Broadwindsor
Kelly's
Directory of Dorset 1931
BROADWINDSOR
is a village and parish, divided into 5 tithings; it is at the junction of the
roads from Beaminster and Lyme Rigis to Crewkerne, 7 miles north from Bridport
station on a branch of the Great Western railway and 6 south
from Crewkerne station, on the Southern railway, 3 north-west from
Beaminster and 10 north-east from Axminster, in the Western division of the
county, petty sessional division and rural district of Beaminster, county court
district of Bridport, rural deanery of Beaminster, archdeaconry of Sherborne and
diocese of Salisbury. The church of
St. John the Baptist is an ancient edifice of stone in the Norman, Early English
and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave of five bays with
clerestory, aisles, south porch, and an embattled western tower containing a
clock and 6 bells, 5 rehung and a
6th bell added in 1897: the north
aisle is Early English and the south aisle Norman: the tower is chiefly
Perpendicular: the pulpit is a beautiful and curious structure of wood, of
polygonal form, with a double row of panels, divided by a horizontal roll
enriched with arabesque work of carved foliage, and at the angles dividing the
panels are Perpendicular crocketed buttresses; this is the original pulpit used
by the celebrated Thomas FULLER: the font is Norman, with top of Purbeck marble:
and there is a stained window, erected in 1900 by Mrs. STEVENS, of Blagdon, as a memorial to members of her family: in 1868 the church was
restored and almost entirely rebuilt by the late Major Charles H MALAN
75th Regiment, at a cost of upwards of £4000, to whom the stained east window
is a memorial: there are 320
sittings. The parish register dates
from the year 1558, but there are some previous entries which are much decayed.
The registers have been rebound and carefully restored, where possible,
by experts at the Record Office, London. The
living is a vicarage, with Burstock annexed, by Order in Council, October 20th,
1902, joint net income £593, and residence, in the gift of the Bishop of
Salisbury, and held since 1923 by the Rev. George Herbert FORD, of
Gloucester College. There is a Congregational chapel, built in 1821 and seating
240 persons, and an iron Gospel hall holding 50.
The local charities amount to about £80 yearly, of which about £27 is
utilised for educational purposes.
Lewesdon and Pilsdon Hills, known as "Cow" and
"Calf," are conspicuous seamarks, close to the village of Broadwindsor;
the former is 900 feet above the level of the sea and the latter 909.
Leweson Hill, from which there are extensive and beautiful prospects, is
described in a poem by the Rev. William CROWE, public orator of the
University of Oxford and some time rector of Stoke Abbott.
Major Gen. Sir Reginald John PINNEY K.C.B., D.L., J.P. is lord of
the Manor. The land is principally owned by the farmers of the parish
and is used for grazing and dairypurposes.
The area is 6,303 acres; in 1921 the population was 901 in the civil and
986 in the ecclesiastical parish.
CHILDHAY
is a tithing, 2 1/2 miles north-west, on the Somerset border.
Netherhay is a hamlet, 2 1/2 miles north-west and has a Wesleyan chapel,
built in 1838, and seating 100. Little
Windsor, 1 1/4 miles north, is a tithing and a manor.DIBBERFORD is a tithing
2 miles north-east. BIRDSMOORGATE
is a hamlet 3 1/4 miles south-west.
BLACKDOWN
hamlet is 3 miles west. Holy
Trinity chapel of ease; at Blackdown, was erected in 1840 by the Ven. G. A.
DENISON, archdeacon of Taunton, and in 1900 a painted and carved reredos and
a painting of the "Nativity" were erected to his memory by Rev. G.
C. and Mrs. HUTCHINGS. The
chapel affords 250 sittings and has a stained east window, in memory of members
of the PINNEY family. There
is also a Congregational chapel, built in 1821, with 220 sittings, and a
Particular Baptist chapel seating 150.
At
DRIMPTON,
a tithing, 2 miles north-west, is St. Mary's chapel of ease, erected at the cost
of the Rev. S. C. MALAN D.D. a former vicar of Broadwindsor, and
consecrated in 1861, with 100 sittings.
Parish
Clerk, George J RANDELL
Post,
M. O., T. & T. E. D. Office. Letters
through Beaminster
Letters
for Birdsmoorgate through Bridport. Nearest
post office at Marshwood.
Police
Station, Broadwindsor.
Carrier
to Crewkerne - J J BARTLETT, tues. & fri. & to Bridport, wed.
& sat.
Conveyance. - Motor omnibuses run to Bridport & West Bay, wed. & sat.
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