Stalbridge

From Free net encyclopedia

Stalbridge
Image:050113 02 Stalbridge church.jpg
OS Grid Reference:	Template:Gbmappingsmall
Lat/Lon:	Template:Coor dm NW
Population:	2,579 (2001 Census)
Dwellings:	1,112 (2001 Census)
Formal status:	Parish
Administration
County:	Dorset
Region:	South West
Nation:	England
Post Office and Telephone
Post town:	Sturminster Newton
Postcode:	DT10
Dialling Code:	01963

Stalbridge is a small town and 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<ref>Dorset County Council & ONS, 2001 "Stalbridge Parish Profile." Accessed 2003-07-19.</ref>. 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<ref>Stalbridge Town Council, 2005. Introduction. Accessed 2005-12-30.</ref>

Though relatively small Stalbridge is quite independent, with its own small Supermarket, Newsagent, Electronics Store 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.

1 History
- 1.1 Stalbridge House
2 External links
3 Photographs
4 References

[edit]

History

There was a settlement near Stalbridge in Roman times. The town has a 15th century church with a 19th century tower, dedicated to Saint Mary and designed by T. H. Wyatt<ref name=mpr>Michael Pitt-Rivers, 1966. Dorset. London: Faber & Faber.</ref>, 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-tall market cross, said to be the finest in the country.

Stalbridge was home to scientist Robert Boyle (see below), and writer Douglas Adams. Adams wrote much of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the town, and chipped his tooth while singing in the church choir. The town also boasts that it is home to the oldest living male twins 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 honor the accession of King George II.

From September 1863 Stalbridge was served by 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<ref>Mike Oakley, 2001. Dorset Railway Stations. Wimborne: Dovecote Press ISBN 1874336962</ref>.

[edit]

Stalbridge House

In 1618 Mervyn, Lord Audley, Second Earl of Castlehaven, 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 tennant farmers out, and built a Jacobean style Mansion, the fifth largest house in Dorset.

In 1631 Audley's eldest son James brought a case against Audley 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 manor was his residence between 1644 and 1655. It was here that he conducted many of his experiments<ref name=mpr/>.

At some point during the house's history, a 2 metre high stone wall was built around the boundary of Stalbridge Park. There's some argument as to when and why the wall was built. It may have been commissioned by Audley (because he could - status symbol?), as work for French Prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars, or as work for local labourers in times of high unemployment.

In 1822 the house was in poor repair and the current owner, the Marquess of Anglesey, had it demolished<ref name=lth>Denys Kay-Robinson, 1984. The Landscape of Thomas Hardy. Exeter, Webb & Bower ISBN 086350020X</ref>, and by 1827 all that remained was the raised area it had stood on. 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"<ref name=lth/>.

[edit]