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Who's the lord of the county of Dorset circa 491?


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As the title says.

For context, I'm running an adventure (that spans over a few in-game years) where the lord of Dorset is accused by Roderick of letting a band of Saxton raiders pass through there without harm, so they could invade the county of Salisbury, and steal the babies of an obscure village, that's conveniently the home of the PK (this is a solo campaign).

(Why did they do that? It's a long story, so short version: they were cursed by an Pict witch into being unable to have any children, and thought that the village was where the witch was hiding out, so they raided it and managed to steal the babies, but not find the witch since she was elsewhere.)

Did the lord actually let them through? I don't know if the lord did, but someone high ranking in the county did. But first, I'd need to know who the lord was and if there's any info about him that I could pull from. Thanks in advance!

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1 hour ago, Call Me Deacon Blues said:

Praetor Jonathel is mentioned in gpc in 500, I believe. So presumably he became Praetor after St. Albans. Though I could be wrong, isn't a Praetor a Roman city authority? I think he's just in charge of Dorchester, though I could be wrong. 

The issue is that GPC had 'county nobles', each noble in charge of their own county. Dorset is ruled by a Praetor (not an earl) in 4e, which is also where Jonathel comes from. In my own headcanon, Jonathel takes over Dorchester and then unifies whole of Dorset under his rule to ride out the Anarchy, similarly to what happens in Salisbury.

I don't know why, but I have this name, Robustus or something like that, in my mind... In Uther, Sir Gyddno is named as the Sheriff of Dorsette, with the county castle at Durnovaria (Dorchester). And of course there is also Mesalla, the Bishop of Durnovaria.

2 hours ago, Tizun Thane said:

Sir Kynon, Baron of Meadowstream (Dorsette)

This is Wimborne in Dorset, close to Avon River. It would make sense that the Saxons would use the river to row up rather than walk, so this would make Sir Kynon a better candidate than Sir Tegwared (Wareham).

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On 9/15/2020 at 3:23 AM, Tizun Thane said:

According to the Book of Estate, you have in 485

  • Sir Kynon, Baron of Meadowstream (Dorsette)
  • Sir Tegwared, Baron of WeirstreamT (Dorsette)

In 531, you have the Praetor (duke) Jonathel of Dorsette. It could be his father too.

TY!

On 9/15/2020 at 6:03 AM, Morien said:

The issue is that GPC had 'county nobles', each noble in charge of their own county. Dorset is ruled by a Praetor (not an earl) in 4e, which is also where Jonathel comes from. In my own headcanon, Jonathel takes over Dorchester and then unifies whole of Dorset under his rule to ride out the Anarchy, similarly to what happens in Salisbury.

I don't know why, but I have this name, Robustus or something like that, in my mind... In Uther, Sir Gyddno is named as the Sheriff of Dorsette, with the county castle at Durnovaria (Dorchester). And of course there is also Mesalla, the Bishop of Durnovaria.

I prefer to use County Nobles in this era since IMHO I feel the alternative can become too complicated for players who don't enjoy the politics part of Pendragon. (Also this is a solo campaign btw, and every session is only 2 hours long, so I can't go into too much detail with this sorta stuff or we'll never get anywhere in the story.)

Excuse me for my ignorance, but I assume the Praetor rule came later in the timeline, while right now Dorsette is ruled by just another Earl. However, apparently there's a split between two barons? I can't decide if I want there to be an conflict of territory between those two npcs or an Romaboo who considers himself to be the self-proclaimed Praetor, something that everyone else considers to be pretentious as shit.

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2 hours ago, redmoongoddess said:

I prefer to use County Nobles in this era since IMHO I feel the alternative can become too complicated for players who don't enjoy the politics part of Pendragon. (Also this is a solo campaign btw, and every session is only 2 hours long, so I can't go into too much detail with this sorta stuff or we'll never get anywhere in the story.)

In that case, ignore the two barons and just have the Praetor ruling Dorset, as in 4e and implied in GPC.

