Hinton Martell

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Hinton Martell is a village in east Dorset, England, three miles north of Wimborne Minster. The village has a population of 368 (2001).

Hinton Martel has a fountain and many cottages, along with a church and was known as Hinetone, the village of the monks. It was owned at this time by Eudo Martel, a frenchman. His surname meant hammer, probably because it was his favourite weapon in battle. The fountain was built for sheep to drink from, as a result it was built low. A historian described it as a 'fountain to be found in a suburban tea garden.' He also says: "The fountain of painted metal, tawdry and flimsy, represents a boy standing in one dish while he holds another on his head. No unhappy detail is spared: the ambitious pedestal, the three impossible dolphins, the paltry squirt of water, are all here. How this cafe chantant ornament has found its way into a modest and secluded hamlet there is no evidence to show". The fountain was irreparebly damaged in the severe winter of 1963. It has been replaced, and was revealed in 1965 by Miss Anne Sidney of Poole, the 'Miss World' winner of that year.