millennium booklet

WYKE REGIS PROTECTION SOCIETY
WYKE REGIS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
WYKE REGIS COMMUNITY AND SPORTS ASSOCIATION
WYKE REGIS JUNIOR SCHOOL
WYKE REGIS INFANTS SCHOOL
WYKE REGIS WOMENS INSTITUTE
FRIENDS OF ALL SAINTS SCHOOL WYKE REGIS
All SAINTS CHURCH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
All SAINTS CHURCH BELI~RINGERS
WYKE REGIS SOCIAL CLUB
WYKE REGIS WORKING MENS CLUB
WEYMOUTH SOUTH CUB PACKS
FIRST WYKE BROWNIES
WEYMOUTH SOUTH SEA SCOUTS
WYKE REGIS KNITTING CLUB
Col. R. OVERD ROYAL ENGINEERS BRIDGING CAMP
MRS. MAY, ST. JOHNS AMBULANCE BRIGADE
MRS. AND MRS. SKINNER (DOG SHOW)
MR. AND MRS PAULLEY (RESIDENTS OF WYKE SQUARE)
THORNLOW SCHOOL~ WYKE REGIS

Welcome to the Millennium celebrations of Wyke Regis. Numerous local individuals. groups and organisations have arranged activities, events and entertainment's to celebrate this momentous occasion in the history of Wyke Regis. The celebrations have been a year in the planning and its success can only be judged by the support you give.
The week was originally conceived as non-profit making. however should any funds he accumulated then these will he donated to the All Saints Church Bells Restoration Fund.
Would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have supported me over the past years with my special thanks to Doug Hollings and Nigel Tate for their preparation of this excellent booklet.
I look forward to seeing you during the celebrations. in what I am sure will be a week to remember.
Thank You.

Millennium booklet prepared by Doug Hollings and Nigel Tate.
Design of Wyke Regis Millennium Motif on Front Cover

Wyke Regis has a rich and varied history, and there is evidence of man's occupation stretching back to the Stone Age some ten thousand years ago. The first Documentary evidence of its existence was 1000 years ago in 988AD. in a charter signed by Ethelred the Unready), the Saxon King of Wessex.
To commemorate this historic event the residents and friends of Wyke Regis have formed a Millennium Committee whose role has been to co-ordinate a week of celebrations. from the 2nd to the 9th of July 1988.
This Millennium booklet has been produced by the Wyke Regis Protection Society on behalf of the Millennium Committee. Any proceeds from its sale will be donated to a fund to assist in the renovation of the All Saints Church Bells.
Thanks are expressed to Mrs. Maureen Attwooll. Mr. Eric Ricketts. Mr. Stuart Morris, and Mr. Peter Lush for their valuable comments on the draft booklet.
The brief history contained herein draws heavily on the information contained in several excellent local history books published in recent years. and the following grateful acknowledgements are given:

WYKE REGIS AND ITS CHURCH by C. R. Domoney.
WEYMOUTH: An Illustrated History by Maureen Boddy and Jack West.
PORTLAND: An Illustrated History by Stuart Morris.
THE BUILDINGS OF OLD WEYMOUTH by Eric Ricketts.
OLD PORTLAND by Jean M. Edwards and Rodney Legg.
DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN WYKE by Anne Tate. (unpublished)
Much information has also been gleaned from the records in Weymouth and Portland Libraries. The Dorset County Records Office and Weymouth & Portland Museum.
Many of the old photographs come from the collection of the late Mr. Eric Russell, the Founder Chairman of the Wyke Regis Protection Society

10000 to 1800 BC Stone Age Tools
1800 to 0800 BC Bronze Age Burial Mounds and Relics
800 to 0000 BC Iron Age Salt Pan
00 to 0450 AD Roman Burial Grounds
CIRCA 900 AD Part of Culliford Tree Hundred
988 AD Charter by Ethelred II
1042 AD Edward III granted Wyke to the Church at Winchester
1066 AD Became Royal Possession of William the Conqueror
1086 AD No mention of Wyke in Doomsday Book but four fishermen at "Bridge" (a small community in the vicinity of Wyke).
1110 AD Henry I gave Wyke back to the church at Winchester.
1172 AD First reference to a Church at Wyke
1221 AD Authority for first fair in Wyke
1242 AD Manorial Account Rolls of 'Wik Juxta Portland"
1242 AD First mention of Kingswik
1348 AD Black Death at Weymouth
1455 AD All Saints Church Consecrated
Manor Farm probably built.
1593 AD Sandsfoot Castle completed
1562 AD First Title Deeds
1577 AD First Regular Manorial Records
1588 AD Beacon Lit for Armada
1641 AD First Account of Wreck on Chesil
1676 AD First Church Register
1699 AD First Record from Overseers of Poor
1749 AD The 'Hope' wrecked on Chesil
1751 AD Belfield House built
1798 AD Open Field Inclosures Map
1805 AD Wyke House built
1815 AD Passengers and crew of the Earl of Abergavenny buried in Wyke Churchyard.
1?15 AD Loss of Alexander on Chesil
1824 AD Great Storm at Chesil
1839 AD First Ferry Bridge built
1842 AD Methodist Chapel at Collins Lane built
1850’s AD Much building including Wyke Castle, Sandsfort House
1855 AD Excellent Printed Map of Wyke
1864 AD Railway through Wyke Regis
1864 AD Large Scale ordnance Map of Wyke
1891 AD Whitehead Torpedo Works built
1895 AD Replacement Ferry Bridge built
1895 AD Parish Council set up
1914 AD Army Camp opened
1933 AD Wyke becomes part of Weymouth
1941 AD Shrubbery Lane bombed in 2nd World War
1977 AD Formation of the Wyke Regis Protection Society
1986 AD Replacement of Ferry Bridge.

Some 10,000 years ago, when the climate improved and the Ice Age retreated, Wyke became the familiar shape that we know today. Chesil Beach, having retreated eastwards across the "Bay" over thousands of years, had formed a bastion against the seas to the west, enclosing the Fleet, or "Little Sea" as it is known to the villager’s of Wyke. The first "Wykeites" hunted along the shores of "Little Sea" and their rudimentary bone implements and stone hand axes have been discovered in the area.