2 hours ago, redmoongoddess said:

Excuse me for my ignorance, but I assume the Praetor rule came later in the timeline, while right now Dorsette is ruled by just another Earl. However, apparently there's a split between two barons? I can't decide if I want there to be an conflict of territory between those two npcs or an Romaboo who considers himself to be the self-proclaimed Praetor, something that everyone else considers to be pretentious as shit.

Praetor Jonathel is mentioned in Year 500 of GPC, and "Praetor Dorset" is mentioned as one member of the Supreme Collegium in 485 (BoU changed the Logres Supreme Collegium members into churchmen, so this position went to the Bishop of Dorchester instead). Given that Praetor is a Roman title and Dorchester is a Roman civitas/city, it is easier to take this as survival of the Roman titles and customs rather than something resurrected a century after the Roman Empire left.

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10 hours ago, Morien said:

In that case, ignore the two barons and just have the Praetor ruling Dorset, as in 4e and implied in GPC.

You could say there is 2 barons in 480 and one praetor in 500. After 495, everything became possible.

Otherwise, you could say the two barons are bannerets of the Praetor of the time. A banneret is much more manageable than a count (Praetor).

12 hours ago, redmoongoddess said:

I prefer to use County Nobles in this era since IMHO I feel the alternative can become too complicated for players who don't enjoy the politics part of Pendragon.

Did someone play with with the scattered holdings? Honest question.

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1 hour ago, Tizun Thane said:

You could say there is 2 barons in 480 and one praetor in 500. After 495, everything became possible.

Otherwise, you could say the two barons are bannerets of the Praetor of the time. A banneret is much more manageable than a count (Praetor).

Yeah, and it might just be a matter of technicality. I believe, technically, any landholder who is a direct vassal of the King is considered to be a Baron, regardless of the size of his holding. So I suppose you could have two knights who are technically Barons, but who don't have the holdings, income and men normally associated with the rank of Baron. So yeah, they could easily be Bannerets who got land from Uther or Aurelius. Probably thee latter since, there probably would have been more oppotunities to win such a title during Aureliu's invasion and march through Logres in the late 460s. 

 

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

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14 hours ago, redmoongoddess said:

I prefer to use County Nobles in this era since IMHO I feel the alternative can become too complicated for players who don't enjoy the politics part of Pendragon. (Also this is a solo campaign btw, and every session is only 2 hours long, so I can't go into too much detail with this sorta stuff or we'll never get anywhere in the story.)

One of the nice things about the pacing of Pendragon, and the nature of the adventures is that a GM can emphasis whatever aspects appeal to their gaming group, and downplay the other aspects. 

Two hours does force you to remain focused to the major events in order to move the story along.

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

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In the Book of Uther, there are eight Roman civitates in Logres that retain the right to self-government, and Durnovaria/Dorsette is one of them. This means it has its own senate and senators, and it fields its own army and officers. In The Great Pendragon Campaign, the title "praetor" is said to refer (in this context) to refer to a lord whose power derives from the city he rules. So, Praetor Jonathel might be the guy in charge overall of Durnovaria/Dorsette, and he would have been elected by the city's senate rather than appointed to that job by the king like a sheriff or duke, or inheriting it like a count (but unlike the consuls of old, he has no equal and doesn't have a limit on his term of service). You could easily say that, in the chaos of the Anarchy, he became the guy everyone in the county looked to for leadership and protection, and so became the de facto count and when Arthur came to power he just made that official. Whether he had the job earlier and just managed to miss the Infamous Feast for whatever reason (he wasn't at St. Albans, he was but he was injured, he was but he's a famously Temperate man who drank only water, etc.) is something you can decide as you think would suit your campaign best.

Either way, as Durnovaria/Dorsette/Dorchester is the main port in the county and would certainly be the base of whatever coastal/riverine defenses might exist to drive off Saxon incursions, the city's authorities would absolutely be the first people you'd want to ask/accuse when a band of Saxons somehow manage to boat themselves all the way up to Salisbury and make off with a bunch of babies.

