Longburton
Encyclopedia
Longburton is a village in west Dorset
, England, three miles (5 km) south of Sherborne
. The village has a population of 435 (2001).
along the A352 road, which was the turnpike between Dorchester and Sherborne. The village is most noteworthy to motorists for having a set of traffic lights to control passage between the close-set stone cottages. The dominant features of the village are the church and the Rose & Crown pub.
The village stands in the parish of the same name in the western end of the Blackmore Vale
in north-west Dorset. The parish covers about 4 square kilometres being about 3 km long north to south and about half that west to east. Its neighbouring villages are Castleton
, Folke
, Holnest
, Leweston, and North Wootton. The landscape is typical Dorset pasture
with small fields divided by hedgerows and small patches of woodland. The sub-soil is Oxford Clay, which affords the fertility that yields such rich dairy pastures.
The population rose regularly from 216 in 1801 to 339 in 1851,and then fell steadily until in 1931 it was only 241. In 1971 the inhabitants numbered 292 and during that decade increased by 44% to 420 by 1981 when a small housing estate
was built on the south western edge of the village. The population has since steadied at 414 in 1991 and 435 in 2001.
Although the dominant industry is dairy farming
, other local industries have included stone-quarrying and more recently land has been given over to orchard
s. In the early eighteenth century at least five attempts were made to find coal in the area; this was documented by the local vicar
William Sharpe
.
. It was originally a chapelry of Sherborne Minster
. Most of it was built in the fifteenth century although the square tower was built local rubble with freestone dressings. about two hundred years earlier. The tower's upper storey with the crenellated parapet
was added as part of the main fifteenth century development. The tower holds six bells with the tenor tuned to G#. Local superstition had it that if the tenor bell sounded dull someone in the parish would die within the week.
The seventeenth century houses are traditional two-storeyed Dorset cottages, and some retain their thatched roofs. After the Second World War
some bungalow
s were built in the heart of the village set in comfortable gardens that have now matured to good effect.
Set apart from the village is Leweston Farm, which may have been the old Long Burton manor house
. The farm also has a late seventeenth century five-bay barn.
Another interesting building is Burton House, just north of the church. This modern building incorporates a mixture of decorations and structural elements of different periods from all over Dorset.
Two substantial buildings mark the southern extent of the village on opposite sides of the road. The Methodist chapel built in 1878 stands to the East and the now disused Temperance Hall built in 1907 stands to the West.
granted the Manors of Long Burton and Holnest
to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
, the Protector. After his execution the manor was held by the Crown until it was granted to Sir Walter Raleigh
. In 1594 Raleigh conveyed Long Burton and Holnest to John Fitzjames, who was already lord of the neighbouring manor of Leweston. The Fitzjames family lived at Redlynch near Bruton, Somerset
. Their manors were sequestrated in 1645, but were returned at the Restoration
. Leweston Farm House, mentioned above, has the Fitzjames shield carved into a panel above the entrance.
Leweston Fitzjames, who died in 1638, was responsible for the addition of the small chapel
to the north of the church chancel
. In this chapel he installed effigies
of his parents Sir John Fitzjames (died 1625) and Joan (died 1602). Another monument contains similar effigies of the parents of Leweston's wife Eleanor, Sir Henry and Dionise Winston, who came from the parish of Standish
(in Gloucestershire
) and of her grandfather Thomas Winston. Thomas Winston's effigy is carved of alabaster
and is so heavy that it had to be placed near the floor with those of his son and daughter-in-law above him. It shows him in full plate armour
and originally decorated his tomb at Standish. When the church at Standish denied Eleanor's request to add effigies of her parents she moved his effigy to her husband's parish at Long Burton. Eleanor's younger sister, Sarah, married John Churchill and was the grandmother of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, whose line included Sir Winston Churchill
. The Christian name Winston had become a family name to commemorate Sarah Winston. Sir John Fitzjames (died 1670) son of Leweston, and his wife Margaret Stephens are buried beneath a large well preserved tablet on the floor immediately west of the church altar.
