Descending the hill and passing through Osmington, where nothing need
detain us, we reach the village of Poxwell, a name that some authors
assure us is a corruption of Puck's well; but it is more likely that
it comes from _Pochesvill_ of the _Domesday_ Survey. This is the
"Oxwell" of the novels; and the singularly picturesque Jacobean house
is "Oxwell Hall", where resided old Derriman in the _Trumpet-Major_.
Apart from its literary associations this old building is well worth a
visit by anyone who is interested in these old types of domestic
architecture. It is one of hundreds of old manor houses in Dorset, and
elsewhere, that have become degraded in the social scale to the status
of a farmhouse. Its most pleasing and distinctive feature is the
gatehouse or porter's lodge, the keystone of the gateway arch bearing
the date 1634. The lower floor of this pleasing little erection gives
entrance to a beautiful walled-in garden of velvet lawns bordered by
bright flower-beds. The upper room, approached by a flight of stone
steps from the garden, is lighted by two small windows, one looking
towards the house, the other commanding a view of the drive. This
upper room is known as the "Fool's Chamber", the tradition being that
the fool of the family was allowed a last throw at any departing
guests from his coign of vantage. For the purposes of his story Mr.
Hardy has placed the house considerably nearer to "Overcombe" (Sutton)
than it really is.
A short walk from Poxwell would land us at Osmington Mills, on the
coast, a most delightful little spot, where hot lobster teas are one
of the standing dishes at the Picnic Inn. From here Lulworth can be
reached by a fine walk past Ringstead Bay and a long toil up the
grassy shoulder of Whitenose, the whole being one of the best coast
walks to be found in Dorset. The main road to Lulworth proceeds from
Poxwell to Warmwell Cross (Warm'ell Cross), the place where Stockdale
released the excisemen who had been overtaken by the smugglers. The
whole of this portion of the coast and its Hinterland, figure in Mr.
Hardy's smuggling stories, the illicit cargoes being hidden in the
neighbouring church of Owermoigne.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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