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3 hours ago, Leingod said:

Either way, as Durnovaria/Dorsette/Dorchester is the main port in the county

Dorchester is not a port town. It is not even on the coast.

3 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

any landholder who is a direct vassal of the King is considered to be a Baron, regardless of the size of his holding.

Only if they hold their land as a baron, per baroniam. A vassal knight of the King is still just a knight. The dividing line is a bit blurry between a banneret and a minor baron, more a matter of a title, but in the neighborhood of £100. There is overlap.

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18 minutes ago, Morien said:

Only if they hold their land as a baron, per baroniam. A vassal knight of the King is still just a knight. The dividing line is a bit blurry between a banneret and a minor baron, more a matter of a title, but in the neighborhood of £100. There is overlap.

Extremly blurry. Historically there is no actual defined dividing line. It was more a matter of custom that some people were considered Barons and others Baronets (or Bannerets). Most of the titles for Upper Nobility is similarly blurry and comes down more to who/when/where than to any sort of official critera. Especially as time went on. Most of the title were originally Roman with specific functions but that all got blurred in the post Roman period.

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

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7 hours ago, redmoongoddess said:

In this case, I'm considering having it be the county of Southports instead that's accused, unless there's a port/Beach in Dorset that works better for an secret Saxon spy raid.

Where is the PK manor located? River Avon goes through Dorset, and its mouth is probably a better location for a Saxon base than Hantonne, which is a quite busy port, so secrecy is much harder to guarantee, as well as the access for the Saxons. The Royal Admiral would pretty much have to be involved. So I think that your earlier idea of using Dorset is better. Dorset itself does have harbors and ports, I was merely commenting on Dorchester itself being inland rather than a busy port like Hantonne.

 

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The Dorset coast is famous for smugglers, as it happens, with plenty of beaches and sea caves that were used to bring in goods in secret in the 18th century. So there is no shortage of real geography that the Saxons could exploit.

Also, now that Syagrius is no longer a “praetor,” the most likely explanation of the Dorset praetorship is perhaps that it’s a unique affectation and not an actual title, civic or otherwise. The count became known as “the Praetor,” because of the first count’s fondness for obscure bits of Roman antiquity, but it doesn’t mean anything specific. I think it’s not really suitable to be a surviving Roman title in Britain - while there was still an official called the praetor in late antiquity, I am fairly certain you would only find such a creature in Rome and Constantinople, and it had been a long time since praetors existed outside that context.  Happy to be corrected if there were praetors running around in the 5th century - it’s not a period that I know particularly well.

EDIT: It occurred to me that one could approach the question from the other direction - “praetor” not as a “real” survival in Pendragon’s pseudohistory but as a much later medieval Latin thing, like all the other medieval things retrojected onto the 5th-6th centuries.  So I looked up “praetor” in the DMLBS, and medieval English authors use “praetor” with varying degrees of fancifulness as a translation for various positions, mostly ones that reflect the praetor’s role in ancient Rome as a judge.  

One that caught my eye was the use of “praetor” as a translation of “sheriff.”  One possibility is that Jonathel starts the Anarchy as the Sheriff of Dorset in control of the county castle and royal treasury at Dorchester.  If he also holds significant lands in Dorset, that’s a very plausible power-base for dominating the county.  His most important title is Sheriff, so that’s what people know him as, the “Sheriff of Dorset.”  But because Dorset is (or used to be, anyway) all-Roman, there are plenty of literate people there who are talking about him in Latin, and they translate whatever people “really” call sheriffs as “praetores,” pretty much as if this were the 11th century.   

Edited by Voord 99
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9 hours ago, Morien said:

Where is the PK manor located? River Avon goes through Dorset, and its mouth is probably a better location for a Saxon base than Hantonne, which is a quite busy port, so secrecy is much harder to guarantee, as well as the access for the Saxons. The Royal Admiral would pretty much have to be involved. So I think that your earlier idea of using Dorset is better. Dorset itself does have harbors and ports, I was merely commenting on Dorchester itself being inland rather than a busy port like Hantonne.

