The Blandford Express

Panda  Blue Rasperry Ade, Strawberry Jelly & Ice Cream and Casper Ghostly Limeade were all unique soft drink flavours produced by the Panda Pops brand owned by Badger Beers. Panda Pops were often sold in small bottles of fizzy drink that were as sweet and sticky as it was as possible for them to be. Other popular Panda Pop flavours were Cherry Ade and Bright Green Cola. Even more singular blends could be concocted by mixing two or more flavours in a Panda Pops mixing bowl. Panda Cola achieved a sort of cult status and there is even a song, ‘ Warm Panda Cola’ . While among Panda aficionados there was even the spoof blend of Princess Diana Memorial flavour! The Blandford drink competed remarkably well against American giants Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. Panda Pops date back to the 1960s when the Blandford brewer dropped the name of Sunparlor for its soft drink brands. Sunparlor had also been the name of a winning race horse owned by a member of the Woodhouse family. Cream soda was...

Elm Tree Inn, Langton Herring in South Dorset is a 400-year-old hostelry with a colourfully checkered history - that includes smugglers, bouncing bombs, espionage and knicker bunting. Originally leased by the Prince of Wales, it became a known haunt for wreckers and smugglers. Wreckers plundered cargo from shipwrecks. The dangerous shingle banks and deep waters off nearby Chesil Bank led to many local shipwrecks. Folklore has it that wreckers would tie a lantern to a cow’s tail and the gentle up and down motion would simulate that of a ship at anchor. Passing captains would mistake the false light for a safe harbour. Disaster would follow. A fisherman who had cheated others on the size of his catch was chased through the village in 1780 and was hung from a beam at the Elm Tree Inn. In 1834, William Whittle was sentenced to death for smuggling and for assaulting a Revenue Official. Following a petition for clemency, signed by more than 600, he was transported to Australia. The village’s...

Until it was banned outright under the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1835, the blood sport of cockerel fighting was a popular pastime in Blandford. Large bets were regularly placed on the results and the fighting cocks were specially bred for their aggression. Training was notoriously cruel and well-off owners even employed cockerel trainers. At considerable expense, the pastime was regarded as a ‘predominant amusement’ at the time by the local gentry. At these events, much alcohol was consumed. The enclosed dirt area where the roosters fought became known as a cock pit. This led to the expression ‘to be pitied against.’ Sometimes, the cockerels were required to wear razor-sharp mettle spurs when fighting. Victory was awarded to the cockerel that either killed its opponent or rendered it so injured it could not continue. Some spectators, in the interests of comfort, brought their own light-weight chairs which became known as cock fighting chairs. According to the Salisbury & Wiltshire ...

Blandford has always been associated with brewing beer. With iconic brands, both ancient and modern such as Tanglefoot and Stingo, Badger Beers come immediately to mind.  Yet, there have been local brewers other than Hall & Woodhouse. John Lewis Marsh was not an upmarket department store but the owner of a brewery based in Bryanston Street. Marsh was a Londoner, born in Clerkenwell and the landlord of the Kings Arms in White Cliff Mill Street, who diversified into brewing. The business traded successfully for half a century until it closed in 1938. Marsh was keen on advertising. However, he was aware not everyone in the town was an admirer of his products. There were those Blandford folk who believed in alcoholic abstinence and that its excesses undermined and damaged family life. So Marsh produced an advertisement claiming that excessive tea drinking was ‘more harmful than malt and hop beers in moderation.’ The publicity also quoted former Prime Minister, William Ewart Glads...

  With five substantial courses and twelve alcoholic toasts, Blandford Corporation’s 1910 Dinner was not a weight-watcher’s affair. The evening opened at Blandford’s Crown Hotel with a choice of either mock turtle or julienne soup accompanied with a glass of sherry. This was followed by fish which could be turbot, shrimp sauce, or fried fillets of sole. With this there was a German hock. After the fish, there were lamb cutlets and peas. Next was a meat course offering boned turkey, pheasant, York ham, roast chicken, game pie, spiced beef, tongue, sirloin of beef and finally galantine of beef. With this course there was both claret and champagne. As an ‘ entremets’ or desert, there was a choice of plum pudding, trifle, white jellies, compote of pears, apple tart or vanilla creams. As a ‘ digestif ’, one could partake of a glass of port. Then, twelve toasts followed responded to by twenty five diners interspersed by eight songs and two violin solos. First toast of the evening was to...

