Wanderings in Wessex: An Exploration of the Southern Realm from Itchen to OtterHolmes, Edric
History
Wanderings in Wessex: An Exploration of the Southern Realm from Itchen to Otter
Holmes, Edric
England -- Description and travel
Holy Trinity Church was destroyed in the great fire. Another
conflagration in 1824 removed its successor. The present building only
dates from 1875 and is a fairly good Victorian copy of Early English.
All Saints' was rebuilt in 1845. It retains the canopied altar tomb of
Matthew Chubb (1625) under the tower. The organ here was presented by
the people of Dorchester, Massachusetts, for the founding of which
town John White, the rector of Holy Trinity, was mainly responsible.
[Illustration: NAPPER'S MITE.]
The County Museum, close to St. Peter's Church, should on no account
be missed. Here is stored a most interesting collection of British and
Roman antiquities found in and around Dorchester, and also of fossils
from the Dorset coast and elsewhere, together with many out-of-the-way
curiosities. "Napper's Mite" is the name given to the old almshouse in
South 1615 with money left for the Robert Napper. It has a queer open
gallery or stone verandah along the street front. Next door to it is
the Grammar School, which owes its inception to the Thomas Hardy who
is commemorated in St. Peter's, and whose benefactions to the town
were many and great. Of equal interest, perhaps, is a house on the
other side of the street that was once a school kept by William
Barnes, surely the most serene and kindly schoolmaster that ever
taught unruly youth. Barnes, in addition to his other literary work,
was secretary of the Dorset Museum, but his incumbency at Whitcombe
and the small addition to his income obtained in other ways did not
amount altogether to a "living" and he was forced to take up schooling
to make both ends meet. The poems were never a financial success,
though they always received a chorus of praise and appreciation and
led many literary lions to meet the author. After years full of sordid
cares Barnes was granted a civil list pension and the rectory of Came.
Here, in the midst of the peasantry he loved so well, this gentle
spirit passed away in 1886.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account