With the advent of bronze as a material around I8OOBC life became more settled in Dorset, and there would have been simple huts and rudimentary farming in Wyke. Two sites of burial mounds or barrows, probably from this period are identified on old maps of Wyke. One at Overlands/North Road and one at Barrow Rise. The first was destroyed when the housing estate at North Road was constructed in 1937 and the second was bulldozed by the Army in 1939 to provide a site for a gun emplacement. The area is still called Barrow Rise by locals and was used by villagers in the past as a prominent look-out post for wrecks and fish shoals over Chesil. More recently, a Bronze Age spear head has been found beneath the low cliffs between Sandsfoot and Ferrybridge.

Firm evidence that man was in residence in Wyke around 400 BC, during the Iron Age, was provided in 1960 when salt pans on the shores of the Fleet, at the bottom of Pirates Lane were excavated. Wykeites in those days would have lived in an isolated settlement in small circular huts with thatched roofs and wooden supports. Oxen were their principal beasts of burden.

In 43AD the way of life for the inhabitants was rudely interrupted by the Roman 2nd Augustan Legion under Vespasian, who advanced from the east to overcome the local inhabitants, the Durotriges, at Maiden Castle. The Romans founded Durnovaria at Dorchester and spread out to occupy Wyke and Portland. We know that Romans lived and died in Wyke Regis all those many years ago because in 1858 a labourer digging in the Glebe Fields above the All Saints Church discovered a stone burial site dating back to Roman days. In 1937 when the first reservoir, built in 1900 was being extended, several more Romano-British graves were discovered along with Roman coins.

By the beginning of the 5th Century the Roman Empire was in retreat and the Legions were withdrawn, Dorset was left undefended and despite stout resistance by the Britons it was invaded by the Angles and Saxons from Europe. Eventually considerable inter-marriage took place and these peoples were the forefathers and mothers of the Dorset Folk of today. The old language died out and the Dorset dialect is descended from the West Saxon speech. By the end of the 7th Century the residents of Wyke were the subjects of the Kings of Wessex whose capital was Winchester. Within 200 hundred years the Saxon kingdom was being invaded by the Danes and the Vikings who terrorised Dorset. An army of Wessex men under King Alfred the Great defeated the Danes in 878, leaving Alfred as King of Wessex and Lord of the Manor of Wyke. The small number of Saxons living in Wyke probably had a tiny village and farming/fishing community centred around the clear spring at the head of the gently sloping valley. The spring fed a small stream that ran down the vale, between trees and the rolling green fields, to discharge into the sea between Smallmouth and Sandsfoot. It has been suggested that the village might have been bounded by the present Chamberlaine Road, High Street, Collins Lane and Shrubbery Lane.

THE SAXON VILLAGE AREA TAKEN FROM THE CHURCH TOWER IN 1920s (photo to follow)

The Saxons were farmers and their crops were cycled in large fields, with each field being divided into narrow strips. The tenant farmers shared common land to graze their sheep and cattle and some must have spent their time fishing in the Fleet, Lyme Bay. and what is now Portland Harbour. The common grazing lands were in the areas of Wyke Road and Broadmeadow.

AROUND 9OOAD the Kings of Wessex divided up the Shires into groups of Manors called 'Hundreds'' and Wyke Regis belonged to the Culliford Tree Hundred, Each Hundred was presided over by a Hundred Reeve on behalf of the King and held regular meetings at some prominent local feature such as a Barrow. The Reeve, or an official of the village Wyke Court Leet, had to travel to Culliford Tree Barrow on the Ridgeway above Coombe Valley, to attend these open air meetings and report on the activities of the Manor of Wyke. When young boys in Wyke reached 12 years of age they would also have been taken along to swear an oath of loyalty to the King.

King Alfred's descendant, King Ethelred II "The Unredy'' was born in 966AD and reigned from 979 to 1016AD. It was during Ethelred's reign in 988AD that he granted to his minister, Atsere, a certain part of land in the place called by the inhabitants "Wyck". The charter describes the boundaries as follows:

From the West Sea to Saggeloth
From Saggeloth to Muleditch,
From Muleditch to Blackstone,
From Blackstone to Golderoft,
From Golderoft to Soreditche,
From Soreditch to Lodmore,
and from Lodmore to the East Sea.

The number of hides is not stated, so it is not possible to speak with certainty of the area, but Wyke was far larger then and included much of present day Weymouth.

In 1042 Edward the Confessor accused his mother, Emma, of adultery with the Bishop of Winchester and to prove her innocence the Queen walked barefoot and blindfolded over nine red hot plough shares in Winchester Cathedral. In atonement, Edward gave several manors, including Wyke, to the Church of Winchester.

After William the Conqueror defeated Harold at Hastings in 1066 he assumed the Crown of England, refused to recognise many of the old grants and reclaimed Wyke as a Royal possession. However, on the accession of Henry the First in 1100 the Church of St. Swithins at Winchester sued for the return of the Manor, and in 1110 their request was granted.

The place name of "Wyke" is a derivation from the old English word Wic, broadly meaning dairy farm. The first recorded mention of Wic is in the Saxon Charter. The spelling "Wik" is used in the Book of Fees of 1212. but the first indication that Wyke was a Royal Possession was with the use of the word "Kingswik" in the Manorial Account Rolls of 1242. The first time that the modern form of Wyke Regis was used was in 1407 and suggests "The Farm of the King".

A "Church of Wyke" is referred to in records at Winchester as early as 1172 and then again in 1252, 1329 and 1363, and we can therefore be fairly sure that at least one church must have preceded the present All Saints Church, which was consecrated in 1455. It was common practice in those days to use existing masonry and the present church contains corbels which suggest that a previous Early English decorated style church existed, dating from around 1260. A corbel in the north springing of the tower can be dated to the 12th Century, thus indicating that an even earlier Norman Church was once in Wyke Regis.

In 1221 the Prior of St. Swithin's at Winchester gave authority for fairs and markets to be held in Wyke. A Fair Cross is shown at Wyke Road on the 1797 Inclosures Map of Wyke and in 1880 the base and part of the upright of an ancient Fair Cross was found in a ditch along the Wyke Road by a Mr. Board when he built Faircross House. The remains of the cross now stand in the garden of a house in Faircross Avenue.