When Sir John Fitzjames Junior died in 1699, the manor passed jointly to his sisters, Grace and Catherine and ultimately was settled on Grace's husband Sir George Strode until he died in 1702. The manor then passed to his only daughter Grace Strode who subsequently married and was widowed before dying intestate in 1729. In the absence of her will the terms of her father's will of 1700 applied and matters were so complex that the Government
appointed a Commission to determine how the Strode estates should be divided between Grace's daughters. It took seventeen years before an Act of Parliament
was passed to agree the apportionment of the lands between the two heirs, one of whom had since died. The dead daughter's son received her portion and Long Burton manor passed to the dowager Countess of Hertford. She died in 1754 and her estates passed to Sir Hugh Smithson, husband of her only daughter Elizabeth, and subsequently Duke of Northumberland
. His family sold the manor to Anthony Chapman, who built an elegant small mansion at Long Burton, which was later owned by Mark Davis. Chapman's widow sold the manor to J.S.W. Sawbridge in 1826. Sawbridge married Sarah Frances Erle-Drax, the heiress of Charborough, and assumed her surname.
With the coming of the railway to Sherborne in the mid nineteenth century the village developed rapidly as a dormitory
and most of the present housing stock was built as part of the railway boom. Broadly speaking, the village housing is seventeenth century, late nineteenth century or late twentieth century.
The present parish is a tithing of the larger medieval parish of Long Burton. The name derives from burg
, a fortified manor, and tun
, a homestead or village. It was distinguished as Long Burton (presunably to distinguish it from the other four Burton
s in Dorset) because of the length of its main street. The present form of the name as a single word seems to have arisen in the late nineteenth century. The village is still recorded as Long Burton on the 1889 Ordnance Survey
map of the area.
s begin in 1589 (marriages and burials) or 1590 (baptism
s). The latter continue without gaps to 1865. Marriages are likewise complete to 1842, except for the one year 1812. Burial
s are missing for 1797–1601 and 1804, and have not been deposited after 1812. There are banns for 1824–45 and 1869–1940. There is a printed transcript
of the register to 1812, while typescripts are available for the whole register for 1813–1837, burials being extended to 1865. Churchwardens' accounts cover a remarkable span from 1634 to 1897 with just two short gaps. Accounts for the Overseers of the Poor survive for 1681–1759; there are six settlement orders, nine removal orders and one bastardy order.
A court book of the Manors of Long Burton and Holnest survives for 1523 to 1609. There are deeds for various properties from 1705 onwards in the archive D/FFO in the County Record Office. One dated 1702/3 relates to property in Long Burton, Little Burton and Leweston.
The tithe map of 1843–4 has an attached apportionment
. Another map of 1768 shows lands in Long Burton and Holnest. A facsimile record of land given for a school by J.S.W.S. Erle-Drax, Lord of the Manor, has also been deposited. The school records include log-books for 1872–1900 and 1920–1949 and an attendance register for 1853–1887. Minutes
and accounts of the Longburton parish council are deposited for 1894 to 1935.
, the antiquarian who was vicar of Longburton from 1872 to 1912. More prosaically, in 1664 the probate inventory of the late Henry Gumbleton, village blacksmith
was valued at £18-13-08.
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, three miles (5 km) south of Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
. The village has a population of 435 (2001).
Geography
Longburton village is a ribbon developmentRibbon development
Ribbon development means building houses along the routes of communications radiating from a human settlement. Such development generated great concern in the United Kingdom during the 1920s and the 1930s, as well as in numerous other countries....
along the A352 road, which was the turnpike between Dorchester and Sherborne. The village is most noteworthy to motorists for having a set of traffic lights to control passage between the close-set stone cottages. The dominant features of the village are the church and the Rose & Crown pub.
The village stands in the parish of the same name in the western end of the Blackmore Vale
Blackmore Vale
The Blackmore Vale is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. The vale is part of the Stour valley...
in north-west Dorset. The parish covers about 4 square kilometres being about 3 km long north to south and about half that west to east. Its neighbouring villages are Castleton
Castleton, Dorset
Castleton is a village in west Dorset, England. The village had a population of 130 in 2001. Castleton is in the group parish of Yeo Head together with the three village parishes of Poyntington, Goathill and Oborne. This parish is within the district of West Dorset....
, Folke
Folke
Folke is a village in north west Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale south-east of Sherborne. The village has a population of 309 and an area of . Folke Wood is nearby.- External links :* *...
, Holnest
Holnest
Holnest is a village in west Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale four miles south of Sherborne. The village has a population of 174 .-External links:*...
, Leweston, and North Wootton. The landscape is typical Dorset pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
with small fields divided by hedgerows and small patches of woodland. The sub-soil is Oxford Clay, which affords the fertility that yields such rich dairy pastures.
