A Brief Interlude

I have little knowledge of Ludwell, other than my grandparents, and a few aunts and uncles lived there for an unknown number of years in the 1910s. The cottage they occupied stands on the left at the foot of the hill coming from Shaftesbury. It is recognisable due to the front door being situated at the side of the cottage. Several of my aunts attended the school on the brow of the hill. I can imagine the 'gripes and grumbles' at having to climb the hill on school days, of course the trip home would not be so arduous. I believe the pub almost opposite was utilised as a local courtroom in the mid 1800s, and as such would have seen an ancestor of my late wife hearing the penalties handed out to the father of her base-born' daughter. Her family were living in Tisbury, Wardour, Semley and the Donheads area. It was on a trip to Shaftesbury that we decided to seek out the cottage, [location advised by a cousin whose mother was the youngest of the children climbing the hill]. Sadly for us the only 'occupant' of the cottage was an elderly black labrador, wandering the garden my grandfather would have tended. This having been his trade, owning a smallholding at Merley Park in later years. It would have been interesting to have spoken with the owners at the time of our visit. A visit to the school showed how small in number the pupils would have been, one feature was an apple tree overhanging the playground. How many pupils would have spent part of the school day standing up, having been caught amongst the branches? The seat of their trousers having been warmed, courtesy of the cane!