HISTORY

THE MITRE INN, SANDFORD ORCAS

By Barry Brock

The Mitre Inn is a delightful pub in the village of Sandford Orcas, nestling in a steep-sided valley north of Sherborne - if you know it, you’ll love it. But it was in this idyllic setting in 1932 that an unusual boycott took place, as residents spurned their own village pub, then run by Lionel Robins, so that his trade fell away to nothing and he was forced into bankruptcy. How did this happen? What had he done? It began when his son, John, then aged seventeen, courted a local girl who claimed to be only fourteen at the time. One thing led to another and a daughter was born, resulting in the prosecution of John Robins for a serious offence against a girl under the age of sixteen years. The case was heard at the Assizes, but with the girl ill in bed, the prosecution offered no evidence. There was a possibility that the police had been misled about her age, but nothing of that was published in the local newspaper and John Robins was acquitted. When John was subsequently summoned in respect of maintenance, he offered marriage but this was rejected by the young woman. She said she was afraid of him – he had told her if she ever looked at another man he would murder her. Although innocent at law, John was viewed as guilty in the court of public opinion and so the villagers ceased to drink in The Mitre Inn. Lionel Robins’ trade fell to less than fifteen shillings a week – he was reduced to poverty and forced to leave the inn. The boycott had worked. Built in 1850 and known originally as the New Inn, by 1871 the name had been changed to The Mitre Inn. The mitre was an ecclesiastical heraldic device, appearing in inn names from the 1500s; although the New Inn’s new name was probably chosen with an eye to the nearby Sherborne Abbey. Owned originally by the Down family, the inn passed first to Witcombe Brothers of Limington Brewery and then to Sherborne’s Dorsetshire Brewery, when the Limington Brewery was taken over in 1906.

Other than the boycott, little of note happened in the life of The Mitre Inn. Profits of a village pub are seldom large and most landlords engaged in a little farming or had second occupations. At one time the Dorsetshire Brewery suggested that the tenancy would be suitable for a pensioner. John East replied to that advertisement, and the licence was transferred to him in June 1933. But then, eighteen months later, his wife, Florence, went into the bar to give change to a customer and collapsed and died without speaking. This made headlines in the Western Gazette and was a topic of conversation for years afterwards. John East died only nine months after his wife, aged just 55 years. Owned now by Allen and Cheryl Page, who purchased the freehold in 2014, The Mitre Inn remains the perfect village pub and is never disturbed nowadays by calls for boycotts – quite the reverse.

NATURE SPOT

Last month we had our first taste of winter as these early morning hoar frost scenes indicate, they were captured on Ham Hill and the edge of the Somerset Levels by local wildlife photographer Colin Lawrence.

The winter months can be a very demanding time for our bird population but we can all do our bit to care for the birds in winter and help them to survive by supplementing their diet and providing safe shelter and clean drinking water.

As the temperature drops and natural food becomes less available, this extra feeding support can often be the difference between life and death.

All birds stay warm by trapping pockets of air around their bodies. The secret to maintaining these layers of air lies in having clean, dry and flexible feathers. While all birds produce a special oil from a gland near the base of their tails, some cold-tolerant birds use this oil to weatherproof their feathers.

It is both rewarding and fascinating to observe the increase in bird activity once one starts providing a regular supply of bird food.

If you’re starting out, a small selection of hanging feeders and a bird table are an obvious choice to begin with. Try to place these in a bird-friendly, sheltered position; close to nearby bushes, shrubs or trees so the birds can use these as a jumping-off point or seek cover if they feel threatened. Your bird table doesn’t need to be architect-designed, a humble 40cm square of plywood with narrow edging should do the job. Offer food such as dried mealworms that are very high in nutrition during the cold months. Birds really do need all their energy when temperatures plummet. A shallow bird bath is a great addition to your garden, birds need drinking water and they will soon learn that it’s also the place to spruce up their feathers.

Your morning coffee will soon become all the more enjoyable and the birds will reward you with regular visits!

The Mitre Inn

Sandford Orcas Nr Sherborne, DT9 4RU 01963 220271

FREEHOUSE

Allen and Cheryl welcome you with a cosy bar and great food.

Wed to Fri - Senior Citizens 2 course lunch £12.95 Sunday Roast - £11.95 Adult, £10.75 OAP and £8.25 children 2 En-suite letting rooms and Shepherds Hut

RAMBLING FOR RESILIENCE

By Rachel Woods

The days are at their shortest, the new year is racing toward us and seasonal affective disorder hits most of us in some way or another.

It’s important to practice selfcare and protect our levels of resilience, especially in colder, darker months.

I consider resilience as an energy, it flows like a river and, when that river is full, it looks calm but it’s powerful. It can flow over boulders, carve its way through the landscape and is pretty much unstoppable. If water levels recede, it loses much of its power, it churns as it passes over or around rocks or it runs low until it stagnates, losing forward motion.

The great news is that walking in nature is one of the best things you can do to replenish your river, to open the floodgates and fill your energy reserves. You probably don’t let your phone battery run too low, so why not take the same care with your own energy.

I’ve mentioned before how nature calms the human brain, how walking outside is good for our heart rate and blood pressure, how trees emit chemical compounds that are helpful to our immune systems and how brain waves are boosted from just 20 minutes in a natural setting.

To this end, I’ve outlined three things that can help this process, three ideas to try in these winter months. You need very little in terms of equipment, just some warm and waterproof clothes, wellies or waterproof boots and a smartphone.

Sunrise/Sunset

Somerset and Dorset have been having some spectacular sunrises lately. The upside to winter is that you don’t have to get up with the lark to see a sunrise and don’t have to stay up late to see sunset. Check the time and make an effort to be out when it appears. There’s generally a good amount of light before ‘official’ sunrise and enough after sunset to see where you’re going. You don’t need to hang around in the pitch dark.

Find a spot you like and wait for the sun to do its thing. Breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth, focusing on long slow breaths while you watch. Do this for as long as you like, you can be walking or still but be mindful of each breath.

Take Pictures

Notice things you are drawn to; patterns in bark, flowers where you don’t expect them, fungi and twisted branches, frost or dew on catkins. See patterns, zoom in to tiny worlds or out to get frosty or misty vistas. Ethereal trees looming in the rain can take on an ‘other worldly’ style. There’s two benefits to this. It’s relaxing for sure, but it also focuses your mind on connecting with the natural world. Also you‘ll have a small library of images to view when the weather is too inclement to safely get out.

Embrace the Rain

I’m not saying go out and dance in it, unless you want to of course. Take a walk on a rainy day. With waterproofs you can stay surprisingly comfortable and dry. The steady rhythm of rainfall is recognised as a sound our brains find soothing. Water also generates negative ions which actually do positive things. They’re odourless, tasteless and invisible and we inhale them in abundance when it rains. Once they get to our bloodstream, negative ions produce a biochemical reaction that increases levels of serotonin (the happy hormone), a neurotransmitter which can help to alleviate stress, low mood and depression.

For added fun, there’s also puddle jumping; please test the depth first. Whatever you choose, the return home and warming up feels fantastic. Getting warm and dry after a bracing walk is one of life’s simplest but most impactful pleasures. If ever there was an excuse for a hot chocolate…