51 



DORSETSHIRE. 



KM Shas- 



\Vcit Shu. 







StunufaMUr. 



ffccMtahire. Mclcmnbe Regis,) six lilxrties, and 81 tithings. The 

 Luul rate amount" to L.59SO, It ."id. .-md the sum paid 

 out of the poor's rate ti I.. 9:<, Ms. <)id. In the di\i-ion 

 of East Shaston. there are no liln-rties and no boroughs; 

 the number of tithings is (i-J. The land rate amounts 

 to I..-11.1H, 9s. 4d. and the sum paid out of the |WH>r's 

 rate to I..(>fi, 18s. 4d. In the divi-i..n of Wc-t Sha- 

 ton there is not u single hundred, there is only one b<>- 

 ruugh, (Shaft.-hury,') nnd there are only two lilx 

 and 24 tithings. "'The land rate /.mounts to I..2S87, 

 17-4d. and the mm paid out of the poor's rate to I..:; I, 

 Is. fid. In Sturmin-tcr di\ i-ion, there are three hun- 

 dreds, no borough town, one liber! v, and 27 tithings. 

 The land rate amounts to L. 301 3, 13s. lOd. and the 

 sum paid out of the poor's rate to L.44, 2s. /id. In the 



Sherborne. di\i-ion of Sherl>orne, there are two hundreds, no bo- 

 rough town, two lilx-rties, and MS tithings. The land 

 rate amounts to I.. 1760, Hi-. .Id. and the sum paid out 

 of the poor's rate to L. 4'.', 3. (id. From this statistical 

 account, therefore, it appears that Dorset-shire compri- 

 ses 34 hundreds, 8 borough towns, 2 ? liberties, and 430 

 tithings ; and that the land rate at 4s. in the pound, 

 amounts to L. 32,751, 16s. 3d. ; and the sum paid out 

 of the poor's rate, when a single county rate is raised, 

 is L.500. This county is comprised within the dio- 

 cese of Bristol. It is divided into five deunerics : Brid- 

 port, in which are 46 parishes ; Dorchester, in which 

 are 4,-j ; Whitechurch, in which are 55 ; Pimperne, in 

 which are 32 ; and Shaston, which contains 56 ; so that 

 in the whole county there are 2."fi parishes. Dorset- 

 shire lies in the wc-tcrn circuit. The assizes were for- 

 merly held at Sherborne, but now they are held at Dor- 

 chester. 



Cliaule. This county is usually represented as the garden of 



England, though it would be difficult to make good its 

 claim to this character, either in respect to climate or 

 soiL The climate undoubtedly is, on the whole, salu- 

 brious, and this it appears to have been accounted in 

 very early times ; for it is remarked, that the Romans 

 liad more summer stations in this county than in most 

 other parts of England ; and the Saxon monarchs built 

 in it a great number of palaces nnd minsters. But the 

 climate, though undoubtedly salubrious, is not bland 

 and mild as in some other of the western counties ; and 

 it has been supposed, that the very circumstance of 

 clearing off the wood, which renders most tracts of land 

 more healthy and warm, in Dorsetshire has rather pro- 

 duced the opposite effect ; since as a large portion of the 

 county is exposed, the cutting down the timber would 

 render the air keener and colder, while from the nature 

 of a great part of the soil, (chalk,) there was no occa- 

 sion for the ii-ual benefit attending this operation, viz. 

 rendering the climate drier. The air on the hills is 

 keen ; on the -ca coast, more rain falls in winter, and 

 leas in summer, than in most other parts of F.ngland ; 

 and the sea fogs hang on the hills sometimes for a eek 

 together. The pr<-\ aU-nt winds are the west and south- 

 west, which may be distinctly traced by their effects on 

 the younger trees, which generally bend to the east 

 and north-east. The harve-t U not early, seldom com- 

 mencing, even in the more sheltered spots, and on the 



Soil and tichrr -oils, before the middle of August. The coun- 



griculturc. ty in respect to soil, is naturally divided into three dis- 

 : v i/.. chalky loam, gravelly sand, and clay of va- 

 rious strength and goodness. The chalk commences as 

 we enter the county from Wiltshire, and runs through 

 the centre of it by Dorchester, nearly to Bridport. In 

 some places, the soil above the chalk is deep and rich, 

 in others thin and poor. The appearance of this dis- 

 trict is, in general, smooth and verdant; but there is al- 



Soil and 

 agricultural 



( -i : ; 

 bays. 



