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July, 2013:

Lyme Regis – The Church of St. Michael the Archangel

Jul 26th, 2013
by Dorset Ancestors.
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St. Michael the Archangel is a church steeped in history, yet one that seems perilously close to being lost to the sea. Although it was suspected the Saxons built a church where St. Michael’s now stands, until 1994-5 there was no proof of this. During that time repairs to the tower uncovered a window dating from about 980 in a wall of the belfry chamber. This find made it probable that the lower two-thirds of the tower is Saxon. When the Normans rebuilt the remainder of the church about 1120, they largely retained and updated the Saxon stonework.

This and other later developments and alterations made any description of the first church or chapel on the site a matter of conjecture. Certainly the present porch supersedes the foundation of the Saxon nave. The Normans however made their church plan cruciform, and there is some evidence that the nave had an aisle on the north side and an aisle or chantry on the south side. The tower was probably situated centrally with transepts and an apse at the east end. The present porch is all that remains of the Norman nave. It once extended ten feet further west than today, but the extension was demolished when the road outside was widened in 1824.

A room known as “The Old Vestry” formerly occupied the floor above the porch, but was removed during a phase of restoration in 1933. At this time the contractors took the opportunity to reveal as much Norman masonry as possible. They rebuilt the west front, intending to add new north and south aisles to the sides of the porch so that the original 12th century arches could be shown off to best advantage.

When viewed from outside, this end of the church has an unfinished appearance. The work was apparently left incomplete when funding dried up, and because of inflation it is considered unlikely that the work will ever be completed. The various structural alterations to the church over the centuries are also clearly in evidence when the building is viewed from the east (seaward) end of the churchyard. For example, the apex of the nave/aisle roof stands about one metre above the apex of the chancel roof, the elevation being faced with dark shingles or bricks seen no-where else in the church’s fabric or structure.

From the porch the visitor enters the Baptistry under the tower. Standing in the centre must be one of the most sumptuous and elaborate fonts in the county and beyond. The font is the parish’s memorial to the Revd. Frederick Parry-Hodges, who was vicar of Lyme during most of the Victorian period. Beyond the Baptistry the nave is entered through the Norman chancel arch, while the arches to the north and south, though walled up, are 13th century and infused into the earlier Saxon tower. This re-ordering is further complicated by the upper levels of the tower, which were added in the early 16th century, raising its height to the present 58 feet.

The present nave, though roughly contemporary with the elevation of the tower, is in stark contrast to the austerity of the porch. It is well proportioned and spacious, and was pitched at a slight upward gradient towards the high altar. The nave has been restored several times, the most recent being in 1885, when the upward slope was replaced by broad steps which originally spanned the whole church. But the rest of the re-ordering of 1885 was concerned with rendering the interior suitable for the worship of the time. The exterior too, has needed and received frequent restoration work. The nave has six bays, the two easternmost forming the chancel. There are some fine carvings around the pillars, and there is a fine set of roof bosses. The ceiling of the chancel was embellished with a painting of the Raising of the Cross in about 1850.

There are no original stained glass windows remaining in St. Michael’s. The window on the left side of the porch is a memorial to Thomas Coram, a wealthy Lyme captain and merchant seaman who ended his days in penury. The second window along the north side of the nave portrays Sir Galahad’s vision of the Holy Grail. The east window was once nearly twice its present length, but was reduced during the restoration of 1885. But the first window along the north side is particularly interesting, for although she is not portrayed within it, the window is in memory of Mary Anning, Lyme’s pioneering woman fossil collector and dealer of the early 19th century.

The church has two examples of Jacobean wood carving in the west gallery and the pulpit. The chancel screen commemorates the Revd. George Barlow. Among the memorial brasses can be seen the bell from HMS Lyme Regis (1942-1948) which in 1944 took part in the Second Front D-Day landings in Normandy. Most church plate is modern, and the organ was acquired from St. Mary Major church, Exeter, in 1939. Further down the nave on the north side can be seen the most remarkable and enigmatic possession of the church. This is the highly controversial Lyme Tapestry, widely supposed to be the work of Flemish weavers around 1490.

