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shingle. After this the coast is less broken than before and continues highly picturesque as far as the confines of the county near Lyme Regis. This small See also:

TOWN

town, with Charmouth, See also:

Bridport, Weymouth, Lulworth Cove and Swanage, are in considerable favour as watering-places. See also:

GEOLOGY (from Gr. yp7, the earth, and Abyor, science)

Geology.—Occupying as it does the central and most elevated part of the county, the See also:

CHALK

Chalk is the most prominent See also:

GEOLOGICAL

geological formation in Dorsetshire. It sweeps in a south-See also:

WESTERLY

westerly direction, as a See also:

belt of high ground about I2 m. in width, from Cranborne See also:

Chase, through Blandford, See also:

Milton Abbas and Frampton to See also:

Dorchester; westward it reaches a point just north of Beaminster. From about Dorchester the Chalk outcrop narrows and turns south-eastward by Portisham, Bincombe, to West Lulworth, thence the See also:

CROP (a word common. in various forms, such as Germ. Kropf, to many Teutonic languages for a swelling, excrescence, round head or top of anything; it appears also in Romanic languages derived from Teutonic, in Fr. as troupe, whence the English " crupper "

crop proceeds eastward as the See also:

ridge of the Purbeck Hills, and finally runs out to See also:

sea as the headland between Studland and Swanage Bays.

Upon the Chalk in the eastern part of the county are the See also:

EOCENE (Gr. *In, dawn, icauvos, recent)

Eocene beds of the Hampshire See also:

Basin. These are fringed by the See also:

READING

Reading Beds and See also:

LONDON

London See also:

Clay, which occur as a narrow belt from Cranborne through See also:

WIMBORNE (WIMBORNE MINSTER)

Wimborne See also:

Minster, near Bere Regis and Piddletown; here the crop swings round south-eastward through West Knighton, Winfrith and Lulworth, and thence along the See also:

NORTHERN

northern See also:

side of the Purbeck Hills to Studland. Most of the remaining Eocene area is occupied by the sands, See also:

GRAVEL, or PEBBLE BEDS

gravel and clay of the Bagshot See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series. The Agglestone See also:

Rock near Studland is a hard See also:

mass of the Bagshot formation; certain See also:

CLAYS, PAUL JEAN (1819-1900)

clays in the same series in the See also:

WAREHAM

Wareham district have a See also:

WORLD

world-wide reputation for pottery purposes; since they are exported from Poole Harbour they are often known as " Poole Clay." From beneath the Chalk the Selbornian or See also:

GAULT

Gault and Upper See also:

GREENSAND

Greensand crops out as a narrow, irregular See also:

BAND

band. The Gault clay is only distinguishable in the northern and southern districts. Here and there the Greensand forms prominent hills, as that on which the town of Shaftesbury stands. The Upper Greensand appears again as outliers farther west, forming the high ground above Lyme Regis, See also:

GOLDEN

Golden Cap, and Pillesden and Lewesden Pens. The See also:

LOWER

Lower See also:

Green-See also:

sand crops out on the south side of the Purbeck Hills and may be seen at Punfield Cove and Worbarrow Bay, but this formation thins out towards the west. By the See also:

ACTION

action of the agencies of denudation upon the faulted anticline of the Isle of Purbeck, the See also:

WEALDEN

Wealden beds are brought to See also:

LIGHT

light in the vale between Lulworth and Swanage; a similar cause has accounted for their See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance at East Chaldon. South of the See also:

STRIP

strip of See also:

WEALD, THE

Weald Clay is an elevated See also:

plateau consisting of Purbeck Beds which See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest upon Portland See also:

Stone and Portland Sand. Cropping out from beneath the Portland beds is the Kimmeridge Clay with so-called " See also:

COAL

Coal " bands, which forms the lower See also:

PLATFORM (Fr. plateforme, i.e. ground plan)

platform near the See also:

VILLAGE

village of that name: The Middle Purbeck See also:

BUILDING

building stone and Upper Purbeck Paludina See also:

MARBLE (from Lat. marmor, Gr. pApµapos, shining stone)

marble have been extensively quarried in the Isle of Purbeck. An interesting feature in the Lower Purbeck is the " Dirt See also:

bed," the remains of a See also:

JURASSIC

Jurassic See also:

FOREST

forest, which may be seen near Mupe Bay and on the Isle of Portland, where both the Purbeck and Portland formations are well exposed, the latter yielding the well-known freestones.

