Historic Towns Survey:

Part 3: Town Context

13 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster

14 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster

the elements Winn + burna mean- 3.1 The Setting of the Town ing meadow or bright stream (Mills 1991, 362; Hutchins 1874, 178). No town exists in isolation. All towns are shaped and influenced by their surrounding The topography of the region has influenced landscape. Topography and geology have a the layout of the town, albeit through the pre- profound influence on the way a town devel- urban rural landscape. NW-SE aligned roads ops; constraining development, shaping com- and field boundaries, represent the last ves- munication routes, and providing raw materials tiges of a potentially late prehistoric co-axial for building and other economic activity, field system, which formerly existed along the amongst other things. In order to understand Allen Valley. The major routes of the B3073 the character of a town, its surrounding land- ( Road) and the B3082 (St Margaret’s Hill scape and natural context need to be under- and Victoria Road) are the most obvious exam- stood. This section of the report briefly sets out ples, although Cowgrove Road, Blind Lane, the wider context of the town and the land- Knobcrook Road and parts of Wimborne Road, scape character of its hinterland. Lewens Lane, Park Lane, Rowlands Hill and Leigh Common are also representative. The Saxon town of Wimborne Minster was built on 3.2 Topography a regular grid plan aligned approximately north- The historic core of Wimborne Minster lies near south and superimposed upon the pre-existing to the south eastern tip of a low ridge of clay rural landscape. between the rivers Stour and Allen (Figure 3). During the nineteenth century however, with the coming of the railway, a new suburb rapidly 3.3 Geology developed on the eastern side of the river Al- The Geology of the Wimborne Minster study len. Topographically, this suburb is dominated area has London Clay as its foundation. This by the gravel terrace of which rises to represents the earliest surviving Tertiary de- over 60m in the north east corner of the study posits within Dorset, laid down in a coastal en- area. The southern part of the study area com- vironment approximately 60 million years ago. prises the flood plain of the River Stour. The The clay also contains deposits of iron rich meaning of the name Wimborne Minster is sandstone known as Heath Stone (Ensom thought to derive from an early name for the 1998, 70-71). London Clay has traditionally River Allen. The earliest recorded form of the been important in the region for the manufac- name; Winburnan (early 9 th century) comprises ture of earthenware pottery. The pot-

Figure 3: Topographical setting of Wimborne Minster

15 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster

Figure 4: Solid Geology of the Wimborne Minster region teries 5 miles north east of Wimborne Minster 3.4 Landscape Character manufactured large quantities of earthenware until the middle of the 20 th century, which were Several landscape character assessments help distributed across Dorset. London Clay is also place the town into its wider landscape context. excellent material for the manufacture of In the national assessment of countryside char- bricks. Colehill has contained a significant brick acter, Wimborne Minster lies within Joint Char- th making industry since at least the 17 century acter Area 135; (Countryside (Reeve 2000, 35) and large brickworks existed Agency 1999). close to Walford at the north end of historic Wimborne Minster during the 19 th and 20 th cen- The key characteristics of Joint Character Area turies (now the site of the Stone Lane Industrial 135 are listed as: Estate). The eastern part of the study area • An exposed, open, broad-scale land- comprises sands and gravels of the Lower scape forming a strong contrast with the Bagshot beds, which overly the London Clay. adjacent character areas These date from the Eocene Epoch (55-34 mil- • Undulating lowland heath with tracts of lion years ago) and cover an extensive area of heather, stunted pines and gorse scrub. and the Poole and • Blocks of conifers forming locally- conurbation (Figure 4). They are thought to prominent landmarks. have been laid down as alluvial deposits by the River Solent. Sand and gravel extraction have • Mosaics of heathland, farmland, wood- been important industries in the region with land and scrub. large extraction pits existing along the River • Much is sparsely populated with scat- Stour at Merley and Longham. tered settlements and a few small vil- lages and towns but the extensive con- The nature of the underlying geology has also urbation of Poole-Bournemouth forms a influenced the appearance and built environ- major influence in the south and east. ment of the town. The Bagshot Beds and the London Clay both contain some reddish sand- • Flat-bottomed, open valleys with flood- stone (heath stone) used locally for walling. plain pastures and willows. The local clays have also been used in the • An outer edge of low, rolling hills with an manufacture of brick from at least the 17 th cen- irregular patchwork of pasture, woodland tury and cob walling before that. and dense hedges marking the transition to the chalk.

