Thomas Hardy's DorsetHopkins, R. Thurston (Robert Thurston)
History
Thomas Hardy's Dorset
Hopkins, R. Thurston (Robert Thurston)
Dorset (England); Hardy, Thomas, 1840-1928
Poole Quay, where we smell the smell of tar, piled-up teak and reeking
pine, is an interesting place for lovers of the picturesque. Here we
find an old postern gate of Richard III.'s day, and the Town Cellar or
Wool House. The last recalls the days when Poole was part of the manor
of Canford. The lords of Canford sometimes received toll in kind, and
the goods handed over were stored in this "Town Cellar." It is
particularly interesting for the way its walls are formed, of flint and
large, squared pieces of stone.
The smuggling for which Poole was long notorious is handed down to
posterity by the following doggerel:--
"If Poole was a fish-pool, and the men of Poole fish,
There'd be a pool for the devil, and fish for his dish."
One of the most daring and successful of English buccaneers was _Harry
Page_ of Poole, or, as he was more commonly called, _Arripay_. His
enterprises were principally directed against the coasts of France and
Spain, where he committed such havoc that a formidable expedition was
fitted out in those countries to destroy him. It sailed along our
southern shores, destroying as opportunity offered, until it reached
Poole. Here it landed, and a battle ensued, in which the inhabitants
were driven from the town and the brother of Arripay killed.
The island of _Brownsea_ or _Branksea_ (it has a score of other
variations) is the most prominent feature in Poole Harbour. It is ovoid
in shape, about one and a half miles long by one mile broad, and lies
just within the narrow harbour entrance, the main channel sweeping round
its eastern side. This made the island of considerable importance in the
defence of the port, and led to the erection of _Brownsea Castle_
towards the end of the reign of Henry VIII. Prior to this Brownsea had
been part of the possessions of the Abbey of Cerne. The castle was
almost wholly destroyed by fire in 1896, and in the following year
rebuilt.
From Poole the pilgrim can cross by the toll-bridge to Hamworth and
visit Lytchett Minster, which is two miles north-west of the lonely
railway junction. Part of the action of _The Hand of Ethelberta_ takes
place in this neighbourhood. The sign of one of the village inns, "St
Peter's Finger," is one of the most interesting features of Lytchett
Minster. The sign shows St Peter holding up a hand with two extended
fingers, and is a curious instance of the way in which old terms and
traditions are exposed to corruption. Sir B. Windle explains the matter
tersely and clearly: "August the 1st, Lammas Day, known in the calendar
of the Catholic Church as St Peter ad Vincula, was one of the days on
which prædial service had to be done for the lord of certain manors, as
a condition of tenure by the occupants. Such lands were called St
Peter-ad-Vincula lands, a term which easily got corrupted into St
Peter's finger."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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