Charles Warne (1802 – 11 April 1887) was an English

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

and archaeologist who specialized in the prehistoric and ancient monuments of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

Life

Born in

, with the poet

William Barnes William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a co ...

he was involved in protecting the

Maumbury Rings Maumbury Rings is a Neolithic henge in the south of Dorchester town in Dorset, England (). It is a large circular earthwork, 85 metres in diameter, with a single bank and an entrance to the north east. It was modified during the Roman period wh ...

which resulted in their statutory protection from the route of the proposed

Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained Parliamentary powers in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to Salisbury and Weymouth in Dorse ...

Act of 1845. This was the first time an antiquity was saved from being damaged by a proposed train route as a result of the actions of local protestors.Clarke, John M. London's Necropolis: A Guide to Brookwood Cemetery, Sutton Publishing (2004), p. 118 He became a close friend of

Charles Roach Smith Charles Roach Smith (20 August 1807 – 2 August 1890), FSA, was an English antiquarian and amateur archaeologist who was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the London Numismatic Society. He was a founding member of ...

and in 1853 and 1854 he made archaeological tours in France with Smith and

Frederick William Fairholt Frederick William Fairholt (1814 – 3 April 1866) was an English antiquarian, antiquary and wood-engraver. Early life Fairholt was born in London. His father, who was of a German family (the name was originally Fahrholz), was a tobacco manufac ...

. Warne published accounts of his archaeological discoveries between 1836 and 1872 many of which were based on his own research and fieldwork. Elected as a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

in 1856, Warne was then and for some time afterwards a resident of London. He made researches into the prehistoric remains of Dorset. Then for a long time he lived at

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a suburban area with a village centre in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, approximately south of central London and northeast of Epsom. In the 2011 Census, the settlement had a population of 34,872, a majority of wh ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

; the last years of his life were spent at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, where he died on 11 April 1887.

Legacy

During his lifetime Warne amassed a large collection of English and Roman coins part of which was sold by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, on 24 and 25 May 1889, two years after his death. Warne's collection of sepulchral urns and other relics from barrows went to

Dorchester Museum The Dorset County Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building wa ...

. His grave in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

is designed to resemble a prehistoric barrow with the upright stone being made from

serpentinite Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''ser ...

Works

Warne's works were: * ''On the Discovery of Roman Remains on Kingston Down, near Bere Regis, Dorset; and the Identification of the Site as the Station of Ibernium on the Icknield Street'', London, 1836. * ''An Illustrated Map of Dorsetshire, giving the sites of its numerous Celtic, Roman, Saxon, and Danish Vestiges''

865 __NOTOC__ Year 865 ( DCCCLXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Louis the German divides the East Frankish Kingdom among his three sons. Ca ...

He spent two years walking the county in the company of George Hillier to prepare it. * ''Dorsetshire: its Vestiges, Celtic, Roman, Saxon, and Danish'', London. This work also served as an index to the map. * ''The Celtic Tumuli of Dorset'', London, 1866. * ''On certain Ditches in Dorset called Belgic'', London, 1869, reprinted from the ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries''. * ''Ancient Dorset: the Celtic, Roman, Saxon, and Danish Antiquities of the County, including the Early Coinage'', Bournemouth, 1872. Warne also contributed "Observations on Vespasian's first Campaign in Britain" to '' Archæologia'' (xl. 387), and "Archæological Notes made during a Tour in France" to Charles Roach Smith's ''Retrospections'' (vol. ii. 1886).

References

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Warne, Charles 1802 births 1887 deaths English antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Dorset English archaeologists Burials at Brookwood Cemetery