Stour Valley Way

I decided to travel a bit further east for my walk today as I'd often looked at the Stour Valley Way from Sturminster Newton and wondered what the walking would be like there. I parked at Sturminster Mill (closed for the winter) and walked northwards across the weir towards Sturminster Newton on the east side of the River Stour.

Footbridge over the River Stour at Sturminster Newton mill- ST7813

I followed the River northwards, past the house where Thomas Hardy wrote 'The Return of the native'.

Thomas Hardy's house, Sturminster Newton - ST7814

A reminder of a bygone age came into view shortly after this in the form of a broken viaduct. For just over one hundred years trains wended their way along the Dorset Central Railway across the River Stour here, stopping at Shillingstone, Sturminster Newton and Stalbridge. Opened in 1866, Sturminster Newton station was closed in 1966.

The broken Viaduct at Sturminster Newton - ST7814

Stour Valley Way - ST7814

Not long after this the path bifurcates, the Stour Valley Way continuing westwards and the Hardy Way heading off north. There is always the hope of the whistle of a Kingfisher as it flashes past, but I didn't see any today.

Where the paths divide - ST7815

Teasels and the River Stour - ST7815

I knew I would be in the next gridsquare at the confluence of the Rivers Divelish and Stour. The Divelish joins the River Stour from the south.

Confluence of the River Divelish and River Stour - ST7715

The footpath heads northwards here with little to take the eye from the path before reaching Cutt Mill, where I was disappointed to discover that I wasn't going to see the mill or the weirs, although there is a road and a footpath leading in the opposite direction so  it is possible if one takes a diversion. Focused on my route today, I wasn't tempted enough to take an intentional diversion. Going from past experience there was probably going to be an unintentional diversion (aka 'mistake' or  diverted footpath) further along my route which would stretch out the length of my already long walk enough without adding to the miles for the sake of a mill. I'll probably find out now that it was the most scenic part of my route!

I was keen to see Joyce's Coppice, however, as that is my mum's name.

Joyce's Coppice - ST7716

Running almost parallel to Joyce's Coppice in the north-east is a road named 'Marriage Lane'. Maybe when I come back for Cutt Mill, I can walk along this delightfully named lane. For now, I crossed the B3092 and entered Hinton St Mary, a charming little village which has made a significant entry into English history books.

The mosaic was discovered in a field in 1963 by the local blacksmith John White. He had been building a shed to adjoin his forge. The mosaic is probably one of the oldest surviving depictions of Christ.  Although the rest of the site has not been excavated,  it is generally assumed that the mosaic formed the floor of a room within a Roman Villa. The mosaic's layout apparently resembles a Roman triclinium or dining room. The mosaic covered two rooms, joined by a small decorated threshold. It measures 28.4 by 19.6 feet and is almost complete. It is largely red, yellow and cream in colouring. On stylistic grounds it has been dated to the 4th century and is attributed to the workshop of the Durnovarian school of mosaic art. The mosaic was excavated by the Dorchester Museum and taken to the British Museum, where the central medallion, a portrait bust of Christ, is still on display, the rest being kept in storage. I would very much like to see this now that I have visited the place of its origin.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=808670&partId=1

The village appeared quite sleepy at the time of my visit, as villages often do when I'm walking through them at this time of day - pub closed and everyone  either at work or school. I'm hoping to return in a few weeks anyway for another walk and visit to the pub!

The White Horse at Hinton St Mary - ST7816

Closed at the time of my visit

House in Hinton St Mary - ST7816

After a quick visit to the church where there is quite a lot of information about the mosaic, I managed to do one of those short unintentional diversion I spoke of before finding my way back on the right footpath.

St Peter's Church in Hinton St Mary - ST7816

Information about the Hinton St Mary mosaic in St Peter's Church, Hinton St Mary - ST7816

The site of the Roman villa is to the south of the village, but experience has taught me that there is rarely anything left to see so yet another diversion was avoided as I ambled eastwards past Home Farm and along muddy Ridgeway Lane.