In the north-west of the county the Kimmeridge Clay crops in 'a N.-S. direction from the neighbourhood of See also:

GILLINGHAM

Gillingham by Woolland to near See also:

Buckland Newton; in the south, a strip runs E. and W. between Abbotsbury, Upway and Osmington See also:

Mill. Next in See also:

order come the See also:

CORALLIAN (Fr. Corallun)

Corallian Beds and See also:

Oxford Clay which follow the line of the Kimmeridge Clay, that is, they run from the north to the south-west except in the neighbourhood of Abbotsbury and Weymouth, where these beds are striking east and west. Below the Oxford Clay is the See also:

CORNBRASH

Cornbrash, which may be seen near Redipole, Stalbridge and Stourton; then follows the Forest Marble, which usually forms a strong escarpment over the See also:

Fuller's See also:

Earth beneath—at Thornford the Fuller's Earth rock is quarried. Next comes the Inferior Oolite, quarried near See also:

SHERBORNE

Sherborne and Beaminster; the outcrop runs on to the coast at Bridport. Beneath the Oolites are the Midford sands, which are well exposed in the cliff between Bridport and See also:

Burton Brandsfock. Except where the Greensand outliers occur, the south-western part of the county is occupied by Lower and Middle See also:

LIAS

Lias beds. These are clays and marls in the upper portions and limestones below. See also:

RHAETIC (Fr. Rhetien or Rhcetien; Ger. Rhdt or Rhktisch; It. Retico)

Rhaetic beds, the so-called " See also:

White Lias," are exposed in Pinhay Bay. Many of the formations in Dorsetshire are highly fossiliferous, notably the Lias of Lyme Regis, whence See also:

ICHTHYOSAURUS

Ichthyosaurus and other large See also:

REPTILES (Lat. Reptilia, creeping things, from reptilis; ref ere, to creep; Gr. Ep7rety, whence the term " herpetology," for the science dealing with them)

reptiles have been obtained; remains of the See also:

IGUANODON

Iguanodon have been taken from the Wealden beds of the Isle of Purbeck; the Kimmeridge Clay, Inferior Oolite, Forest Marble and Fuller's Earth are all fossil-bearing rocks. The coast exhibits geological sections of extreme See also:

INTEREST

interest and variety; the See also:

VERTICAL (from Lat. vertex, highest point)

vertical and highly inclined strata of the Purbeck anticline are well exhibited at See also:

Gad Cliff or near Ballard Point; at the latter See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place the fractured See also:

FOLD

fold is seen to pass into an " overthrust See also:

FAULT (Mid. Eng. faute, through the French, from the popular Latin use of fallere, to fail; the originallof the Latin being replaced in English in the 15th century)

fault." See also:

CLIMATE

Climate and See also:

Agriculture.—The See also:

air of Dorsetshire is remarkably mild, and in some of the more sheltered spots on the coast semi-tropical See also:

PLANTS

plants are found to flourish. The district of the clays obtains for the county the somewhat exaggerated See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of the " See also:

GARDEN (from O. Fr. garden, mod. Fr. jardin; this, like our words " garth," a paddock attached to a building, and " yard," comes from a Teutonic word for an enclosure which appears in Gothic as gards and O. H. Ger. gart, cf. Dutch gaarde and Ger. .garten)

garden of England," though the See also:

rich Vale of Blackmore and the luxuriant pastures and orchards in the west may support the name. Yet Dorsetshire is not generally a well-wooded county, though much fine See also:

TIMBER

timber appears in the richer soils, in some of the sheltered valleys of the chalk district, and more especially upon the Greensand.

About three-fourths of the See also:

TOTAL

total area is under cultivation, and of this nearly five-eighths is in permanent pasture, while there are in addition about 26,000 acres of See also:

hill pasturage; the chalk downs being celebrated of old as See also:

sheep-walks. See also:

Wheat, See also:

BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

barley and oats are grown about equally. Turnips occupy nearly three-fourths of the See also:

AVERAGE

average under green crops. Sheep are largely kept, though in decreasing See also:

numbers. The old horned breed of Dorsetshire were well known, but Southdowns or Hampshires are now frequently preferred. Devons, shorthorns and Herefords are the most See also:

COMMON

common breeds of See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle. See also:

DAIRY

Dairy farming is an important See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry. Other See also:

INDUSTRIES

Industries.—The quarries of Isles of Portland and Purbeck are important. The first supplies a white freestone employed for many of the finest buildings in London and else-where. Purbeck marble is famous through its frequent use by the architects of many of the most famous See also:

GOTHIC

Gothic churches in England. A valuable product of Purbeck is a white pipeclay, largely applied to the manufacture of See also:

CHINA

china, for which purpose it is exported to the See also:

POTTERIES, THE

Potteries of See also:

STAFFORDSHIRE

Staffordshire. Industries, beyond those of agriculture and See also:

QUARRYING

quarrying, are slight, though some See also:

SHIP

ship-building is carried on at Poole, and See also:

paper is made at several towns.

