Charlton Marshall Village Website

Village History - Introduction to Charlton Marshall History Project

There are nearly 500 homes in Charlton Marshall today. Can you imagine what it was like in 1841 with less than 100, and none of the roads were made up? One writer says that until after the 1914/18 war there were no tarmac roads at all in Dorset, and no petrol stations. Still today there are no motorways in the county.

It would be interesting to discover how many of today’s residents work in the village, and what sort of work they do; certainly some run businesses in or from the village. Kelly’s Directory for 1855 includes the following ‘Traders’:

Ball Richard, wheelwright, carpenter, Ball William, ‘Charlton’, Brine Richard, farmer, Cable George, farmer, Cadie Charles, jun. tanner, Cadie Charles, sen. farmer, Coffin Charles, shoemaker, Compton Richard, bricklayer, Compton Robert, shopkeeper, Dimmer James, proprietor of agricultural machines, Foot Joseph, blacksmith, Foster William, farmer, Game Samuel, farmer, Hopkins John, shopkeeper, Knight Henry, bricklayer &c., Lane William, lime burner, Matcham John Cross, blacksmith and postmaster, Palmer John, beer retailer, Robbins George, beer retailer and carpenter, Saunders George, farmer, Stacey Samuel John, carpenter and builder

In the 1851 census there were 115 adult males of whom 43 were farm labourers; in 1841 there had been 45 out of 99.

Our story begins long before the 19th century, and even before the Domesday survey of 1086. It’s an evolving story. The last 200 years have seen major changes in British life, and in the last 50 years those changes have been dramatic. This village and parish have also changed significantly.

Our church was totally remodelled in 1713, significant alterations were made in 1895, and much needed restoration work was carried out in 1988 giving us the beautiful building we have today, but parts of it go back to mediaeval times. The Methodist Chapel in Gravel Lane closed in 1951, and is now a private house. We believe it had also been a Baptist or Congregational Chapel, and there was also a Methodist Chapel in The Close. At Thornicombe there was a Gospel Hall until about 1970, and in the ‘small parish school’ there, around the turn of the 19th century the Curate of Charlton Marshall held regular services.

Charlton Marshall once had a school in what is now the Church Room, and The Old Club House at the bottom of The Close had been a working people’s club. It had been given to the village in 1854 by Thomas Horlock Bastard who was Lord of the Manor, and it was still functioning as a club after World War II. Thomas Bastard also provided the pump which is still opposite the Club House.

In addition to The Charlton Inn, there was the Bricklayers Arms in Gravel Lane, and there is a tradition that I have not yet been able to verify, that Box Bush Cottage at Newtown was also a public house in days gone by.

Our past is a fascinating topic. To understand it can help us to see why some things are as they are today, and possibly give us some hints as to where we may go in the future. The aim of the Charlton Marshall History Project is to collect as much information as possible about that story so that we can make it as complete as possible, and one day perhaps publish something we can enjoy and be proud of.