Lyme Church is remarkable for its ring of bells, which today actually number twelve. In their structural alterations to the tower the Normans specifically intended it should house bells, though nothing is known of those which preceded the first new ring of six bells hung in 1770. The fourth of these bells was re-cast in 1843 with the inscription “O Sea Spare Me.” The ring was re-hung in a new oak frame in 1911, when two more were added. Then in 1953 all eight were re-cast again and dedicated to the Bishop of Sherborne. A further four bells (two large and two small) were added in 1988.

The main bells made local news when they had to be lowered into the tower by a Sea King helicopter hired from RNAS Culdrose. The two small bells were mounted in a frame designed and constructed by the ringers themselves.  All the bells are noted for the quality of their tone, and campanologists from all over the country come to Lyme to ring them. In 1995 a record was set when the longest unaided and unbroken peal of Surprise Royal was rung at St.Michael’s.

The Church registers date from 1538 and with the exception of a single entry in 1649, there is a gap from 1572 to 1653. The pages also contain information about certain significant dates for events. For example there is one entry stating. “1759, 31st May – the sea flowed in three times in an hour at Lyme.”

The churchyard, while not overcrowded with burials, features headstones or table-tombs almost entirely worked from local Lias limestone. As in many Dorset churchyards inscriptions have become largely obscured by lichen. For different reasons two of these monuments in particular stand out from all the rest. One is the large limestone slab marking the last resting-place of Mary Anning, and which lies almost opposite her memorial window in the church. This grave, however, is not exclusively hers, for she shares it with her brother Joseph and some infant children of the family.

The other memorial is prominent by being pristine, un-weatherable red granite monument within a low enclosure in the south-east quarter of the churchyard. This is the grave of the aforementioned Revd. Frederick Parry-Hodges, incumbent at St. Michael’s from 1833 to 1880. It can be assumed therefore, that it was this minister who would have presided over the burials of Mary Anning and her family.

A Day Out in Bournemouth

Jul 18th, 2013
by Dorset Ancestors.
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The smart resort of Bournemouth is a relatively modern place, unlike the historic ports of Poole and Christchurch either side. Bournemouth was created by the Victorians, much aided by the arrival of the railway, which gave the masses previously undreamed possibilities of travel.

Today, Bournemouth is the largest conurbation in Dorset, with some 163,000 residents, part of the seamless urban belt that runs from Upton in the west to Barton-on-Sea in the east, with a slight break at the River Avon. Until 1974, Bournemouth was part of Hampshire, with the boundary at County Gates, were Westbourne meets Poole. Becoming a unitary authority in 1997, it still stands much apart from Dorset – indeed – some die-hard traditionalists still won’t accept it’s not still in Hampshire!

Sea bathing had become fashionable in the times of King George III at the nearby resort of Weymouth, but Bournemouth – literally where the meandering river Bourne joins the sea – was very much a late developer. Two centuries ago it was a largely empty length of coastline, with sand dunes by the sea and heathland at the rear. Captain Lewis Tregonwell built a summer home in 1811, on open land now occupied by the Royal Exeter Hotel. The Tapps Arms Inn of 1809 was the only other building hereabouts.

Today Bournemouth is one of the best known resorts in England. The strength of Bournemouth has always been the beauty of its seafront and gardens. Early landowners planted lots of pine trees and their distinctive scent is everywhere. Some say it sends them to sleep! The course of the River Bourne from Meyrick Park down into the Upper Gardens, then into the Lower Gardens forms the valley on which the town is centred. Quite steep hills rise either side of the gardens, wide roads in which the ladies will spend hours in the many shops and boutiques. Lots of super restaurants, from classic English to ethnic, line the streets and interleave with the smart shops and arcades. The Borough Council claims the highest number of Rolls Royce owners live in Bournemouth, which they say has more pubs and clubs than Soho.

Let us begin – as all seaside tours should – at Bournemouth Pier. A jetty was built in 1856, but the present iron pier had its beginnings in 1880. Looking inland from the pier head – where boats still call on day excursions to the Isle of Wight and Swanage, the green spine along the twinkling stream is clearly seen. On the right rises the majestic Royal Bath Hotel on the Eastcliff, with the steel box of the Imax cinema placed in front of it, rather like Dr. Who has just left his tardis there! Students of planning should include this architectural abomination in their studies, how could the planners allow it? To the right of centre, seen from the pier head, is the gracefully ageing Pavilion, the 1929 centre of entertainment, including a theatre, ballroom, restaurant and a tea room. To the left, along the Westcliff, is another modern building – the Bournemouth International Centre – which blends in with the hillside. The venue for national political conferences and major exhibitions, it brings much trade to the area.