Thomas Hardy wrote of this Barley Wine style beer: ‘It was the most beautiful colour that the eye of an artist in beer could deliver full of body yet brisk of as a volcano; piquant, yet without a twang; luminous as an autumn sunset, free from streakiness of taste but fully rather heady.’ ( Trumpet Major) Named after the Dorset author and poet, it was created by Dorchester brewers, Eldridge Pope to mark the 40th anniversary of Hardy’s death. However production ceased when the brewery closed in 2003 following its sale to a property company. In 2013 the recipe was acquired by Italian  brewer, Interbrau and from time to time they arrange for special batches of Thomas Hardy Ale to be produced. It has been claimed that Thomas Hardy Ale will last for 25 years.

Woodyates Inn, located between Salisbury and Blandford, was before the motor car age an important coaching inn. This was an inn on a route followed by horse-drawn coaches at which the horses could be changed.  Hiding from his pursuers, the rebellious Duke of Monmouth stayed there in 1685 disguised as a shepherd. Despite his disguise, the illegitimate son of King Charles II was captured near Horton and was beheaded for treason. It was said the ghost of Monmouth appeared each year in the inn on the anniversary of his death. Woodyates Inn did not enjoy the best of reputations and in 1793 a traveller wrote: ‘I look upon an inn as the seat of all roguery, profaness, and debauchery; and sicken of them everyday by hearing nothing but oaths and abuse of each other and brutality to horses.’ This traveller, John Byng was a retired army officer and he also described Woodyates Inn as ‘miserable’ and ‘beds shocking’. He could not wait to leave but  he had trouble waking anyone to pay the b...

Some breweries are cherishingly remembered while others are now forgotten: Eldridge Pope  of Dorchester. Founded in 1837 by Charles and Sarah Eldridge, a new brewery was built near the railway line in 1880. Edwin Pope had joined in 1870 and was followed by his brother Alfred. The Huntsman   trademark (featured) was shared with Leeds based brewer, Joshua Tetley. Thomas Hardy Ale, a strong barley wine, was one their most famous beers. Eldridge Pope closed in 2003 and the site was sold to a property company. Bournemouth Brewery was founded at 117 Holdenhurst Road in 1858 in association with Heath Poult Inn.  One of its owners was a Mrs Hilda G  Ogden. The brewery was bought by Strong of Romsey in 1925 and survived just as a depot until 1973 when the site was redeveloped. Devenish of Weymouth. Originally the Flew Brewery, it was bought by William Devenish in 1824. In 1931,  Major J Devenish’s home was burgled but the stolen silver was discovered the next day by scho...

  Harry Herbert, a fitter from Glasgow, was charged with stealing a pair of leggings valued at four shillings and eleven pence (25p), the property of Reginald Watts. The Scot was appearing at Blandford Police Court before the Mayor, Alderman J Barnes and ex-Mayor, Mr A C Woodhouse. The leggings were sold to Elizabeth Foster of Bryanston for nine old pence (4p). PC Barrett had arrested Harry for drunkeness and while in custody he admitted he had pinched the leggings. He was then charged with stealing a waistcoat belonging to John Hicks and valued at five shillings and six pence (27p). He sold this to Alice Blandford of White Cliff Mill Street for just eight old pence (3p). He explained he had walked from Dorchester and was very tired when he did this. Harry Herbert then pleaded guilty to this charge. There was a third charge for stealing a shirt and socks from the shop of George Griffin valued at three shillings and sixpence (17p). He had sold them to William Chard of Charlton M...

