Child Okeford Co-op – 100 years on | Then and now

10 November 2021

One of the commercial stories of the 20th century centres on the gradual decline of the village and corner shop as supermarkets took over in the post-war decades and grew ever larger.

Today’s Bartley House near the corner of Upper Street and The Hollow at Child Okeford was once a thriving village shop, known as the Child Okeford and Iwerne Minster Co-operative Stores.

It opened as a store in 1883 following an earlier spell as a coffee tavern. The 1911 census names 29-year- old Ernest William Ainsworth as secretary and manager of the Co-operative Society. His wife, Violet, 24, and shop assistant John Ryall, 20, also lived at the address.

Calling number eight

By 1931, Kelly’s Directory of Dorset was listing Arthur Moore as the Co-op Stores manager. The shop was now prosperous enough to have its own telephone number: ‘Child Okeford 8’. ‘Child Okeford 1’ belonged to Bertie Diffey, whose grocer’s shop doubled as the post office. As post offices and telephones were run by the same organisation, the GPO, village post offices usually had the first phone in their communities and shared both line and number with the call-box outside.
This was the case for my maternal grandparents, Jim and Jane Ridout, at nearby Fiddleford Post Office, whose number in my childhood was ‘Sturminster Newton 65’.

Other traders in Child Okeford in 1931 included
• grocer James Woolfrey
• butcher Robert Turner
• baker Arthur Fox
• Miss Bessie Adams, who kept refreshment rooms
• saddler and harness maker

Ernest Cuttle
• boot maker Arthur Hart
• beer retailer Robert Hart
• publican Mrs B M Pride at the

Baker’s Arms
• the Woolfrey Brothers, blacksmiths.

The older picture, from the Barry Cuff Collection and David Burnett’s book Lost Dorset: The Villages and Countryside, shows the Co-operative Stores in about 1920.

The Co-op delivery truck’s registration number is FX 7427. FX was allocated to the county in the early 1900s to replace BF which, as I explained in this column two issues ago, caused offence to some, who thought
it implied that Dorset motorists were ‘bloody fools’.

Barry Cuff tells me FX was chosen because those in authority considered it impossible to misinterpret.
The picture features an impressive line-up of eight Co- op staff. Products advertised on the windows include Empire Lamp Oil; biscuits, teas, coffee and cocoas; and several forms of Pelaw Polish, Pelaw being the brand name for the Co-op’s own range of polishes. The prominent former store is now a private house tucked away behind hedges. The verandah is long gone as are the shop windows to the left, replaced by a brick extension. But the house is eminently recognisable and the original porch roof survives together with its ironwork.

by Roger Guttridge

The judging has begun

Editorial team

10 November 2021

Whilst some of the judging teams for the Love Local, Trust Local Awards have been out aorund the county visiting the finalist food and drink producers, others let the food come to them…

Last year’s winners Meggy Moos Dairy have returned this year as judges, ansd have been visiting entrants for the Dairy category: “We have spent the last week visiting the entrants for this years Dairy category.

It has been such an interesting week – we had six very different businesses to visit, some were producing the same product but all with a different approach. What was strikingly consistent across them all not only the love and care for their livestock, but also for their customers and for the communities in which they operate.

We were impressed by their passion and enthusiasm for what they do, their drive to produce the very best product they can and the time they are prepared to invest in talking to customers and helping to educate them on why buying local, seasonal or British is so important.
A huge thank you, well done and good luck from us to all this years entrants. You really are demonstrating why loving local is best.”

As well as the judge’s location visits, all judges and sponsors met during October for an evening of tasting of the finalist products for the 2021 Love Local Trust Local Food and Drink Awards. Upon arrival the entries were arrayed by category (cheese, meat, dairy, bakery, preserves, etc.), and each tasting judge sampled every product.

Forms were available to complete for each category, and judges were expected to note down their favourite, their second choice, and the reasons for those choices, before handing their completed forms to the head category judge and moving to the next category.

Once most of the judging was completed, everyone enjoyed a sociable meal together which was finished by the all important ice cream tasting.

