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Chalbury
Chalbury maps
Historic maps of Chalbury and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Chalbury maps
Chalbury photos
We have no photos of Chalbury, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Crichel House| Witchampton| Mannington| Colehill| Badbury Rings| Wimborne| Verwood| Kingston Lacy| Cranborne| Canford Magna| St Ives| Alderholt
Chalbury area books
Displaying 1 of 18 books about Chalbury and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Chalbury
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Dorset memories
Orphanage
I was looked after by a lovely lady called Sister (Enid) Butler who took in unwanted children until they were re- homed either by fostering or adoption (this was me).
There was a young lad there called Peter who allegedly set fire to the original building with a cigarette end. I was adopted in about 1962 by a family who lived in Kent, and had a happy childhood all bar the bullying at school which I dealt with. I think there was also another lady known to me as Sister Edenbridge. Sadly both these ladies are now deceased. I am trying to trace my biological mother and family in order to understand what went wrong and also to discover my medical history so that I can tell my children that the illnesses I suffer with may be something they will end up with.
I remember for some reason being lined up with all the other children in a row on our potties after being fed, and playing in the garden,... Read more
Hinton Martell
There was also another lady, sadly deceased, called Mrs Sturney that would have adopted me but was sadly considered "too old". Any information on these people gladly welcomed. Mrs Sturney's first name was Gwendoline as far as I can remember
Sister Enid Butler's Orphanage.
I was a child that lived at the 'Sister Butler's orphanage' in the early I960s. This message is to anyone that was also at the orphanage at that time, particularly Alison Burbidge, as I have read her account stating that Alison would have been at the orphanage at the same time as me. I have a lot of memories of the Hinton Martell, and the orphanage, such as the school over the road from the orphanage run by two sisters, we all sat on long benches. We had slates and chalk to write on, the slate had a small wood frame, I'm not joking. In the class we had a big pot-belly stove in one corner, and a picture of the Queen on the wall. I remember from the road outside the school, looking up the main street away from the village, tall trees on both sides of the road and one of them on the orphanage side was a big cherry tree. I can remember the Gipsies selling... Read more
Gaunts Common
My sister remembers cycling to Gaunts Common just after my great-grandfather died, my great-grandmother stayed at a house there, there was an old railway carraige in the garden which was used as a caravan, and my grandmother stayed there for a while. The owners were probably Steele-Bartlett-Sweatland or Chalk, all family names. Also there was a photo of my great-great-grandfather Edward (Ned) Steele, a gamekeeper in the Drusillas at Horton. Does anyone know where the house was and who owned it? The time would have been after June 1941. Any info would be welcome.
Crichel House During The War Years
Dumpton House (Preparatory) School was evacuated to Crichel during the Second World War from Broadstairs in Kent. My older brother (Paul Cremer) was already at the school and due to the war my parents sent me (Jonathan Cremer) to the school at Crichel House in May 1940 when I was only seven years old. I loved Crichel. Everything about it seemed magical to me as a 7-year-old - the house itself, the village, the lake with its quaint boathouse and swans' nests, the beautiful cedar trees with their very special smell, the grass tennis court with all the sweet smelling camomile flowers on the grassy banks surrounding it, the crystal-clear stream with all its wonderful watercress, the dining hall with its enormous chandelier, the wonderful portico where we did PE, the beautiful Italian Garden so good for relay races, the unbelievably squalid 'ink room' in the basement, the fantastically beautiful and elaborately decorated lavatories with seats 4-feet wide, the majestically long gallery on the top floor, the sumptuously red-carpeted... Read more
School Days
Dumpton School had moved to Crichel from Broadstairs in Kent on the outbreak of the Second Wolrd War. I have vivid memories of my time as a schoolboy at Crichel, attending Chapel, rambling in the grounds, swimming in the large round canvas fire tank, lots of cricket and of course the wonderful interior of the house itself. We ate in a large dining room and slept in large rooms on the first floor. I recall overlooking the beautiful Italian gardens to the side of the house facing towards the huge lake. The sight of the geese and swans coming in to land was magical. I remember the air raids and having to go down into the basement. I was slippered for running. Many years later I returned to Crichel and was allowed to pick up for Toby Martin. Shortly after the end of the war Dumpton moved to Gaunts House near Wimborne and the girls school Cranborne Chase moved in.
My Grandmother
My grandmother Mary Brooks was born in Witchampton in 1857. She probably married my grandfather Joseph Childs in the church there in 1876, from there they went to live at Corscombe. I am wondering whether she had siblings and if any descendants are still in Witchcampton?