Fairs were very important and exciting events in the lives of villagers in those days and the influence of Woodburv Fair, some 15 miles away at Bere Regis, is reflected by the use of ''Woodbury Day'' in the common field and grazing regulations of the Manorial Records of Wyke Regis.

A great collection of Manorial Records are preserved in the Cathedral Library at Winchester, and they contain accounts of "Wik Juxta Portland''. These accounts, or close rolls, are written in Latin and they were compiled for the Lord of the Manor, Prior Andrew, in the 27th year of the Reign of Henry III (1242).

The roles present the income and expenditure of the Manor for the year and contain considerable detail covering the names of some of the inhabitants, the level of fines imposed for breaking the laws; the major yields of the Manor during the year from the sale of wool, cheese, pelts wheat, barley, oats, etc.

The animal stock in the Manor was one horse, 29 oxen. II cows, one bull, 197 ewes and 5 rams.

Some of the residents of Wyke had their names recorded for posterity because they broke the law.

Anselm Capellanus; Henry Bossa; Peter Cooper; Osbert Petipal; Reginald Magga; Turstan Baynard; William Hayward; Robert Kada; Ralph Francis - and Alice Tenstiche was fined 12 pennies for breaking the assize of Ale!

The dreaded bubonic plague, known as the Black Death, entered England in August 1348, via the Dorset port of Melcome Regis. Whole villages were wiped out and it is estimated that between 30% and 50% of the population perished. The Dorset lay subsidy roll of 1332 contained some 31 names of residents of Wyke and it can only be conjectured how many of them and their families survived. The fate of the incumbent of Wyke Church at that time, Welter de Shrye, is not known but perhaps it is significant that a new priest. one William Staunton. was appointed in 1349.

The present All Saints Church is nationally recognised as an outstanding example of a perpendicular style church that is virtually unaltered since its consecration in 1455. Its major features are a noble western tower, a nave with north and south aisles, a chancel, north vestry and south porch. The "new'' north door was placed there in 1569.

The stone used was brought from quarries at Upwey and Portland and was largely worked on the spot. The window tracery is exceptionally fine and the heavy south door is of original heavy ply construction. Within the Church are two carved heads of King Henry VI and his Queen, Margaret of Anjou who were on the English throne when the Church was built.

The font is of the same date as the church and was originally sited in the nave between the south and north doors. For christenings both doors were left open so that virtues could enter from the south and vices could be banished through the north, or Devil's. side of the Church. This was the side originally reserved for the burial of criminals and suicides.

The chancel was originally separated from the nave by a wooden rood screen but this was removed at the reformation in 1540 .The holy water stoope just inside the south door bears the marks of defacing by supporters of the reformation as do the three piscinas in the church These must have been turbulent times in Wyke.

The current priest's vestry has a hagioscope and was once known as ''The Bones Room''. This name was given because it was the custom to place in there any bones found when digging new graves. In mediaeval times, bodies were not buried in coffins and graves might only be a few feet deep. Wyke Church was particularly given to inside burials, and eventually the dead lay end to end and side by side. The Victorians decided to stop this practice and the church floor was covered by a layer of concrete. The contents of the Bones Room were reburied near the Old Rectory in 1870.

The small priest's door on the south side, nearest to the litch-gate. was to enable the priest to enter the church without passing through the crowds in the nave, which was used during the week by the people of Wyke for meetings. elections. wedding feasts. and even dancing and fairs.

The south porch also played an important part in village life, with marriages and baptisms starting there, offenders were tried there. and even school classes were held in the porch. In his booklet about the history of the church the author. Mr. C. R. Domoney. who was headmaster of the Junior School for almost twenty years from 1933 comments "…..how tough our forebears must have been to sit here on a bitter winters day, howling gale blowing, or perhaps snow whirling around them on a biting wind and laboriously con their horn books or parchment scrolls, faces, hands and feet steadily getting more numb the while, and in many cases glad to do it for learning was a precious and highly valued thing.''

Inside the church above the south door is the stone Tudor coat of arms of Henry VIII which was taken from Sandsfoot Castle around 1665.

There are many other memorials in the church. and of particular note is the painted Royal Coat of arms on the north aisle west wall which commemorates the restoration of Charles II in 1660.

This particular one was put up in 1714 by order of George I and displays his Coat of Arms. On his death the parsimonious church officials economised by simply adding another stroke to make it George II. On the accession to the Throne in 1760 of George III they simply added another stroke, Unfortunately they forgot that the Coat of Arms of George II was not the same as that of George III and this "fiddle'' remains to this day, for all to see.

On the west wall is a tablet to Mr. Atkins, the headmaster of the village church school for many years.

In early times many of the pew seats were allocated by the church wardens to particular individuals or families living in the Parish of Wyke Regis. The 3rd Battalion Dorset Regiment, who were billeted in Wyke during the First World War have carved badges on some of the pews.

The list of incumbents of the church goes all the way back to Nicholas Lungspe in 1263, who was the youngest son of the Earl of Salisbury.

Nicholas Lungspee 1263; William Harvey 1299
Simon de Migham 1302; Simon de Stopham 1307
William de Winterborn 1314; Simon de Moenes 1316
Uricus de Rupis 1316; William Archer 1324
Welter de Shryeborn ?; William Stanton 1349
Henry Chelford 1408; Thomas Wassayl 1445
Thomas Hall 1450; William Stoke 1453 - It was during the rectorate of William Stoke that the present church was built.
William Gifford 1467; Edmund Hampden 1469
John Baker 1476; Henry Sutten 1480
Henry Sutton M.D 1495; Benedict Dodyn 1497
William Bower 1519; Williams Medow 1531
Thomas Watson 1545; Thomas Haywood 1553
John Sprint 1574; William Garth 1576
Nicholas Jeffries 1584; Eleazer Duncomb 1631
Edward Quarles 1631; Humph. Henchman 1640 - Henchman joined the Kings forces in 1643 and Henry Way was appointed by the House of Commons to be his successor. Humphrey Henchman gave his name to the expression "henchman" - reputedly because of his firm commitment to the cause of the King.
Edward Buckler 1650; Edward Butler 1652
Edward Damer whose date of collating is not known, was deprived of the living at the restoration.
Thomas Clendon 1662; Richard Drake 1667
Robert Wishart 1681; William Hunt 1689
William Rayner 1720; Abraham Davis 1730
Michael Festin 1753; John Cutting 1765
Samuel Payne 1792; Samuel Byam 1802
George Chamberlaine; 1809 John Menzies 1837
John Thomas 1847; John Hill 1851
Henry Pigou 1855; Richard England 1882 - During the major part of England's rectorate the Parish was ministered by a curate in charge, one Thomas Bell-Salter.
Sidney Edmund Davies 1899; Edward B Thurston 1918
Ernest Pratt 1942; Philip Rigby Rounds 1967
Keith Hugo 1988 to present day.