The population rose regularly from 216 in 1801 to 339 in 1851,and then fell steadily until in 1931 it was only 241. In 1971 the inhabitants numbered 292 and during that decade increased by 44% to 420 by 1981 when a small housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
was built on the south western edge of the village. The population has since steadied at 414 in 1991 and 435 in 2001.
Although the dominant industry is dairy farming
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
, other local industries have included stone-quarrying and more recently land has been given over to orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s. In the early eighteenth century at least five attempts were made to find coal in the area; this was documented by the local vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
William Sharpe
William Sharpe
William Sharpe may refer to:*William Sharpe , delegate to the Continental Congress from North Carolina*William Forsyth Sharpe , Nobel Prize-winning economist*William Sharpe...
.
Architecture
The parish church is dedicated to Saint James the GreatSaint James the Great
James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...
. It was originally a chapelry of Sherborne Minster
Sherborne Abbey
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin at Sherborne in the English county of Dorset, is usually called Sherborne Abbey. It has been a Saxon cathedral , a Benedictine abbey and is now a parish church.- Cathedral :...
. Most of it was built in the fifteenth century although the square tower was built local rubble with freestone dressings. about two hundred years earlier. The tower's upper storey with the crenellated parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
was added as part of the main fifteenth century development. The tower holds six bells with the tenor tuned to G#. Local superstition had it that if the tenor bell sounded dull someone in the parish would die within the week.
The seventeenth century houses are traditional two-storeyed Dorset cottages, and some retain their thatched roofs. After the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
some bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
s were built in the heart of the village set in comfortable gardens that have now matured to good effect.
Set apart from the village is Leweston Farm, which may have been the old Long Burton manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
. The farm also has a late seventeenth century five-bay barn.
Another interesting building is Burton House, just north of the church. This modern building incorporates a mixture of decorations and structural elements of different periods from all over Dorset.
Two substantial buildings mark the southern extent of the village on opposite sides of the road. The Methodist chapel built in 1878 stands to the East and the now disused Temperance Hall built in 1907 stands to the West.
History
Medieval records show that Longburton belonged to the See of Sarum. In 1547 the Bishop of SalisburyBishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset...
granted the Manors of Long Burton and Holnest
Holnest
Holnest is a village in west Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale four miles south of Sherborne. The village has a population of 174 .-External links:*...
to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
, the Protector. After his execution the manor was held by the Crown until it was granted to Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
. In 1594 Raleigh conveyed Long Burton and Holnest to John Fitzjames, who was already lord of the neighbouring manor of Leweston. The Fitzjames family lived at Redlynch near Bruton, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. Their manors were sequestrated in 1645, but were returned at the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
. Leweston Farm House, mentioned above, has the Fitzjames shield carved into a panel above the entrance.
Leweston Fitzjames, who died in 1638, was responsible for the addition of the small chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
to the north of the church chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
. In this chapel he installed effigies
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of his parents Sir John Fitzjames (died 1625) and Joan (died 1602). Another monument contains similar effigies of the parents of Leweston's wife Eleanor, Sir Henry and Dionise Winston, who came from the parish of Standish
Standish, Gloucestershire
Standish is a small village and civil parish in the Stroud local government district in Gloucestershire, England.The village is north-west of Stroud, on the B4008 road to Quedgeley...
(in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
) and of her grandfather Thomas Winston. Thomas Winston's effigy is carved of alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
and is so heavy that it had to be placed near the floor with those of his son and daughter-in-law above him. It shows him in full plate armour
Plate armour
Plate armour is a historical type of personal armour made from iron or steel plates.While there are early predecessors such the Roman-era lorica segmentata, full plate armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of...
and originally decorated his tomb at Standish. When the church at Standish denied Eleanor's request to add effigies of her parents she moved his effigy to her husband's parish at Long Burton. Eleanor's younger sister, Sarah, married John Churchill and was the grandmother of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, whose line included Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. The Christian name Winston had become a family name to commemorate Sarah Winston. Sir John Fitzjames (died 1670) son of Leweston, and his wife Margaret Stephens are buried beneath a large well preserved tablet on the floor immediately west of the church altar.