 

I realized that Dorest would work more after I wrote my last post. The PK's manor is closer to there and I find the idea of being right by an strongly Roman descended territory to be an interesting one. So yeah, Dorest it is. 

@Voord 99, TY for mentioning the smuggler caves in Dorest, that will be a MAJOR plot thread in the future, no doubt about it.

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18 hours ago, redmoongoddess said:

In this case, I'm considering having it be the county of Southports instead that's accused, unless there's a port/Beach in Dorset that works better for an secret Saxon spy raid.

Dorchester is about 8 miles or so from the port of Weymouth- that might work for you. There is some historical infomation about Wemouth at British History.ac.uk, specially (beware TMI):

Quote

Weymouth and Melcombe-Regis

WEYMOUTH and MELCOMBE-REGIS, a sea-port, borough, and market-town, having separate jurisdiction, and the head of a union, in the Dorchester division of Dorset, 8 miles (S. by W.) from Dorchester, and 129 (S. W. by W.) from London; containing 7708 inhabitants of whom 2669 arc in Wey mouth. This borough comprises the towns of Weymouth and Melcombe, forming opposite boundaries of the harbour, in the conveniences of which they had their origin, and to terminate their mutual rivalry for the exclusive possession of which, they were united into one borough in the 13th of Elizabeth. Weymouth, which derives its name from its situation at the mouth of the river Wey, is the more ancient, and was probably known to the Romans, as in the immediate neighbourhood there are evident traces of a vicinal way, leading from one of the principal landing stations connected with their camp at Maiden Castle, to the via Icemana, where the town of Melcombe-Regis now stands. The earliest authentic notice of it occurs in a grant by Athelstan in 938, wherein he gives to the abbey of Milton "all that water within the shore of Waymouth and half the stream of that Waymouth out at sea, a saltern, &c." It is also noticed in the Norman survey, with several other places, under the common name of Wai, or Waia, among which it. is clearly identified by the mention of the salterns exclusively belonging to it.

fig390.gif

Arms of Weymouth and Melcombe-Regis.

The ports of Weymouth and Melcombe, with their dependencies, were granted by charters of Henry I. and II. to the monks of St. Swithin, in Winchester, from whom, by exchange, Weymouth passed into the possession of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, who, in the reigns of Henry III. and Edward I., held it with view of frankpledge and other immunities. His successor Lionel, Duke of Clarence, obtained many privileges for the town, which he made a borough, and which, through his heir Edward IV., subsequently reverted to the crown, and formed part of the dowry of several queens of England. In the time of Edward II. it received the staple of wine, and collectors were appointed in the 4th and 6th years of that king's reign, to receive the duties. Weymouth, in the 10th of Edward III., had become a place of some importance, and, with Melcombe and Lyme, contributed several ships towards the equipment of the expedition to Gascony. In the year 1347, it furnished 20 ships and 264 mariners towards the fleet destined for the siege of Calais: in this subsidy, Melcombe, though not mentioned, was probably included. In 1471, Margaret of Anjou, with her son, Prince Edward, landed here from France, to assist in restoring her husband, Henry VI., to the throne; and in the 20th of Henry VII., Philip, King of Castile, on his voyage from Zealand to Spain, with a fleet of 80 ships, on board of which was his queen, being driven by a storm on the English coast, put into Weymouth for safety. This port, in 1588, contributed six ships to oppose the armada of Spain; and one of the enemy's vessels, having been taken in the English Channel, was brought into Weymouth harbour.

Melcombe-Regis, on the north side of the harbour, derived its name from being situated in a valley, in which was an ancient mill; and its adjunct Regis from its having formed part of the crown demesnes. The place is not mentioned in Domesday book, being included in the parish of Radipole, which at that time belonged to Cerne Abbey; it passed from the monks into the possession of the crown at an earlier period than Weymouth, and, in the reign of Edward I., became the dowry of Queen Eleanor, on which account it obtained many valuable privileges. In the time of Edward III., it was made one of the staple towns for wool, and flourished considerably j but in the following reign, having been burnt by the French, it became so greatly impoverished, that the inhabitants petitioned the king to be excused from paying their customs. Edward IV., in order to afford relief, granted them a new charter, conferring the same privileges as were enjoyed by the citizens of London.

