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Wool (Holy Rood)

WOOL (Holy Rood), a parish, in the union of Wareham and Purbeck, liberty of Bindon, Wareham division of Dorset, 6 miles (W. by S.) from Wareham; containing 505 inhabitants. It comprises about 2100 acres, of which 1700 are arable, meadow, and pasture, and 400 heath; the soil of the cultivated land is fertile. From a copious spring at the head of the parish, issues a stream that flows through the village into the river Frome. A fair for cattle and general traffic is held on the 14th of May. The living was until recently annexed to the vicarage of Coombe-Keynes; it is now a distinct perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop of Salisbury, with a net income of £80. The church is an ancient structure, partly Norman, and partly in the early English style, with a massive tower; the pulpit hangings, though much decayed, are embellished with representations of the Twelve Apostles, worked in embroidery with gold and silver thread enriched with beads. Nearly half a mile to the south, are the remains of Bindon Abbey, founded in 1172, by Robert de Newburgh and Matilda his wife, in honour of the Virgin Mary, for monks of the Cistercian order, whose revenue at the Dissolution was £229. 2. 1. Of part of the ruins, a building of corresponding character has been erected on the spot, by the proprietor, Joseph Weld, Esq., of Lulworth Castle. The site is beautifully laid out, and is much frequented by parties of pleasure.

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

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