Cranborne, Dorset

The Village School

I was the Head Teacher of the Cranborne First School from 1974-1978. The school was situated just off the square. It was a delightful little school and I have happy memories of my time there with my two teachers: Mrs Barbara Bayes and Mrs Gawman (who succeeded me as Head). Lord Salisbury was the Chairman of our Governors and occasionally I... [more]

Cranborne 1938

I was living at Cranborne where my father was the police sergeant. At the time of a crisis, members of the government came to stay with Lord Cranborne at the manor.
The  matter of security arose and it was decided a policeman should be on duty at all times as he would notice any strangers. Around the same period the massive... [more]

Cranborne in the early sixties

I lived in Cranborne for two years from November 1963. My father owned the shops at the far end of the terrace in this picture and the building immediately facing, although it was derelict at that time. My sister and I were enrolled in the local secondary school that had opened two months earlier.

The shoe shop

I am only 23, but I remember the shoe shop very well, as it belonged to my grandfather Alex Adams, and had been in the family for many years.  And I do believe the child being walked up the road is my mum Linda Bright, nee Adams, and her gran, my great-gran Emma Adams.  She would have been 2-3 years old.... [more]

Dorset Revisited Photographic Memories

Cranborne lies at the heart of an ancient woodland chase; it is still relatively unspoiled. Once the headquarters of poaching gangs, Cranborne is now a peaceful venue for rambles and sightseeing.

Dorset Villages Photographic Memories

We are looking northwards towards the Square (centre), with 18th-century brick and tile houses on both sides of Wimborne Street. Behind the brick, however, the Fleur-de-Lis Hotel (right) dates from the 16th century. It is celebrated in an ode by war poet Rupert Brooke from 1910, in which he wishes he was there because he arrived after it had closed for the night, and had to book into... [more]

Dorset Photographic Memories

Once at the heart of King John's hunting ground of Cranborne Chase, the village of Cranborne is rich in history. Its old manor house was a temporary refuge for Charles I at the height of the Civil War, and the parish church stands on the site of an important Saxon monastery.