Tickets are now on sale for the awards ceremony on the 30th November – find out more at www.lovelocaltrustlocalawards. co.uk

Sponsored by Blanchards Bailey – Law for Life

The role model in the garden

Editorial team

10 November 2021

Nigel Hewish, Head Gardener at Kingston Maurward, is responsible for over 2,000 trees, acres of lawn running to a five acre Georgian lake, three large ornamental gardens including an Elizabethan walled garden, a kilometre of formal hedging, huge herbaceous borders and two National Plant Collections.

Nigel Hewish has done five hours of his working day – and it’s only 10am. Responsible for over 2000 trees, acres of lawn, three large ornamental gardens, a kilometre of formal hedging, huge herbaceous borders and two National Plant Collections, it’s no surprise this man is up with the lark!
Added to his challenge is managing all this around numerous events; no-one wants a noisy mower disrupting their marriage ceremony!
Nigel is Head Gardener at Dorchester’s renowned Kingston Maurward, a land-based college and events venue; he’s been tending this stunning landscape for 30 years.

Early beginninngs

His love of gardening was inspired by his father, a trained forester and groundsman gardener. Nigel recalls: “We’d go for a picnic and as soon as the Thermos was empty, Dad would fill it with seeds and saplings, keeping them fresh to grow on at home.”
Starting as an apprentice gardener at Millfield School in Street, where he hails from, Nigel studied horticulture
at Cannington (now part of Bridgewater College), returning to Millfield to take charge of its glasshouses. Before moving to Dorset, he was Head Gardener at the 12th century Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire.

A living classroom

As he shows me round Kingston Maurward, it’s an historical trip through garden fashions. Kingston Maurward Gardens are laid out in the Jardin Anglais style popularised by Capability Brown in the 18th Century, with a matrix of themed small gardens, lakeside walks and a walled garden. The front of the 18th century manor house has a sweeping Georgian-inspired landscape spotted with elegant trees. Back lawns tumble down to a 5-acre Georgian lake. To the side is a stunning Elizabethan walled garden which sits happily alongside twentieth century “garden rooms.”
With a nod to royalty, the Crown Garden has hedges cleverly shaped like crown points, with diamond gaps revealing beautiful vistas. In another garden room a temple stands proud, the pillars and floor a four-year collaboration by stonemason students from Weymouth college and the striking cupola created by Kingston Maurward’s blacksmiths. “The gardens are a living classroom,” explains Nigel. “It’s a brilliant resource for students to learn practical skills. We involve them in projects and offer work experience. Visit any garden in Dorset and you’re likely to find someone who studied at Kingston Maurward. Two of my team of five gardeners were apprentices. They’ve both got degrees in other subjects but say that horticultural training is much harder.”
Long Latin names roll off his tongue and his skill in identifying hundreds of plants is evident. This disarming man is a walking plant encyclopaedia and a role model for trainee gardeners. He’s living proof that life in horticulture can mean a successful and rewarding career. In Nigel’s case – a house on the estate is part of the package too. When asked what he least likes about his job, he struggles for an answer. After a long pause, he settles for paperwork.
“I’m not a great one for being sat in the office doing admin. It’s ok if it’s plant records but I’m not so keen on doing finances.”

Penstemons and Salvias

Nigel’s proudest achievement is curating the stunning National Collections of Salvias and Penstemons – two of his favourite flowers.

These elegant herbaceous plants not only look beautiful and flower through the summer,
but also attract pollinators and wildlife. The National Collections are preserving endangered heritage species – at Kingston Maurward there are

Even with a huge workload, Nigel found time to support
the college’s show garden at
the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show 2019 which gained a coveted silver gilt medal. He was responsible for growing and presenting some of the plants, which needed to be perfect for the eagle-eyed RHS judges. The college is planning to enter again in 2022.

And Nigel carries on learning. “Nature still astounds me. Every day there’s a plant that surprises me – even after 30 years.’’

Kingston Maurward Gardens open 10-4pm daily. Group garden tours can be arranged. Tel: 01305 215000.

Kingston Maurward College offers horticultural, agricultural, arboriculture, conservation and farming courses plus many more. New for 2022 are Business Studies and Travel and Tourism in response to industry demand.

