Marshwood Vale
Encyclopedia
The Marshwood Vale is a low-lying, bowl-shaped valley of Lower Lias clay, in the western tip of the county of Dorset
in south-west England
. It lies to the north of the A35 trunk road between the towns of Bridport
and Lyme Regis
, and to the south of the two highest hills in Dorset, Lewesdon Hill
(279m) and Pilsdon Pen
(277m). It is drained by the River Char
, which flows south-west to its mouth on the English Channel
coast at Charmouth
. All of the vale lies within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
.
Due to the poorly-draining nature of its clay soil, until modern times the vale maintained a reputation for being difficult to traverse in wet weather. In 1905 Sir Frederick Treves called it "marshy and full of trees" and quoted the Dorset historian John Hutchins (1698 - 1773) who said it "was hardly passable by travellers but in dry summers", whilst in 1965 the Dorset-born agriculturalist and broadcaster Ralph Wightman remembered that in his boyhood in the early twentieth century "after months of hopeless winter rain .... little farms across the fields were cut off in desperate poverty and loneliness".
Today a number of small villages and hamlets (Fishpond Bottom, Marshwood, Birdsmoorgate, Bettiscombe
, Pilsdon, Bowood, Broadoak, Ryall
and Whitchurch Canonicorum) surround the vale, sited mostly on the hills and higher ground which virtually encircle it. The impervious clay soil of the floor of the vale has historically provided less amenable sites for building, and only supports a few scattered farms. Several of the farms in the vale have names ending in '-hay', which means 'enclosure', and have their origins in the first forest clearances of the Middle Ages
.
The village of Whitchurch Canonicorum
is the largest settlement connected to the vale, and is notable for its church, which has the rare distinction (shared with few other churches) of possessing the bodily remains of the saint to which it is dedicated (St.Wite or St. Wita, in this case). Pilgrims to this shrine stopped to refresh themselves at the thirteenth-century inn which still stands a couple of miles to the north in the centre of the vale, and folklore recounts that this is why thereafter the inn became known as the "Shave Cross Inn", after the shaved heads of its pious guests.
The village which shares its name with the vale, Marshwood
, stands on the line of hills to the north, and from the churchyard the whole vale can be viewed to the south, with the coastal hills and the English Channel
beyond.
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...
in south-west 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...
. It lies to the north of the A35 trunk road between the towns of Bridport
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...
and Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset-Devon border...
, and to the south of the two highest hills in Dorset, Lewesdon Hill
Lewesdon Hill
Lewesdon Hill is about 4 km west of Beaminster in south west Dorset, England. Like many of the high hills in Dorset, including its neighbour Pilsdon Pen, it is the site of an Iron Age hill fort...
(279m) and Pilsdon Pen
Pilsdon Pen
Pilsdon Pen is a 277 metre hill in West Dorset, England, situated five miles west of Beaminster at the north end of the Marshwood Vale. It is Dorset's second highest point and has panoramic views extending for many miles...
(277m). It is drained by the River Char
River Char
The River Char is a river in West Dorset. The Char runs a few miles from Bettiscombe to Charmouth, passing Pilsdon and Whitchurch Canonicorum....
, which flows south-west to its mouth on the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast at Charmouth
Charmouth
Charmouth is a village at the mouth of the River Char in West Dorset, England, with a population of 1,687 according to the 2001 census.-The village:...
. All of the vale lies within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
.
Due to the poorly-draining nature of its clay soil, until modern times the vale maintained a reputation for being difficult to traverse in wet weather. In 1905 Sir Frederick Treves called it "marshy and full of trees" and quoted the Dorset historian John Hutchins (1698 - 1773) who said it "was hardly passable by travellers but in dry summers", whilst in 1965 the Dorset-born agriculturalist and broadcaster Ralph Wightman remembered that in his boyhood in the early twentieth century "after months of hopeless winter rain .... little farms across the fields were cut off in desperate poverty and loneliness".
Today a number of small villages and hamlets (Fishpond Bottom, Marshwood, Birdsmoorgate, Bettiscombe
Bettiscombe
Bettiscombe is a hamlet in west Dorset, England, situated in the Marshwood Vale four miles west of Beaminster. The village has a population of 63 according to the United Kingdom Census 2001....
, Pilsdon, Bowood, Broadoak, Ryall
Ryall, Dorset
Ryall is a small village in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of Great Britain. It is situated roughly midway between the towns of Bridport and Lyme Regis, with the county town of Dorchester about 20 miles to the east. The village lies on the northern slopes of Hardown Hill, about 2 miles...
and Whitchurch Canonicorum) surround the vale, sited mostly on the hills and higher ground which virtually encircle it. The impervious clay soil of the floor of the vale has historically provided less amenable sites for building, and only supports a few scattered farms. Several of the farms in the vale have names ending in '-hay', which means 'enclosure', and have their origins in the first forest clearances of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
The village of Whitchurch Canonicorum
Whitchurch Canonicorum
Whitchurch Canonicorum or Whitechurch Canonicorum is a village in south-west Dorset, England, situated in the Marshwood Vale five miles northwest of Bridport.The village has a population of 647 ; 10.1% of dwellings are second homes...
is the largest settlement connected to the vale, and is notable for its church, which has the rare distinction (shared with few other churches) of possessing the bodily remains of the saint to which it is dedicated (St.Wite or St. Wita, in this case). Pilgrims to this shrine stopped to refresh themselves at the thirteenth-century inn which still stands a couple of miles to the north in the centre of the vale, and folklore recounts that this is why thereafter the inn became known as the "Shave Cross Inn", after the shaved heads of its pious guests.
The village which shares its name with the vale, Marshwood
Marshwood
Marshwood is a village in west Dorset, England, situated on the northern edge of the Marshwood Vale six miles north of Lyme Regis. The village has a population of 283 , 8.6% of dwellings are second homes....
, stands on the line of hills to the north, and from the churchyard the whole vale can be viewed to the south, with the coastal hills and the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
beyond.