As For Christchurch, Though It Stands At The Mouth Of The
Avon (Which, As I Have Said, Comes Down From
Salisbury, and brings
with it all the waters of the south and east parts of Wiltshire,
and receives also the
Stour and Piddle, two Dorsetshire rivers
which bring with them all the waters of the north part of
Dorsetshire), yet it is a very inconsiderable poor place, scarce
worth seeing, and less worth mentioning in this account, only that
it sends two members to Parliament, which many poor towns in this
part of England do, as well as that.
From hence I stepped up into the country north-west, to see the
ancient town of Wimborne, or Wimborneminster; there I found nothing
remarkable but the church, which is indeed a very great one,
ancient, and yet very well built, with a very firm, strong, square
tower, considerably high; but was, without doubt, much finer, when
on the top of it stood a most exquisite spire--finer and taller, if
fame lies not, than that at Salisbury, and by its situation in a
plainer, flatter country visible, no question, much farther; but
this most beautiful ornament was blown down by a sudden tempest of
wind, as they tell us, in the year 1622.
The church remains a venerable piece of antiquity, and has in it
the remains of a place once much more in request than it is now,
for here are the monuments of several noble families, and in
particular of one king, viz., King Etheldred, who was slain in
battle by the Danes. He was a prince famed for piety and religion,
and, according to the zeal of these times, was esteemed as a
martyr, because, venturing his life against the Danes, who were
heathens, he died fighting for his religion and his country. The
inscription upon his grave is preserved, and has been carefully
repaired, so as to be easily read, and is as follows:-
"In hoc loco quiescit Corpus S. Etheldredi, Regis West Saxonum,
Martyris, qui Anno Dom. DCCCLXXII., xxiii Aprilis, per Manos
Danorum Paganorum Occubuit."
In English thus:-
"Here rests the Body of Holy Etheldred, King of the West Saxons,
and Martyr, who fell by the Hands of the Pagan Danes in the Year of
our Lord 872, the 23rd of April."
Here are also the monuments of the great Marchioness of Exeter,
mother of Edward Courtney, Earl of Devonshire, and last of the
family of Courtneys who enjoyed that honour; as also of John de
Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and his wife, grandmother of King Henry
VII., by her daughter Margaret, Countess of Richmond.
This last lady I mention because she was foundress of a very fine
free school, which has since been enlarged and had a new
benefactress in Queen Elizabeth, who has enlarged the stipend and
annexed it to the foundation. The famous Cardinal Pole was Dean of
this church before his exaltation.
Having said this of the church, I have said all that is worth
naming of the town; except that the inhabitants, who are many and
poor, are chiefly maintained by the manufacture of knitting
stockings, which employs great part indeed of the county of Dorset,
of which this is the first town eastward.
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