16 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster

Figure 5: Wimborne Minster in its landscape character setting (East Dorset District Landscape Characterisation).

The East Dorset District Draft Landscape Char- fected by modern development acter Assessment provides a detailed record of the features and landscape elements present The key characteristics of the Allen Valley in the wider Wimborne Area (Figure 5).The Character Area are: town itself is considered an urban area and not • Shallow sided valley characterised within the assessment. However, small parts of the Woodlands-Colehill & Hill- • Important chalk stream habitat butts farmland/woodland mosaic, Allen Valley, • Sparsely developed with secluded intimate Lower Stour and Hampreston character areas character extend into the study area (EDDC 2007). • Distinctive, traditional building materials, The key characteristics of the Woodlands- flint, red brick and thatch Colehill & Hillbutts farmland/woodland mosaic • Simple bridges Character Area are: • Undulating landform, punctuated by hilltops The key characteristics of the Lower Stour Val- • Heavily influenced by woods, copses and ley Character Area are: hedgerow trees creating an irregular patch- • Flat wide flood plain work • Meandering river • Absence of major roads • Riverside trees and copses • Irregular road pattern, having an east-west emphasis with short north-south links • Long distance views along the valley • Narrow, winding lanes throughout the area, • Views of the towers at Shapwick, with high, dense hedgerows Sturminster Marshall and Wimborne Min- • Extensive network of public footpaths and ster woodland and other tracks • Views of • Farmhouses and other modest rural dwell- • Views of A31 Wimborne By Pass ings, few major historic buildings or churches • Longham Lakes water treatment complex • General absence of archaeological re- • Historic water mill sites e.g. White Mill mains, except for tumuli on hilltops • Overhead power lines (adverse impact) • Heavy concentration of Ancient Woodlands • Quiet, peaceful countryside largely unaf- The key characteristics of the Hampreston

17 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster

River Terrace Character Area are: the town centre at Furzehill. • Flat landform The Wimborne Minster pyramid area has one • Mosaic of large fields used for arable and secondary school; Queen Elizabeth’s School, pasture fourteen first schools, one primary school, four • Few trees in fields, most trees near river middle schools and one special school (the Beaucroft Foundation School). The retail sector and village comprises 118 shops, mainly local shops, but

including national chains such as Boots, The draft Historic Landscape Character map- Somerfield, Superdrug, WH Smith and ping shows Wimborne Minster sitting on a Waitrose. Wimborne Minster also has three ridge between tracts of water meadows associ- industrial estates at Brook Road (8.24ha), ated with the rivers Stour and Allen. The sur- Stone Lane (1.87ha) and Riverside Park rounding land comprises a variety of enclosed fields including planned, other regular, piece- (1.2ha). meal and amorphous enclosures as well as a 31% of the economically active population are variety of settlements including historic vil- employed within the service sector; 26% in lages, housing estates and country houses. manufacturing; 20% in banking, finance and There is also a patchwork of coppice, decidu- insurance; 17% in public administration, educa- ous woodland and plantations. tion and health; less than 5% in transport and communications and 3% in construction. Major employers include Anixter Components, Dorset 3.5 The Present Town County Council, Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust, The town of Wimborne Minster lies at the con- East Dorset District Council, Flight Refuelling fluence of the rivers Stour and Allen, approxi- Ltd, Farrow and Ball, Easton Aerospace, Ma- mately 11 miles upstream from the point where trod Frampton Ltd, WM Morrison PLC, Savills the Stour empties into . Ltd, Travis Perkins Trading Co Ltd and Victoria The town, together with its modern suburban Hospital (, 2008, 88-9). estates, sits 5 miles north of Poole and just beyond the north eastern tip of the wider Poole/ Bournemouth conurbation. The modern urban area covers approximately 320 ha. It lies on the A31 trunk road between Ringwood and Bere Regis, although this road has bypassed the town centre to the south since 1981. Wim- borne Minster also sits at the south eastern end of the B3082, 9 miles from Blandford; the western end of the B3073, 11 miles from Christchurch; and at the southern end of the B3078, 9 miles from Cranborne. Wimborne Minster lies at the southern edge of East Dor- set District. Its train station closed in 1977 and the site has now been developed as a cattle market and industrial estate. The nearest sta- tion is currently five miles away at Poole. The town has grown steadily from the 1960’s on- wards, the population increasing by approxi- mately 56% from 4,160 in 1961 to 6,500 in 2001. This only tells part of the story however. The town has expanded most rapidly since the 1980’s in the neighbouring of Colehill, which itself had a population of 6,710 in 2001 (Dorset County Council 2008, 88). Approxi- mately one third of the Colehill population is included within the Wimborne Minster study area suggesting that the true population of the urban area lay at around 9,000 in 2001. Wim- borne Minster is important as a service and shopping centre for the surrounding villages and the administrative offices of East Dorset District Council lie less than 1.5 miles north of

