The Blandford Express

  In the late 50s and early 1960s, Pimperne Cricket Club played at Langbourne on a concrete batting pitch overlaid by matting. A particular hazard at Langbourne was cow pats as the pitch’s more normal use was for dairy cattle. To discourage the wandering animals, a temporary electrified fence had to be placed around the batting pitch which was inadvisable to touch Cricket in Pimperne went back many years. The Dorset County Chronicle  reports a cricket match between Pimperne and Chettle which took place in August 1867. It was a close game with Pimperne winning by one run with just one wicket to spare.                                                                ...

Pimperne Churchyard is said to be haunted by the severed hand of a soldier called Blandford. Despite his surname, trumpet-sergeant Blandford came from the village of Pimperne. So, when in 1780 he was posted to Blandford, soldier Blandford was delighted to renew the acquaintance of his old chums. A popular character in the village, he was well known for his dry sense of humour. Like his Pimperne mates, Blandford had a lucrative pastime and that was poaching. A local tenant farmer wrote at the time to his landlord: ‘ Poaching has got to such a thing in our parish, that almost every boy at the age of 14 years practises it, which I fear will lead to further mischief.’ Most popular location for poaching deer was Cranborne Chase, particularly around the village of Sixpenny Handley. So, trumpet-sergeant Blandford soon organised a group of Pimperne poachers to head north in the direction of the Chase. Sadly, for the villagers, there had been loose talk and a group of local gamekeepers had been...

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

Village of Pimperne is not a place normally associated with whaling off Antarctica. Yet, Commander Buckle GC OBE, a Pimperne resident between 1948 and 1975, provides such a link. Henry Buckle was born in Middlesbrough in 1889 and joined the Royal Navy in 1905. On the 27th August 1919, he was Officer on Watch on HMS Tiger undergoing repairs at the Invergordon naval base in Scotland. This was a giant battle cruiser which had seen action against the German Navy at the Battle of Jutland. During the repairs two dockyard fitters and an able seaman, working in the ship’s hold, became overcome by noxious fumes. Despite great personal risk, Henry Buckle played a key role in bringing the three men to safety. As a result on 22nd March 1922, he was presented the Albert Medal by King George V at Buckingham Palace. In 1934, he retired as an Acting Commander in the Royal Navy and took on a new role as a Whaling Inspector off Antarctica. With the outbreak of World War II, he was recalled and spent mos...

In France, the Palace of Versailles near Paris had a maze, Hampton Court in London had a maze and at one time so did Pimperne. It could be found where Blandford Cemetery is today, an area that was once part of Pimperne. In Mazes and Labrynths , William Henry Mathews (1922) wrote: ‘At Pimperne, not far from Blandford, there was formerly a maze of unique design (Fig.63). John Aubrey writing in 1686 says it was “much used by the young people in holydays and by ye school-boies.” The maze was destroyed by the plough in 1730.’ Pimperne’s Maze was also known as a ‘ Troy-Town’ or ‘ miz-maze’ . In popular legend, the walls of Troy were constructed in such a confusing manner that an enemy who entered would be unable to find his way out. While an old West Country expression, ‘I was in a miz-maze’ meant to be in a state of confusion. ‘ Masen ’ was an old English word and meant to puzzle. The village maze had small earth ridges about one metre high. It covered about an acre of ground with intricat...

  In the 1700s, travelling along Dorset’s roads was a precarious pastime. One day in September 1756, accompanied by his servant, an Oxford clergyman was to discover these perils at a cost. As he was making his way from Blandford towards Shaftesbury, the Reverend Collins was ordered to halt and ‘ stand & deliver’ by two mounted highwaymen. One spoke with a Welsh accent while the other had an olive-skinned Latin look about him. However, the two highwaymen presented a somewhat bizarre sight as one was riding an extremely tired old nag. As they were both holding a blunderbuss gun, the cautious clergyman reflected but then wisely decided to obey. The unfortunate ecclesiastic was then robbed of his horse, cloak and eight guineas. The highwayman, whose transport had been much improved, presented the Reverend Collins with his old nag enabling the unfortunate clergyman to continue on his way. Emboldened by their success, the two robbers decided to make their way to a public house i...

  Village cricket in Dorset goes back many years. Dorset County Chronicle reports a cricket match between the villages of Pimperne and Chettle which took place in August 1867.  In the 50s and early 1960s, the Pimperne club played at Langbourne on a concrete batting pitch overlaid by matting. Cow pats were a particular hazard as the pitch’s more normal use was for dairy cattle. If there was one match in the 1960s the Pimperne club was determined to win, it was against a village that it would be politic not to name. Their team, which seemed to consist mainly of members of the same family, were masters of gamesmanship. If Pimperne’s tail end batsman was a youngster, they would collectively seek to undermine his confidence. While the Pimperne scorer had to keep an eagle eye on the recordings of his opponent’s counterpart!   Yet Pimperne in their tussles with this opposition had their own secret weapon…lardy cake. This calorie laden, greasy, fatty delight had a key tactica...

(Illustration: A Peninsular War Veteran with his medal.) Henry Maidment was an agricultural labourer who lived in the village of Pimperne.  In 1866, Henry was one of the few surviving British Army veterans who had fought Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Army in the Spanish Peninsular War.  At 83, he could not work and had hit hard times. He was surviving on a parish handout of just two shillings and sixpence (12.5p) per week and a single loaf of bread. The octogenarian pauper had, in fact, a distinguished military record but had left the army without a military pension.                                                                     Henry Maidment fought in the Battles of Talavera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle and Toulouse. For this, he was entitled to a Military General Service Medal with c...