Out at sea, the bay begins at Durlston Head in the west and ends at Hengistbury Head in the east, famous for its Iron Age forts. Boscombe Pier survives to the east. You may see the ferries and the fast “Condor” catamarans bound for Cherbourg or Guernsey, emerging from the narrow entrance to Poole Harbour in the west, having crossed the chain ferry at Sandbanks.

Walking through Lower Gardens is a special delight in summer, when the riot of colour and scent are at their height. The rectangular bandstand still hosts band concerts. Lots of seats give space to sit and enjoy the peace. The tall buildings of Westover Road dominate the east view, including the Metro Palace Court Hotel – my tip for a fine meal in smart surroundings – but not cheap.

The Square is the meeting point of six roads, today partly pedestrianised, but I well remember the yellow trolleybuses of the 1950s and 1960s, which all converged on this point. Many major stores are at once visible, not least Beales department store in old Christchurch Road – a great Bournemouth institution, with its own restaurant on the top floor. Outside in the road is a clock, a gift from the people of Lucerne in Switzerland, with whom they are twinned.

Here the two faces of the town are most evident. “Shopping Bournemouth,” with its fine shops and restaurants, is really busy all year round. At the other end of the gardens, the beach and the Undercliff – the level walk alongside the beach – are thronged only in Summer. In the winter they are the haunt of hardy dog-walkers. Behind the shops, in quiet Hinton Road, is the church of St. Peter, blessed with a tower and a spire, built in the Gothic style so beloved of 1843. In the churchyard lays Mary Shelly, author of the Frankenstein stories and wife of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose heart is buried here. In an historic county where ancient buildings are almost too common, it comes as a surprise that nothing in central Bournemouth is more than 170 years-old.

Coming to the west side off the Square, note Debenhams massive store at the start of Avenue Road. On this site in the 18th century stood a hunting lodge, called Decoy House, where the Lord of the Manor enclosed a few acres. Then rough heathland, he would be astounded to see the developments which have been achieved today. As Avenue Road curves up the hill – almost everywhere you go in Bournemouth is a hill – there are yet more shops, national names and local businesses cheek by jowl.

By now you may be tired and in need of refreshment. At the top of Avenue Road is Poole Hill and by turning left into Commercial Road, then right into West Hill Road, you will certainly arrive at the civilised Goat and Tricycle. Once two pubs side-by-side, the Pembroke Arms side is still evident from the inside and outside. It’s certainly the best real ale pub in Bournemouth. There may be up to 11 real ales to sample – many from Wadworth who own this listed gem and the lunches are pretty good too.

At the end of West Cliff Promenade, return to sea level by the steep path or better still, use the 1908 cliff railway (open March to October,) which is much less taxing. A little further on are the chines, steep ravines populated by the inevitable pine trees. The first is Durley Chine, then Middle Chine, Alum Chine and then Branksome Dene Chine. The beach along here is quieter than around the Pier. Some smart eating places and cafes have sprung up along the sea wall by the chines. Some are incredibly expensive, so check the menu before you sit down!

You’re never far from the park, an antidote to the frenetic activity of the town centre. These days, Bournemouth includes suburbs like Winton, Wallisdown, Southbourne, Westbourne, Newtown and Pokesdown, making it a big sprawling settlement. They say there are 2,000 acres of parkland in Bournemouth and the temptation has been resisted to build over them – so far! Yet Bournemouth fits nicely in the modern age and still attracts many visitors, winter and summer.

Faces of Trent

Jul 7th, 2013
by Dorset Ancestors.
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This picturesque village with its many stone houses and thatched cottages has changed little over the years. Frederick Treves commented in 1907 that someone revisiting from a century earlier would find little changed and the same could be said today. The births, marriages and deaths in the village have been registered in the Sherborne district since the start of the registration service in 1837 but it was not until 1896 that the parish was transferred from Somerset to Dorset.

There are several photographs in the gallery of inhabitants of Trent who lived in the 19th and early 20th century. Here is what the registers and census returns reveal about their lives.

The Revd. Charles Richmond Tate

Mr Tate came to Trent in 1875 to take up the position of Rector, a position he held until his death in the summer of 1895. He was born at Portsea in Hampshire and moved to Trent from Send in Surrey.  The Trent congregation would have noticed changes at the Rectory. The wife of his predecessor was an heiress who maintained a household that included a steward, butler, page and a retinue of house and parlour maids. Villagers would touch their hats and curtsey even to the empty carriage and pair!