The Rev. George Chamberlaine, the incumbent from 1809 until 1837, was responsible for the building of Holy Trinity Church at Chapelhay. and of course Chamberlaine Road is named after him.

Many of the facts about the church have been gleaned from the delightful history of the parish church, written by Mr. C. R. Domoney, which is still published by the Wyke Regis Parochial Church Council.

The church registers date back to 16O1AD and the Church Wardens Accounts are almost as old. They are now in the Dorset County Records Office at Dorchester.

The Church Wardens' Accounts from 1745 to 1803 indicate how much the villagers depended on their crops to survive, and how determined they were to protect them from wild birds and animals. During the year of 1772 the churchwardens paid out rewards to villagers for five foxes, 12 hedgehogs, 9 dozen sparrows and two badgers. The going rate for a fox was 6 pennies, and 2 pennies for a dozen sparrow heads.

On Sunday 19th, October, 1455 Bishop Beauchamp blessed 'with due solemnity" the four bells hanging in the bell tower. In 1552 the bells were confiscated by the crown but they were gradually replaced with a treble by Warre of Salisbury in 1614, a 3rd by Purdue of Taunton in 1617, and a 2nd by Tozier of Salisbury in 1723.

In December 1799 the Archdeacon ordered the great bell (the 3rd) to be repaired but it was concluded that it would cost too much.

In 1802 authorisation was given to take down the great bell so that it could be recast into a smaller one.

In 1891 they were recast into the present eight bells by John Taylor. The tenor bell now weighs some 34 of a ton and the inscription on it reads:

"Lord may this bell forever be.
A tuneful voice o’er land and sea.
To call thy people unto thee".

The peal of bells was completely renovated and re-hung in 1946 as a memorial to the Rev. F. De B. Thurston. who was the Rector for nearly 25 years.

In 1988 the peal was once again in desperate need of restoration and the proceeds from the Millennium Celebrations raised over £4000 which helped towards the final amount raised of £16000. As a result the bells - recognised as one of the best in the county for quality of tone - were refurbished and re-hung.

From 1553 onwards there are increasing references in the Estate Records of the Earl of Ilchester to place names in Wyke and the close ties, and the close ties with the Strangways Estate continues to this day through its stewardship of the Fleet and Chesil Beach as a nature reserve. The map reproduced in Appendix C. shows some of the old place names that were in common use around the parish many years ago.

Sandsfoot Castle and Portland Castle were built for Henry VIII in 1539 as a working pair to defend the anchorage and vulnerable landing shores around Portland Roads. They were part of a chain of sea fortifications along the south coast. Some of the stone was brought from Bindon Abbey near Wool which was reduced to a ruin at the reformation. Sandsfoot Castle was quickly undermined by coastal erosion and was finally abandoned in 1665. It was said to have been manned wholly by a Militia of Wyke Men.

It was used by the Royalists as a mint during the civil war in the 1640s, and since then it has continued to decay, with the seaward end being eroded and falling over the cliff onto the rocks below.

THE Romans, Danes, and Vikings all used beacon signalling systems with a torch on a pole, as well as ground fires. This continued up to the 14th Century when beacons were still piles of wood alight on hills. However from 1337 in the war with France until the Armada in 1588 the first line of defence was the pitch pot or faggots of the beacon fires. In the British Museum is an unpublished map of around 1539 showing a system of beacons, including one at Wyke Regis at the site now occupied by the television mast. At the time of the Armada in 1588 the Wyke Beacon would have been lit when the one to the west at Hardy’s Monument was observed to be on fire, and this would have been followed by the beacon on the Nothe.

The Chesil Beach has been the scene of many tragic wrecks near Wyke and one of the first detailed accounts is of the Golden Grape in December 1641AD, when seven out of the twenty crew were drowned and it is recorded that the villagers of Wyke were part of a mob that looted the cargo.

In November 1795. three transports named the Venus, Piedmont, and Catherine were cast away on the Chesil. Hundreds of bodies were buried on the beach and 17 officers and 26 men were buried in a grave to the north of the tower of All Saints Church. A stone tablet records the doleful event.

In 1805 the East-Indiaman, "Earl of Abergavenny'' was holed on the shambles and this led to the loss of some 300 souls. Eighty of these are buried in the church graveyard. Her captain, John Wordsworth, the brother of the poet William Wordsworth is buried on the south side of the church near the Buxton Vault but there is no stone to mark the grave.

In 1815 the Alexander was wrecked in the bay and in one grave in the churchyard lie buried 140 of the passengers and crew. A stone tablet on the outside of the church. commemorating the event. was designed by James Hamilton. He was the architect who contributed so much to Georgian Weymouth and he is believed to have built and lived in "Hamilton House'' in old Wyke Square.

In November 1872 the Royal Adelaide was wrecked opposite Wyke and seven on board were drowned. Four local people including a fifteen year old boy lost their lives through drinking raw spirits from the wreck and dying of exposure. There was a great treasure hunt for booty from the ship over the following weeks and it is recorded that most of the pupils at the church school in Wyke were absent through being on the Chesil Beach.

THE first mention of a Ferry at Smallmouth. or ''Passage'' as it was more commonly called in Wyke was in 1244. By the 16th Century it was operated by a rope secured to posts on each side of the narrows which the ferryman used to pull the boat to and fro. The Ferry was controlled by the Isle of Portland Court Leet. who arranged its operation.

The old passage house stood on the Wyke Regis side of the narrows and in later days a rope and windlass was sometimes powered by an unfortunate horse.

