53 



fUport of (general Rummer (Excursions, 1916. 



Bindon Abbey The first Summer General Excursion took place 

 and Wool. on Saturday, May 31st, conducted by Rev. Hy. 



Shaen Solly, M.A., Chairman of the Archaeo- 

 logical Section, and attended by 92 members. 



Going to Wool by train and passing over the fine old bridge, 

 they first visited the Manor House immortalised by Thomas Hardy 

 in his " Tess of the D'Urbervilles. " Mr. Solly spoke of the 

 Turbervilles, who possessed much property and exercised much 

 influence in Dorset, and the name of Sir Pagan de Turberville 

 appears on the) roll of Battle Abbey as one of the Knights who 

 came over with William! the Conqueror. The principal seat of the 

 Turbervilles was at Bere Regis, where the Church monuments and 

 family vault still remain. The house at Wool was the seat of a 

 younger branch of the family and is of Tudor or early Jacobean 

 architecture ; the date over the porch is 1635 or 1655. 



The party then went to the Church, where they were received 

 by the Vicar, the Rev. E. J. Tadman, who pointed out some of 

 its interesting features, the 15th century triple chancel arch, 

 almost unique, and the font built into one of the pillars. They 

 were also shown the Registers, which date from 1583, a chalice 

 dated 1571, and also a beautiful Pre-Reformation chalice, de- 

 clared by experts to date from about 1480. 



A pleasant walk across the fields led to Bindon Abbey. Here 

 Mr. Solly gave an account of the earliest Monastic Orders of note, 

 founded by St. Benedict of Norsica in 529 A.D., and of the revival 

 under the Cistercians of Bindon Abbey,, which was first founded 

 by them at Little Bindon, West Lulworth, a wild wind swept place 

 capable of little improvement, and was refounded in 1172 on its 

 present site. 



In 1536 it was decreed that all Monasteries of a less value 

 than £200 should be dissolved and handed over to the King, and 

 Bindon was then dissolved, but was re-founded by the King the 

 next year, only to fall finally two years later. Thus ]Bindon 

 Abbey had three foundations and two dissolutions. 



Mr. Solly mentioned that all Cistercian Monasteries followed 

 the same plan in their construction. 



Mr. Geo. Brumell, A.R.I.B.A., Hon. Treasurer of the Society, 

 had kindly made several copies of the ground plan of the ruins, 

 and with these in their hands, an inspection of the ruins was 

 rendered the more interesting to the members. 



A walk round the Fish Ponds and to the Calvary, followed by 

 tea at the Abbey Gatehouse brought this very pleasant excursion 

 to a close. 



