William Chafin - Sport Mad Parson

He was the high-spirited parson initially of Lydlinch and then Chettle who was mad about sport.  However, these were the uncivilised ‘past times’ of the 1700s such as bull baiting, cockfighting and owl hunting. It was said he hunted ‘everything from the flea in the blanket to the elephant in the forest.’  He was also an author and a magistrate although writer Desmond Hawkins reckoned he regarded the law as an inconvenience to be broken or upheld according to what suited him. William Chafin was a crusty character and rural eccentric who wore old boots and greasy leather breeches even when dining with royalty.

Young William’s sporting career began when he accidently shot and killed an old lady called ‘Goody’. Somehow, the future cleric avoided court conviction but his father insisted he spent a month in a loft as a penance on just bread and water. During this confinement, he passed the time trap baiting sparrows. Only four of his eleven brothers and sisters survived which his father, George blamed on too tender nursing. To compensate for this he was sent outside, as soon as he could crawl, with a shepherd even in winter. William reckoned this was the reason why he lived into his eighties. For rabbit hunting, he had a pack of tiny beagles and would involve his parishioners in owl hunting. When hunting, he would proclaim the motto ‘no deaths, no strong beer!’ However, he regarded horse racing as the ‘most cruel and inhuman of pastimes’ because of the use of whips and spurs. Bizarrely, he had no problem with cockfighting which he considered was a natural reflection of the animal’s aggression.

William Chafin was also an author who wrote Anecdotes and History of Cranborne Chase which was first published in 1818. This was a high-spirited and humorous account of North Dorset rural life and superbly evoked the lawlessness of the 18^th century Chase. He wrote about disputes between local landowners and the frequent pitched battles between gamekeepers and poachers.

In the summer of 1817, he was struck by lightning when he was sitting by a window. He lost the sight of his left eye and the use of two fingers on his right hand. With failing health, William Chafin died on the 14^th August 1818 at the age of 85 years.

(Illustration: Reverend William Chafin of Chettle.)