18 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster

Part 4: Sources

19 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster

20 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster

town. The later 19 th and 20 th century characteri- 4.1 Previous research sation was largely based on the 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey maps dating from 1887 on- wards. Wimborne Minster has attracted interest from antiquarians since the 16 th century. John Leland visited at that time and described his 4.3 Documentary Evidence route from Canford Bridge to Walford Bridge, Primary documentary sources used in this re- Hutchins was disparaging in his description of port include the Domesday Survey of 1086 the town during the late 18 th century, possibly (Thorn & Thorn 1983) and taxation records because he was rector of nearby Wareham. He including the Lay Subsidy (Rumble 1980; Mills nevertheless meticulously recorded details of 1971) as well as Tudor subsidies and Muster the town’s history. Hutchins maintained the Rolls (Stoate 1978; 1982). 19 th century and antiquarian view that Wimborne Minster could early 20 th century trade directories published in be equated with the Roman Vindocladia, al- the Dorset On Line Parish Clerk website though the editors of the 3 rd edition refuted the (Dorset OPC 2009) have also proved a valu- claim (Hutchins 1874, 178-9; 182). J M J able source of information. The Wimborne Min- Fletcher was a vicar at Wimborne Minster and ster parish archive is one of the largest collec- conducted extensive and detailed research into tions of parish records in Dorset (DRO PE/ the archives and history of the church during WM). The Churchwarden’s accounts begin in the early 20 th century (Fletcher 1912; 1935a; 1403 and are almost complete (Fletcher, 1935b; 1938). 1938). Wimborne Minster also had its own A small number of local histories have been church court with numerous records. There are published during the later 20 th century concern- a records relating to the town’s ten charities, as ing specific aspects of Wimborne Minster’s well as hundredal and manorial court records. past. Joynes et al (198?) and Sadler (1992; There are also a large number of probate re- 1996) have written on the history of Colehill. cords for the parish, including wills and inven- Gutheridge (2004) and Willis and Willis (1990) tories. Reeve has collated information from have both written photographic histories of these and other sources to create a social and Wimborne Minster. More general histories of economic history of the town during the 17 th the town have been written by Clegg (1960), century (Reeve 2000). James (1982) and Popham (1983). More re- cently Reeve has produced a socio-economic study of Wimborne Minster during the 17 th cen- 4.4 Archaeological Evidence tury for his PhD thesis based on an exhaustive Forty archaeological events have been re- study of Wimborne Minster archives (Reeve corded for Wimborne Minster, the vast majority 2000). (34) occurring within the narrow confines of the medieval town. This work has proved invalu- able to our understanding of the development 4.2 Historic Maps of Saxon and medieval Wimborne Minster. An- Wimborne Minster is well represented with 17 th tiquarian interest in Wimborne Minster was ini- and 18 th century maps of the town. The earliest tially based on the belief that it corresponded to dated maps depicting the town were drawn by the Roman town of Vindocladia, now believed Richard Harding in 1613 (Map of the Hanham to be the Roman settlement discovered at the Estate; DHC D/1505/1) and in 1624 (Map of foot of Badbury Rings. In fact there is little ar- Holt Forest; DHC D/BKL). Hutchins drew a chaeological evidence for prehistoric or Roman plan of the town for his History and Antiquities activity in the Wimborne Minster area. A scatter of the County of Dorset (DHC M78/10). This of worked flint has been recovered from vari- probably dates from 1774-1803 and is partially ous excavations along the ridge between the idealised and stylised in its depiction of the rivers Allen and Stour, as well as along the town. A more realistic 18 th century map of the southern slopes of Colehill. The discovery of town is held at the Dorset History Centre as a cinerary urns has been reported from Wim- photocopy (DHC Ph 676). This map is thought borne Minster Cemetery (James1982, 9) al- to date from 1775 and has been used exten- though no further corroboration has yet been sively in the historic characterisation of the found. There is some evidence for a late pre- town. historic system of land division in the lower Al- len valley, fossilised in modern co-axial field The tithe map of Wimborne Minster dates from and road alignments. Evidence for a late Iron 1847 (DHC T/WM) and has also been used Age and early Romano-British settlement has extensively during the characterisation of the

