Author: BigSid118

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Reconstruction of part of north side of High West Street, Dorchester, in the 15th century.

This reconstruction is based on my interpretation of the entries in the Municipal Records of the Borough of Dorchester (C.H. Mayo. William Pollard, Exeter, 1908). The numbers refer the number of the document in those records. This is speculative. In particular, subsequent rebuilding, modifications etc. since the 15th century mean that buildings may be on different footprints. The size and shape of the buildings has been completely made up by myself, and nor is the sketch to any particular scale. Its value is hoped to be in that a possible sequence has been demonstrated and some informed estimation can take place as to what was where the current buildings stand today.. The main basis for the sequence is that the many of the documents refer to property and we are told within these documents what lies to the east, west etc.

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Upwey: Three Histories

The three articles that once formed the basis of the last three posts have now been rolled up into a single book, which is now available on Amazon. It is about the village of Upwey, which is now at the northern end of the town of Weymouth. The village is seen through the lenses of King George III, The Wishing Well and Thomas Hardy. There were plenty of surprises for me, and I expect for most readers as well.

Please click the image to view the book on Amazon

The three lenses through which I look at the village may at first seem unconnected. However, King George III visited Upwey’s Wishing Well, and when researching the latter I found that Thomas Hardy went there too. This led me to wonder what else in Upwey might be connected to Thomas Hardy, and what I found seemed to me to be surprising. Another surprise, to go back to George III, was the extent of his visits, and particularly those of his wife, Queen Charlotte. Indeed, these were not the only royals to visit The Wishing Well.

The book is divided into three parts, which reflects the fact that these sections originated in three separate “lockdown projects.” They are provided in the sequence that I wrote them in order to illustrate how researching George III would naturally lead into researching The Wishing Well, and how Thomas Hardy’s presence in Upwey was initially revealed to me through his visit to the same place.

I have tried to make the book relevant to visitors as well as people from the locality. Hopefully it will add to a sense of place for people in this lovely village and will provide the pleasure that comes with knowing more about one’s surroundings. 

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The Wishing Well at Upwey: A History

Another lockdown project comes to fruition and has now just been published. This is all about The Wishing Well at Upwey, Weymouth in Dorset. This place is special to many people, tourists and locals alike. When I started this I had no idea how much history there was to uncover, particularly to do with Royalty. Indeed, I started this after I had looked into King George III and Upwey (see another post), when I discovered that the King came to the Wishing Well.

The link to the full article is no longer available as it now forms part of a book, available on Amazon.

Click the image to view the book on Amazon

The location seems to have been favoured by Royalty. Those who visited include the following:

King George III. and his wife Queen Charlotte, who came repeatedly, with the princesses.

Prince Arthur, son of Queen Victoria

The Duchess of York, who would go on to become Queen Mary, consort to King George V.

The Prince of Wales, who would go on to become King Edward VIII.

Outside of Royalty, famous visitors include Thomas Hardy, who came her on at least one occasion when on a cycle tour with his niece. It seems like John Cowper Powys would have also visited, because he includes the place in his novel Weymouth Sands.

Upwey Wishing Well tourist jugs

Upwey, Wishing Well, Dorset, Postcard
Upwey, Wishing Well, Dorset, Postcard
Upwey, Wishing Well, Dorset, Postcard
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Thomas Hardy and Upwey

Another lockdown project completed and published. This one examines in depth the relationship between the great writer Thomas Hardy and Upwey, a village in Dorset between Dorchester and Weymouth, now absorbed into the latter.

Thomas Hardy had close relatives who lived in Upwey, and the main focus of these seems to have been The Royal Standard public house and nearby buildings. Thomas Hardy also used locations in and around the village in his writings, including Under the Greenwood Tree (The Old Ship Inn) and The Trumpet Major. I also discovered that Thomas Hardy visited The Wishing Well at Upwey.

I was unable to come across any earlier examination of Thomas Hardy’s paternal aunts in Upwey, so this may be the first publication of this kind.

The link to the full article is no longer available as it now forms part of a book.

Please click the image to view the book on Amazon

The Old Ship, Upwey, Weymouth, Dorset
The Royal Standard, Upwey, Weymouth, Dorset
Upwey Wishing Well, Upwey, Dorset

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King George III in and around Upwey, Weymouth, Dorset

The article once linked here is no longer available as it now forms part of a book.

Please click the image to view the book on Amazon

The article examines the activities of the Royal Family in the area around Upwey, which is about 4 miles north of Weymouth town centre. This started as a project during the “lockdowns” when I found myself unable to travel to do the research for my next project on Anglo-Saxon history. Instead, I found myself reading more and more books on local history. I noticed a few references to King George visiting Upwey, which whetted my appetite and I wanted to learn more. What I found out quite surprised me in that the King, and even more so his wife Queen Charlotte, visited the area on many occasions.

Looking from south-west to north east over Upwey. The part of Upwey where the church is located is out of shot to the left. In the distance ((with the clump of trees) is Bincombe Down
The Royal Standard, Upwey. King George III would have passed this location more than 90 times. Perhaps this is why this pub has this name, although I have no evidence that there was a pub here at the time of King George’s visits. It is one of my favourite pubs.