Other small manufactures are those of See also:

FLAX

flax and See also:

HEMP (in O. Eng. henep, cf. Dutch hennep, Ger. Hanf , cognate with Gr. Kavval3er, Lat. cannabis)

hemp in the neighbourhood of Bridport and Beaminster, of bricks, tiles and pottery in the Poole district, and of nets (braiding, as the industry is called) in some of the villages. There are See also:

SILK

silk-See also:

mills at Sherborne and elsewhere. There are numerous fishing stations along the coast, the fishing being mostly coastal. There are See also:

OYSTER

oyster beds in Poole Harbour. The chief ports are Poole, Weymouth, Swanage, Bridport, and Lyme Regis. The harbour of refuge at Portland, under the See also:

ADMIRALTY, HIGH COURT OF

Admiralty, is an important See also:

NAVAL

naval station, and is fortified. Communications.—The See also:

main line of the London & South Western railway serves Gillingham and Sherborne in the north of the county. Branches of this system serve Wimborne, Poole, Swanage, Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland. The two last towns, with Bridport, are served by the See also:

GREAT

Great Western railway; the See also:

Somerset & Dorset line (Midland and South Western See also:

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint)follows the Stour valley by Blandford and Wimborne; and Lyme Regis is the See also:

TERMINUS

terminus of a light railway from Axminster on the South Western line. See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

Population and See also:

ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

Administration.—The area of the See also:

ancient county is 632,270 acres, with a population in 1891 of 194,517, and in 1901 of 202,936. The area of the administrative county is 625,578 acres. The county contains 35 hundreds.

It is divided into northern, eastern, southern and western See also:

PARLIAMENTARY

parliamentary divisions, each returning one member. In contains the following municipal boroughs—Blandford See also:

FORUM (Lat. from foris, " out of doors ")

Forum (pop. 3649), Bridport (J710), Dorchester, the county town (9458), Lyme Regis (2095), Poole (19,463), Shaftesbury (2027), Wareham (2003), Weymouth and See also:

MELCOMBE, GEORGE BUBB DODDINGTON, BARON (169r–1762)

Melcombe Regis (19,831). The following are other See also:

urban districts—Portland (15,199), Sherborne (5760), Swanage (3408), Wimborne Minster (3696). Dorsetshire is in the western See also:

CIRCUIT (Lat. circuitus, from circum, round, and ire, to go)

circuit, and assizes are held at Dorchester. It has one See also:

court of See also:

QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter sessions, and is divided into nine See also:

PETTY, SIR WILLIAM (1623-1687)

petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester, Lyme Regis, Poole, and Weymouth and Melcombe Regis have See also:

SEPARATE

separate commissions of the See also:

peace, and the See also:

borough of Poole has in addition a separate, court of quarter sessions. There are 289 See also:

CIVIL

civil parishes. The ancient county, which is almost entirely in the See also:

DIOCESE (formed on Fr. diocese, in place of the Eng. form diocess—current until the 19th century—from Lat. dioecesis, med. Lat. variant diocesis, from Gr. Swucio•tc, " house-keeping," " administration," &miceas, " to keep house," " to govern ")

diocese of See also:

Salisbury, contains 256 ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly or in part. See also:

HISTORY

History.—The See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom of Wessex originated with the See also:

settlement of See also:

CERDIC (d. 534)

Cerdic and his followers in Hampshire in 495, and at some See also:

time before the beginning of the 8th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century the tide of See also:

CONQUEST

conquest and colonization spread beyond the Frome and Kennet valleys and swept over the district which is now Dorsetshire. In 705 the West Saxon see was transferred to Sherborne, and the numerous See also:

FOUNDATIONS

foundations of religious houses which followed did much to further the social and See also:

INDUSTRIAL

industrial development of the county; though the See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild and uncivilized See also:

state in which the county yet See also:

lay may be conjectured from the names of the hundreds and of their See also:

MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)

meeting-places, at barrows, boulders and vales. In 787 the Danes landed at Portland, and in 833 they arrived at Charmouth with See also:

THIRTY

thirty-five See also:

SHIPS

ships and fought with See also:

Ecgbert.