  James John Farquharson of Langton Long was a man who loved to party and also  quite liked a drink. Nicknamed ‘Old Farqy’, he was the Commanding Officer of the Blandford Troop of the Dorset Yeomanry. They had been recruited in 1831 to put down the prospect of the locals rioting in the town. The Troop exercised on Blandford Race Down. ‘Old Farqy’ was a splendid sight in his uniform of a scarlet jacket with blue facings and trimmings of silver lace. There was a regulation cap with red and white plumage and trousers with red stripes at the side and a red and yellow girdle. Troop membership required the attendance at an Annual Troop Muster for six days but there was the privilege of exemption from hair powder and horse taxes. When the Blandford Troop of the Dorset Yeomanry was stood down in 1841, it became the excuse for a Grand Dinner in the town’s Crown Hotel. ‘The Dinner was served up with a sumptuous, profusion and elegance.’ Toasts drunk at the end of the meal were too numer...

Three Choughs - West Street. Red Lion - Market Place. Blue Anchor - Salisbury Street (closed around 1790!). Farquharson Arms - Pimperne. Railway Hotel - Oakfield Street. Badger - Junction of Salisbury Road & Park Road. New Inn - East Street. Rose & Crown - Dorset Street. Half Moon - White Cliff Mill Street. Coachmakers Arms - Damory Street/corner of the Close. Damory Arms Hotel - Salisbury Road. Blue Boar Inn - East Street Damory Oak - Damory Oak Street Wheatsheaf - Albert Street Wheatsheaf's Etched Window

Back in the1880s, Blandford had as many as twenty nine public houses including seven that had opened following the arrival of the railway. In the surrounding villages there was another eleven.   Some regarded this as too many and considered ‘ lawlessness, poverty and dirt abound more or less in proportionate to the number of liquor shops.’ Among those who campaigned against the ‘ demon drink’ was the Blandford Temperance Society. They believed that alcoholism was a major cause of poverty and crime. The Society had put in a petition in August 1884 to the Licensing Authorities and signed by 244 local people. This asked the Blandford Justices not only to refuse new licenses but to reduce also the number of public houses that it considered had become a ‘ prolific source of drunkenness and crime’ The Blandford Temperance Society had been founded in the early 1860s and was well-supported with well-attended meetings. It also organised social events and its Temperance Band would regular...

Hector’s Brewery could once be found on the bank of the River Stour at Blandford St Mary close to Blandford bridge. Described as ‘most delightfully situated’, it had gained its name from John Hector who bought the lease and ran the brewery with his sons between 1826 and 1879. Hector played an important role in the local community and was also a churchwaden. The brewery had been in existence since 1789. Before this, many houses had their own malt houses. In those destroyed in the 1731 fire, there were six in Blandford St Mary with malt houses. In 1879, Hector’s Brewery was bought by Horace Baydon Neame. He was a Kent farmer and hop grower and a member of the Kentish Shepherd Neame brewing family from Faversham. Neame then sold the brewery, together with two maltings at Winterborne Stickland and 15 pubs, to Hall & Woodhouse in 1882. Brewing by Hall & Woodhouse continued for almost 20 years at both Ansty and Blandford St Mary. Some 30 people were employed at Ansty and around 4...

Stingo was a popular Dorset drink in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a barley wine yet it was not a wine. The drink was a strong ale. It was called a wine because Stingo was known for its high alcoholic content similar to wine and for its rich and complex flavours. It was most definitely a drink for sipping rather than quaffing. Barley wine was produced elsewhere in England and was also known as Ind Coope Triple A and as Tennant’s  Gold Label but in Dorset it was definitely known as Stingo. Produced by Hall and Woodhouse in Blandford, it was brewed at a time when the company was managed by brothers John and Edward Woodhouse. The latter was a fine cricketer who captained Somerset County Cricket Club. Such was the fine pedigree of Stingo that it was truly a time in Dorset when you could truly claim: ‘I’m only here for the beer!’

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...

