Articles

  • Tollgates

    Introduction During the period 1750-1780 Dorset experienced profound changes in its road systems with the introduction of Toll Roads in many parts of the county. The Great West Road from London to Exeter passed through Shaftesbury, the important market town some five miles north of the village of Fontmell Magna. Eight miles to the south,…

  • Guest Article from Clayesmore School

    Until now all our articles have been about Fontmell Magna or Fontmell people. However, the village is closely associated with several other local villages and with the market towns of Shaftesbury and Blandford Forum. We thought it would be appropriate, therefore, to invite occasional guest articles from outside the village. In the first of these…

  • The First 60 Years of the Parish Council

    In December 2004 we published an article about the first meetings of the newly formed Parish Council (PC) which dealt with the inaugural meetings in December 1894 and January 1895. This new article highlights some of the issues that confronted the council during its first sixty years of service to the community. It is based…

  • Looking for your Fontmell Antecedants

    FONTMELL FAMILIES 1653-1687 Our website articles are normally accompanied by pictures specially selected for their relevance to the text which they illustrate. But this text-only article is published in response to the widespread interest in family histories, in the hope that it will offer some assistance to those searching for information about the most numerous…

  • Fontmell Marriages in Local Parishes

    THE PARISH OF FONTMELL MAGNA includes the village of Fontmell Magna and the hamlets of Bedchester and Hartgrove. It is bordered to the north by the parish of Compton Abbas; to the east by Ashmore, to the south by Sutton Waldron; and to the west by East Orchard and Margaret Marsh. Beyond Compton Abbas lies…

  • A 20th Century Domesday Book

    A 20th Century Domesday Book

    FONTMELL MAGNA FARM SURVEY 1941 Entering the third year of WWII, Britain had to grow even more food – especially grain – to counteract the U-boat menace. The Government set up the War Agricultural Executive Committee (the ‘War Ag’) with legally enforceable powers to demand that farmers plough up pasture for crops and concentrate on…

  • Memories of a Fontmell-born Inhabitant

    Memories of a Fontmell-born Inhabitant

    Editorial introduction: In about 1970 Charlie Andrews (as he was always known) wrote down some of his memories about his life in Fontmell Magna. He was very devoted to the village and ended his notes with ‘Fontmell Born and Proud of it’. The text appeared in several forms and in one of them, an interview…

  • Fontmell Policemen in the 19th Century

    This is the story of the policemen and their families who lived in the police house in South Street, Fontmell Magna, which was the former Toll House on the Shaftesbury to Blandford turnpike road. Although the formation of the Dorset Constabulary did not begin until the autumn of 1856, the magistrates of the Shaftesbury, Blandford,…

  • Then and Now

    As our archive contains many old photographs of the village, we thought it might be interesting to compare some of them with pictures taken today. Many of the early photos were taken about 100 years ago, some even longer ago, some a little later. It proved quite difficult at times to capture exactly the same…

  • St Andrew’s Primary School

    St Andrew’s Primary School Fontmell Magna has had a village school since 1843. The original building was replaced in 1864 by the one we see today. It was originally designed to provide for 140 children in two classes, taught at different ends of the single school hall. Of course the accommodation has been greatly expanded…

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