When Sir John Fitzjames Junior died in 1699, the manor passed jointly to his sisters, Grace and Catherine and ultimately was settled on Grace's husband Sir George Strode until he died in 1702. The manor then passed to his only daughter Grace Strode who subsequently married and was widowed before dying intestate in 1729. In the absence of her will the terms of her father's will of 1700 applied and matters were so complex that the Government
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
appointed a Commission to determine how the Strode estates should be divided between Grace's daughters. It took seventeen years before an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was passed to agree the apportionment of the lands between the two heirs, one of whom had since died. The dead daughter's son received her portion and Long Burton manor passed to the dowager Countess of Hertford. She died in 1754 and her estates passed to Sir Hugh Smithson, husband of her only daughter Elizabeth, and subsequently Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland
The Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
. His family sold the manor to Anthony Chapman, who built an elegant small mansion at Long Burton, which was later owned by Mark Davis. Chapman's widow sold the manor to J.S.W. Sawbridge in 1826. Sawbridge married Sarah Frances Erle-Drax, the heiress of Charborough, and assumed her surname.
With the coming of the railway to Sherborne in the mid nineteenth century the village developed rapidly as a dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
and most of the present housing stock was built as part of the railway boom. Broadly speaking, the village housing is seventeenth century, late nineteenth century or late twentieth century.
The present parish is a tithing of the larger medieval parish of Long Burton. The name derives from burg
Burg
Burg is the word for castle in various Germanic languages.Burg or Bürg or Buerg may refer to:*Burg bei Magdeburg, a city in Germany*Den Burg, a town in the Netherlands* Burg, former name of Melber, Kentucky...
, a fortified manor, and tun
Tun
- Science and technology :* TUN/TAP, a computer network device driver* TUN , a Danish product standard for building materials* Tun , a part of the Mayan long count calendar system* A unit of time in the Mayan Long Count calendar...
, a homestead or village. It was distinguished as Long Burton (presunably to distinguish it from the other four Burton
Burton
- Canada :* Burton, British Columbia* Burton, New Brunswick* Burton, Ontario* Burtons, Nova Scotia* Burton, Durham Region, Ontario* Burton, Parry Sound District, Ontario* Burton, Prince Edward Island* Lac-Burton, Quebec* Burton Lake, Saskatchewan- England :...
s in Dorset) because of the length of its main street. The present form of the name as a single word seems to have arisen in the late nineteenth century. The village is still recorded as Long Burton on the 1889 Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
map of the area.
Records in Dorset County Records Office, Dorchester
The Longburton parish registerParish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
s begin in 1589 (marriages and burials) or 1590 (baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s). The latter continue without gaps to 1865. Marriages are likewise complete to 1842, except for the one year 1812. Burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
s are missing for 1797–1601 and 1804, and have not been deposited after 1812. There are banns for 1824–45 and 1869–1940. There is a printed transcript
Transcript
Transcript may refer to:* Transcript , a copy of a student's permanent academic record* Transcription , the process of creating an equivalent RNA copy of a sequence of DNA* Transcript , a record of all court proceedings...
of the register to 1812, while typescripts are available for the whole register for 1813–1837, burials being extended to 1865. Churchwardens' accounts cover a remarkable span from 1634 to 1897 with just two short gaps. Accounts for the Overseers of the Poor survive for 1681–1759; there are six settlement orders, nine removal orders and one bastardy order.
A court book of the Manors of Long Burton and Holnest survives for 1523 to 1609. There are deeds for various properties from 1705 onwards in the archive D/FFO in the County Record Office. One dated 1702/3 relates to property in Long Burton, Little Burton and Leweston.
The tithe map of 1843–4 has an attached apportionment
Apportionment
The legal term apportionment means distribution or allotment in proper shares.It is a term used in law in a variety of senses...
. Another map of 1768 shows lands in Long Burton and Holnest. A facsimile record of land given for a school by J.S.W.S. Erle-Drax, Lord of the Manor, has also been deposited. The school records include log-books for 1872–1900 and 1920–1949 and an attendance register for 1853–1887. Minutes
Minutes
Minutes, also known as protocols, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting, starting with a list of attendees, a statement of the issues considered by the participants, and related responses or decisions for the issues.Minutes may be...
and accounts of the Longburton parish council are deposited for 1894 to 1935.
Notable residents
The most notable resident of Longburton was Reverend Charles Herbert MayoCharles Herbert Mayo
Charles Herbert Mayo was a Dorset clergyman and antiquarian.Mayo was born in 1845, the third of three children of William Mayo, the rector of Folke, and his wife Charlotte ....
, the antiquarian who was vicar of Longburton from 1872 to 1912. More prosaically, in 1664 the probate inventory of the late Henry Gumbleton, village blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
was valued at £18-13-08.