(Dorset Days continued )
Tales of Dorset Tyneham the Lost Village of Dorset
The inhabitants of this tiny and remote Dorset village were given just days to pack their belongings and leave in the run-up to Christmas 1943. Their village-home and a swathe of the estate to which it belonged had been requisitioned as a military training area to prepare troops for D-day and the Battle of Normandy that followed. As they left, the displaced families are reported to have pinned a note to the Church door entreating those who came after to look after their village.
“Please treat the Church and houses with care. We have given up our homes, where many of us have lived for generations, to help win the war and keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.”
Sadly for them, they were wrong. They were never to return as in 1948 the village and some 2800 hectares of land were compulsorily purchased and what was originally a temporary militarization of the area became permanent. It is still used for gunnery and other training today. The result is one of the strangest ironies in Dorset. The village itself is derelict, but the Church which the Ministry of Defence was required to maintain as part of the agreement to seize the land, is one of the best-kept you will find. While other Parishes must juggle the needs of dwindling income and rising costs of maintenance, St Mary’s Church Tyneham has an immaculate churchyard and building to match.
Today the layout of the village is as it was in December 1943, a time before motorcars had had their overriding impact on house and village design, so that the houses and other buildings are scattered here and there, often with no apparent connection to other buildings in the village. Or perhaps it is because the village is now so rich with trees and other greenery that the remains of the settlement and nature seem to mingle in complete harmony.
Nestled in its valley so close to the sea, Tyneham is simply a beautiful setting. But it would be nice to think that if there is any sense in which Tyneham has ghosts, they are those of a small, close-knit, rural, Dorset community of the 1940s, where everyone knew everyone else, where doors were never locked and children played happily in the lanes and the fields. Today’s school-age children are also fascinated by the fully-restored schoolhouse, the only building in the village other than the Church to be complete with doors, windows and a roof. The school also has all the other things you would expect of a rural place of education of the day: rows of desks with inkwells; functional but elegantly curved metal coat pegs with the name of each pupil; bare wooden floors; a blackboard; and a piano. It is hard to enter the school and not see in your mind’s eye the children of the village sitting at their desks repeating their times tables or working from the teaching aids of the day still displayed around the single classroom.
Such is the beauty and fascination of Tyneham that you can visit just to walk through it and experience the village itself. Alternatively you can use it as a launch pad to explore the beautiful range walks through land that has been untouched by modern agriculture and is rich with wildlife. Or you can stroll from Tyneham the short distance down to the sea and Worbarrow Bay. Entry to Tyneham is free, but you are asked to pay £2 for parking, but you can stay all day, as long as you are away before the wardens lock the gates (times are clearly displayed).
THE MURDER OF EDWARD THE BOY-KING.
The Church, made strong in the West by Aldhelm and Alfred and Dunstan, was to hold men's imaginations for six centuries more, under the impulse of such scenes as were inspired by the murder of Edward. Follow the path of the martyr from Corfe to Shaftesbury. The story of the murder is simple and well known.
" The boy-king had reigned three years and eight months, when, having hunted in the woods round Wareham, (" now only a few bushes," says the chronicler, writing perhaps in the twelfth century), he remembered that his younger brother Ethelred lay at Corfe a few miles away. (" where now" and by implication not then "a large castle has been built."). He loved Ethelred with a pure and sincere heart. He dismissed his attendants, and rode to Corfe alone, fearing no one, since not even in the least thing was he aware that he had offended any man. Word of his approach was brought to Elfrida, his step-mother, who, " full of wicked plans and guile," rejoiced at the opportunity of obtaining her desire, and hastened to meet him and offer him hospitality. He said he had but come to see his brother, whereupon she invited him to refresh himself with drink. As the cup touched his lips, one of her servants, " bolder in spirit and more vile in crime " than others, stabbed him from behind.
He fell dead, " changing his earthly kingdom for a heavenly one, his transitory crown of a day for the unfading diadem of eternal happiness." The body was hurriedly carried for concealment to a cottage. ( local tradition says it was thrown into a well ) The account here given is freely adapted, from the St. John's College, Oxford, MS. life in monkish Latin, first printed by the present Dean of Winchester in 1903.
EILEEN SOPER
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The Works of Eileen Soper
KINSON AND THE POTTERIES The reddish clays deposited around the north and east of Poole Harbour are not of the best quality but are suitable for the manufacture of bricks and pottery. In 1830 one third of the pottery in England was made from Poole clay.
This gave employment to many from Elizabethan times onwards and over the years many small brick kilns and pottery works, especially in the Ashley and Alder areas, were established, worked for a time and then abandoned. There were several small family brick making concerns. The daughter of one such remembered that her father went out of business because he refused to make the inferior it was necessary to produce to keep up with the demand.