Nigel’s Quick Fire Round:

Tool you can’t live without? In my pocket is a folding Silky pruning saw. Its blade is only six inches but it can cut branches six inches thick. Expensive but invaluable! We trial equipment for Which? Gardening magazine and the cheaper models are rarely as good.
Best gardens to visit in Dorset? Abbotsbury with its tropical feel. The spring display at Minterne Gardens is magnificent too.
What book is on your beside table? None – I fall asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. When I get a chance, I’m reading ‘A Trillion Trees – a way to reforest the world.’ My books are always about nature, conservation or trees.
Top tip? Be patient. Not everything comes up as quickly or as easily at it seems on gardening programmes.

by Tracie Beardsley

Coffee and punctures Tales from the Vale

Editorial team

10 November 2021

Coffee and punctures

Great new coffee house in King’s Stag attached to the Green Man pub with an attractive almost Scandi-minimally-decorated interior.

I was going to say that the outstanding feature is the enormous map of Dorset, dating from 1890 which covers an entire wall. It must be 20 x 8 feet – couldn’t keep my eyes off it as I sipped my Flat White (not entirely sure what a Flat White is).

But it’s not the café’s finest feature: the outstanding attraction is Catherine, the charmingly bespectacled manager who is warm, welcoming and efficient, as are her staff, Jade and Kim.

The coffee is excellent and the baguettes and pastries, made in the pub’s kitchen, look enticing. But among the goodies on sale is something I’ve never seen

in any other coffee house, and it’s probably not made in the kitchen; puncture repair kits for cyclists.

‘We’re in the middle of a hugely popular cycling area,’ Catherine explains. It makes perfect sense. There’s been real thought behind this new business – well worth a visit.

The wiser sex

My mate James near Okeford Fitzpaine has got a new girlfriend, Sophie.
This, in itself, does not come as

a surprise as he’s mailed with similar news many times. ‘Come over for a coffee and meet her,’ he suggested. This is Man Speak for: could you check whether

A – She is the most gorgeous, charming, elegant, witty woman in the world
B – I’ve made a disastrous

mistake
And he generally wants an opinion within 10 minutes of me meeting the new girlfriend.
Now, this could be a little tricky, me blurting out a decision about the lady while she is actually with us so, we’ve developed a totally foolproof and brilliant formula for me stating whether it’s answer A or B.
If it’s answer A, after 10 minutes I’ll take a big swig of coffee and say, ‘A bloody good brew that’ or similar, but the first letter of the sentence is an ‘A.’

And if it’s answer B I’ll say, ‘By ‘eck, James, that’s good coffee.’ Clever stuff, you’ll agree: and as hard to fathom as Germany’s ‘impenetrable’ code during WWII. So, I went over and after 10 minutes I put my empty coffee mug down and said, with particular emphasis, ‘A bloody good coffee that.’

Sophie immediately laughed and said, ‘I’ve passed the mate test, then.’
James and I were astonished. ‘Oh God,’ Sophie said, highly amused at our embarrassment, and not in the slightest put out, ‘women do it all the time. The only difference is that we’re just that bit more subtle about it.’ James, suddenly remembering

‘a coffee’ a week earlier with Sophie’s mate, said, ‘did you do that with me when Anne came over?’

‘Didn’t you know?’ Sophie asked with incredulity.
James and I were too discombobulated to ask how women organise their mate tests (full report next issue, as they’re coming over for supper).

We should have learnt from history: the German code was broken early in the war and they had no idea. Germany was astonished when the fact was announced in 1974. The Germans should have got an all-women team to devise their code – we’d still be working on it.

A bridge too far

Big mistake in the original version of the previous mag about Lt Salkeld who won a Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny (as it’s called if you’re a Brit) or (if you’re Indian) the First War of Independence. One man’s rebel is another man’s freedom fighter.

I told the Editor, Laura, that there was a mistake. She reminded me that I wrote the article, so that’s enough on that subject!

But it leads me to…

The proud ‘Coward’

…a great obituary many years back in The Times. A big cheese in the City had an excellent
war record as he received two (bloody two!) Victoria Crosses. We know how grudgingly these prized medals for the highest, almost insane, levels of bravery in the face of an enemy, are awarded.

His elder brother also fought in the war. And he did very well. Yet, his nickname in the City was ‘The Coward.’
It says a lot about English humour that he didn’t mind this epithet.
He was given his nickname because during the war he only got one Victoria Cross!

Chutzpah

There’s a definition of chutzpah: it’s when having been convicted of murdering your mother and father, you apply to the court for clemency because you’ve recently been orphaned. Sometimes chutzpah is funny, sometimes it ain’t.

