture of hemp into twine and
sailcloth, chiefly at Bridport; 80 were employed in the
woollen manufactures, chiefly at Lyme Regis; about 40 in
silk, mostly at Shaftesbury; there were a few glove-makers
at Cerne-Abbas; and wire button-making still gives em-
ployment to a few hands.

The following summary of the population, as taken in 1831, shows the number of the inhabitants and their occu

STATISTICS.
Population.-Dorsetshire is principally an agricultural pations in each division of the county.

4,063 4,462 49

126

Great, we

brother!

Sherborne

1,171
969

2,567 998 897
502 317
322 225

4,331 10,460 10,891 10,225 10,787 4,589 4,860

8,517 2,143

21,351

5,144

21,012

5,179

9,449 2,228

Sturminster

3,365
5,607
178 1,406 1,703

3,513

6,878 1,690

5,612

with t

Bridport, borough

Dorchester, borough

Lyme Regis, borough

Shaftesbury or borough

or}

Sherborne, town

Wareham, borough

Weymouth and

Melcombe Regis

Poole, town and county.

}borough

Totals

29,307 33,614 310 1,200

14,601 10,106 8,907 76,536 82,716

6,459 1,264 159,252 37,861

The sum expended for the same purpose in the year ending March 25, 1836, was 68,0197.; and assuming the same rate of increase in the population since 1831 as in the ten years preceding that period, the above sum gives an average of about 8s. 14d. for each inhabitant. These averages are beyond those for the whole of England and Wales.

The sum raised in Dorsetshire for poor-rate, countyrate, and other local purposes, in the year ending the 25th of March, 1833, was 108,4957. 148., and was levied upon the various descriptions of property as follows:

In the returns made up for the subsequent years, the descriptions of property assessed for local purposes are not distinguished. The sums raised in the years 1834, 1835 and 1836 were 102,615. 11s., 94,915l. 158., and 82,1487. 128.

respectively, and the expenditure was as follows:

For the relief of the poor
In suits of law, removals, &c.
Payment towards the coun-
ty-rate

For all other purposes

Total money expended

1834.
£84,293 0
2,634 15

11,914 19

£98,842 14

1835.
£76,091 3
2,065 4

1836.
£68,019 7

1,797 16

{

9,053

4

6,528 19

6,999 2

6,930 5

94,213 13

83,276 7