Godmanstone
Encyclopedia
Godmanstone is a village in west Dorset
, England
, situated in the Cerne Valley
four miles north of Dorchester and south of Cerne Abbas
. The village has a population
of 144 (2001) in about 60 homes.
The historic thatched Smith's Arms pub in the village is one of several that claim to be the smallest pub in Britain. It is said that the original licence was granted by King Charles II
, when he requested that the village smith serve him a glass of porter
. The smith refused as he had no licence, so Charles granted him one on the spot and was served his drink.
The church is partly Norman, chiefly perpendicular, with a tower; and was recently repaired.
Unfortunately the current landlord closed the pub many years ago.
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, situated in the Cerne Valley
River Cerne
The River Cerne is a ten mile long river in Dorset, England, which rises in the Chalk hills of the Dorset Downs at Minterne Magna, flows down a valley through Cerne Abbas and Charminster, and flows into the River Frome in Dorchester....
four miles north of Dorchester and south of Cerne Abbas
Cerne Abbas
Cerne Abbas is a village located in the valley of the River Cerne, between steep chalk downland in central Dorset, England. The village is located just to the east of the A352 road north of Dorchester. There was a population of 732 at the 2001 census, a figure which has fallen from 780 in 1998.In...
. The village has a population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 144 (2001) in about 60 homes.
The historic thatched Smith's Arms pub in the village is one of several that claim to be the smallest pub in Britain. It is said that the original licence was granted by King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, when he requested that the village smith serve him a glass of porter
Porter (beer)
Porter is a dark-coloured style of beer. The history and development of stout and porter are intertwined. The name was first used in the 18th century from its popularity with the street and river porters of London. It is generally brewed with dark malts...
. The smith refused as he had no licence, so Charles granted him one on the spot and was served his drink.
The church is partly Norman, chiefly perpendicular, with a tower; and was recently repaired.
Unfortunately the current landlord closed the pub many years ago.