Charles Tate and his wife came with no such airs and graces and made do with a cook and parlour maid. He was a fellow of Corpus College, Oxford.

Charlotte Batson

Born Charlotte Garrett sometime around 1827-1830, she was the daughter of William and Mary Garrett of East Chinnock, Somerset. Charlotte’s life seems to have been one of hard work: in the 1851 census she, her sister, and her brothers are all described as agricultural labourers;  she was widowed twice. In 1860 she married George Colley, an agricultural labourer – Charlotte at the time was a laundress. The couple lived at Marston Magna with her mother-in-law, Mary Colley (73) who was formerly a glove maker. George and Charlotte had two children: Edward born in 1862 and Sarah born in 1864. George Colley died early in 1874, aged 51 years.

Widowed at 45, it is easy to imagine an offer of marriage, however soon after the death of her first husband, would have been attractive. In the summer of 1874 she married a 72-year-old widower, William Batson, an agricultural labourer who was also Trent’s Parish Clerk.
 
In 1881 the couple were living at Five Elms, Trent Road, Trent; with them was Charlotte’s son Edward. From the 1891 census we learn that Charlotte is again widowed and working as a laundress living at Wrigs Lane, Trent. By 1901 she has moved into one of Trent’s Almshouses. Charlotte died in the summer of 1908; we believe she was probably a couple of years older than the 72 years declared on her death certificate.

Levi and Mary Garrett

Levi Garrett was the son of Nathaniel and Rebecca Garrett, being baptised at St. Andrew’s Church in the village of Trent on the 24th of August 1823. In the summer of 1850 at the age of 27 Levi

married Mary Bosey, who was 25 years old. The couple spent the first few months of their marriage living with Levi’s widowed mother, Rebecca, who lived to the age of 90. She spent the last six years of her life living in one of the Almshouses, where she died in the Spring of 1867. Mary Bosey was the daughter of Thomas and Ann Bosey.

In the 1851 census Levi and Mary are both described as Agricultural labourers. Between 1852 and 1870 they had three daughters and two sons. In 1901 Levi and Mary were living at The Plot, Trent. Levi died late in 1905; his age at death was given as 77 but his baptism record would suggest he was nearer 83. Mary died the following year.

Henrietta Melmoth

George Garrett was born in 1835 in the village of Trent. The 1870’s seem to have been George’s decade, for in 1871 he was working as a Thatcher and living with his widowed mother, Frances, but by the end of that year he had met and married Jane Hunt. Jane was from Avening near Cirencester in Gloucester, which is where the couple married in the autumn of 1871. Their only child, named Henrietta, was born in the spring of the following year. By 1881 George Garrett had established himself as a farmer with 46 acres upon which he employed two labourers.
 
Henrietta attended the village school and in 1891 at the age of 19 she was employed at the school as an assistant teacher; the family lived at the School Building in Mill Lane. The 1901 census tells us that George Garrett was still farming at Gore Farm, Trent, and that Henrietta was living with her parents. George Garrett passed away in the spring of 1903.

With Henrietta’s help her mother continued with the farm. In the 1911 census Jane Garrett is described as a Farmer. It reveals that living with the mother and daughter is James Desmond Melmoth, who is described as a Servant and Farm Bailiff. We also learn he is 33 years old and was born in Hampshire.
Jane Garrett lived to see Henrietta and James Melmoth married early in 1916 when Henrietta was 44. Her mother passed away early the following year.

Sarah Hart

Sarah Edds was born in Trent in 1820. In both the 1841 and 1851 census returns she is shown as working as a House Servant to John Pitman. In 1841 John Pitman and his brother are farming at Adber, Trent. John Pitman had returned by 1851 and moved to Queen’s Camel in Somerset; the census for that year reveals that Sarah Edds continues to be employed by him as a Servant.

In 1856 Sarah married William Hart, who was born in Nether Compton in 1808, being twelve years older than Sarah. William Hart worked as an agricultural labourer and died early in 1874. Judging by the 1881 and 1891 census returns Sarah had a pension, probably from her employment with John Pitman. After her husbands death she moved to the Almshouses in Trent where she lived until her death in 1896 at the age of 76.