In the reign of Elizabeth, the lords of the council, wearied by the continual disputes of the two towns, which were both boroughs and endowed with extensive privileges, by the advice of Cecil, lord treasurer, united them into one borough by an act of parliament (confirmed by James I.) under the designation of "The United Borough and Town ofWeymouth and Melcombe Regis." Weymouth afterwards gradually fell into decay, and suffered greatly during the civil war, being alternately garrisoned for both parties. In 1644, it was evacuated by the royalists, on which occasion several ships, and a great quantity of arms, fell into the hands of the parliament. The royalists soon after attempted to recover it, but the garrison sustained the attack for eighteen days, and finally obliged them to raise the siege. An additional fort was built in 1645, on the Weymouth side of the harbour, to defend it from the incursions of the Portlanders 5 and four years afterwards, the corporation petitioned for an indemnification for the destruction of their bridge and chapel (the latter, from its commanding situation, having been converted into a fort), and for assistance in the maintenance of the garrison. This application appears to have been disregarded. In 1666, however, a brief was granted to repair the damage; and in 1673, another was bestowed for the collection of £3000, to amend the injury the town had received from an accidental fire, whereby a considerable portion of it had been destroyed. The rise of Poole, which was rapidly growing into importance, the decay of the haven, and the loss of its trade, with various other causes, contributed to the decline of the town, which, from an opulent commercial port, had in the middle of the last century almost sunk into a mere fishing-town. Ralph Allen, Esq., of Bath, in 1763 first brought it into notice as a bathingplace; and the visits of the Duke of Gloucester, and afterwards of George III. and the royal family, with whom it was a favourite resort, laid the foundation of its present prosperity.

The town is beautifully situated on the western shore of a fine open bay in the English Channel, and is separated into two parts by the river Wey, which, expanding to a considerable breadth, in its progress to the bay, forms a small, but secure and commodious harbour. On the south side is Weymouth, at the foot of a high hill near the mouth of the river 3 and on the north side Melcombe-Regis, on a peninsula connected with the main land by a narrow isthmus which separates the waters of the bay from those formed by the estuary of the river, called the Backwater. A long stone bridge of two arches, with a swivel in the centre to admit small vessels into the upper part of the harbour, was erected by act of parliament in the 1st of George IV., and connects the two parts of the town. Since the place has become of fashionable resort for sea-bathing, various handsome ranges of building, and a theatre, assembly-rooms, and other places of public entertainment, have been erected. Among the former, Belvidere, the Crescent, Gloucester-row, Royal-terrace, Chesterfield-place, York-buildings, Charlotte-row, Augustaplace, and Clarence, Pulteney, and Devonshire buildings, are conspicuous 5 to which may be added Brunswickbuildings, a line of houses at the entrance of the town, and numerous villas in the vicinity. From the windows of these buildings, which face the sea, a most extensive and delightful view is obtained, comprehending, on the left, a noble range of hills and cliffs extending for many miles in a direction from west to east, and the sea in front, with the vessels, yachts, and pleasure-boats which are continually entering and leaving the harbour. The town, especially on the Melcombe side of the harbour, is regularly built. It has two principal streets, parallel with each other, intersected by others at right angles; is well paved and lighted, under the provisions of an act passed in 1766; and is supplied by a public company, incorporated by another act, with excellent water, conveyed by pipes from the Boiling Rock, in the parish of Preston, a distance of two miles. The houses not erected for visiters are in general roofed with tiles, and are low and of indifferent appearance.