Each brick batch of bricks was tested by the method of dropping several and if they broke or chipped the lot were suspect and put aside for building outhouses or boundary walls. She recalls that the men of the family carried out a perpetual shift system as the kilns had to be tended day and night. Since all domestic cookery was by kitchen range, which meant a very hot kitchen in summer, it was customary for the wife’s to have an open-air brick range, sometimes communal, for fine weather cooking and washing.
As the house of to-day requires a garage to shelter its car, so the houses of that time
Required an adjoining field to supply summer food and winter hay for their horsepower, the pony and cart. Another necessity was the family pig and most households kept a "pig in". Not an ounce of the animal was wasted and any spare fat was rubbed into the brick makers' mates'(wife’s and children’s) hands. A few potteries grew and remained as large concerns, but two only really relate to Kinson. The earliest brick works in the area was at foxholes in Newtown around 1755 the first pit was established in the area in 1852 and the Bourne valley potteries were established a year later in 1853.
There was a great demand for bricks in those days for the building of the massive viaducts at Branksome along with new roads and bridges for the new southern railways. Nearby Bournemouth was also rapidly expanding and many houses and trades people were in high demand hence the growth of such heavy labour industries in the area. Clay pits, brickyards and quarries were springing up everyone, in an area so rich in sand, lime, gravel, stone and peat.
Initially the migration workforce for these new industries were the navvy gangs who arrived in the area and were quickly identified with their familiar thick coats and corduroy trousers tied with thongs beneath the knees ,along with their cloth caps slanting over one ear. These men were too soon to integrate and marry into the local community. And at the same time many moved to live in the developing Newtown and up on hill area of parkstone. built to accommodate them with their new families.
There were now new craftsmen aside from the former agricultural workers and farm laborers.These included brickmakers, potters...etc with new skills who worked n developed the new clay works, brickyards and potteries. Many of these new industries were self financed and developed by local families like Ray Wills great grandmother Elizabeth (Fancy) Rogers who financed and developed the family brickyards the Omnium Brick Company and the Alderney Brickworks which her sons managed from her humble beginning with one pig!! Many local families had their own smallholding farm in those days.
KINSON POTTERIES
Situated in the south-west corner of the parish towards Poole had 27 acres of clay of three different qualities Some beds being as much as 40 feet thick although all were under a great depth of sand. The pottery works here were started early last century but received a fillip with the increase in building around Poole and Bournemouth. In 1854 the Kinson clay fields and Fired pottery Company was established with a capital of £40,000.
The money was raised by a business group from 'up country' and the potteries leased locally. By the 1860s the works had twelve kilns, a boiler, and engine house, drying shed, stables and offices. Bricks, tiles, chimney pots and drain drain pipes were made. At about this time oil had been found in Cananda and an oilfield established at Collingwood. Good fire-bricks were required for the processing and the potteries at Kinson manufactured refractory chimney flue bricks which suited the purpose. Orders were duly dispatched.
Their progress was recently traced and went thus: - By horse and cart from the potteries to Poole Quay, by barge to London or Southampton, across the Atlantic to Quebec or Montreal, by raft or barge up the St.Lawrence river to York (present day Toronto), by railway to Collingwood harbour, by raft along the southern shores to Nottawasaga Bay to the beach nearest the site and by hand the rest of the way.
Cheaper oil was found elsewhere and production at Collingwood ceased in 1861. Recently some of the bricks, each bearing the words KINSON, POOLE, were found in a field there .One was returned to England in 1969 and presented to the potteries. By 1884 the fortunes of the concern had declined when William Carter bought the Potteries. William was the son of Jesse Carter, virtual founder of the Poole Potteries, and was to be the father of Herbert Carter, well known in Poole.
The new owner of the property reorganised, cut down here and rebuilt there, and relying on judgement and experience gained in small brickworks he already owned, he began to make a success of the business. Stoneware, drainpipes and various terra cotta goods were made. He adopted steam road haulage when it was first introduced to the advantage of the firm but to the decrement of the Corporation’s roads. Early calls to clients were by penny farthing and later ones by one of the first cars in the district.
A German expert was employed to build a special kiln that was required. William carter moved into the hermitage, then a cottage overlooking the potteries and part of the property. By the beginning of the century his son Herbert was working at the pottery. According to Herbert Carter ,whose book 'I call to Mind' has been a valuable reference for this paragraph, the business was none too efficient with the best having to be made of an old engine with another similar one Added in 1905. Inside the sheds were lit by bottle-lamps, these being 'portable' lamps of cast iron which burnt poor paraffin. It was decided that the deep layer of sand, hitherto unused, should be utilised in the making of the new continental sand and lime bricks. This venture was not a great success and money had to be invested in new machinery from the Continent. At this point the power was changed from steam to anthracite (gas) in an endeavour to save fuel. There was gradual success until a setback in the form of an explosion which caused great damage, though no loss of life, and disrupted work for one year the firm gradually flourished in spite of competition from larger concerns; Herbert carter succeeded his father and became Chairman of Directors in 1908. By 1970 the potteries had been closed and demolished.
