THE ROYAL FAMILY AND DORCHESTER

As far as I have been able to establish the first royal visitor to Dorchester was King John (1199-1216) who made frequent visits to the town between 1204 and 1214, where he resided in the castle which had been built towards the end of the 11th century. He is said to have housed the Crown Jewels, in part in the castle and in part in Bindon Abbey, which was situated on the Frome near to Wool.

Many centuries later Charles II made an official visit in September 1665, five years after the restoration of the Crown to the Stuart Monarchy following the civil war and the short-lived Protectorate, presumably with the aim of healing the wounds created by the town’s Puritanism and support for the parliamentary cause.

Much closer links were forged with the Royal family during the long reign of King George III.

In the summer of 1788 George III fell seriously ill with what we now know to be porphyria which gave him many symptoms commonly associated with madness. His doctors advised him to take the waters at Cheltenham Spa, but this failed to cure him, and his symptoms grew worse. The following year his physicians advised that he should take a vacation at a spot where he could enjoy the benefits of sea bathing. Weymouth was establishing a reputation as a bathing resort and the King’s brother, the Duke of Gloucester, put his residence ‘Gloucester Lodge’ at his disposal (see Photo 1 of the present building, of which the eight bays on the right, up to and including the first floor, were part of the original structure).

The King travelled down to Weymouth in late June 1789 by coach, taking the new turnpike roads to the coast. The King and the Queen were accompanied by four of their six daughters and the three coaches containing the royal party took five days to reach their destination. The party was acclaimed by the population of all the towns and villages which they crossed. Amongst the royal retinue was the novelist Fanny Burney who commented that when they travelled through Dorchester on the last day of the journey it was full of families who had come to witness the spectacle and in particular to see the King, “who enjoyed popularity in his kingdom …every window-sash was removed, for face above face to peep out, and every old balcony and the leads (i.e. roofs) of the houses seemed turned into booths for fairs”.

The Corporation of Dorchester had taken the precaution of previously ordering on 26th June that with,

“His Majesty intending to pass through the Town in a day or two in his way to Weymouth ….it is incumbent on the Mayor and Magistrates of this Boro’…. To be particularly carefull that his Majesty do meet with no obstruction, nuisance or other disagreeable inconvenience; Have therefore ordered the present Constables to be very vigilant in their duty on this occasion and to take care that no carriage of any sort be permitted to stand in the Streets empty, or be passing through the Town, whilst his Majesty is within the limits of this Boro’, and to take care that all rubbish whatever be removed from said Streets, and that peace and good order be preserved throughout the whole Town”.

On 20th September 1789 the town organised a day of country sports on Maiden Castle to celebrate the birthday of the King’s eldest daughter, Charlotte, Duchess of Wurttemberg, which was attended by the King, Queen and four of their other daughters, Augusta, Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia.

The posters displayed in the Town and the countryside nearby read:

“All persons of jovial, friendly and loyal disposition are invited to be present at, and to partake of the under-mentioned country sports which, together with others to be declared upon the ground are intended, if the weather be fine, to be exhibited in Maiden Castle near Dorchester this day of 20th September at 11.00 o’clock in the morning, in the honour of the birthday of H.R.H. the Duchess of Wurttemberg.

To be played for at cricket, a round of beef, each man of winning side to have a ribband.

A cheese to be rolled down the hill, prize to whoever stops it.

A silver cup to be run for by ponies, the best of three heats.

A pound of tobacco to be grinned for.

A barrel of beer to be rolled down the hill, prize to whoever stops it.

A Michaelmas goose to be dived for.

A good hat to be cudgelled for.

Half a guinea for the best ass – in three heats.

A handsome hat for the boy most expert in catching a roll dipped in treacle and suspended by a string.

A leg of mutton and a gallon of porter to the winner of a race of one hundred yards, in sacks.

A good hat to be wrestled for.

Half a guinea to the rider of an ass who wins the best of three heats by coming in last.

A prize pig to whoever catches him by the tail.

A fine capon to be whistled for.

A round of beef for the winning set in a tug of war.”

There is no record of the casualties suffered that day!

The Royal family returned a further thirteen times to take sea bathing holidays in Weymouth until 1805, with the exception of the years 1790, 1793 and 1803.

Weymouth commemorated their benefactor with a statue on the esplanade at the entry to the town which was unveiled in 1810 (see Photo 2) where it was more recently joined by a replica of the first bathing machines used by the Court (see Photo 3).

Each time, the party would have passed through Dorchester to exchange their coach horses at one of the two principal coaching inns – the King’s Arms or the Antelope Inn.

Although he spent most of his time bathing and attending plays and balls in the resort, the King liked to visit the homes of local gentry, including the Welds in Lulworth, the Digbys in Sherborne, the Damers at Came House, just outside Dorchester, and the Framptons at Moreton.

One such visit was to Wollaston House in the centre of Dorchester. Wollaston House, which featured in my piece on the Tolpuddle Martyrs, was built in 1786 by Robert Stickland and sold to the Williams family. It acquired its name when it was leased to Charlton Byam Wollaston. His father Charlton Wollaston had been the physician to the Queen’s Household and the first husband of his mother, Phillis Byam. Charlton had died in 1764, and Phillis had then married James Frampton of Moreton House, and they had a son James (who played a leading role in the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs) and a daughter, Mary.