most a tot il want of hedges, timber, and young plants- DoneUhire. 

 tioii-. The sandy di-liict is the termination of that 

 which rxti-nd- to Bag-hot heath; and though in thi.- 

 county parts of it are In no means tMipnxlm ti\ . 

 on the whole it i- a barren tract, (lays are princi- 

 pally found on the Ixirdcr- of Somersetshire nnd De- 

 von-hire; and in the i-le of Purlieck. about Shcr- 

 borne and Stalbridge, the soil is a rich loam on a 

 chalky rubble. Immediately round Shaftsburv, deep 

 rich sandy loams prevail, of a very lifjht nature, 

 and remarkable for the earlines- of their produce. 

 Perhaps the most fertile soils are round Bridport. 

 They con.-ist of a very deep dry loamy sand, admirably 

 calculated for all kind of crops. Some of the valleys in 

 the north-cast part of the county are also uncommonly 

 rich, particularly the vale of BUckmoor, (extending 

 from north to south about J9 miles, from ea-t t 

 alxuit 14, and containing upwards of 150,<' 

 through which the Frome runs. It con-i-ts of .1 deep 

 rich clay. The soil on the sea coast is either heath, or 

 a thin poor clay, till we reach Abbotebury, when it im- 

 proves into a dec p loam. 



The coast of Devonshire, as it approaches that of Dor- 

 set-hire, gradually turns from the south-east towar< ' 

 south, till it reaches I.yme, when it begins to front the 

 south-west. By this means an immcn-c gulf is formed, 

 which include- the greater part of the south of Devon- 

 shire, and north of Dorsetshire ; and within thisgulfthere 

 are several smaller bays principally belonging to this 

 county. These bays are commanded by the isle of Port- 

 land, immediately below which the fine bay of \Ve\ ui< mth 

 opens. This is formed on one side by this island, and on 

 the other side l>\ Purbeck, which stretches out to the 

 south-east When we trace the coast of Dorset beyond 

 Purbeck, the bay of Studland presents itself, fronting the 

 east; and afterwards the great expanse of Poole harbour. 

 In this harbour, a singular appearance is noticed. The 

 sea ebbs and flows four times in the 24 hours, twice 

 when the moon is at south-east and north-west, and twice 

 when she is at south by east and north by west. This 

 is supposed to be occasioned by the isle of Brownsea, 

 which lies near the entrance of Poole harbour, obstruct- 

 ing the water. The rivers in this county are neither Rivers. 

 large nor numerous. The Frome rises in Somersetshire, 

 and pa-sing by \Varcham falls into Poole bay, three 

 miles below the former place. The Stour take- its rise 

 in Wiltshire, and flowing south to Stourminster, after- 

 wards pursues a south-east direction, and meeting with 

 the Avon of Hampshire, it falls into the sea at Christ- 

 church. The other rivers are the Yeo, the Piddle, the 

 Char, and the \Vey. 



Most of the land in this county is freehold, it being state oi 

 calculated that the proportion of land held under this propert; 

 tenure, compared with that held under other tenures, is 

 as four to one. Copyhold tenures are now very t't-w, 

 and life tenures are fast wearing out. The number of 

 yeomanry in Dorsetshire is considerable, especially in 

 the western part of the county. In Portland, almost all 

 the inhabitants are freeholders; and the tenure of ga- 

 \elkind still prevails there. The farms vary very much 

 in size. The sheep farms, especially near Dorchester, Farms. 

 are generally very large, some of the fanners keeping 

 1 500 ar d 2000 sheep, besides having a considerable quan- 

 tity of their land tinder the plough. On the borders of 

 Devonshire and Somersetshire, the farms in general are 

 small. In these parts of the county, most of the land is 

 under grass, and employed in the dairy system. On 

 the downs, of course, sheep are principally attended to; 

 but latterly, owing to the high price of grain, large 

 tracts of the down land have been ploughed up. The 



Singular 

 tide. 



