Armchair Adventurers

Extracts from the River Piddle project

The River Piddle [also known as the Trent] is relatively small [30km], flowing from chalk lowland calcareous [sedimentary rock with a high proportion of calcium carbonate] downlands in central Dorset to the sea at Wareham where the river is tidal and prone to flooding. The bedrock in the upper Piddle Valley is alluvium [clay silt and sand] changing to clay and flints as it nears Wareham and Poole Harbour, the second largest natural harbour in the world. British Petroleum seismic surveys and oil well sinking data, taken during the development of the Wytch Farm Oilfield, took the geological knowledge of the area back 260 million years to the Variscan orogeny. A readable description of this is available at https://www.nora.nerc.ac.uk . The glacial and interglacial cycles that followed, especially the most severe one 450,000 years ago, released large quantities of meltwater into the Solent [the stretch of water that now separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland]. Over time the Solent divided into the river system we see in the area today, including the River Piddle. The river has been extensively modified.

Geography

The landscape is of dry valleys and winterbournes [a river or stream that is dry through the summer months]. The River Piddle rises from four large springs at Alton Pancras, and is contained in a brick channel. From the 17th century watermeadows were created to flood grassland to force early growth of grass for grazing which is evidenced by the many channels to be found and a lot of boggy land. Some sections of the river are straight, revealing the extent of of the modifications. These chalk fed streams had warmer water which kept the frost at bay to enable the early grazing. The sheep flocks improved the soil fertility for arable purposes.

There are only 200 chalk streams, such as the River Piddle, in the world. Southern England has most of them with some on a narrow band on the east coast from Norfolk and a few in France.

If you look at a map of the area you will note areas of heathland and woodland either side of the river valley. Contrary to popular belief they are not natural habitats but ancient ‘made’ landscapes created by people and maintained for over 4,000 years. They were once covered in birch, pine, elm hazel and oak woodlands with willow in the wetter areas. Pollen records, preserved in peat bogs, show that woodland dominated in the landscape until Bronze Age farmers began to clear the woodlands.

The process of heathland creation was slow, taking thousands of years. Traditional uses of the heaths declined and reduced to 8,000 hectares, fragmented over about a 100 sites. The Wildlife Conservation Act (1981) have given legal protection to the remaining heathlands.

Archaeology

This area has abundant archaeological evidence of occupation in past times; prehistoric field systems and terraces, networks of field boundaries and footpaths reflecting the tracks, droves and hollow ways used to move livestock in prehistoric and early medieval times and numerous earthworks, barrows and deserted villages.

Pottery from Bestwall Quarry

Neolithic Cornish granite hand axe

Two coins minted in Wareham in the reign of Ethelred the Unready

History

Saxon Wareham was part of the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex.

The town walls, earthen ramparts, are Saxon, a rarity in Britain. They still exist as three grassy mounds on three sides of the town, the fourth side was defended by the River Frome. King Alfred built the walls in the 9th century. It is estimated that it took 1600 men to build and defend them. Alfred also created a series of burhs (later known as boroughs). Each was surrounded by defensive walls and had a planned layout of a regular grid of streets. None of Alfred’s subjects were more than 19 miles away from a safe refuge.

When the South Bridge was being rebuilt in 1927 a rare sword dating to 900 was discovered. Although the blade was corroded and broken the horn grip was still intact. On It is the remains of an inscription ‘Aethel owns me’. Aethel was a name used only by members of the Wessex nobility. So the sword has Saxon wording but the decoration is Viking in style.

Despite the upheaval on the Norman invasion Wareham continued to flourish due to its ideal location an important sea-port. Wareham Castle was built in the south-west corner of the old Anglo-Saxon earthworks, taking the form of a motte with an inner and outer bailey protected with timber defences and a ditch. The original size of the motte is not known; 18th and 19th century records suggest it was between 55 and 60 feet (17–18 m) across. It is uncertain when the castle was built; it may have been constructed soon after the Norman conquest in 1066, although no physical evidence survives today to prove this theory. If the castle was built soon after 1066, the construction work may have required the extensive demolition of houses in that part of the town, and the decision to place it in the south-west sector may have been linked to the presence of a former Anglo-Saxon royal residence there.