In September 1799 Phillis and Mary Frampton had an unexpected visit. Phillis wrote an account in a letter to her sister-in-law which Mary recorded in her journal:

“We were sitting at work in my little room with Mrs Drax, I happened to look out and actually saw the King and Princess Sophia with their attendants, at my garden gate. I screamed out, threw everything about me, and flew out to them. Mr Damer met me, and told me that the Queen and three other Princesses and their suite were coming.

He bid me attend to them, and then kindly went in to Mary [Frampton] and told what was necessary to be done, helped to put the drawing-room in order and bespoke mutton chops. By this time they all arrived, and I ran through the house to greet them at the front door. The King called out: ‘Well run Mrs Frampton’. Into the drawing-room they went, asked for Mary, talked very easily, and asked for her cuttings-out, which of course they admired. They then proposed walking, and we all went through my fields to the walks [the fields of the House ran from the garden façade of the house, Photo 4, to the Town Walks created during the period 1712-1743] round [a] great part of the town, and returned the same way, and they seemed much pleased.

I conducted them to my eating-room, trembling less the Collation should not be as it ought, but really it was as well prepared as could be expected on so short a notice- cold partridges, cold meat of different sorts, and removes of mutton chops and fruit – tea at the side-table.

Mary made tea, Mr Damer carried it to them, and I waited on their Majesties as they ate, and Mary on the Princesses.…

After the repast the female side [including other ladies in attendance] went into all the bedrooms and approved and looked at everything everywhere. In short, they were all good-humoured and easy. They stayed about two hours, and I hear from various hands that they were pleased with the day’s amusement and thought that all was so well conducted. This gives us comfort after our bustle.”

The next day, as etiquette demanded, the hosts went to the playhouse in Weymouth, “where they [the Royal Family] noticed us directly”.

Other more humble subjects were engaged by the Royal family on their ‘walkabouts’. In particular, the King went on long horse rides along the Downs and engaged directly in conversation with the farmers, shepherds and farm labourers he encountered, with whom he talked about agriculture and, in particular, about rare breeds of sheep about which he was passionate.

In September 1792 the King, who was interested in penal reform visited the old Dorchester gaol in High East Street together with his family, During the visit they received a petition from a farmer called Pitfield, and his family, appealing against his sentence of seven years for failing to pay his lawyer’s bill. The King immediately gave him some cash to relieve his numerous suffering children and, after the case had been investigated, paid off the whole of his debt of £220 to secure his release (see Photo 5 of a popular contemporary print).

Whilst the conflict with Napoleon raged, the King reviewed the Navy offshore and the troops stationed locally who would repel any attempted invasion. For example, in September 1794 the King inspected troops of the newly formed Dorset Volunteer Rangers, lined up on Maiden Castle in their fine green jackets and round hats covered in bearskin and topped with green feathers.

The next member of the royal family to pass through the town was Princess Victoria, evidenced by a Resolution of the Town’s Council on 2nd August 1822 to pay the sum of one pound for ringing the church bells, “on occasion of the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria passing thro’ Dorchester” and paying one pound and seventeen shillings to the Church Warden of Holy Trinity for, “expenses incurred on the above occasion”.

Her son Edward, Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, paid a lengthier visit on 11th June 1887 when he also visited the Bath and West of England Show which the town was hosting. On his arrival he was driven through a cheering and decorated town in an open carriage and welcomed at the Corn Exchange by Mr Alfred Pope, the Mayor, together with The Lord Lieutenant, Lord Ilchester and the High Sheriff, Mr Brymer. A loyal address was read, to which he responded. The company then walked to Shire Hall where a luncheon was served. Finally, he was then shown round the nearby show ground by Lord Ilchester and once more driven through the town (see Photo 6 of a print made from a contemporary photo ) to catch a South Western train at 4.30 pm.

Curiously, in the previous year Thomas Hardy published his novel ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’, towards the end of which Michael Henchard, the disgraced former Mayor, attempts to force his way into the official mayoral reception for a Royal visitor.

More recently, Edward VII’s grandson, the future Edward VIII, visited Dorchester in July 1923, whilst Prince of Wales, as part of a tour of the West Country. Whilst in town he was taken round Hardye’s School and had lunch with Thomas Hardy in Max Gate.

The late Queen made her first visit to the town on 3rd July 1952, five months after her accession to the Crown. She arrived by steam train at Dorchester West Station, drove through the streets decorated with bunting to Maumbury Rings where she made a short speech and met local dignitaries, in front of an audience of town’s folk and their children. She then reviewed troops of the Dorset Regiment in Barrack Square. There followed a visit to Maiden Castle Farm, part of the Duchy of Cornwall, and she concluded her visit with a stop to view the excavations being conducted on the top of Maiden Castle by Sir Mortimer Wheeler. A short, fascinating, Pathe Newsreel film of the visit may be viewed on You Tube.

The Poundbury development commenced in October 1993 but for several years before then, and in particular from 1987, when the initial planning permission was granted for the project, Prince Charles, as he was, visited the site to prepare and refine the project spear-headed by the architect Leon Krier. In1998 and 2008 the Queen made private visits to the Poundbury development, at the invitation of the Prince, to see the progress being made.

There followed a final, official, visit on 28th October 2016, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and Camilla to unveil the statue of her mother, Elizabeth the Queen Mother, in the Square named after her (see Photo 7).

On that occasion the Queen caused some amusement by visiting the Waitrose branch in the Square.

Finally, the newly crowned King Charles III, accompanied by Queen Camilla made an official visit to mark the official completion of the Square and the opening of the Duke of Edinburgh Garden nearby (see Photo #8).