Ridgeway Lane near Home Farm - ST7916

At the end of Ridgeway Lane I encountered a situation that always makes my heart sink - a cropped field (cropped, not in the sense that it has been shortened, but that it is full of crops!) Whilst the map shows the footpath boldly going through the centre of the field, in reality it is often necessary to go right round the field to avoid wandering through the crops. This wouldn't be so bad if, in doing so, you were rewarded by enhanced views, but, let's face it, a field is a field, and often a muddy one that is difficult to walk through so it tends to feel like a bit of a slog. Faced with the field at the eastern side of ST7916, my heart sank. I could see a tractor at the other side of the massive field so made my way cautiously round the edge of the field towards it and its driver. The driver was friendly enough and pointed me in the right direction for the next two fields. Thing was, in walking round the field and not religiouslyf ollowing the footpath, I had missed a gridsquare as the footpath  normally just enters ST7915. There is another footpath in the south-west corner of that gridsquare, but it's always annoying when that happens because otherwise there would be nothing to return to that square for and with over 7000 squares left to do, it feels like a bit of a waste of time . . .

Fields near Hinton St Mary - ST8015

I soldiered on with my negative thoughts trying to tell myself there were lots worse problems in the world, in my life even, than not being able to enter a particular gridsquare when lo and behold one such weightier problem confronted me in the form of cows! Ok, so still not ranking highly on the Richter scale of world problems, but right there and then, it felt like a big problem. After a little thought, I scrambled underneath a barbed wire fence in the field next to the cows and followed the hedge up to the next footpath which ran through the field I was in anyway. Problem solved! But no! There were the cows large as life, at the gate I needed to go through, moo-ing their objection should I even so much as consider going into the next field.

Cows in ST8016 (not enough to warrant a geograph for this square)

I managed to find another entrance into the next field, but that was another square missed, this time by my own stupid fear! Feeling a little defeated I stomped my way through several more fields before reaching Manston where there was a lot more to photograph than stupid cows and annoying fields.

Phone box at Manston - ST8115

I was rather excited about the prospect of catching a glimpse of Manston House and its neighbouring church. I had no illusions that I would be able to visit the church or the mausoleum of which I'd read just before setting off today. I was, however, under the illusion that the road I walked along to reach the church would be quiet. It was far from it. I dived into the verge about eight times in quarter of a mile to make way for passing cars.

I was very pleasantly surprised at the end of the road to discover a gate which said 'to Manston Church' and a small car park even. Wow! I passed the mausoleum in the grounds of Manston House. I had read about how it featured prominently in the history of cremation in Britain:

Thomas Barnabas Hanham  was owner of Manston House  on 12 February 1857, when  the Dorset County Chronicle reports that ‘soon after 4 o’clock, Manston House, the seat of T.B HANHAM Esq., was discovered to be on fire.’ Thankfully no lives were lost but the fire destroyed most of the building and its contents. Hanham, then in his early thirties, started building an even more impressive  new house straight away, seizing the opportunity to establish his status as a Victorian gentleman of means. 

Hanham was a successful man, having joined the Royal Navy as a youngster, and achieving the rank of Lieutenant in 1847 and Commander in 1864. He also became a JP and a Deputy-Lieutenant of Dorset. He outlived three wives. The second of these, Josephine Ida Dodson, died in 1866 while the couple were sailing in the Pacific. Whilst wanting to be laid to rest at Manston, Josephine had also previously made it clear that she did not want to be buried in the churchyard which was regularly flooded by the nearby River Stour. So she was taken home and Hanham had a waterproof vault built next to his private aisle in the church in which she was placed. 

However, when the vault was opened up three years later, on the death of his only child, Maud, he found it flooded to a depth of 19 inches. This distressed both Hanham and his new wife, Edith, so much that she made him promise that he would have her body cremated if he survived her, she promising to do the same for him if he should die first. The major problem was that cremation was not legal in Britain at the time even though it was practised elsewhere in Europe, as well as the USA.

When Edith died in 1876, Hanham, being a JP and a decent citizen, was determined not to break any laws, so he had her body stored in a lead-lined coffin and began to build a mausoleum in the grounds of Manston House. This was completed in 1877, and there his wife lay while he negotiated with the authorities to have cremation legalised. His was not a lone voice; the Cremation Society had been campaigning for this for some time, and the movement had been gathering strength because of the terrible state of many cemeteries, particularly those in large cities. 