About a mile to the south-west are the remains of Weymouth, or Sandsfoot, Castle, erected by Henry VIII., in the year 1540, on the threatened invasion of the Pope, and described by Leland as "a right goodly and warlyke castle, having one open barbicane." It is quadrangular in form. The north front is nearly destroyed, the masonry with which it was faced having been removed; the greater part of the south front fell into the sea in 1837. A low building, broader than the castle, flanks its east and west sides. The walls, in some parts, are of amazing thickness, but in a very dilapidated state, and rapidly falling to decay. On the south of the town are the cavalry barracks, a commodious range of building. The Esplanade, the finest marine promenade in the kingdom, is 30 feet broad, rising from the sands, and secured by a strong wall; it extends in a circular direction, parallel with the bay, a mile in length, and commands a beautiful view of the sea, and the mountainous range of cliffs by which the bay is inclosed. Among the buildings that adorn it is the Royal Lodge, where George III. resided when visiting the place, comprising several houses of handsome, though not uniform, appearance. Some flights of steps, of Portland stone, lead to the sands, to which also is a gently sloping descent from the Esplanade throughout its whole length: in the centre is the principal public library. The assemblyrooms form part of the Royal hotel, a handsome range with commodious stabling and other appendages, occupying an area 600 feet in length and 250 in breadth, the whole erected at an expense of £6000, advanced on shares of £100 each. The theatre is a neat and wellarranged edifice. Races were established in 1821, which take place in August, and are generally well attended; among the prizes contended for are the queen's plate of 100 guineas, the members' of 50 guineas, and the ladies' and tradesmen's plates. The course is situated a mile from the town. About the time of the races, a splendid regatta is celebrated.

The bay has a fine circular sweep of nearly two miles, and being sheltered from the north and north-cast winds by a continuous range of hills, the water is generally calm and transparent. The sands are smooth, firm, and level; and so gradual is the descent towards the sea, that, at the distance of 300 feet, the water is not more than five feet deep. Numerous bathing-machines are kept, and on the South Parade is an establishment of hot salt-water baths. At the south entrance of the harbour are the piers; two new quays have been erected of late years, and the harbour has been deepened. Part of the ground over which the sea formerly flowed has been embanked, and is now covered with buildings; other parts are inclosed with iron-railings, which form a prominent feature on the Esplanade. The bay almost at all times affords facilities for aquatic excursions, its surface being never disturbed, except by violent storms from the south or south-east; yachts and pleasure-boats are always in readiness, the fares of which are under strict regulations. The air is so mild and pure that the town is not only frequented during the summer, but has been selected by many opulent families as a permanent residence; and the advantages it possesses in the excellence of its bay, the beauty of its scenery, and the healthfulness of its climate, have contributed to raise it from the low state into which it had fallen, from the depression of its commerce, to one of the most flourishing towns in the kingdom.

The port formerly carried on an extensive trade with France, Spain, Norway, and Newfoundland, in the fishery of which last it employed eighty vessels; but the war with France, after the Revolution, put an end to its commerce with that country; the trade with Newfoundland was, in a great measure, transferred to Poole; and the accumulation of sand in the harbour, operating with other causes, considerably diminished its importance. A few vessels, however, are still engaged in the American and Mediterranean trade, in addition to which there is a tolerable coasting-trade. The principal imports are coal, timber, wine, brandy, geneva, tobacco, and rice, for which it was made a bonding-port by an order of council in 1817; and the chief exports are Portland stone, pipeclay, Roman cement, bricks, tiles, slates, corn, and flour. The number of vessels of above fifty tons registered at the port is 56, and their aggregate burthen 6037 tons. Ship-building is carried on to some extent; and many persons are employed in the manufacture of rope, twine, and cordage, and in making sails. The quay, on which is the custom-house, is well adapted to loading and unloading goods, but, from the accumulation of sand in the harbour, it is not accessible to ships of large burthen. Post-office steam-packets sail regularly, on Wednesday and Saturday, for Guernsey, Jersey, and the neighbouring islands; and arrangements have been lately made for establishing a communication by steam with Cherbourg, on the coast of France, twice a week. An act was passed in 1846 for making a line called the Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth railway, to run from Weymouth northward to the counties of Wilts and Somerset. In 1847 an act was passed for reducing the harbour dues, and consolidating the harbour and bridge trusts. The market-days are Tuesday and Friday: the town is abundantly supplied with fish of every description, with the small mutton from the Isle of Portland, and with provisions of all kinds.