ELLIOT'S POTTERIES
Elliot's potteries started at Bear Cross.Mr.E.A.Eliiot, who farmed extensively in the area, discovered good brick clay when a well was sunk on his farm at Cudnell. Brickworks were started here where the farm-land met the crossroads, and hand-made bricks were made from around 1880 to 1900.
When the clay at Bear cross ran out the brickwork's was moved to the rise of land at West Howe, in Poole Lane. The clay here was a much better quality Ball Clay. Later, in 1912, drain pipes, terra cotta ware and roofing tiles were manufactured in addition to bricks. In 1922, Mr.N.T.Elliot entered the firm and by 1927 the manufacture of bricks for domestic fireplaces was started and these together with stoneware drain pipes, were made until the potteries closed in 1966. Bournemouth Corporation and Max Factor's (local light industry) bought the land.
To the east of Elliot's stood Painter and Ropers 'Kinson Steam Brickworks', later owned by Burdens. This was a smaller concern where hand-made bricks were manufactured.
(Taken from Old Kinson by S.J.Lands) Howe Lodge, Brook Road, Kinson.
The Lodge was a lovely elegant 18th century Georgian House standing in its own grounds, of simple design with fine windows. The house is traditionally associated with the legendary Isaac Gulliver who became a wealthy man in one of 18th century smugglings "rags to riches" tales.
The house contained a concealed room reached through a door ten feet up inside a chimney, plus boltholes and hidden passages. A trap door in the dining room led to the basement from which a neatly bricked tunnel extended away from the house.
A more recent tenant came upon the tunnel and was able to follow it, walking upright, for thirty to forty feet before coming to its bricked up end. It is presumed that it extended further when in use, probably out to the heath to the south of the house. An alcove below an attractive spiral staircase at Howe Lodge is said to have been the location of an incident, which now forms part of the Isaac Gulliver legend.
According to the story, the old smuggler once lay in a coffin in the alcove to deceive the revenue men who had come to the house to search for him. Isaac Gulliver lived in Kinson at various times from the early 1780's to 1816 and owned much land and many properties in the area. Records show that he owned 184 acres of land in Ensbury and Kinson. He was born in 1745 at Semington, Wiltshire and seems to have been with a smuggling gang from an early age. He was married at Sixpenny Handley in Cranborne Chase.
For a while Gulliver kept an Inn in the area of the Chase but in 1778 he moved to a farm at Longham, (later called "Pitts Farm), buying Howe Lodge in Kinson two years later.
He was often described as the "Gentle Smuggler" because he was so proud of the fact that his men never took part in any affray in which Excise men were killed. Gulliver was given the King's Pardon in 1782 and thereafter led the life of a Dorset merchant and property owner. Howe Lodge was bought by the Bournemouth Corporation and demolished in 1958 to make way for road widening and a block of flats.
POOLE POTTERIES:
In 1873, a Builder's Merchant and Ironmonger going by the name of Jesse Carter bought a near derelict pottery in the town of Poole, Dorset. The pottery remains in the same location today. Jesse had already realized that there was a large deposit of clay just to the north of the town, and an excellent means of transporting his goods out, and his fuel in, through the harbour. By the 1880's the factory was well known for its tiling products, mosaic flooring and advertising panels. A rival pottery in the same area was based at Hamworthy and known as the Patent Architectural Pottery. The Carter pottery rapidly overtook the Hamworthy factory in quality and quantity, and in 1895 the Carter family bought the competition for £2,000. The next significant occurrence was in 1901 when Jesse Carter retired. Upon his retirement he handed over control of the potteries to two of his sons, namely Charles and Owen. It would appear that Charles was the 'managerial' type and Owen was more of a 'hands-on' artist.
Another name worthy of mention in the following, period of twenty years or so is James Radley Young. Young was the head of the Design Department and his influence doubtless helped to put Poole Potteries where it is today. The period between 1901 and 1920 saw countless coming and goings of the Carter family involving sons, uncles, brothers and the like, and the First World War did not do much to help the situation. But the Carter Company prospered and distinctive styles were beginning to emerge.
THE STORY OF HOW DORSET AND ITS CHILDREN WERE INVOLVED IN THE NATIONAL CONKERS CAMPAIGN DURING WORLD WAR I.
CONKERS IN THE PLAYGROUNDS OF ENGLAND
At least one tradition survives am0ng the boys. Conkers were very much a British school boy activity. Virtually every British schoolboy once participated in this annual Fall ritual, concor fights with his mates.
