Stalbridge
Encyclopedia
Stalbridge is a small town and civil parish in Dorset
, England
, situated in the Blackmore Vale
area of North Dorset
district, near the border with Somerset
. In 2001 the town had a population of 2,579, and is still growing. 30.8% of the inhabitants are retired. The nearest towns are Sturminster Newton
, four miles south east, Sherborne
, six miles west, and Shaftesbury
, seven miles north east. The town is situated on the A357 road on a low limestone
ridge, one mile west of the River Stour
. The settlement became a town in April 1992.
Though relatively small, Stalbridge is quite independent, with its own small supermarket
, newsagent
, electronics store, GP Surgery and many other services, reflecting its catchment area of surrounding farms and hamlets. The town is also home to the local free newspaper, the Blackmore Vale Magazine.
times. The town has a 15th century church with a 19th century tower, dedicated to Saint Mary and designed by T. H. Wyatt, which overlooks the town from a hill. The town has had market rights since the time of King George I
, though it has not held a regular market for many years. In the town centre stands a 10 metre (30 ft) tall market cross
, said to be the finest in the country.
Stalbridge was home to scientist Robert Boyle
(see below), and writer Douglas Adams
, who wrote much of "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" in the town. The town also boasts that it is home to the oldest living male twin
s in the world.
Artist Sir James Thornhill
lived just south of the town, in Thornhill Park, which he bought in 1725. In 1727 he erected an obelisk
in the park to honour the accession of King George II
.
From September 1863 Stalbridge was served by Stalbridge railway station
on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
, with trains to Bath and Bournemouth
. During World War II
a Ministry of Food depot was situated here. The last train ran on 7 March 1966, and most of the tracks, station and goods yard have been replaced, though tracks still cross the road.
, who had inherited Stalbridge Park from his father, decided to build a mansion
house on his Stalbridge estate. He enclosed an area used as common land
to the northwest of the church, moving tenant farmers out, and built a Jacobean
style mansion, the fifth largest house in Dorset
.
In 1631 the earl's eldest son James
brought a case against him for "unnatural practices", and he was subsequently executed.
James sold the house to Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork
. After his father's death, the scientist Robert Boyle
became Lord of the Manor
, and the house was his residence between 1644 and 1655. It was here that he conducted many of his experiments.
At some point during the house's history a 2 metre high stone wall was built around the boundary of Stalbridge Park. There is some argument as to when and why the wall was built. It may have been commissioned by Castlehaven as a status symbol, work for French
prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars
, or as work for local labourers in times of high unemployment.
By 1822 the house was in poor repair and the current owner, the Marquess of Anglesey
, had it demolished. By 1827 all that remained was the raised area where it had stood. The stone was sold off and much of it is in use elsewhere in the town, including the large farm house which now stands in the park.
There are many popular local myths and ghost stories about the demise of the house, mostly involving a fire destroying the house.
Stalbridge Park features in Thomas Hardy
's Wessex
as "Stapleford Park".
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 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...
area of North Dorset
North Dorset
North Dorset is a local government district in Dorset, England. It is largely rural, but includes the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset is in the River Stour valley and is called the Blackmore Vale...
district, near the border with 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...
. In 2001 the town had a population of 2,579, and is still growing. 30.8% of the inhabitants are retired. The nearest towns are Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton, known to locals as Stur, is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which the town's economy is built...
, four miles south east, 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...
, six miles west, and Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
, seven miles north east. The town is situated on the A357 road on a low limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
ridge, one mile west of the River Stour
River Stour, Dorset
The River Stour is a 60.5 mile long river which flows through Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England, and drains into the English Channel. It is sometimes called the Dorset Stour to distinguish it from rivers of the same name...
. The settlement became a town in April 1992.
Though relatively small, Stalbridge is quite independent, with its own small supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, newsagent
Newsagent
A newsagent's shop , newsagency or newsstand is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local interest. In Britain and Australia, these businesses are termed newsagents...
, electronics store, GP Surgery and many other services, reflecting its catchment area of surrounding farms and hamlets. The town is also home to the local free newspaper, the Blackmore Vale Magazine.
History
There was a settlement near Stalbridge in RomanRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
times. The town has a 15th century church with a 19th century tower, dedicated to Saint Mary and designed by T. H. Wyatt, which overlooks the town from a hill. The town has had market rights since the time of King George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, though it has not held a regular market for many years. In the town centre stands a 10 metre (30 ft) tall market cross
Market cross
A market cross is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, originally from the distinctive tradition in Early Medieval Insular art of free-standing stone standing or high crosses, often elaborately carved, which goes back to the 7th century. Market crosses can be found in most...
, said to be the finest in the country.
Stalbridge was home to scientist Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
(see below), and writer Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
, who wrote much of "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" in the town. The town also boasts that it is home to the oldest living male twin
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
s in the world.
Artist Sir James Thornhill
James Thornhill
Sir James Thornhill was an English painter of historical subjects, in the Italian baroque tradition.-Life:...
lived just south of the town, in Thornhill Park, which he bought in 1725. In 1727 he erected an obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
in the park to honour the accession of King George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
.
From September 1863 Stalbridge was served by Stalbridge railway station
Stalbridge railway station
Stalbridge railway station was a station in Stalbridge in the county of Dorset, England. It was located between Henstridge and Sturminster Newton stations on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Sited on a single line stretch, the station had a passing loop with a station building on the down side...
on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...
, with trains to Bath and Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. During World War II
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...
a Ministry of Food depot was situated here. The last train ran on 7 March 1966, and most of the tracks, station and goods yard have been replaced, though tracks still cross the road.
Stalbridge House
In 1618 Mervyn Tuchet (or Audley), 2nd Earl of CastlehavenMervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven
Mervyn Touchet , 2nd Earl of Castlehaven , convicted rapist and sodomite, was the son of George Tuchet, 1st Earl of Castlehaven and his wife, née Lucy Mervyn. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Castlehaven and 12th Baron Audley on 20 February 1616/7...
, who had inherited Stalbridge Park from his father, decided to build a mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
house on his Stalbridge estate. He enclosed an area used as common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
to the northwest of the church, moving tenant farmers out, and built a Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
style mansion, the fifth largest house in Dorset
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 1631 the earl's eldest son James
James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven
James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven was the son of Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven and his first wife, Elizabeth Barnham...
brought a case against him for "unnatural practices", and he was subsequently executed.
James sold the house to Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork , also known as the Great Earl of Cork, was Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland....
. After his father's death, the scientist Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
became Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
, and the house was his residence between 1644 and 1655. It was here that he conducted many of his experiments.
At some point during the house's history a 2 metre high stone wall was built around the boundary of Stalbridge Park. There is some argument as to when and why the wall was built. It may have been commissioned by Castlehaven as a status symbol, work for French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, or as work for local labourers in times of high unemployment.
By 1822 the house was in poor repair and the current owner, the Marquess of Anglesey
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against...
, had it demolished. By 1827 all that remained was the raised area where it had stood. The stone was sold off and much of it is in use elsewhere in the town, including the large farm house which now stands in the park.
There are many popular local myths and ghost stories about the demise of the house, mostly involving a fire destroying the house.
Stalbridge Park features in Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
's Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
as "Stapleford Park".