21 Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Wimborne Minster been excavated at The Leaze (Whelan 2004) Historic Buildings and a Roman Road between Lake Farm and Wimborne Minster is particularly notable for re- Winchester runs through the study area south of th th Leigh Road. taining a relatively high proportion of 16 -18 century buildings. Nevertheless; it is the Minster Documentary evidence suggests that Wimborne Church of St Cuthberga that has dominated the Minster was an important place during the architecture of the town since the 11 th century Saxon period. It had a large double , and continues to do so today. Pevsner has de- at least one other chapel, a royal residence and scribed the church as imposing but not beautiful town walls. However, little is known about the (Newman & Pevsner 1972, 461). His reasoning layout of the Saxon town. A small fragment of is that the spotty brown and grey stone detracts tessellated pavement was revealed beneath the from its beauty and that the two towers compete nave of the Minster church on two separate oc- for attention. The brown stone is local heath casions in 1857 and 1961. This may be evi- stone and is found in another of the town’s me- dence for an earlier high status Roman building dieval buildings; St Margaret’s chapel, built for on site of the later Minster, although recent St Margaret’s hospice early in the 13 th century. thought suggests that it actually represent the The majority of secular medieval buildings in floor of the original Saxon monastery Wimborne Minster would have been con- (Woodward 1983, 57). More recently two further structed in cob and thatch, with brick becoming tesserae have been found in association with increasingly important from the 17 th century on- remains of the medieval chapel of St Peter in wards. Buildings retaining an element of cob the Square, potentially indicating a Saxon origin include number 1 Lewens Lane, 2 Cobb’s Road for this chapel (Ladle 2010). The study of prop- and 47-9 Wimborne Road, Colehill. Important erty boundaries on historic maps has led vari- medieval secular buildings include The Priests ous people to suggest potential circuits for the House on High Street and St Joseph’s on King Saxon town walls and monastic precinct. Evi- Street, both with surviving timber framed sec- dence for the course of the monastic, or at least tions. The 17 th century has been shown by the later medieval Minster precinct, had been Reeve to be a period in which there was an in- unearthed to the south of the Corn Market creasing financial gap between the wealthy and where a large E-W aligned ditch was filled in peasant elements of the parish. A number of during the 17 th century. These excavations large farmhouses and townhouses date from formed part of a wider programme of archaeo- the 17 th century including Greenclose and Wal- logical investigation under the auspices of the ford Farms and Lewens House. There are a Dorset Archaeological Committee during the significant number of 17 th century houses along late 1970’s (Woodward 1983). Further evi- West Borough, Cook Row and West Street; all dence for the layout of the Saxon town is elu- originally timber framed but refaced in the 18 th sive, although apparently limited to the immedi- century in a brick Georgian style. Furthermore, ate vicinity of the Minster church. a total of 79 listed buildings within the historic th Archaeological evidence for the medieval town town centre date from the 18 century, giving can be divided in to three main areas. Firstly West Borough, The Square, High Street and earthworks in the Leaze have been shown parts of King Street and West Street, a distinc- through excavation to be the site of a failed me- tive Georgian feel. dieval suburb (Field 1973). Secondly evidence The 19 th century was a period of rapid suburban for the medieval extent of the Minster precinct expansion, particularly to the east of the town has been revealed through the excavation of centre where a new town grew up alongside the burials and boundary ditches in the vicinity railway station. Brick built Victorian suburban (Woodward 1983; Jenkins 1991). Evidence for villas characterise Rowlands Hill, St John’s Hill the medieval chapel and graveyard of St Peter and The Avenue. Large country houses were has also been discovered in The Square (Ladle also established in Colehill at this time. 2010). Thirdly evidence for more general medie- Wimborne has been an important regional in- val activity has been recovered in the form of th pits, plot boundaries and industrial sites in back dustrial centre since the 17 century; although the surviving purpose built industrial buildings plots around the town. Evidence for post- th medieval economic activity has also been re- generally date from the 19 century. These in- vealed around the fringes of the medieval town clude the former Town Mill brewery and indus- including a kiln on the north side of The Square trial buildings at Walford Mill and New Borough. (Woodward 1983, 62-3), quarries behind West Unfortunately nothing now survives of Julian’s Street and clay pipe manufacture on Blind Lane Brewery or of the Railway Station and associ- (Day 1997). ated buildings.

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