I'm not sure just when this tradition bgan, but the term conker describing the game is first noted about 1840-50. Many traditions have built up about how to prepare and harden your conker. A hole is drilled in it and a string attached. Then the conker fights can begin.
With the modern popularity of computer games, however, conkers appears to have declined in popularity. It has not, however, disappered. An English commentator writes, "Conkers too were banned in the playground, but boys would bring them in in their pockets ready - strung and play after school. I never bothered much as I could never make a hole in them without splitting them but my brother did have a "champion" conker - a "68-er" he claimed. He used to get it drilled by a dad of a friend of his in the Cubs and used to soak them in vinegar for days to harden them and then put them in the oven - which I thought was cheating. He always had a supply soaking in a bowl on our bedroom window sill and I still hate the smell of vinegar."
We are unsure about the origins of the term "conker". One possibility is that it is derived from the word "conquer". The verb "conk" (to strike on the head) is noted in written usage about 1805-15, before the term is used to described the child's game.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR CONKER COLLECTIONS IN WORLD WAR I
British scientists were working on possible substitutes for maize that were available domestically. One alternative proved to be the conker (horse chestnut).
The Ministry of Munitions decided to use the Synthetic Products Company's King's Lynn which at the time was using potatos to produce butyl-alcohol and acetone. The Ministry of Munitions set out to set up the collection and transport process for the Fall 1917 harvest. The Ministry placed an ad in The Times (July 26, 1917): "chestnut seeds, not the green husks, are required by the Government for the Ministry of Munitions. The nuts will replace cereals which have been necessary for the production of an article of great importance in the prosecution of the War". The Ministry was a bit ambiguous, because they did not want the Germans to know about the shortages or the potential importance of conkers.
[Anonamous] School Children Mobilized The collection process was to use school children who for years in Britain had collected conkers for the annual conker fighting season. The school children were set to work.
Children all over Britain scoured their communities for conkers. Some schools even called off classes for a day and set the children to work picking up conkers. Some also picked up acorns for local pig farmers.
A commentator recalls, "I recall my gran telling me about this episode during World War I. She recalls collecting the conkers on the ground. The boys apparently were fearless. She remembers that boys would often climb the trees to get at the conkers." [Fergusson] Apparently in the process, children fell out of the trees they were climbing and quite a number were hurt. Some were even killed. I don't know if anyone compiled statistics on this. Transport and Production Problems
While large numbers of conkers were dutifully collected by the children, transport complications meant that only small quantities were ever actually delivered. The school kids, however, had done their bit and there were huge piles of conkers piled up at train stations all over Britain which began to rot. . While acetone could be produced from conkers, the yield was relatively low compared to what could be achieved from corn.
The conker collection campaign was not repeated in the Fall 1918. The Allies had largely defeated the U-boats in the North Atlantic through the use of convoys and corn was flowuing into Britain in large quantities. In addition by the time that school started again and the conker season arrived, the tide of battle on the Western Front had changed and an end to the War was in sight.
AT HOLTON HEATH Nr WAREHAM DORSET
Local school children were asked by the Ministry of Munitions to collect Horse Chestnuts; and six huge storage Storage silos were built to store the Horse Chestnuts. A larger bacterial fermentation plant was also set up in Canada as they had more Maize than the United Kingdom.
After the end of World War I the bacterial fermentation plant was demolished but the silos were kept.
In World War II the basements of RNCF silos were converted to Air-raid shelters; the silos being filled with earth to provide protection.
They survived beyond the closure of the Holton Heath site.
POSTERS ON DISPLAY IN ALL SCHOOLS
The following is the content of a notice that would have appeared on the walls of schools etc.
Collecting groups are being organised in your district. Groups of scholars and boy scouts are being organised to collect conkers. Receiving depots are being opened in most districts. All schools, WVS centres1, WIs2, are involved.
Boy Scout leaders will advise you of the nearest depot where 7/6 per cwt3 is being paid for immediate delivery of the chestnuts (without the outer green husks). This collection is invaluable war work and is very urgent. Please encourage it. THE BACKGROUND TO THE SITUATION
Now, at the beginning of the war there was also a shortage of grain, and so Britain had to rely on imports of maize and even potatoes for starch. When supplies of maize ran short, clearly, another source of starch had to be found that would not interfere with the already restricted food supplies; and so by May 1917, Weizmann had adapted the process to produce the solvent from horse chestnuts - conkers.
Thus, in a last desperate measure, children throughout Britain were asked to collect conkers. However, according to the Imperial War Museum, in 1917, only 3,000 tons) of conkers were actually processed).
MORETON
In moreton nr wool the BBC did much of its filming for the famous tv series Tenko
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