The See also:

SHIRE

shire is first mentioned by name in the Saxon See also:

CHRONICLE (from Gr. Xpovos, time)

Chronicle in 845, when the Danes were completely routed at the mouth of the Parret by the men of Dorsetshire under Osric the ealdorman. In 876 the invaders captured Wareham, but were driven out next See also:

YEAR

year by See also:

ALFRED

Alfred, and 120 of their ships were wrecked at Swanage. During the two following centuries Dorset was constantly ravaged by the Danes, and in 1015 Canute came on a plundering expedition to the mouth of the Frome. Several of the West Saxon See also:

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings resided in Dorsetshire, and IEthelbald and .iEthelbert were buried at Sherborne, and IEthelred at Wimborne. In the reign of Canute Wareham was the shire town; it was a thriving seaport, with a See also:

house for the See also:

king when he came there on his See also:

HUNTING (the verbal substantive from " hunt "; O. Eng. huntian, hunta; apparently connected with O. Eng. hentan, Gothic hinpan, to capture, O.H.G. hunda,booty)

hunting expeditions, a dwelling for the shire-See also:

reeve and See also:

ACCOMMODATION (Lat. accommodare, to make fit, from ad, to, cum, with, and modus, measure)

accommodation for the leading thegns of the shire. At the time of the Conquest Dorset formed part of Harold's earldom, and the resistance which it opposed to the Conqueror was punished by a merciless harrying, in which Dorchester, Wareham and Shaftesbury were much devastated, and Bridport utterly ruined. No Englishman retained estates of any importance after the Conquest, and at the time of the Survey the bulk of the See also:

LAND

land, with the exception of the See also:

FORTY

forty-six manors held by the king, was in the hands of religious houses, the abbeys of Cerne, Milton and Shaftesbury being the most wealthy. There were 272 mills in the county at the time of the Survey, and nearly eighty men were employed in working See also:

salt along the coast. Mints existed at Shaftesbury, Wareham, Dorchester and Bridport, the three former having been founded by 'Ethelstan. The forests of Dorsetshire were favourite hunting-grounds of the See also:

Norman kings, and King See also:

John in particular paid frequent visits to the county. No precise date can be assigned for the See also:

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment of the shire system in Wessex, but in the time of Ecgbert the kingdom was divided•into definite pagi, each under an ealdorman, which no doubt represented the later shires. The Inquisitio Geldi, See also:

DRAWN

drawn up two years before the Domesday Survey, gives the names of the 39 pre-Conquest hundreds of Dorset.

The 33 hundreds and Piddletrenthide, but both these were reconstructed in the Perpendicular See also:

period; Bere Regis See also:

church having a superb timber roof of that period. The See also:

DIALECT (from Gr. Sia stcror, conversation, manner of speaking, &aXeyec6at, to converse)

dialect of the county, perfectly distinguishable from those of Wiltshire and Somersetshire, yet bearing many common marks of Saxon origin, is admirably illustrated in some of the poems of See also:

William See also:

Barnes (q.v.). Many towns, villages and localities are readily to be recognized from their descriptions in the " Wessex " novels of See also:

Thomas See also:

Hardy (q.v.). 436 21 liberties of the See also:

PRESENT

present See also:

day retain some of the See also:

ORIGINAL

original names, but the boundaries have suffered much alteration. The 8000 acres of Stockland and Dalwood reckoned in the Dorset Domesday are now annexed to See also:

DEVON, EARLS OF

Devon, and the See also:

MANOR

manor of Holwell now included in Dorset was reckoned with Somerset until the 19th century. Until the reign of See also:

Elizabeth Dorset and Somerset were See also:

UNITED

united under one See also:

SHERIFF

sheriff. After the transference of the West Saxon see from Sherborne to Sarum in 1075, Dorset remained part of that diocese until 1542, when it was included in the newly formed diocese of Bristol. The archdeaconry was coextensive with the shire, and was divided into five rural deaneries at least as See also:

early as 1291. The vast See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power and See also:

WEALTH

wealth monopolized by the Church in Dorsetshire tended to check the rise of any great county families. The representatives of the families of See also:

Mohun, See also:

BREWER, JOHN SHERREN (1810-1879)

Brewer and See also:

Arundel held large estates after the Conquest, and William Mohun was created See also:

EARL

earl of Dorset by the empress Maud. The families of Clavel, See also:

LOVELL, FRANCIS LOVELL, VISCOUNT (1454-1487)

Lovell, Maundeville, Mautravers, Peverel and St Lo also came over with the Conqueror and figure prominently in the early See also:

ANNALS (Annales, from annus, a year)

annals of the county. Dorsetshire took no active part in the struggles of the Norman and See also:

PLANTAGENET

Plantagenet period.

