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Cerne, or Cerne-Abbas (St. Mary)

CERNE, or Cerne-Abbas (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Cerne, Totcombe, and Modbury, Cerne division of Dorset, 8 miles (N. N. W.) from Dorchester, and 120 (S. W. by W.) from London; containing 1342 inhabitants. The name of this place is derived from its situation on the river Cerne, and the adjunct from its ancient abbey. Eadwald, brother of King Edward the Martyr, became a hermit here; and in the reign of Edgar, Ailmer, Earl of Cornwall, began to erect a noble abbey, which he completed in 987, for Benedictine monks, and dedicated to St. Mary, St. Peter, and St. Benedict. It was plundered, or, as some say, destroyed, by King Canute; but was soon restored, and flourished till the Dissolution, when its revenue was estimated at £623. 13. 2. The remains consist principally of the gate-house, a stately square embattled tower of three stages, having two fine oriel windows above the arch, and in front various shields of armorial bearings; also a large stone barn, and a moat with a double intrenchment. In 1644, the Irish troops in the service of Charles I. burnt several houses in the town; and in the following year, Cromwell, having been joined by Col. Holberne and the inhabitants, marched to oppose the king's forces that had advanced within three miles of Cerne, but retired on finding they had been reinforced by the regiments of Colonels Norton and Coke. The town is pleasantly situated in a valley surrounded by lofty hills, and consists of four or five streets, partially paved; the houses are in general ancient, and possess little architectural beauty. The inhabitants are amply supplied with water from a spring, called Augustine's Well, which, as the legend asserts, burst out to provide that saint with water for baptizing his Christian converts. Considerable improvement has lately taken place, including the erection of some handsome buildings, and the formation of a new road through the town from Dorchester to Sherborne. There are manufactories for dowlas, coarse linen, gloves, and parchment; the tanning trade is carried on to a considerable extent, and many women and children are employed in winding silk. The market, granted in the 15th year of the reign of John, is on Wednesday; the fairs are on Whit-Monday, April 28th, and October 2nd, and are for cattle. The petty-sessions for the Cerne division of the county are held here.

The parish comprises 2812a. 4p. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 16.; net income, £81; patron and impropriator, Lord Rivers, who receives a tithe rent-charge of £152. The church, supposed to have been erected on the site of the ancient hermitage, by one of the abbots of the monastery, in the fifteenth century, is a fine spacious structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower ornamented by octagonal turrets at the angles; it was repewed in the year 1819. There is a place of worship for a congregation of Independents. The poor law union of Dorchester and Cerne comprises altogether fifty-nine parishes or places, and contains a population of 23,380. On the southern declivity of a steep chalk-hill called Trendle Hill, to the north of the town, a gigantic figure has been traced, representing a man holding a knotted club in his hand, and extending his left arm. It is 180 feet high, and well executed; the outlines are two feet broad, and two feet deep: between the legs is an illegible inscription, and above, the date 748. By some antiquaries it is referred to the Saxon times, and supposed to represent one of the Saxon deities; by others it is thought to be a memorial of Cenric, son of Cuthred, King of the West Saxons, who was slain in battle: according to vulgar tradition, it was cut to commemorate the destruction of a giant who ravaged this part of the country, and was killed by the peasants. The figure is occasionally repaired by the inhabitants of the town.


Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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