  Hall & Woodhouse have been brewing beers in the heart of Dorset for more than 200 years. Charles Hall began brewing in Ansty in 1777 and came to Blandford in 1883 when the business acquired Hector’s Brewery located on the banks of the River Stour. Established in the 1780s, it was named after John Hector who ran the business from 1827 to 1879. Sadly in August 1900, Hector’s Brewery was burned down. Such was the conflagration that villagers travelled into Blandford to view the spectacle. A local newspaper reported that the watching crowd was most orderly and all that went missing were just a few apples from Mr Woodhouse’s orchard. In October 1900, a new brewery completed its first brew. Hector’s Brewery was remembered many years later when a special ‘ Hector’s Ale’ was produced. While the ‘ Badger ’ has been the company’s hallmark for many years there was a dispute over its use with a Yorkshire mineral manufacturer. The dispute was resolved finally when Hall & Woodhouse ma...

Crown & Anchor, the White Hart  and the George are just three of the almost 100 pubs, inns & hostelries that have, over the years, quenched the thirst of both locals and travellers to Blandford. As early as 1390, there is a report of twelve Blandford men and one woman being taken to court for brewing beer contrary to the regulations. Indeed, in 1882, it was reported there were 37 public houses in the Blandford district and all had had their licenses renewed. Crown & Anchor (1757) in West Street was originally called the Cock & George and was famous for hosting cockerel fights. However, when this was made illegal its name was changed to the Crown & Anchor in 1845. Three years later, James Soper was advertising that a horse-drawn ‘ omnibus ’ left the Crown & Anchor daily, except Sundays, at a half past eight for Wimborne to arrive just in time to catch both the down train to Dorchester and the up train to Southampton and London. That year also, James Soper ...

As in the past joining the British Army was rarely an attractive proposition, recruiting sergeants would result to ruses, often with a publican’s help, to snare unwilling prey. That is what happened to an unsuspecting, ‘ railway navvy’ during a rowdy Saturday night in the Three Choughs Inn, Blandford in November 1858. He was with a group of construction workers who were employed to build the new railway line from Wimborne to Blandford. The ‘ navvies ’ were not particularly popular with the locals and had a reputation for fighting, heavy drinking and general rowdy behaviour. ‘ Taking the King, or Queen’s Shilling’ has long been slang for enlisting in the British Army as for many years a shilling (5p) was akin to a signing-on payment made to new recruits. The recruiting sergeant would ensure his target became drunk and would then slip a shilling into a back pocket. The next day the unfortunate and hung over victim would be hauled before a magistrate who would confirm that he was the Br...

In the 1700s, the Greyhound Inn was one of the three great coaching inns of Blandford and was both stylish and substantial. The other two great inns were the Crown and the Red Lion. In fact, the Greyhound dates back to the early 1600s. This inn was a regular stopping point for horse drawn coaches travelling between London and the West of England. The Greyhound was destroyed in the 1731 Great Fire of Blandford. It was then rebuilt with an impressive Market Place facing frontage together with sizeable back buildings which included stables, a tap room, workshops and a brewery. The front part covered 3,150 sq ft and the back buildings a further 3,100 sq ft. In 1779, the Inn was advertising it had an excellent and much used billiard table. On Bonfire Night in 1805, the Greyhound Inn was one of the many stopping points to change his horses for Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotiere of the Royal Navy. He was taking the news of victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and of Horatio Nelson’s death to ...

At one time Blandford could boast of one of the largest oak trees in the country. Known as the ‘ Damory Oak’ , it is reckoned to date back to the 10 th or 11 th centuries. It was said to be 75 ft high and to have a circumference of 68 ft at ground level. As the tree decayed, it became hollow forming a great cavity which could house 20 men. This was 15 ft wide and 17 ft high. During the English Civil War an old man ran the cavity as an ale house. Appropriately, some three centuries later there was a pub nearby at the bottom of Damory Court Street, now closed, that was called the ‘ Damory Oak’ . In 1703, the ‘ Damory Oak’ suffered greatly in a violent storm when several of its largest branches were torn off. After the Great Fire of Blandford in 1731, the hollow trunk provided shelter to two homeless families. Sadly, by 1755 the great ‘ Damory Oak’ was in a sorry state and was sold for firewood for just fourteen pounds.