03-12-2010, 08:08 AM
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Episode 5 Dorset
DorsetAbbotsbury
A small picturesque and historic village in the county of Dorset. Situated near the coast in one of the most unspoilt regions of England called 'The Fleet' which is an 8 mile long lagoon along the beautiful Dorset coastline. It was on the Fleet that in 1943 during the second world war Barnes Wallis tested his famous Bouncing Bomb which was used to great affect against the Nazis to destroy the dams in the famous Dam Buster raids. One of these bombs can actually be seen in the Swannery at Abbotsbury.
Bournemouth
Has been a place of international acclaim since Edward VII brought his mistress Lillie Langtry here in 19th and 20th-centuries. The other major event in the making of the resort was the railway which reached here in 1890, hither-there-to, the town was mainly residential.
Seven miles of glorious golden sands, fringed by the bluest of seas lapping the shore, make Bournemouth a firm favourite for family holidays. The beach is backed by wide promenades, and tree-clad cliffs which are descended by zigzag paths. It is an attractive town, made more beautiful by huge floral displays and wonderful sub-tropical plants whose year round growth is encouraged by Bournemouth's mild climate.
Dorchester
The county town of Dorset and is the heart of Thomas Hardy's Wessex. On the outskirts of the town you will find Hardy’s birthplace and family home in Higher Bockhampton. Dorchester is a fine place to shop, with many boutiques and some larger names too. In one of Dorchester's historic streets you'll also find the lodging house of the infamous Judge Jeffrey's, also known as 'the hanging judge' who presided over the legendary Bloody Assize that followed Monmouth’s defeat at Sedgemoor.
Lyme Regis
The history of this bright seaside resort goes back to the 8th-century when monks panned salt from the sea. Lyme Regis has played its part in every period of English history to touch the town, and annually the Sealed Knot celebrates the Siege of Lyme which took place in 1644.
Beatrix Potter based some of her illustrations around the town, scenes for the BBC drama Persuasion were filmed here during the 1990's, and parts of Lyme Regis provided the backdrop for scenes of The French Lieutenant's Woman
Poole
. The town is 32 kilometres (20 mi) east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council. The town had a population of 138,288 according to the 2001 census, making it the second largest settlement in Dorset.
Human settlement in the area dates back to before the Iron Age. The earliest recorded use of the town’s name was in the 12th century when the town began to emerge as an important port, prospering with the introduction of the wool trade. In later centuries the town had important trade links with North America and at its peak in the 18th century it was one of the busiest ports in Britain. During the Second World War the town was one of the main departing points for the D-Day landings of the Normandy Invasion.
Worth Matravers.
Picturesque Dorset village with a history pre-dating Roman times as evidenced by the medieval lynchets cut into the steep hillsides.
The village boasts one of the oldest chapel's in Dorset - St.Aldhelm's. Built of stone and unusual in shape the church occupies an outstanding location at the tip of St.Aldhelm's Head overlooking the sea.
Quintessentially English in style, the village epitomises English rural life. It has a pleasant tea room, charming duck pond in the centre of the village and a quaint village inn - The Square and Compass. There is a good village store, post office, and a pleasant craft centre for gifts.
In the 12th-century civil war, Dorset was fortified with the construction of the defensive castles at Corfe Castle, Powerstock, Wareham and Shaftesbury
One of the ancient counties of England, lies on the south west coast, and it was a part of the kingdom of Wessex before the emergence of the English state in the ninth century.
The first mention of Dorset ('Dorsetshire') was in 841. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Dorset endured, becoming one of the historic 39 English counties (largely unchanged since the Domesday Book of 1086).
During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Dorset became infamous as a bastion of the smuggling trade.
Dorset is ranked second in the United Kingdom for the quality of its living environment, both natural and constructed.
Wemouth, Dorset, was established as a holiday resort in the late 18th century when King George III holidayed there on a regular basis.
In the nineteenth century a group of Dorset men were transported to Australia for the crime of belonging to a trades union! They have gone down in history as The Tolpuddle Martys.
The funeral request of Dorset poet and author Thomas Hardy was that he be buried next to his first wife Emma. In the event his wish was ignored. A form of compromise was reached whereby only his heart would be removed and buried with Emma, allowing his cremated body to be buried with full honours in Poets Corner at Westminster Abbey.
A popular rumour has persisted since Hardy’s death that his heart was snatched from the kitchen by the family cat before interment, and dragged into the woods and lost.
The world's first recorded vaccination took place at a farm near Sherborne, Dorset, in 1774. At this time, there was a smallpox epidemic going on, and the farmer, Benjamin Jesty, noticed that his two dairymaids had suffered from the milder complaont of cowpox, and, while nursing family members who were suffering from smallpox, had not caught the more desdly disease themselves. Jesty, therefore, gave his wife and children a small dose of cowpox from a cow who had the disease. All of them suffered from cowpox for a few days, but none of them caught the smallpox. This was 20 years before Edward Jenner first used vaccination.
Famous People
Virginia Wade, the tennis player, was born in Bournemouth, Dorset,
Anthony Blunt a Spy
Thomas Hardy Poet
John Le Carre (Smiley's People/Tinker,Tailor, Solier Spy)
Tim Berners-Lee, Do you know who he is? You would not be here without him.
Christopher Chataway I wish I could run like he did.
Episode 6 Washington DC
03-12-2010, 09:00 PM
5
Re: Episode 5 Dorset
I'm coming along slowly on the old computer and I've been looking at Worth Matravers on google maps, it looks a very pretty place, love to have a pint in 'The old granary'. It's great to be able to see the interesting places you point out AB, God bless Tim Berners-Lee.|
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