History of Fontmell Magna

Fontmell Magna is a beautiful village in Dorset, England of about 750 residents. It is situated between the old market towns of Shaftesbury in the north and Blandford in the south, and between Cranborne Chase to the east and Blackmore Vale to the west.

There is pre-Roman archaeological evidence of settlements and documentary evidence from the 8th century AD. The village was under the control of Shaftesbury Abbey from about 870 until 1539 and is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) when the Fontmell Brook powered three mills and farming developed agricultural land, pasture, meadow and woodland.

In the early 14th century Stephen Prewet was the first recorded vicar of Fontmell, but it is unlikely that there was

a stone-built church here before the late 15th century. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, the ownership of the village passed to the Arundell family, but in 1552 Sir Thomas Arundell was beheaded in the Tower of London, and all his lands were seized by the Crown. It was returned later by Queen Mary to the family who had previously administered the village. During the Arundell years many still-extant documents were produced for taxation, military and social purposes.

In 1809 the Arundells sold the Fontmell manor to Sir Richard Carr Glyn, a City of London banker. The village was to remain Glyn property until 1926 with Sir Richard Plumptre Glyn, George Carr Glyn, Richard George Glyn and Richard Fitzgerald Glyn all particularly involved.

The population rose from 628 in 1801 to 876 in 1841, but fell to 731 in 1881 and was only 506 by 1901. The main factor was the decline of agriculture in Dorset in the face of competition from ‘new world’ markets.

Evidence of the poverty in the village is provided by the setting up of a Parish Kitchen in 1876 to provide daily hot meals, and the creation of the Fontmell Provident Society, a Coal Club, a Clothing Club and a Sick and Poor Fund.

The consequent emigration and the impact of the

1914-18 War left the village with only 460 people in 1921. But it still had a school, a church, a chapel several shops and many craftsmen. In 1926 Glyn sold all his local properties, mostly to the sitting tenants. Gradually the population increased again, new houses were built, derelict cottages were refurbished and modern transport provided villagers with easy access to facilities and employment in the towns.

The Fontmell Archive Society aims to preserve as much of this long history as possible and to maintain and add to the archive for future generations.