‘Mike,’ a DFL (Down From London) booked a pub restaurant

table for four on a Saturday evening – prime 8pm slot at the pub’s busiest evening.
In the meantime he read a review of another place and booked a table there, without cancelling his first choice.

It is courteous, and in diners’ own interests, to arrive at the booked time. But times are hard, and the first restaurant kept the table until 8.30 before releasing it – too late, and they lost four covers.

You don’t need to be a genius to understand that hospitality operates not just on a knife- edge, but on fork and spoon- edges, too. ‘Mike’ didn’t like the second restaurant, so next time the selfish DFL booked his first option again. And the idiot did it in his own name. The proprietor told ‘Mike’ exactly what he thought of him. Good for the boss. The customer is not always right.

Lockdown inanity

We’re fortunate in that our garden (I prefer to think of it not so much as ‘woefully neglected’, but ‘natural and organic’) we enjoy a lot of bird life.
At one time during what many refer to as the ‘summer’ (playing fast and wild with the English language) we had three young wrens who would caper excitedly just outside the French windows. You’ve got to give names to regularly-visiting birds. We called them René and Renata, but struggled for a third wren-based moniker, until a lightning strike of pure brilliance came to me – Renoir.
So that’s what we called them, until another appeared for a few days, the three Rs seemed to accept her (or him) and then he (or her) vanished. So we refer to it as Renegade (Kae’s idea).
For a week or two we had a tiny robin – Robbie was too dull. I suggested that our new friend was too small really to be called a robin, he was more a robinette.

Kae immediately said, ‘we’ll call her (or him) Tap.’
Well, that threw me so she explained the French for a water tap is ‘robinet.’

Continuing our inanity, we needed names for the pigeons: again, always seeking originality, ‘Pidgie’ simply wouldn’t do.
Our first pigeon we named him Walter (after an old actor, think he was in the Archers c.1873). For our second, we went for Lieutenant Pigeon (there was an amusing band in the 70s called this which issued a bizarre song called ‘Mouldy Old Dough’ that inexplicably went quite high in the charts. If you want a real laugh YouTube Stevie Riks impersonating Freddie Mercury singing this song (no need to Google, I did it for you. There’s three minutes I’ll never get back – Ed.).
And we needed a name for our other pigeon. Obviously he was soon Second Lieutenant Pigeon. Then in late summer came the crows: the first was, of course, named Russell. The second was Sheryl (we sort of think Sheryl Crow is an American singer but can’t be bothered to Google her in case she isn’t).
Then we just gave up.

by Andy Palmer

Dorset’s first woman driver | Looking Back

Editorial team

10 November 2021

She was Dorset’s first woman driver, and she documented her motoring adventures in a diary written almost 120 years ago. Roger Guttridge shares the story of Mary Farquharson.

The diary – hand-written and unpublished – describes the eventful travels of Mary Farquharson, wife of village squire Henry, of Eastbury House, Tarrant Gunville. During her first year on the road in 1902-03, her 10-horsepower Panhard-Levassor took the ambitious motorist as far afield as Oxford, London, Lincoln and Dublin. But it was never
plain-sailing. Punctures and breakdowns punctuated every trip and Mary’s mechanic, whom she refers to only as
‘Black’, was required to follow on his motorbike to deal with any problems. ‘I believe she was not only the first woman driver in Dorset but in the south of England and possibly the whole country,’ her son, Peter, told me in 1991, when he was 80.

A wedding in Oxford

Mary’s first diary entry on July 1, 1902, describes a trip to Oxford for a wedding the following day. ‘Marcia and I were ready to start at 10 o’clock,’ she writes. ‘We waited an hour and then found out the pump would not work, so Black was wired for. ‘We eventually started at 2 o’clock and met Black on his bicycle. We then stopped for the pump to be done.’
The travellers resumed their journey only to hit trouble again as they approached Melbury Abbas: their brakes weren’t working. Wisely, they decided not to proceed down the steep hill into the village and sent to Shaftesbury for help. Two hours later, five men arrived and lowered the car down the hill on a rope. Mary writes: ‘We went on to Shaftesbury and stopped one hour there while the brakes were seen to. It was 7 o’clock when we left there, we having been five hours doing 10 miles.’ At Salisbury the 1901 Panhard had a puncture and the novelty of a car undergoing roadside repairs attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.

