Corfe Mullen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Corfe Mullen | |
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| Population | 10,147 (2001) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | East Dorset |
| Shire county | Dorset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WIMBORNE |
| Postcode district | BH21 |
| Dial code | 01202 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | Mid Dorset & North Poole |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Dorset | |
Corfe Mullen is a village in Dorset, England, on the north-western urban fringe of the South East Dorset conurbation and is part of the rural district of East Dorset. The population is 10,147 (2001).
The name Corfe Mullen is derived from the Old English for a cutting or pass; 'corf' and the Old French for a Mill; 'molin'. The mill referred to is the old water mill on the River Stour, mentioned in the Domesday Book, where the village originally stood.
Despite the proximity of the urban area, Corfe Mullen is surrounded by Green Belt and has six churches, five pubs, five schools, various shops and local businesses, a village hall, and a whole host of community and sports organizations which help to preserve its community spirit and identity.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early Nomadic Tribes and Settlers
The first evidence of people living in the area consists mainly of a number of flint axeheads that have been found within the village and which date from the Old and Middle Stone Ages. Around 3,000 BC, the first real settlers came, cleared the forests and began to farm, although even they were largely nomadic. Later settlers, during the Bronze Age, built burial mounds or Barrows, examples of which may be found to the east of the village at Barrow Hill and at Naked Cross at the southern end of the village. These forms of occupation continued into the Iron Age; evidence of pottery manufactured around the first century BC may be found at East End. Just prior to the coming of the Romans, in around 50BC, the area was inhabited by the Belgae.
[edit] The Romans
The Roman Second Legion under Vespasian arrived in the Corfe Mullen area during the Forties AD and built a 40 acre fortress just to the north of the village at Lake Farm. The location of this fortress was important; the River Stour provided a defensive barrier to the north and the site is only 3 miles from the Iron Age Hill Fort at Badbury Rings. Lake cut this important tribal centre off from the settlements at Dudsbury and Hengistbury Head.
In order to subjugate the local tribes and keep themselves supplied and in communication with other Roman centres, the Legion built several roads that run through or close to the area. Probably the most important of these, and the only one visible today, is the road that connected the deep water anchorage at Morionio (now Hamworthy) and Lake, and continues northwards to Badbury and Hod Hill. This road forms the eastern boundary of the village. Note that in the picture the original road is the overgrown bank on the left, not the farm track on the right.
In addition, traces of two other roads have been found, both of which are underneath or follow the course of modern roads. One of these linked Lake with Dorchester, and is roughly aligned with the present A31. The third road found ran through the spine of the village and followed the present road to Wareham.
Although the Roman occupation of Britain lasted nearly 400 years, the military presence at Corfe Mullen was very short lived, lasting only until the Sixties AD. However, there is ample evidence that the Roman influence continued in agriculture and industry even after they had left and the Celtic speaking people that descended from the original tribes took over the area again.
[edit] The Saxons
The Saxons probably settled in the area around the seventh century. Christianity arrived before 700AD and open air services were believed to be held on the same site as the old village church (see the Normans below). During the centuries leading up to the millennium, division of land into Hundreds and tithe took place and Manorial courts dealt with disputes. The name of Corf came into usage during this period and was located in the hundred of Cogdean, with the court being held at Cogdean Elms in the north of the present village.
A number of other land holdings dating from this period have been found around the village, the most notable being at Mountain Clump and the Knoll, where the remains of cottages may be seen.
[edit] The Norman Period and the Middle Ages
After the Norman Conquest, Corf's entry in the Domesday Book shows that it appears to have been a single manor under 'Robert, son of Gerold', but was previously held by two Saxon lords; Waga and Egelric. At some time during the next two or three centuries, the village reverted to two manors; probably Corf Molin and Corf Hubert. The latter manor was almost certainly named after a former lord, Hubert de la Vielle. By 1469 the two manors were combined into one again, although the two names were still preserved at that time. It was probably another century before the present day name came about; this merger was probably driven by the general depopulation of the country that occurred in the Middle Ages due to migraton to the towns and the Black Death.
A third part of the village came to be known as Corfe Mullen St Nicholas and the origin of this appears to date back to a land acquisition by St Nicholas Hospital (a Salisbury charity) in 1279. The present day areas of Lambs Green, East End and Brog Street were still called this until the early part of the 20th Century.
Construction of the original parish church, then called St Nicholas but now St Hubert's, was commenced during the 13th Century, with the tower being added a little later.
[edit] Elizabethan to Georgian Times
After the major changes seen after the Normans, a period of stability came to the village for about 300 years. From Elizabethan to Georgian times, the story is mainly one of growing prosperity with a number of wealthy families being the major landowners as the years passed. None of these families built their homes within the parish boundaries, although the Phelips family took over an Elizabethan Manor House (the Court House) near the church and lived there for many years. Apart from this, the major architectural legacies of this period are some notable farm houses, a few cottages and the original building that housed Lockyer's Charity School, formed in 1706 by Richard Lockyer. This building is still used by the present day Lockyer's Middle School.