Finally on 8 October 1882  Hanham was able to legally consign Edith's body to the fire, and even then he had to have a small crematorium built in the grounds of the house. His mother had died by then, and she followed her daughter-in-law the next day. They were the first legal cremations in Britain.

The crematorium was dismantled and is now a garden storage area; but the mausoleum still stands next to the church.

(Information adapted from http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2011/08/dorset-houses-%E2%80%93%C2%A0a-burning-question/)

Manston House mausoleum - ST8115

Manston House mausoleum - ST8115

I was delighted to be able to visit the church (and relieved it was not flooded!)

 Church of St Nicholas, Manston - ST8115

Inside Church of St Nicholas, Manston - ST8115

After a delicious sardine lunch, I pondered the problem of where was the footpath. It appeared to run straight through the grounds of Manston House. Surely that couldn't be right? But I could see no alternative so decided to go for it. bang in the middle of the manicured lawn, a four-by-four drove past me, evidently from Manston house. There was no point in trying to hide or pretend I was doing anything other than strolling through the field. if I was accosted, I was accosted and I could plead my innocence and point to the map on my phone which clearly showed the footpath with the red circle indicating my present location.

There was no need, however. The vehicle clearly had more important matters than errant walkers to attend to and I plodded on, casting a glance back at the impressive house with all its history. A closer examination of my photo from here  revealed the unkempt crematorium.

Manston House and church. The crematorium is to the left below the red-roofed house. - ST8115

Closer view of Manston House crematorium - ST8115

I felt relieved to reach the road again where I crossed the River Stour just before Hammoon.The river forms a sort of ox-bow here so it is easy to see how the church can get flooded (and apparently it still does!)

River Stour with Hambledon Hill in the background - ST8214

River Stour with Hambledon Hill in the background - ST8214

having just dipped into gridsquare ST8214, I now entered ST8114 and the village of Hammoon. The ancient cross at the crossroads remain, at least its relic does.

Ancient cross at Hammoon - ST8114

St Paul's Church, Hammoon - ST8114

Attractively carved gates at St Paul's Church, Hammoon - ST8114

Attractively carved gates at St Paul's Church, Hammoon - ST8114

Lovely Dorset place names - signpost at Hammooon - ST8114

After a final cup of tea and a visit to St Paul's church,  I pressed on, encountering a diversion south of Hammoon on the footpath to Fiddleford. It mattered little. I joined a happy throng of dog walkers along a well-trod path which led to the delightful hamlet of Fiddlford with its mill and manor house which Paul and I have visited before.

Footpath to Fiddleford - ST8113

Bench and signpost - Fiddleford - ST8013

Sluices at weir, Fiddleford Mill - ST8013

Fiddleford Mill - ST8013

Leaving Fiddleford, I crossed the field to Sturminster Newton, following the course of the River Stour and the Stour Valley Way.

Field between Fiddleford and Sturminster Newton - ST7913

Wanting to get an extra square to make up for the one I'd missed, I prolonged my walk ever so slightly by wandering into ST7914 and snapping a photo of another old railway bridge.

Old railway bridge, Sturminster Newton - ST7914

I then completed a rectangular walking trail by visiting the church where I chickened out of entering upon hearing the organ and looking down to see my very  muddy boots. I just couldn't be bothered to take them off and have to put them on again so close to the end of my walk. But that's the second time I've got as far as the church doors and not been able to enter. (The last time was because there was wedding on.)

St Mary's Church, Sturminster Newton - ST7813

In the town, The Stur of the Moment cafe informed me that as well as other political news of the day (Trump's election as President), the breaking news was that green gummy bears are actually strawberry flavoured.

The Stur of the Moment, Sturminster Newton - ST7813

So I found my way back to the mill where some young swans made a dramatic entrance onto the River Stour, a lovely way to conclude my walk.

Young swans at Sturminster Newton Mill on the River Stour - ST7813

Number of new gridsquares - 14
Number of gridsquares I could have got - 15

Number of miles walked - 11.5