Weymouth and MelcombeRegis, which had been distinct boroughs, and had returned members to parliament, the latter since the 8th, and the former since the 12th, of Edward II., were united into one borough, as already observed, by charter of Elizabeth. The corporation now consists of a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors, under the act 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, and the number of magistrates is six; the borough is divided into two wards, and the municipal and parliamentary boundaries, including 812 acres, are co-extensive. From its union, it continued to return four members to parliament until the 2nd of William IV., when it was deprived of two: the mayor is returning officer. There is a court of record every Tuesday, for the recovery of debts to any amount. The powers of the county debt-court of Weymouth, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Weymouth. A handsome town-hall, in the market-place, has been erected within the last few years, the old one having become dilapidated; under it are a small prison and watch-house.

fig391.gif

Corporation Seal.

Weymouth is a chapelry to Wyke-Regis: the tithes have been commuted for £20. The chapel, dedicated to St. Nicholas, and situated on the top of the hill, long since disappeared; but the site, called Chapel-Hay, is distinctly marked by large stones at the four corners. Under the hill, and nearly adjoining this site, a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity was built from a design by Mr. P. Wyatt, at the expense of the Rev. George Chamberlaine, late rector of Wyke: underneath it are catacombs capable of containing upwards of 1000 bodies. Melcombe was originally a chapelry to Radipole, from which it was separated in 1605, when a church was built on the site of the former chapel, and made parochial: the living is a rectory, with the living of Radipole annexed, valued in the king's books at £11. 5. 5.; net income, £298; patron, W. Wyndham, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, having become greatly dilapidated, an act of parliament was obtained in the 55th of George III., for rebuilding it, which was completed in 1817; it is a neat edifice containing upwards of 2000 sittings, including 500 sittings purchased by the Rev. G. Chamberlaine, at an expense of £500, for the exclusive use of the poor. The interior is neatly fitted up, and the altarpiece is embellished with a painting of the Last Supper, by Sir James Thornhill. There are places of worship for Independents, Baptists, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics. Of the several bequests for education, are, one of £70 per annum, and another of £28, for six boys, left by Mr. Taylor in 1753. The poor-law union of Weymouth comprises eighteen parishes or places, and contains a population of 18,683.

In the centre of the town was a priory of Black canons, dedicated to St. Winifred, founded by some member of the Rogers family, of Bryanston: the buildings occupied a quadrangular area of nearly one acre. At Nottington, two miles and a half distant, on the Dorchester road, is a mineral spring, the water of which is considered efficacious in scrofula; and about a mile from the town is Radipole Spa, discovered in 1830 by John Henning, Esq. Five miles from Weymouth is the burning cliff at Holworth, which was first introduced to public notice by Mr. George Frampton, in 1827, and has since attracted the notice of naturalists. Certain masses of septaria, which, when sawn asunder, exhibit beautiful specimens of spar, cornua ammonis, &c, were discovered a few years since in the rear of Melcombe. Thornhill, the celebrated painter, was a native of Melcombe, and represented that borough in parliament. The late Mr. John Harvey, of Weymouth, projected the plan of a breakwater for Portland Roads, which has been matured and improved by his son, the present postmaster of the town. Melcombe conferred the title of baron on Bubb Doddington, with whom it became extinct; Weymouth gives that of Baron to the family of Thynne.

 

Edited by Atgxtg

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

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On 9/22/2020 at 12:29 AM, redmoongoddess said:

port/Beach in Dorset

Poole Harbour is quite an amazing place - a valley sunk after the last ice age, and one of the largest harbours in the world.   Brownsea Island would be a perfect place to have an adventure against a secret Saxon camp...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poole_Harbour

As an aside, the first good beach you get to (in my opinion) on the south Coast (heading from the East) is just off the harbour - Knoll beach, Studland.

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