Place record MDO37154 - Bishop's Caundle

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 1, 13-16 (Monograph). SDO146.

‘The parish, 960 acres in area, rises gently from the Caundle Brook in the S., at an altitude of some 200 ft. above sea-level, to a maximum elevation of over 400 ft. in the N.W. The N.W. third of the parish lies on Forest Marble; the rest is a combination of Oxford Clay, Cornbrash Beds and Forest Marble.
Until 1886 several outlying parts of Bishop's Caundle were wholly surrounded by the parishes of Caundle Marsh and Folke; conversely, detached lands of Caundle Marsh lay inside the bounds of this parish. (fn. 1) While a few of these 'islands' may result from early enclosure of the forest most seem to lie in the area of former open fields. The present parish contains two original settlements, Bishop's and Wake Caundle. It is not known whether each had a separate open field system. Wake Court (5) incorporates a 16th-century farmhouse and stands in an area where early enclosure is to be suspected (15). The most important monument in the parish is the church (1). Part of Cornford Bridge (2) is mediaeval.’

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1912, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club (Serial). SDO22.

‘ADDITIONAL EDITORIAL NOTES. BLACKMORE VALE. 1. BISHOP’S CAUNDLE. In Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries (Dec. 1910) Canon Mayo gave an interesting account of some carved stones built into the fireplace of a cottage of Jacobean date. Last year this cottage was pulled down, and the fragments carefully removed to Sherborne by Mr. E. A. Rawlence, agent for the Castle Estate. The stones prove to have formed the base of a handsome cross of the 15th century. Three of the principal faces bore representations of scenes of the Passion and Resurrection, and on the angles were figures in bold relief of the Evangelists, with their Apocalyptic symbols. Portions of a plinth were also found bearing an inscription, which is undecipherable.’

Record last edited

Mar 31 2015 3:44PM