March 2026 issue of SDNQ

The March 2026 issue of SDNQ (vol. 41, part 403) contains the following articles, book reviews, queries and news:

Articles:

  • Neil Howlett, A Response to East Somerset Maltsters 1647. In response to Steve Hobbs’s article (SDNQ, March 2023, vol. 39, pt.397, pp.289-92) Neil Howlett discusses what JP licences granted in Wiltshire and Somerset to badgers and maltsters reveal about how the sale of barley was suppressed not only during times of dearth but also because of other local factors, such as Puritanism.
  • Tim Goodwin, Colonel George Starre: Dorset’s Forgotten MP. Tim Goodwin delves into the life and career of Shaftesbury’s shortest-lived MP, George Starre (1615-1647). Described by Tim Goodwin as a self-made man, George Starre was born in Bradford Abbas and forged a successful career during the English Civil War as a Parliamentarian officer in Francis Sydenham’s dragoons. In 1646 George was unexpectedly elected MP for Shaftesbury, but died in 1647 having served in the House of Commons for less than a year.
  • R.W. Dunning, St Mary Magdalene, Taunton: From Daughter Chapel to Modern Minster. On 13 March 2022 the Bishop of Taunton conferred the title of minster on the parish church of St Mary Magdalene, Taunton. Bob Dunning tells the fascinating history of how this daughter chapel became a modern minster.
  • Sally Morgan, The 1686 Survey of Dorset Beds and Stables. Compiled in 1686 for the use of county militias billeting troops, the survey of inns and aleshouses (TNA. WO 30/48) provides the names of settlements with at least one inn and the number of beds and the number of horses that might be stabled. Focusing on Dorset, Sally’s research reveals that of the 112 Dorset places offering beds or stabling Dorchester offered 169 beds and 352 stables, Sherborne 143 beds and 205 stables, Blandford Forum 127 beds and 242 stables, Shaftesbury 105 beds and 234 stables, and Poole 76 beds and 11 stables.
  • Allan Shephard, The ‘Bankruptcy’ of John Harcombe (1742-1803), Part 2: Debtors, Creditors and Political Intrigue during the Taunton Election of 1774. In the second part of his article, Allan Shephard discusses the information contained in the four schedules of an indenture made on 15 August 1775 (SHC. DD/DP/76/2), which includes a list of John Harcombe’s stock in trade at his grocery and haberdashery shop, an inventory of his outdoor and domestic effects, and lists of his debtors and creditors.
  • David Hewitt, Did Napoleon land in Dorset? David Hewitt attempts to discover the source of the story that Napoleon landed at Lulworth Cove in Dorset. Was the story invented by Thomas Hardy or Jane Ellen Panton?
  • Ann Smith, Heavy Traffic at Upcerne. Discovered by Ann Smith among the papers of Batten’s solicitors of Yeovil (DHC. D-BAT/175) is a case brought in 1878 by Upcerne Parish before the Cerne Abbas Magistrates Bench concerning damaged caused to the roadway at Seldon Hill by Evershot coal merchant John Samways when conveying coal from Evershot railway station to Cerne Abbas. Ann notes that in August 1878 the Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act was passed, empowering authorities liable for highway repairs to recover extraordinary expenses incurred by reason of the damage caused by excessive weight passing along a road. The Act also transferred the adoption and maintenance of roads to Quarter Sessions and the Cerne Highway Board applied to have the main road along the valley adopted, but Seldon Hill was not included and remains a steep and stony bridleway.

Book Reviews:

Queries:

  • Graham Rain is keen to hear from anyone who can provide further information about why so many houses built for police offices in Somerset after the Second World War appear to have beer bottles cemented into the apex of their porches.

Events:

  • ‘Maritime History meets Local History’ conference of the South West Maritime History Society, Watchet, 3 October 2026. For more details visit Watchet History Day
  •  ‘Rebellion and Protest across Six Centuries’ joint SDNQ BALH conference, Sherborne, 17 October 2026. Discount for SDNQ and BALH members. For more details visit SDNQ BALH 2026 Conference

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