Chaldon Herring or East Chaldon is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county 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 ...
, about south-east of the county town of
Dorchester. It is sited from the coast in the chalk hills of the
South Dorset Downs
The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes (from west to east) Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Ham ...
. The highest point in the area is
Chaldon Hill
Chaldon Hill, also called Chaldon Down, is one of the highest hills, , on South Dorset's Jurassic Coast in England. The summit is about west of Durdle Door.
A bridleway crosses the hill just below the summit, whilst the South West Coast Path m ...
about to the south, overlooking the sea. In the
2011 census the civil parish had 59 households and a population of 140.
In 1086 in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, Chaldon Herring was recorded as ''Calvedone'' and, together with West Chaldon, appears in three entries.
The Herring family were landowners for a long period (as early as 1166 until at least 1372), so the village and parish appended their family name to the placename. Elizabeth Herring, daughter of John Herring of Chaldon Herring, was the great grandmother of
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (c. 1485 – 14 March 1555) was an English royal minister in the Tudor dynasty, Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal. Among the land ...
; the Herringham arms are displayed in the second grand quarter of Bedford's coat of arms.
Chaldon Herring is notable for being the home of
Llewelyn Powys
Llewelyn Powys (13 August 1884 – 2 December 1939) was a British essayist, novelist and younger brother of John Cowper Powys and T. F. Powys.
Family
Powys was born in Dorchester, the son of the Reverend Charles Francis Powys (1843–1923), ...
and his wife,
Alyse Gregory
Alyse Gregory (July 19, 1884 Norwalk, Connecticut, United States – August 27, 1967 Morebath, Devon, England) was an American-British suffragist and writer.
Biography
Gregory's father, James G. Gregory, was a doctor in Norwalk. She showed ...
. In 1925 the couple moved to Dorset: firstly to the Coastguard Cottages on White Nothe and then to the nearby farmhouse Chydyok, where his two sisters, the poet and novelist,
Philippa Powys
Catharine Edith Philippa Powys (; 8 May 1886 – 11 January 1963) was a British novelist and poet, and a member of one of the most distinguished families in modern literature.
Family
She was born at Montacute in Somerset, where her father Rever ...
, and the artist, Gertrude Powys, occupied the adjacent cottage. Various other writers and artists lived in the village at different times. These include the sisters
Elizabeth Muntz
Elizabeth Muntz (October 1894 – March 1977) was a Canadian-born artist based in Dorset, noted for her sculptures and paintings.
Early life and education
Muntz was born in Toronto, Canada and attended Bishop Strachan School. Her aunt, to whom ...
, a sculptor and author, and Hope Muntz, a historian, who wrote ''The Golden Warrior''; novelists
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner (6 December 1893 – 1 May 1978) was an English novelist, poet and musicologist, known for works such as ''Lolly Willowes'', '' The Corner That Held Them'', and ''Kingdoms of Elfin''.
Life
Sylvia Townsend Warner wa ...
and
David Garnett
David Garnett (9 March 1892 – 17 February 1981) was an English writer and publisher. As a child, he had a cloak made of rabbit skin and thus received the nickname "Bunny", by which he was known to friends and intimates all his life.
Early ...
; the poets
Valentine Ackland
Valentine Ackland (born Mary Kathleen Macrory Ackland; 20 May 1906 – 9 November 1969) was an English poet, and life partner of novelist Sylvia Townsend Warner. Their relationship was strained by Ackland’s infidelities and alcoholism, but s ...
and
Gamel Woolsey
Gamel Woolsey (born Elizabeth Gammell Woolsey; May 28, 1897 – January 18, 1968) was an American poet, novelist and translator.
Early life and education
Woolsey was born on the Breeze Hill plantation in Aiken, South Carolina as Elizabeth Ga ...
; and the sculptor
Stephen Tomlin
Stephen Tomlin (2 March 1901 – 5 January 1937) was a British artist associated with the Bloomsbury Group, Bloomsbury Set. He was the youngest son of the judge and law lord Thomas, Thomas Tomlin, Baron Tomlin, Lord Tomlin of Ash.
Life
Toml ...
.
The novelist
Theodore "T. F." Powys, older brother of Llewelyn, lived in Chaldon from 1904 until 1940, when he moved to
Mappowder
Mappowder is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. The parish lies approximately southeast of the town of Sherborne and covers about at an elevation of . It is sited on Corallian limestone soil at the souther ...
because of the war. Chaldon Herring was the inspiration for the fictitious village of Folly Down in his novel ''
Mr Weston's Good Wine'' and other works.
[ Blamires, H. ''A Guide to twentieth century literature in English''. (London: Taylor & Francis, 1983), p.225.] It was at Theodore Powys's house that novelist
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner (6 December 1893 – 1 May 1978) was an English novelist, poet and musicologist, known for works such as ''Lolly Willowes'', '' The Corner That Held Them'', and ''Kingdoms of Elfin''.
Life
Sylvia Townsend Warner wa ...
first met the poet
Valentine Ackland
Valentine Ackland (born Mary Kathleen Macrory Ackland; 20 May 1906 – 9 November 1969) was an English poet, and life partner of novelist Sylvia Townsend Warner. Their relationship was strained by Ackland’s infidelities and alcoholism, but s ...
. Warner's diaries record that the two women lived together in
Frome Vauchurch
Frome Vauchurch is a parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately northwest of the county town Dorchester. It includes the hamlets of Frome Vauchurch, Higher Frome Vauchurch, Lower Frome Vauchurch and Tollerford. F ...
from 1930 until Valentine's death in 1969; she died there on 1 May 1978.
Just north of the village are four prehistoric
bowl barrow
A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ke ...
s. The
Five Marys
The Five Marys is a group of Bronze Age round barrows near the village of Chaldon Herring, in Dorset, England. The site is a scheduled monument.
Description
The barrows, on a west–east ridge overlooking Chaldon Herring to the south, are in an ...
, a group of
round barrow
A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...
s, are on a ridge farther north with two more bowl barrows. These are all
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
s.
The parish church is St. Nicholas. There is a restaurant-pub, The Sailor's Return, and B. & B. accommodation. The newest shop is in
Winfrith Newburgh
Winfrith Newburgh (), commonly called just Winfrith, is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is about west of Wareham and east of the county town Dorchester. It was historically part of the Winfrith hundred. In the 2011 Census t ...
, a mile away. The village has 18 listed buildings, all at Grade II.
References
External links
Chaldon Herring Local HistoryChaldon Herring Parish Council
{{authority control
Villages in Dorset
Civil parishes in Dorset