When the roofless vehicle finally left the cathedral city at 9pm, it was ‘quite dark and pouring with rain’.
Mary and Marcia reached Andover at 10.45 and stopped for some supper and a change of clothes, but at 11pm were ‘turned out (closing time) having only had a few mouthfuls’.
The diary goes on: ‘Andover to Newbury in pitch darkness, and we did not know the way, was not a very enjoyable ride.
‘The brakes are again not acting, and we came to some steep hills, and once the car got out of control.
‘We occasionally woke up a cottage to inquire the way. We reached Newbury at 2.30 and were stopped by a policeman, who wished to take our names, as we had only one lamp burning, the other having just given out.’
They managed to give the officer the slip by driving off when he popped into a hotel to write down their names.
What was left of the night was spent at another hotel but by 6am they were off again.
Two miles from Oxford the countershaft bracket broke, forcing the travellers to abandon the Panhard in a barn and complete the journey in a hansom cab.
They reached the wedding venue with barely an hour to spare.

Horse not required

A week later, during a trip to Maidenhead, the brakes failed again – this time on a hill marked ‘Dangerous’.

‘The car was fast getting out of control,’ says Mary, who was with husband Henry and Black.
To avert disaster, they ran the car into a bank, where it became firmly stuck.

‘We enlisted some haymakers, who lent us a horse to endeavour to extricate the car,’ writes Mary.

‘The horse proved utterly useless and did more harm than good, as it only proceeded to kick.
‘The men then managed to pull it out themselves and with great difficulty we got down the hill and pushed the car into Romsey, with both tyres badly punctured.’ Returning from a trip to Lincoln, the car collided with a horse and dogcart driven by a small boy. The Panhard’s hubcap was bent but Mary fails to tell us what happened to the boy and his horse and cart.

Thrill seeker

Mary’s most ambitious journey during her first year as a motorist took her to the famous Gordon Bennett motor race near Dublin in 1903.

On this occasion Black was required to leave early in the slower 1898 Daimler luggage car. They crossed the Irish Sea from Anglesey with more than 50 other cars on what must have been one of the world’s first car ferries.

Mary, whose husband held the dubious honour of being the first driving to crash a racing car at Brooklands, noted of the Dublin event: ‘To see the cars thunder by was most thrilling, the speed being terrific.’

by Roger Guttridge

Fighting for (or with!) our footpaths

Editorial team

10 November 2021

My husband looks more like Indiana Jones than a rural dog walker, always armed with secateurs to hack back bully-boy brambles and nettles or to rescue my hair from a tangle of overgrown thorns. What I’d regarded as just an irritating inconvenience became much more alarming when a lovely blind chap we know had his cheek slashed open by head-height brambles overhanging the main footpath into town. His trusty guide dog had no chance of alerting him to that.

Who is responsible? Currently, Dorset County Council is conducting its statutory 10-year review of the Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP), with the public recently invited to share concerns. The plan sets out management and development of an improved right of way and greenspace network for the next ten years. Dorset’s rights of way network is huge – 4,700 footpaths, 1,700 bridleways and 37 byways, all totalling nearly 3,000 miles in length. A new RoWIP will be drafted this summer, with public consultation on the new plan held between Octpber and December 2024. Rights of Way improvement plan – Dorset Council

This was one of countless footpaths we have encountered this year – it goes directly ahead. When you’re six miles in, you can’t simply turn around – usually this requires sourcing a hefty branch and simply beating our way through, dealing with the stings, the scratches, the hard work and the inevitable delay this entails – Ed

Path protection

Jan Wardell is the Dorset Area Footpath Secretary for Dorset Ramblers, which has over 1,400 members. She welcomes the current consultation. She said: “There is a mixed picture of the state of public rights of way across the county. Generally, in the north west of Dorset and on Portland, footpaths are predominant, whereas in the centre of the county bridleways are prevalent. Footpaths require more maintenance, not least because of the path ‘furniture’ such as stiles.”