The ferry was used in 1643 during the civil war for transporting parliamentary troops across to capture Portland Castle and again in 1645 when a Royalist raiding party crossed in the dead of night to attack and capture Weymouth.

The ferry was always subject to the vagaries of the weather and demands for its replacement were constant. However it was the Great gale of 1824 that really illustrated its vulnerability.

On 22nd November 1824 a storm occurred of quite unusual ferocity. It badly damaged Weymouth and Portland and it is recorded that the level of the Fleet rose 22 feet and inundated and destroyed most of the village of Fleet.

The rector of Wyke Regis at that time was the Rev. George Chamberlaine and he wrote a vivid account of the storm at the back of the Register of Baptisms for the parish. The register covers the years 1813 to 1829 and the description of the storm is beautifully written and was obviously carefully composed, presumably as a reminder to posterity:-

In the evening of this day, which will ever be memorable for the dreadful catastrophe which caused such destruction along the whole western coast of the kingdom, the village of Chisel was nearly destroyed, twenty six of the inhabitants drowned, and upward of eighty houses damaged or washed down by a tremendous surf which broke over the Chisel bank, and bore everything away with irresistible violence before it. This awful visitation was occasioned by a heavy gale, which, happening at spring tide, and commencing from the south south east, increased till eight o'clock, when it blew a most dreadful hurricane, such as never had been known before in the memory of man.

At nine o'clock a most horrid scene presented itself. The sea ran down the streets of Chisel with a sufficient depth of water to float a vessel of a hundred tons burden; and the wrecks of the houses, with the furniture of the poor inhabitants, were every where strewed on the shore. The ferry house leading to Portland was washed away, and the ferryman drowned. The communication between the island and the main land

was nearly destroyed by the ravages of the sea, which carried away the sand bank on the eastern side, and rendered the passage four times wider than it was before. The Chisel Bank throughout its whole extent was lowered from twenty to thirty feet; and the seines and the boats of the poor fisherman of Wyke. as well as those of Portland were almost totally destroyed. The pier of Weymouth Harbour was materially

damaged. and three fourths of the esplanade at Melcome Regis entirely thrown down and demolished. The waves of the sea washed over the high road at Melcome Regis, and filled all the lower parts of the houses in Gloucester Row and the Crescent with gravel and water. In short, a scene of greater distress and misery can hardly be conceived than was occasioned by this storm, and its dreadful effects will never be

effaced from the minds of those who witnessed it. The same storm destroyed the church at Fleet, and threw down several houses, but fortunately no lives were lost. The Colville West India Man of four hundred tons burden was totally wrecked in the bay, and every soul on board perished besides several minor wrecks too numerous to mention.

An account of the storm in the Southern Times also records how Richard Best the ferryman. with almost 30 years of experience at Smallmouth, struggled against the storm to rescue a horse but was carried away to his doom. The old passage house along with the boats and posts was also swept away and the water channel was left four times its width. The sand bar used as a ford was also gone.

A 95 ton brig. ''The Ebenezer" was thrown to the top of the beach during the gale and eventually dragged over and re-floated in the Portland Roads.

The heyday of smuggling for the villagers of Wyke was around 1750 to 11100 when all the residents were involved in outwitting the coastguards who patrolled regularly along the cliffs from Ferrybridge. Foreign vessels would lie close it to the beach and drop their contraband cargo overboard and mark the position with corks - some time later the "honest fisherman" of Wyke would recover the goods and carry them along secret paths and store them in the village. The old Ship Inn in Shrubbery Lane was reputed to be the haunt of the smugglers. On Sundays at church when the Reverend would ask everyone to "pray for the right spirit" they would all say "Amen". Of course they always saw that the parsonage cellars were well stocked with cordial. By the 1850’s smuggling was becoming very risky although it had not completely died out.

Many years ago, even before the first ferry bridge was built in 1839, there was an old wooden vessel on the Chesil Beach not a great distance from the Rocket House, which was close to Locket's Hole at the narrows near the end of Camp Road. Lockets Hole, where many Wyke fishermen kept their boats in olden times, was destroyed when the Army built the "hard" at the Bridging Camp.

In former days the old wooden vessel was known as "The Argus, and in her time she did a great deal of smuggling. However, she was captured because when she was stopped and searched her captain and crew thought that they had jettisoned all the contraband but they had evidently overlooked a keg of spirits. That was enough to condemn her and she was brought up the Little Sea and hauled up the beach.

She was used for many years as a coastguard watch-house, a chief boatman and his wife actually living in her and at the same time managing to cultivate a small piece of ground on the Chesil Beach. The vessel eventually fell into decay and was sold.

An interesting tombstone in the churchyard which reflects the long association of Wyke villagers with smuggling and the sea is of a local smuggler who was slain by a shot from coastguard men of the Pigmy Schooner. The inscription which was easily readable in the 1960s is fast fading probably due to the pollution from the adjacent traffic. It reads:-

''Sacred to the memory of William Lewis who was killed by a shot from the Pigmy Schooner 21^st April 1822 aged 33 years.''

BEFORE 1811 the main route to Portland from Weymouth was up Boot Lane and along Castle Lane before connecting with the wide sands that stretched from Sandsfoot Castle to Smallmouth where at low tide a sand bar enabled travellers to ford the narrows. The area was a great attraction for locals and visitors alike. In August 1842 it was described thus:

"Smallmouth Sands, beyond the old castle ruins on the way to Portland. are much resorted to by our visitors. At low water there is a fine extent of firm sands which cannot be equalled on the Western coast, where parties may be seen daily driving in their carriages amidst the numerous and fashionable promenaders who enjoy the cool and refreshing breezes from the Bay with a delightful view of Portland and its forest of shipping."

In 1863 Elizabeth Pearce of Portland described the beautiful stretch of sand under old castle: ''Twas like velvet to the foot while the low green topped cliffs formed as pretty as fringe as one could wish to see'' (From Old Portland, edited by Jean M. Edwards with annotations by Rodney Legg).

Mr. Fred Morris was born in Wyke in 1848 and in 1937, at the age of 89 he wrote down some of his memories of Wyke in his youth. From these recollections and those of other residents we can build up a picture of Wyke in those days - way back along.