One important change was the construction of a toll road by private enterprise during the latter half of the 18th Century. The present Higher Blandford Road and Mill Street (the A31 from the old church, past the Coventry Arms pub and mill) was part of a completely new route between Poole and Blandford. This development provided the people of Corfe Mullen with access to the major markets of these two towns
[edit] The Victorian Period
During the reign of Queen Victoria, the whole of Britain went through major changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, and Corfe Mullen benefited from advances in technology. More toll roads were constructed, including an extension to Mill Street which provided a new route from Bere Regis to Wimborne. By the late 1800s however, the railways had arrived, with tracks first appearing within walking distance of the village at Wimborne and later with a route that went through the village. Even though the village had a number of tracks through it, it was well into the 20th Century before a Halt was provided, and even that was never a success.
[edit] The 20th Century
The story of the village through the 20th century is one of accelerating development. Prior to the Second World War, some new properties were built, with the populated area gradually extending up the hill from the river. Even a casual inspection of the housing in the village reveals that the original centre was along Mill Street with cottages also being found at Brog Street, Lambs Green and East End. Development between the wars is noticeable along Higher Blandford Road and Wareham Road, with few older properties in evidence away from those roads. Then, in the fifties and sixties, development took off, with major new housing estates around Phelips Road and Hillcroft Road. In the last forty years of the century, most of the area between Broadstone and the eastern boundary of the village has been filled in and a stranger could be forgiven for thinking that Corfe Mullen was part of Poole.
During the early part fo the century, the village became famous for its Violet and Lavender cultivation, which was centred around Violet Farm. The trade diminished however and the farm was demolished in the 1960s, along with a 300 year old tithe barn, to make way for new bungalows.
[edit] Modern Times
[edit] The Village Today
As the village has grown so the population has changed. It is probably true to say that very few of the inhabitants actually work in the village or the immediate area, or were even born there. Large numbers of people commute to the nearby towns and cities of Wimborne, Poole, Bournemouth, Ferndown and even Southampton every day. Even so, pride in the village is high, with the general level of crime and vandalism being pretty low despite the close proximity of the South East Dorset conurbation with a combined population of three to four hundred thousand people.
The countryside around the village is split between agriculture and heathland, with woodland to be found fringing most areas. The existence of many bridleways criss-crossing the area around the village encourages horse riding and there are a number of stables nearby. The village also has a large Recreation Ground with facilities for outdoor sports including football, cricket and tennis.
[edit] Churches
- St Hubert's, the original parish church.
- St Nicholas of Jerusalem, the new Anglican church.
- Corfe Mullen Baptist Church
- Corfe Mullen Family Church
- East End Methodist Church (part of the Wimborne Circuit)
- Wareham Road Methodist Church (part of the Poole and Swanage Circuit)
[edit] Pubs
- The Coventry Arms
- The Dorset Soldier
- The Holme Bush
- The Lambs Green Inn
- The Mount
[edit] Schools
- Henbury View First School
- Lockyer's Middle School
- Rushcombe County First School
- Corfe Hills School (actually just outside the village, but serves older village children)
- Castle Court Preparatory School (A private school for 3 to 13 year olds)
[edit] Other Places of Entertainment
Apart from the local pubs, a weekly youth club is held near to Lockyer's School and various activities are available in the Village Hall. For those who require entertainment of a more commercial nature, Wimborne, Poole and Bournemouth provide a good choice with cinemas, theatres, and night clubs. The nearest beach, at Sandbanks, is less than 10 miles away.
[edit] The Future
In the past year or so, concern has arisen in the village because of proposals by the South West Regional Assembly to build 700 new homes on green belt land on the edge of the village. The village is already something of a 'dormitory', (eg residents only sleep in the village and commute to work in other more commercialised areas), but despite this most villagers feel a sense of belonging.
A Parish Plan was compiled by a team of volunteers with the support of the Parish Council. This plan is based on the results of a questionnaire sent to every household in the village and is considered to be authoritative because there was a 40% response, in addition to separate results obtained when local school children completed their own questionnaire.
The overwhelming result of the survey, reflected in the Plan, was to limit new housing as much as possible to the needs of local people who wish to work within the village. The possibility of development of large areas of luxury housing was given a resounding rejection on the grounds that this would simply attract even more people who would treat the village as a dormitory, with consequent pressure on amenities, schools, services and the roads infrastructure, not to mention the threat to the village's identity. As a result, the Parish Council have a mandate to fight the proposals with the full support of the community and there is hope that massive development can be avoided.
[edit] Famous (and Infamous) Ex-residents
- Isaac Gulliver, the famous Smuggler lived in Highe House in East End
- William Joyce, who is better known as 'Lord Haw-Haw', once lived in the Court House.
- Gladys Mitchell, the detective writer and creator of Mrs Bradley, lived in the village at the end of her life.
[edit] References
- A History of Dorset, John Hutchins, 1774
- A Neolithic "A" Habitation Site at Corfe Mullen, JB Calkin, MA & Stuart Piggot, FSA, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, Vol 60, 1938
- The Course of the Hamworthy - Badbury Roman Road, HP Smith, MBE, BA, FCP, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, Vol 65, 1943
- Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, Vol 83, 1961
- Some Early Iron Age Sites in the Bournemouth Area, J Bernard Calkin, MA, FSA, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, Vol 86, 1965
- Ramblings in the Past: The Story of Corfe Mullen, J Bernard Calkin
- The Romano-British Settlement at Corfe Mullen, J Bernard Calkin, MA
- Corfe Mullen: The Origins of a Dorset Village, 1988, Norman Field
- The Millennium Exhibits - Corfe Mullen Parish Council Office
- Corfe Mullen Parish Plan 2006
- Dorset Smugglers, Roger Guttridge, 1986