When a footpath is defined across a crop correctly, it becomes a joy to walk on. Image – Laura Hitchcock

Founded in 1935, the Ramblers Association has been at the forefront of protecting rights of way. Its aim is to protect and improve paths, both by practical work on the ground and through law. A network of volunteer path maintenance teams and Rambler footpath officers go out in all weathers to keep paths clear, install way markers and replace stiles. Working with landowners and local authorities, they prioritise paths most in need of work. They help claim new paths for walkers and many volunteers campaign on a local level.

Reporting issues

Jan Wardell: “The best way to ensure that public rights of way are kept open is to use them – this helps keep down up-growth on paths. Also be sure to report any problems encountered to Dorset Council.”

No walker wants to tread on a crop, but when a path isn’t left, there’s not much choice. Image: Laura Hitchcock

Visit http://www.dorset-ramblers. org.uk/rights-of-way/ on how to report path problems to Dorset Council. Jill Crouch, Engineer, Highways Dorset Council advised: “Most Parish and Town Councils have a portfolio holder or a Rights of Way Liaison Officer to whom footpath issues can be reported. You can also use the online service which only takes a couple of minutes and has an interactive map.”

See this facility here https:// mapping.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/ rightsofway/reportproblem/

Footpaths through farmland are trickier. Jan Wardell explains: “A perennial problem is ‘ploughing and cropping’. If you’ve ever tried to cross a field of maize through which the public right of way has not been re-instated, then you’ll know what I mean!” David George, from the South West National Farmers Union told us: “Farmers recognise the importance of the public rights of way network, especially now when people need to take extra care of their physical and mental health. It’s a landowner’s responsibility to keep rights of way unobstructed and available for use as well as making sure gates and stiles are in good working order.”

He added: “If you’re following a right of way that goes across the middle of a field then you’re entitled to continue along it. If you’re following a marked right of way, bear in mind that this doesn’t necessarily grant you access to the land around it, so if you stray off the path or let your dog run free then technically this could be trespass. Take care to stick to the path; you won’t make yourself popular by trampling over crops. We urge people to follow the Countryside Code.”

Leaving a path through maize is essential – fun and otherwordly when it’s correct, and a miserable battle when it’s not. Image – Laura Hitchcock

If you’re planning a walk and are unsure about your right of access, the Ramblers Organisation has lots of useful hints and explains on the different types of rights of way including off the path in areas known as ‘open access’.

As to the secateurs scenario? The Ramblers Association advises that if you come across a blocked path you’re allowed to cut back as much overgrowth as you need to get by but make sure you’re definitely on a right of way.
I’ll let Indiana know!

What are a landowners responsibilities?

Every walker knows that brambles and nettles soon shoot away in summer if it’s not a well-trodden path, and most are happy to accomodate a little undergrowth. But how much is reasonable for you to be expected to deal with? Farmers or landowners are required:

to keep rights of way open and useable; this includes providing and maintaining stiles and gates and making sure they are safe and easy to use.
to cut vegetation that could obstruct the route (at least 3m is required for bridleways and 1.5m for footpaths unless they are crossing a field).
Paths that run on the field edge must not be cultivated, and cross-field paths must be reinstated correctly after field operations.

You can see the full list here.

by Tracie Beardsley

Sherborne Antiques Market’s changing face (and windows).

Editorial team

10 November 2021

“We’ve been in trouble” admits Craig Wharton as he shows me the broad window displays of the new Sherborne Antiques Market on Cheap Street. “But that’s the point. It needs to intrigue you, excite you, or shock you”

Sherborne’s former Edinburgh Woollen Mill finally re-opened its doors this summer, reborn as an antiques market under the experienced and talented eyes of dealer Craig Wharton and Phil Traves, formerly Duke’s Toy Expert who ran Duke’s General Saleroom.

The two men had a long-held ambition to open their own antiques market, combining their long years of knowledge and expertise to create the perfect location for vintage shopping. When Edinburgh Woollen Mill closed its doors early in 2021, the pair decided it was too good an opportunity to miss; a complicated series of events followed to track down the owner of the property, and persuade her they were the right business to take on the lease.
Thankfully they succeeded, and Sherborne Antiques Market opened its doors this summer. “It almost didn’t – 24 hours before we opened there was an apparently blocked drain right under the front of the shop. We thought the floor would need to be dug up.” said Phil “In the end it was fine – but it was a stressful start. What was wonderful, however, was how everyone reacted. It felt like a disaster, but all the dealers simply said ‘we’re here to help, what do you need?’. It was amazing”