Wyke village in the 1800s was a collection of picturesque thatched cottages nestling in the shade of the church. They were all within easy distance of the blacksmith the water supply and other necessities including the Fishermans Arms at the top of Chamberlaine Road. The water supply was very important and what is now the enclosed horse trough was the largest pool in the village and was the only one that could be relied upon not to dry up in the summer. Those who could afford the expense had wells sunk in their gardens. but the poorer villagers had to collect their water from the pool. It was reputed to be an unpleasant drink after the farmers had herded their cattle down to quench their thirst. (The story goes that you cannot be considered a true Wykeite until you have been in the horse trough)

The village stocks also used to stand in the Square close to the water pool - the last "real" occupant was recorded as an habitual drunkard who on release from the stock was cooled off in the adjacent water pool.

The arrival of the first ''peeler'' or policeman in the village is also remembered as a notable event because the children had to be restrained from throwing stones at his tall shiny hat. Fred Morris also recalled that in 1857 he was unwell and his mother took him to the doctor at the newly built Wyke Castle in Westhill Road. He was told that he needed his tonsils out and... ''he took hold of my head and put it between his legs as if he were shoeing a horse. Before you could say `Jack Robinson’ he had nicked them out with a knife''.

In those days even Wyke was feeling the effects of the industrial revolution and where field after field of golden corn once waved, herds of cattle now grazed in order to supply dairy produce to the growing towns. The villagers of Wyke had prided themselves on being practically self supporting, but dairy farming pay was small and the independent Wykeites did not like to be tied to a master. At harvest time they were quite likely to disappear to go fishing off Chesil. Wyke people had been at home with the sea for countless generations - the career of a Wyke man being to spend 10 or 20 years at sea in his early manhood -then to return and live in retirement with an income from fishing.

The following figures are included to give a very approximate guide to the growth of the population in Wyke over the centuries;-

1332 Dorset Lay Subsidy Roll 31 Names
1641 Dorset Protestation Returns119 Names
1662 Dorset Hearth Tax Returns111 Names
1851 Census 1898 Names
1891 Census 4148 Names
1901 Census 1910 Names
1981 Census 5026 Names

Figures for 1901 reflect the boundary changes of 11195 when the Westham part of Wyke Regis was transferred to Weymouth. In 1933 further boundary changes resulted in Wyke Regis losing its Parish status. and becoming part of the Borough of Weymouth and Melcome Regis.

Manor Farm is one of the best surviving traditional farmyards in South Dorset and was the centre of the ancient manorial farm. It was probably built at around the same time as the church. and like the church it uses silver-white Portland Stone. The single story south wing, with very old straight-chamfered mullion windows and a finely moulded beam ceiling is the earliest part. but the great stone built chimney stack in the north wall also denotes mediaeval construction. It was probably used by the Lord of the Manor on his occasional visits, and for centuries the farm and the adjacent church were the h)cal point of the village life in Wyke. The barn adjacent to the house is also of great antiquity. In the early 1900s it is known that ale was brewed at the farm. Nowadays the farm is surrounded by housing, but it still operates as a working farm.

Church Cottage next to the church in Portland Road and its neighbour, Wyke Cottage, are both 111th Century early Georgian houses with double sloping mansard roofs, in order to accommodate attic bedrooms. Church Cottage was for many years the village police station and had a lock-up at the rear. Wyke Cottage has a delightful first floor bow window and still retains its original fanlight above the door.

From the top of Chamberlaine Road one can view the old village centre. Part way down on the right is Fantasy Cottage which is late Elizabethan, built of large blocks of Portland stone in coursed ashlar. The sash windows are 111th Century replacements for stone mullion casements There is an old corbel fireplace in the north wing.

Next door is a typical Georgian cottage with narrow frontage good bow window and mansard roof. They make strange but attractive bedfellows.

Immediately on the left is what is now the Wyke Social Club followed by a row of three simple but attractive cottages. The Social Club is shown as the New Inn public house on an 1864 map of the village and previous to that had been the White Hart. Nowadays a brief history of the building is displayed in the Social Club. and an extract is included elsewhere in this booklet.

The stately Wyke House once occupied the site behind the Social Club but it was demolished in 1974. The house was built for Mr. Josh Johns of Weymouth in 1805 and was possibly designed by James Hamilton. It was sold to Col. John Swaffield in 1911. A previous house existed on the site at least as early as 1737 and was owned by Mr. John Gilbert of Portland who in 1773 gave it to his daughter Elizabeth Crouch.

The old church school used to occupy the site at the corner of Chamberlaine Road and All Saints Road, so before we continue with our tour of Wyke Square it is perhaps timely to consider the past and present schools in Wyke Regis. The first recorded school in Wyke was in Shrubbery Lane and was a "dame'' school run by Ma'am Talbot in the days of George III. A stone Church School was built on the corner of Chamberlaine Road probably around 1830 and consisted of two buildings and a small playground made to look gloomy by the adjacent tree. Behind the tree can be seen the headmaster’s house which still stands. The school was capable of accommodating some 210 pupils who had to pay 2 pennies a week to attend until 1891. School hours were 9 am. till 4 pm then from 7 pm until 9 pm in the evening.

IN 1862 an Act was passed requiring each school to keep a diary of significant events as well as an attendance record, and the contents of the Church School diary illustrate how much the school was an integral part of village life in those days. Absenteeism was accepted for a variety of reasons such as 'A fox hunt in the parish... to help pull the fish ashore... many children absent for gleaning... for potato digging... the wreck of the Royal Adelaide on the beach".

Mr. J. G. Atkins was the headmaster from 1870 until 1889. He was a strict disciplinarian and would administer the cane for filthy language, lateness, fighting, improper words on the slate and one boy received two strokes for spelling 'mortally' wrong four times out of six''.

In 1896 the school was described by the inspector as unwholesome and overcrowded. and in 1897 a new school was built by The Whitehead Torpedo Company at Victoria Road. The old Church School was used for a time as parish rooms but in 1907 it was pulled down and the existing brick and tile Memorial Hall erected.