The Royal Bathing Machines

Jul 1st, 2013
by Dorset Ancestors.
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Weymouth was not the first seaside resort to have Bathing Machines. Prior to their appearance here in the 1770’s, they were already a feature at Scarborough and Margate but those resorts did not enjoy the patronage of King George III.

The earliest type of bathing house was a static hut; the revolutionary idea of putting the hut on wheels came along in the mid 18th century and the mobile bathing hut became known as a bathing machine. It could be drawn out into the sea by a horse to avoid the bather having to make an exhibition of themselves walking down the beach.

King George III first dipped his toe in the sea at Weymouth on the 7th of July 1789 in the company of a select group of lady bathing attendants. Apparently it was a great surprise to the king when a band concealed in a neighbouring machine, struck up God Save Great George our King as soon as he ducked his head under the water.

The first Royal Bathing Machine was octagonal in design and in 1791 it was replaced by a larger and more extravagantly fitted-out machine. Altogether three bathing machines were available that year for the exclusive use of the Royal Family.  The original machine continued to be used on Weymouth beach until 1916.
 
A newspaper report from 1791 describes the vehicle thus: “The King’s Bathing Machine is in the form of an oblong at its base, and painted white, with the panels blue and red cornices, but is destitute of lining. The outside, at the top, forms a semi-circle, on the extremity of which stands upon a pole of about two feet in length, the Crown; and on the other, the British Flag on a pole or standard about ten feet high; on the front is painted the King’s Arms.”

Another newspaper reported that the Queen had decided to try the effects of bathing, so another machine had been newly painted and fitted for her use. This conflicts with other reports suggesting Queen Charlotte showed no enthusiasm for sea bathing; the Royal Princesses however, were regular “dippers.”

When the King came to Weymouth in 1792 his bathing experience was greatly improved by the introduction of the Royal Floating Bathing Machine, which gave more privacy to the Royal Family. This was a large structure resembling a house-boat or a floating dock, with dressing rooms and three large baths. It allowed the user to bathe in complete privacy and could be used in pretty much all weathers; it was covered by a roof and sea water flowed in through grills at each end. At one end of the structure were the Royal Bath and Royal Dressing Room and at the other end were baths and dressing rooms for the use of the king’s guests. It was first used on the 24th of August 1792.

When not being used for bathing this Floating Bathing Machine doubled as a Royal Landing Stage and was moored alongside Weymouth Pier. The dressing rooms provided the family with the opportunity to smarten up their appearance before coming ashore after their frequent trips to sea with the Royal Navy.

The King first visited Weymouth in 1789. A letter written at Gloucester Lodge, Weymouth on the 13th of July 1789 by Fanny Burney to her father illustrates wonderfully how the inhabitants of the town felt about their Sovereign being amongst them.  She reports “The loyalty of all this place is excessive; they have dressed out every street with labels of ‘God save the King’: all the shops have it over the doors; all the children wear it in their caps, all the labourers in their hats, and all the sailors in their voices, for they never approach the house without shouting it aloud, nor see the King or his shadow, without beginning to huzza, and going on to three cheers.”

The three luxurious Royal Bathing Machines of 1791 did not survive after the last of the Royal visits in 1805, although machines of the original design both octagonal and rectangular continued in use for more than a century.

In 1810 a local byelaw decreed that no one was to “bathe in any manner than by means of a Bathing Machine upon the Sea Sands, or in the Harbour, or Back Water within the town”. In 1864 a byelaw was introduced to stop the use of Bathing Machines on a Sunday after 10 a.m. This law required residents to be allowed the use of a machine for a charge of 6d, whereas visitors had to pay 9d. All machines had to be fitted with a looking glass and carpet and two hand towels for each person and also a pair of drawers for the use of each gentleman. Males were permitted to bathe nude before 8 am, and there had to be a space of 50 yards between machines used by men and women.

Two much larger bathing machines came to the beach in 1890, these had several cubicles. These larger machines, one for men and one for women, had very large wheels and the authorities ordered that they be kept in deep water. Around this time there were many complaints about the wearing of “proper bathing drawers”.

Fanny Burney, writing from Weymouth in 1789, tells her father that she had difficulty keeping a straight face when observing the ladies bathing apparel: flannel dresses, tucked up, with no shoes or stockings, with bandeaus and girdles. King George III preferred to bathe in the nude.