Craig & Phil in the window of Sherborne antiques market

It’s never gin o’clock

That unexpected spirit of cheerful community infuses the entire building – those stunning and witty window displays may lure shoppers through the door, but it is the atmosphere of fun, the genuinely warm welcome, the disarming comfort and of course the fascinating contents that keep people inside, exploring ever deeper.
The shop floor is divided up into ‘rooms’, each filled by an independent dealer. Along with the standard legal requirements such as PAT testing and no pre-1947 ivory (how do they date ivory, I wondered? “the style, the patina, the colour… it’s where experience tells. And if it feels wrong, we refuse it”), there are some basic house rules:
• no Harry Potter boxes
• no fake vintage ‘gin o’clock’ signs
• kitsch is fun, but tacky is bad. What happens to any ‘tacky’ that might make it to a dealer’s shelves? “We remove it!” came the swift reply.

A forbidding reputation

From two esteemed and well-connected industry experts, you might be forgiven for expecting a serious antiques shop – filled with expensive, precious items where a casual browser may be afraid to loiter and explore. And you’d be right – Sherborne Antiques Market is filled with serious antiques.

But it’s also filled with items for every pocket, and every style. Thanks to their rigorous accessibility testing (“a friend in a wheelchair and her assistance dog came shopping before we opened, and we made sure she could access everywhere”), the space is uncluttered and airy, with a surprising atmosphere that seems to invite you to slow your pace, to idle, to chat, and to sit on the strategically welcoming furniture.

Eclectic collaboration

There are currently 42 traders displaying antiques within the market, including three TV experts – Timothy Medhurst (Antiques Road Trip), Paul Atterbury (Antiques Roadshow) and Debbie Serpell (Dickinson’s Real Deal). Breaking yet another misconception, the youngest dealer is 21-year old-Tom Hurst, an expert in African Art, and Country House items. “We’ve created an eclectic mix” explained Craig “Every dealer decorates their own space, but it all works together so well.” Elegant furniture is laid out in minimalist fashion on beautiful flooring, while another space is billowing with the colours and textures of vintage soft furnishings.

Harshly lit cabinets of Saxon and Roman coins sit adjacent to the soft pastoral scenes of local painter James Budden. Phil said “What’s terrific is that the dealers are already starting to work with each other – one furniture dealer has offered his wall space to an art dealer. The vintage clothing dealers don’t compete – instead they have opted to be side-by-side to create a personality-filled corner that complements each other. It’s working better than we could have dreamed.”

Sherborne antiques market filled with curios

Dr Frasier Crane

When asked what is their current favourite item in the market, both looked around uncertainly. Craig said “the trouble is, there’s so many things – but they all move on so fast! Oh, it has to be Dr Frasier Crane – he’s a crested stuffed South African Crane. We both adore him. And the pair of William Yeoward lamps – I’m surprised they’re still here. We have them at £1,600 for the pair – in London they’d be more than that each.”

The two experts are clearly enjoying their new venture, and are brimming with plans. Phil said: “we’re not going down the obvious ‘coffee stop’ route – Sherborne has so many fabulous independent coffee shops, we’d rather offer our customers a voucher to pop into one of them. We do have a huge, untapped upstairs space – it’s so useful. It needs a lot of work, but one of our plans for next year is to run courses; from pottery to furniture restoring.”

Those window displays

In just a few months the Sherborne Antiques Market has established an enviable reputation for its window displays, making the most of the huge double-fronted shop display. From a life-sized Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in front of a wryly-placed antlered stag head to ‘live windows’ with gogo dancers launching the new Jo Burt Album, the windows have quickly become a talking point, and a staple of Sherborne’s Cheap Street experience – and are clearly doing their job to intrigue, excite or shock the passersby into walking through the door.

Sherborne Antiques market owners Philip Traves and Craig Wharton, with Evie in the middle

Sherborne Antiques Market is on Cheap Street, and open 7 days a week: Monday to Saturday 10 to 5, Sundays 11 to 4 (Market Sundays 10 till 4). Phone: 01935 713760. They rarely use Facebook, but their Instagram account is busy and beautiful here.