The population of the town of Wareham during the Civil War was predominantly for the Royalist cause, while Poole was almost to a man for Parliament. In 1643 the Poole garrison was commanded by Captain Lay; he decided to attack Wareham by boat and landed 200 men at Redcliffe taking a small party of Royalists by surprise. The Roundheads chased the Royalists along the river path to the quay, where battle raged for most of the day, the fierce and bloody fighting leaving many dead, some from drowning. As the Poole men departed they seized ammunition, took many prisoners and carried off much of the produce intended for the following day’s market. Georgian Wareham

In 1762 a fire destroyed two-thirds of the town, which was rebuilt with Georgian architecture with red brick and Purbeck limestone. Some of the Georgian facades are in fact new frontages on older buildings which escaped the fire’s path. An employee from the Bulls Head Inn threw hot ashes onto the rubbish pile at the back of the public house on a dry July day. The fire quickly spread through the old timber framed, thatch roofed buildings. The only fire fighting equipment were buckets of water and rakes to pull the thatch clear. The fire was mainly left to burn itself out which left over 140 buildings destroyed, but no one was killed. An Act of Parliament was passed to rebuild the town. The mayor stipulated the street must be widened, and thatch roofs prohibited.

Victorian

The Industrial Revolution brought economic decline to Wareham. Cottage and craft industries, such as button making, were hit hard by new machinery. Dorset button making had been an important industry and it is said Charles I went to his death wearing a waistcoat with Dorset buttons.

The 20th century

WWI saw 7,000 men from regiments in Lancashire, Yorkshire and New Zealand stationed in the town of 2,000 people. A cordite ammunitions factory was built in 1915 at Holton Heath. It was used again in WW2. An explosion in the 1930s resulted in ten deaths. The site was closed in 1951, although the buildings remain. Post WW2 the population was less than 2,000, but new housing started to appear and 1951 the population had risen to 3,000. From then onward industries such as the potteries declined and tourism increased, especially with the increase in motor transport.

The unusual or quirky

In Alton Pancras In Puddletown a beaker shaped font

In Affpuddle elaborately carved bench ends and in Bere Regis a dragon mystery.

Sound proofed ‘nodding donkeys’ at Worgret

Some of the interesting people we discovered

Reginald Pole. Vicar, Cardinal, Archbishop of Canterbury and very nearly Pope. From the late 1520s Reginald Pole spent most of his time doing Henry VIII’s bidding, increasingly involved assisting the king with his ‘Great Matter’. Pole was certainly a survivor from his prominence in the teeth of the hostility of his King and kinsman Henry VIII who once had been his patron. As Archbishop of Canterbury and a leading Privy Councillor he was bound to the policies and politics of the religious restoration of Mary’s brief reign. This attention to his faith has stimulated historians and biographers to consider whether Pole was truly orthodox or not and to examine every detail of his career to discover the riddle of the Cardinal’s personal beliefs and raise doubts over his faith. Thomas Hardy

Athelhampton House was visited frequently by Thomas Hardy whose father was a stonemason there (Hardy visited until well into his 70s). Hardy was born in 1840 at nearby Bockhampton and he wrote three books, thinly disguised as Athelhampton, in the short story The Waiting Supper and the poems The Dame of Athelhall and The Children and Sir Nameless. Hardy also painted a watercolour of the south front including the Gatehouse.

Marie Vorobief

Marie Bronislava Vorobyeva-Stebelska, also known as Marevna, was a 20th-century, Russian-born painter known for her work with Cubism and pointillism. In 1912 Marie moved to Paris to study art where three years later she met the gifted mexican painter, Diego Rivera. Marie lived with her daughter's family at Athelhampton.

The Walpole family who inherited the Islington estates near Puddletown in the 18th century.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs, George and James Loveless, James Brine, James Hammett, John and Thomas Standfield.

Lady Angela Burdett – Coutts

Born on 21st April 1814 and one of the most outspoken and dedicated philanthropists of her day. In today's money she donated an estimated £350 million to her projects, earning her the recognition of Queen Victoria. She had the nickname ‘queen of the poor’. She was a wealthy educated woman who defied social conventions and used her wealth to improve those in need. The youngest of six born into a banking dynasty, her family connections gave her access to Prime Minsters and others of influence.

Please note – these pages are a few extracts of our project. The full piece is available from the group leader on request. The Armchair Adventures are P Briley M Thomas S Unsworth J Adams G Thomas M Medford L Martin