In 1627 the county refused to send men to La Rochelle, and was reproved for its lack of zeal in the service of the state. On the outbreak of the Civil See also:

War of the 17th century the general feeling was in favour of the king, and after a series of royalist successes in 1643 Lyme Regis and Poole were the only garrisons in the county See also:

LEFT

left to the See also:

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

parliament. By the next year however, the parliament had gained the whole county with the exception of Sherborne and the Isle of Portland. The general aversion of the Dorsetshire See also:

PEOPLE

people to warlike pursuits is demonstrated at this period by the rise of the " clubmen," so called from their appearance without pikes or See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire-arms at the county musters, whose See also:

OBJECT

object was peace at all See also:

COSTS

costs, and who punished members of either party discovered in the See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act of plundering. In the 14th century Dorsetshire produced large quantities of wheat and See also:

WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool, and had a prosperous clothing See also:

trade. In 1626 the county was severely visited by the See also:

PLAGUE (in Gr. Xotµos; in Lat. pestis, pestilentia)

plague, and from this date the clothing industry began to decline. The See also:

HUNDRED

hundred of Pimperne produced large quantities of See also:

SALTPETRE (from the Lat. sal, salt, Petra, a rock)

saltpetre in the 17th century, and the serge manufacture was introduced about this time. Portland freestone was first brought into use in the reign of See also:

James I., when it was employed for the new banqueting house at See also:

WHITEHALL

Whitehall, and after the Great Fire it was extensively used by See also:

Sir See also:

CHRISTOPHER, SAINT (Christophorus, Christoferus)

Christopher See also:

Wren. In the 18th century Blandford, Sherborne and Lyme Regis were famous for their See also:

LACE (corresponding to Ital. merletto, trina; Genoese Pizzo; Ger. spitzen; Fr. dentelle; Dutch kanten; Span. encaje; the English word owes something to the Fr. lassis or laces, but both are connected with the earlier Lat. laqueus; early French laces were

lace, but the industry has now declined. The county returned two members to parliament in 1290, and as the chief towns acquired See also:

REPRESENTATION

representation the number was increased, until in 1572 the county and nine boroughs returned a total of twenty members. Under the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned three members, and Corfe See also:

Castle was disfranchised. By the Representation of the People Act of 1868 Lyme Regis was disfranchised, and by the Redistribution Act of 1885 the remaining boroughs were disfranchised.

Antiquities.—Remains of See also:

MEDIEVAL

medieval castles are inconsiderable, with the notable exception of Corfe Castle and the picturesque ruins of Sherborne Castle, both destroyed after the Civil War of the 17th century. The three finest churches in the county are the See also:

abbey church of Sherborne, Wimborne Minster and Milton Abbey church, a Decorated and Perpendicular structure erected on the site of a Norman church which was burnt. It has transepts, See also:

CHANCEL (through O. Fr. from Lat. plur. cancelli, dim. of cancer, grating, lattice, probably connected with an Indo-European root Kar-, to bend; cf. circus, curve, &c.)

chancel and central See also:

TOWER (Lat. turris; Fr. tour, clocker; Ital. torre; Ger. Thurm)

tower, but the See also:

NAVE

nave was not built. This was a See also:

BENEDICTINE

Benedictine See also:

FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation of the loth century, and the See also:

REFECTORY (med. Lat. refectorium, from reficere, to refresh)

refectory of the 15th century is incorporated in the See also:

MANSION (through O. Fr. mansion, mod. maison, from Lat. mansio, dwelling-place, stage on a journey; manere, to remain)

mansion built in 1772. At See also:

Ford Abbey part of the buildings of a Cistercian house are similarly incorporated. There are lesser monastic remains at Abbotsbury, Cerne and Bindon. The See also:

PARISH (Gr. irapouda, district, neighbourhood; 7r&poucos, one dwelling near or beside, from crap&, OtKOS, house; Lat. paroecur, Late Lat. parochia; cf. Fr. paroisse)

parish churches of Dorset-shire are not especially noteworthy as a whole, but those at Cerne Abbas and Beaminster are fine 'examples of the Perpendicular See also:

style, which is the most common in the county. A little See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good Norman See also:

WORK

work remains, as in the churches of Bere Regis and A curious ancient Survey of Dorsetshire was written by the Rev. Mr Coker, about the middle of the 17th century, and published from his MS. (London, 1732). See also J. Hutchins, History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset (London, 1774) ; and ed. by R.

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