(Editor Laura investigated more new shops on the block in thriving Sherborne – from vintage clothing to gourmet delicatessen here)

By: Laura Hitchcock

Notes From An Epicurean: A winter’s truffle

Editorial team

10 November 2021

We are now fully into the autumn/winter truffle season – my July column discussed summer truffles it is only fair we look at the winter varieties.

The black varieties at this time of year have a much stronger flavour but look the same as their summer cousins. There are two main varieties; Tuber Uncinatum or Burgundy truffle, and Tuber Melanosporum, usually known as Périgord truffle. More expensive than summer truffles, they are best eaten raw or added at the end of the cooking process so as not to lose too much of the incredible flavour.

The truffle price

The Burgundy truffle is milder in flavour than the Périgord, and cheaper at about £850-£900 per Kg – about £40 a truffle.

The Périgord truffle comes into season slightly later than the Burgundy, and you can expect to pay £1,500 per Kg or more, depending on availability. That is about £50 per truffle; but a little does go a long way.

Tuber Magnatum

The king of all truffles is the White truffle or Alba truffle, Tuber Magnatum, found in Italy (pictured above). These are one of the most expensive foodstuffs on the planet, currently priced at more than £2,500 per Kilo. One white truffle will therefore cost you about £100 – and will only be edible for about one week; after that they go squishy and are unusable. They should only be eaten raw – just freshly grated over scrambled eggs or pasta.

Record truffle

The largest white truffle discovered so far was found in December 2014 weighing in at 1.786Kg and sold at Sotheby’s, New York for $61,250 (£39,154)

Truffle oil warning

One interesting thing to remember; truffle oil does not contain truffle. Originally of course it was truffle-infused olive oil, but invariably modern truffle oils are now just oil flavoured with a synthetic chemical that mimics the truffle aroma.

Storage

Another thing to remember when storing your truffle, keep them wrapped in paper tissue in the refrigerator, never store on rice as this will draw the flavour from the truffle.
My personal source of all things truffle is The Truffle Hunter, based in Gloucestershire. www.trufflehunter.co.uk.

By Simon Vernon

Garden jobs for November | 2021

Editorial team

10 November 2021

Here are this month’s jobs from Sherborne gardener Pete Harcom for you to get on and do in the garden before the Christmas rush!

• Clear up for the winter!

Clear faded and dying annual climbers such as sweet peas from their supports.
Clear up fallen leaves and put them in plastic bags or in a heap to rot down as leaf mould ( may take a year or so) and then can be used as a mulch.

• Watch the compost heap

Keep on top of the creation of the compost heap by turning it regularly. Keep it moist, and mix well with shredded paper. Nettles and some weeds can be composted (if the heap gets heated well), but do not compost ‘difficult’ weeds such as bindweed, ground elder or docks.

• Mind your beds

When clearing up flower beds try to keep off of wet soil to avoid compacting the soil – use wooden boards to spread your weight.

• Birds enjoy your seedheads

It is a good idea to leave your plants with attractive seed heads, such as Rudbeckia, Sea Holly (Eryngium), Teasels, Love in a Mist, any ornamental grasses etc. as these provide valuable food for birds in the winter months and can be used in flower arrangements. Cut down the old seed-heads in Spring, when the new growth appears.

• Last chance for bulbs

There is still time to plant spring bulbs and bare rooted trees and shrubs before the colder weather.

• Winter mulch

Cover and protect agapanthus plants with mulch or garden compost. Straw can also be used for protecting half hardy plants. Alpines planted in the garden can have a gravel mulch, or if they are in containers will benefit from covering with straw or bring them into the greenhouse for the winter.

• Look after your acers

Acers are a particularly good show this time of year with their autumn colours. Japanese maples are acers, and they can be either planted in the ground or in pots now. They will benefit from being placed in sheltered semi shady spots in the garden.

• Time to sow

Sowing seeds in a cold greenhouse is a nice job to do this time of year. Some of the favourite seeds to sow now are Sweet Peas, Ajuga Reptans (really good for ground cover), Cornflowers, Astrantias, Corydalis Solida and Allium Sphaerocephalon. Eryngiums (Sea Holly) are particularly attractive and can be sown now in a cold greenhouse. They can take a while to germinate, but they are worth it and they are attractive for bees.

After all that is done, have a cuppa tea and browse through your seed and garden catalogues and plan for next year!

by Pete Harcom – Head Gardener at Sherton Abbas Gardening