A private school was known to be run behind 139 High Street by a Mr. Vickery and the once grand Sandsfort House at the top of Rylands Lane, built around 1860, is now Thornlow Private School. After the Second World War the Memorial Hall was used until the Rainbow School in Shrubbery Lane was opened as an infant school in 1952. All Saints Church of England School at Sunnyside Road was opened in 1957.

Returning to our tour of Wyke Square, many of the buildings around the Square date from the early 1700s and probably replaced much earlier simple dwellings.

The Albert Inn, seen in the background, is now listed as a building of special architectural interest. In 1879 it was sold by a Mathew Henry Edwards Edwards, a "Vichialler" to Devenish for £850. At that time it had a skittle alley. A visitor Mr. Jarvis Harker. taking a stroll around Wyke in the 1880s noted that the voice of the thrush singing in his small prison house by the door of the Inn, invited me to test the quality of the choicest ''Tap". Mr. Thrush allured me. In a cleanly and flower garnished parlour, whose walls were ornamented with German prints illustrating Greek and Roman Mythological stories, I acted upon the bird's suggestion. Mark well this fact that at three o'clock in the afternoon there lay on the shining top of an old fashioned piano the latest issue of a London daily newspaper!"

The first gas lamp in Wyke was erected in the square in 1905. At that time the Swan Inn was another village pub and was covered to the roof with ivy. It has a well at the rear and it is rumoured that it once brewed its own beer. It was turned into flats in the 1970s.

Hamilton House is to the left of the Swan Inn, and in the early 1900s it had a slaughter house as a neighbour. Hamilton House is three storied stucco faced with cornice, and in the austere style of James Hamilton who did so much to create Georgian Weymouth. It is said that this building was his home. Van Courtlands is a most interesting property with a distinctly Regency elevation, although the interior low ceilings and winding stairs denote much older origins. The present deeds only go back to 1810.

Time and space does not permit us to investigate all the fascinating groups of cottages and individual buildings of distinction in the vicinity of Old Wyke Square. Chirton Lodge, the Post Office, the Old Rectory. all deserve some attention, as do Oban Cottage, West Bay House, Westhill Cottage and the now demolished Westhill House.

In 1982 the Wyke Regis Protection Society successfully lobbied for the older part of the village to be declared a Conservation Area and the accompanying map shows the nationally listed buildings and those of local interest The local Planning Department should be consulted before any changes are made to the buildings in the Conservation Area.

Burgundy House on the seaward side of Westhill Road was built in the 17th Century and although much altered is still well proportioned. If its walls could speak, it would surely tell some tales of smuggling, storms and ship wrecks.

Wyke Castle. at the top of Pirates Lane, is a remarkable Victorian oddity built by Dr. Fennulhet who was a refugee from the French Revolution. It is said that he had the castle built where he could look towards his native land. It consists of a castellated central squat tower with short wings. Nowadays it is divided into three dwellings.

New Close Farm is a grade II listed stone-built late 18th Century farm house with later circular headed sash windows in the south elevation The plain north front has a charming Portland stone porch with a pagoda shaped head with floriated finial.

The elegant Belfield House was once set in rolling park land and royalty were frequent visitors during the visits to Weymouth of George III. It was designed by John Crunden and built around 1780 for Isaac Buxton whose son Thomas Fowell Buxton was elected as MP for Weymouth in 1826 and became a prominent anti slavery campaigner The estate entrance pillars are still visible along Wyke Road as is the old Coach House in Buxton Road.

Markham House looks out across the old farming lands of Little Francis which were once part of the Manor of Wyke Regis. The very name Francis is derived from the Norman French "Le Franchise" meaning a district over which the privilege of corporation (of Wyke Regis) extended. There is mention of a Franches Barn in the Ilchester Estate papers of 1554 and Hutchins 'History of Dorset' records that the farm of Little Francis once belonged to Dr. Sella Nova of Weymouth. According to the map of inclosures of l798 it was owned at that time by William Issac and by l867 it belonged to R.H. Swaffield of Wyke House, who was one of the largest landowners in the Parish of Wyke.

The old thatched farmhouse of Francis Farm has been long since demolished after a fire in the 1920s. It was protected by the escarpment of Wyke Common and Lanehouse to the south west and must have had outstanding views down the valley to the marsh and Weymouth backwater. It was crossed by the ancient droves of Cockles, Roundham and Markham, which were used in the middle ages for moving the large flocks of sheep around, and more recently by the Sapsworth family for driving cattle to their slaughter house (now Normans). The area once supported three holdings. but those days are long gone and it is gradually being surrounded by modern housing developments. It is still an area of great landscape value. and long may it remain a peaceful haven for those of us fortunate to live close by, and a safe home for the wide variety of wildlife that still inhabit the area. With a little imagination it could become a superb semi-natural parkland and a major holiday attraction for the Weymouth area.

Markham House, overlooking Little Francis was one of several houses occupied by the local gentry, whose life style was vastly different to those of the poorer villagers. The wives of the gentry founded a charity organisation called ''The Dorcas Society''. for the relief of poor but respectable married woman in Wyke. Subscribers in Wyke in 1883 are recorded as:-

Mrs. Bennet Markham House 5 Shillings
Mrs. Lynes Sandsfoot House 10 Shillings
Mrs. Robert Lynes Wyke Lodge 5 Shillings
Mrs. Ashton Pretor Belfield House 1 Pound
Mrs. Pretor Rocklands 1 Pound
Mrs. Pigou Stormount 1 Pound
Mrs. Owen Swaffield Wyke House 10 Shillings

Most of the old village houses in Wyke were built far artisans and labourers and in parts of High Street and Shrubbery Lane the streets were narrow and had no pavements.

Along Collins Lane, between High Street and Shrubbery Lane, is the old Methodist Chapel built in 1842. It has been considerably extended and is now used as a bakery. This would seem a convenient point at which to consider the other chapels and churches that exist in Wyke Regis.

A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built in Gallwey Road in 1900 and a new Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built in Portland Road in 1903 to replace the one at Collins Lane. The Methodists amalgamated in 1932 and the chapel in Gallwey Road was sold to the Womens Institute.

In 1954 a new parish was formed to service the expanding Lanehouse area and St. Edmunds Church, Lanehouse Rocks Road, was opened.

In 1955 the Roman Catholic Church of St Charles was opened in Sunnyside Road. and in 1962 the Downclose Gospel Hall was built at Doncaster Road.

