History

LOST DORSET NO. 31 WIMBORNE MINSTER

David Burnett, The Dovecote Press

The current crisis concerning social care and support is a timely reminder of how we once dealt with those unable to fend for themselves. These are some of the 81 inmates of Wimborne workhouse at Christmas 1905, when the men were given tobacco and beer, the women sweets, and an orange and loose-leaf tea. Dorset’s 14 workhouses were grim institutions, deliberately intended to house and provide employment for ‘able-bodied paupers’ on the grounds that life inside the workhouse should be less desirable than the worst possible conditions on the outside. The census for the period provides a remarkable and often moving record of those who ended up within their walls. What had befallen Rosa Brown, who had come from Devon to begin married life in Wareham, and in 1881 found herself incarcerated in its workhouse, newly widowed with two young daughters and a nine-month-old son? Happily, all Dorset’s workhouses closed before the Second World War, and whilst some have been converted into residential accommodation, both Sherborne’s and Sturminster Newton’s have been demolished.

The Dovecote Press has been publishing books about Dorset since 1974, many of which are available locally from Winstone’s Books or directly from the publishers. This photograph is taken from Dorset 1900 - 1999, The 20th Century in Photographs.

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THE LOST CHAPELS OF SHERBORNE

Cindy Chant & John Drabik

The beautiful town of Sherborne is famous for its medieval buildings, superb abbey, churches, schools, almshouses and two castles. Long before Aldhelm came as Bishop in AD 705, we know that Christianity was established and had probably been here for a considerable length of time. These facts are recorded for us both in the Saxon Chronicles and in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England.

There must have been something about Sherborne that made it suitable for early Bronze Age settlers and later, some Roman occupation, although they never developed it as a town. Was it the peace of being far enough inland to escape the battle-hungry Danes and Vikings from the coastal towns such as Wareham and Christchurch? Was it the clear water of the river Schire-burn? Was it the lovely Yeo valley that provided rich crops for food? I like to think that there must have been something about Sherborne for Aldhelm to establish his Bishopric here in the opening years of the 8th century, although it is generally assumed to have been the site of an earlier monastery.

The Abbey of St Mary in Sherborne has had three distinct phases of use - the seat of a Saxon Bishopric (AD 705-998), a Benedictine monastery (998-1539), and the town’s parish church (1539 to the present day). Two Saxon Kings, Ethelbald and Ethelbert, elder brothers of Alfred the Great, are buried here and it has even been suggested that Alfred was educated here, in Sherborne’s monastic school.

During the 3rd century, when the Romans had

settled in Britain, a new Christian movement was forming. It spread out from the Egyptian desserts and across the Middle East and into Western Europe. It was through this path that monasteries became established, but this was not without conflict, as pagan beliefs were already embedded here. The key to the success of this new religion was how it was marketed to the population. Christianity offered hope and spiritual comfort to the many inhabitants of Britain. Anglo-Saxons and Romans converted to Christianity faster than churches could be built, so Stone Crosses were erected to mark places of teaching and prayer. There were three here in Sherborne - at the top and bottom of Cheap Street, and one in Newlands.

There were at least 8 small chapels in and around the town, each dedicated to a particular saint. Each was attached to the mother church, the Abbey, and each had its own priest in charge. Some of these chapels are still standing, though many are now long gone. There may have been an early Christian site, now occupied by Sherborne Old Castle - a chapel dedicated to St Probus, as burials excavated here are thought to date to the 9th century, and a Papal Bull dated AD 1145 and AD 1163 refers to the Church of St Mary Magdalene, situated next to Sherborne Castle and with chapels of St Michael and St Probus.

The remains of a chapel, on the Green at the top of Cheap Street, were still visible during 18th century. This chapel was consecrated in 1177 in honour of St Thomas the Martyr and was still in use until 1540. Also on the Green, La Julian Inn, named after St Julian of Norwich, was once a hospice but was given as an almshouse in 1437. Its 16th-century replacement still survives.

A chapel, dedicated to St Emerentiana, was built during the 14th century in a close near the ancient Coombe Stream, adjoining Marston Road. Its remains can still be seen, but are now incorporated into the grounds of Sherborne International College. St Emerentiana is mentioned in the Sherborne Missal, and her chapel was in disuse by 1540, after the dissolution.

The site of the mediaeval St Swithin’s fair is thought to have been at Newland Gardens, and is named after a chapel dedicated to St Swithin, but this remains unproven. However, some burials have been found in this area, and a font was found during the demolition of a house nearby. A stone here marks the site of the mediaeval cross for this borough.

The See (Diocese) of Sherborne was transferred to Old Sarum in 1275, and St Andrews and St Thomas chapels were recorded, although nothing remains of them now. The County Bridewell, in South Street, was built on the site of St Andrews. The church, with a mill, once the original crossing point of the river Yeo, near the railway station, is recorded as being given to the monks of Sherborne Abbey in the 12th century by Bishop Roger.

The almshouses with their Chapel to St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist were built around 1439 to house 17 poor men and women. The residents were to receive full board and clothing, in return for surrendering their possessions on entry and agreeing to abide by the rules of the house. The almshouses continue to care for the elderly today.