About us - a Potted History
A small slice of time in the history of a village which began 2,000 or more years ago!
We know that there was an Iron Age settlement here from about 50 BC. The round thatched huts of these early inhabitants near Common Lane were later replaced by the grander stone Roman villa, but long before then, Common Lane was part of a prehistoric trackway heading towards Beaminster Down where it joined the Great Ridgeway which runs from east to west of the country. Halstock's roots lie deep.
The Romano-British villa - now buried beneath what used to be the golf course - flourished for 300 years or so, centre of a large agricultural estate, a wealthy one too judging by its fine mosaic pavements and bath suite.
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Location of the Roman Villa site on Common Lane
St Juthware
We don't know when the Anglo-Saxons arrived here, but there was a settlement well before 847 AD when the land at Halstock was granted to Sherborne Abbey by King Ethelwulf. This grant mentions that there was a little minster or monastery here already at that time. Perhaps this accounts for the name “Halstock” which means “holy place”. On the other hand, it may refer to Saint Juthware who was martyred here, being beheaded by her brother, Bana, for her Christian beliefs. Many miracles are said to have taken place at her tomb, which was removed to Sherborne Abbey where she became a popular local saint. Of course, our former pub The Quiet Woman owed its name to her.​
Why do some of our fields rejoice in such strange names as Cassius, Confucius, Lilburne, Hampden, Massachusetts and Boston? The answer lies with Thomas Hollis who purchased much of the land in Halstock from the Fermor family in 1740. Hollis was an eccentric, wealthy and benevolent figure and a keen upholder of liberty. He renamed his farms, which included Neville, Sydney, Locke, Liberty, Marvell and Harvard (after the American University to which he made many gifts). His fields he named after patriots, heroes and champions of liberty. At Harvard, he named them after American states. A song by Tim Laycock which features on a CD compiled in 2005 for the booklet ‘Halstock Memories’ is based upon these field names.
Though a dissenter, he did much to restore the local churches. Halstock's church had to be virtually rebuilt after a fire left only the fifteenth century tower. It was again rebuilt in 1845 when it needed enlargement due to Halstock's population being at its highest with 626 inhabitants.
Another unusual feature of Halstock was its Lunatic Asylum which started in the eighteenth century and continued here for over 100 years. It was one of only three in the county and was run by a family of medical men called Mercer.
So, we have a Saint, a Roman Villa, an early Charter, an eccentric landowner and a Lunatic Asylum. Quite an impressive list for a small Dorset village.