Shrubbery Lane boasted several thatched cottages until 1941, when the Ship Inn and many of the cottages were destroyed by a bomb which killed Mrs. Bilke, the Landlady.

This view from Foords Corner was taken in 1888 and the ancient fields of Broad Meadow and Down Close can still be seen rolling down to the Portland harbour foreshore.

Taken a century later at Foords Corner this photograph illustrates the considerable housing developments that have taken place in Wyke Regis over the last 100 years. Foords Corner and Portland Road are now regularly congested with traffic and represent a considerable hazard for pedestrians and road uses alike. Road improvements are urgently needed in Wyke Regis.

Wyke Hotel in Portland Road was built around the turn of the century and in 1905 became the terminal point for the first motor bus service that ran through Weymouth from the Spa Hotel at Radipole. The site for the Wyke Hotel now called the Wyke Smugglers was purchased by Devenish Brewery in 1894. The adjacent land, called Home Close, was purchased by Weymouth Corporation in 1935 and became the now familiar public gardens, tennis courts, and Home Close allotments.

Many of the houses along the Portland Road date from the period following the opening of Whitehead Torpedo Factory in 1891. Engineer Robert Whitehead had developed the torpedo from an invention by Captain Luppus. formerly of the Austrian Navy. The factory produced the Whitehead Torpedo which was tested on the torpedo range in Portland Harbour. As well as the factory, Whitehead also built houses for his workers, such as Ferrybridge Cottages and the separate terrace of "Foremans Houses" close by in Portland Road. The old inclosure map of 1798 shows that this part of Portland Road was once called "Goose Lea". Gallwey Road is named after Captain Payne Gallwey, first manager at Whitehead.

Victoria Road School was also built by Whitehead in 1897 and the road and school were named in honour of the Queens Jubilee of that year. The rail line from Weymouth to Portland was opened in 1865 but Wyke Halt, serving the torpedo factory rather than the village, did not open until 1909. The line closed to passengers in 1952, and finally ceased to be used at all in 1965.

The Port Sanitary Hospital at Ferrybridge, now part of the holiday camp, was opened in 1880. It became disused in the 1930s and was converted into a holiday centre by the Methodists Holiday Fellowship. The road to Chickerell and beyond was always via the long Lane House Rocks hill, so called because of the several quarries on either side of the hill, which provided much of the material for the characteristic old grey stone walls around Wyke. The quarries are now all filled in and covered over.

Some, (but not we in Wyke) say that the best thing out of Portland is the road over Ferrybridge. The Ferrybridge was opened on the 30^th January, 1839. In 1896 a replacement bridge was completed which lasted until 1986 when the present bridge was built on a site to the south of the original Smallmouth.

Since the signing by King Ethelred The Unready of the Charter in 988, the tiny village of Wyke Regis remained virtually unchanged for centuries. However, with the building of the Portland breakwater and Whitehead in the 19th Century, and the increase in prosperity and home ownership in the 20th century there has been a relentless swallowing of acres of green fields for housing. After the Second World War housing development accelerated, starting with the Broadmeadow Road area, then Portland Road, Downclose, Rylands Lane, Mandeville, Lower Westhill Road, Broughton Crescent, Malborough Avenue and on into Walker Crescent. More recent developments have seen the demolition of Boulton Villa and the building of the Wyke Lodge Estate, along with the construction of estates at Mountbatten Close, Barrow Rise, and on the old Wellworthy sports field. Worthy of special praise is the fine new Sports and Social Club at Downclose opened in 1987, and built largely through the efforts and determination of the workers at Wellworthy.

Wyke House was demolished in 1974 and the site awaits development. All those residents that care for the future of Wyke Regis must be vigilant to ensure that any changes in the area of the old Wyke Square are be carried out in sympathy with its past rich history.

The foreshore area along the Portland Harbourside from Sandsfoot to Ferrybridge, once the preserve of "locals", is now under constant pressure from marine-related developments. Care will have to be exercised if an equitable balance is to be struck between the long established rights of the local residents, and the desires of developers to exploit the area. There is no doubt that planting and landscaping of the foreshore, with the provision of attractive footpaths would be of benefit to residents and tourist alike. These aspects will assume even greater importance if a relief road is ever built along the old Weymouth to Portland railway line.

We must continue to protect the landscape and wildlife at Markham and Little Francis, and along the heritage coast adjacent to the Fleet or "Little Sea".

As residents we have much to be proud of in the history of Wyke Regis. but there is also much that can and must be improved over the next 1000 years. Let us ensure by our common efforts that our successors in future years will still be able to say:

Wyke Regis, the village rich in quaint associations and traditions of olden times, richer still in melancholy memories of the dead whom the Storm King slew, and richest of all in natural beauty and splendour.

SOME EARLY ROYAL LORDS OF WYKE&127
ALFRED THE GREAT 871-899
EADWARD THE ELDER reigned 901-925
AETHELSTAN r925-939
EADMUND I r940-946
EADRED r946-955
EADWIN THE FAIR r955-959
EADGAR THE PACIFIC r959-975
EADWARD II r975-979
AETHELRED II THE UNREADY r979-1016
EADMUND II r1016-1017
CNUT I r1017-1035
HAROLD I r1035-1040
CNUT II r1040-1042
EADWARD III THE CONFESSOR r1042-1066
HAROLD II r1066
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR r1066-1087

SOME MORE ROYAL LORDS OF WYKE
1296 GILBERT EARL OF GLOUCESTER AND HEREFORD
1338 LIONEL. DUKE OF CLARENCE FROM ELIZABETH DE BURGH
1368 EDMUND MORTIMER -M- ELEANOR HOLLAND
- ANN MORTIMER -M- RICHARD EARL OF CAMBRIDGE
(Beheaded in 1415)
1411 - CECILY NEVILLE -M- RICHARD PLANTAGENET
(Duchess of York) (Grandson on Edward III)
1461 EDWARD IV
1485 ELIZABETH OF YORK -M- HENRY VII
1509 HENRY VIII
1541 CATHERINE HOWARD
(Executed 1542)
1544 CATHERINE PARR
1547 EDWARD VI
1553 MARY I

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