DORSETSHIRE. We've a meäd or two wo'th mowèn, At the tillage, Come along an' you shall vind That Do'set men don't sheäme their kind. BARNES' Poems in the Dorset Dialect. (S.W.) B DORSETSHIRE. GENERAL SUMMARY. DORSETSHIRE the ancient home of the Durotriges, or "dwellers by the waters"-is one of the least fertile but most romantic of the English counties. If it cannot boast of rich farms and luxurious pastures, it has its glorious ocean-views, and abrupt mountainous ranges to be proud of, and the wayfarer will constantly meet with the most admirable scenes. STATISTICS.-Its area is computed at 987 square miles, or 632,025 acres, of which about 200,000 are arable, 390,000 meadow, 10,000 woodland, and the remainder downs, waste lands, and commons. Its greatest length is 52 miles, greatest breadth 37 miles, average breadth 21 miles. Population (89,204 males, and 95,003 females) 184,207; i. e., 186 persons to a square mile, and one person to 34 acres. Inhabited houses, 36,138; i. e., 1 house to 5.1 individuals. The stock of sheep (chiefly Southdowns) is about 700,000, yielding from 10,000 to 12,000 wool packs yearly. Flax averages 600 to 900 lbs., and hemp 500 to 800 lbs. per acre. There are 269 parishes, and 4 extra parishes, containing 14 market towns, viz :— and about 262 villages and hamlets. The county is represented in Parliament by three members. DORCHESTER, BRIDPORT, POOLE, and WEYMOUTH (with Melcombe Regis) return two each; and LYME REGIS, SHAFTESBURY, and WAREHAM (with Corfe Castle) one each. ANTIQUITIES.—In Celtic and Roman Camps, in memorials of the great struggle between invader and invaded, Dorsetshire is peculiarly rich, as might be inferred from its natural configuration-its narrow defiles and bold abrupt downs offering defensive positions of considerable strength. If we knew more of the history of the Roman conquest of Britain, we should doubtless find it illustrated with many a deed of Celtic heroism, and be able, perhaps, to boast of many a British Thermopyla. The most noticeable entrenchments are those of Hod Hill, Hamildon, Badbury Rings, Maiden Castle, Abbotsbury, and Nine Barrows. Of the completeness of the Roman occupation of the county there are also many proofs. Their great road-the Fosse Way-ran through Dorchester to the Land's End, and at Dorchester exists one of the most perfect amphitheatres in England. The CHURCHES of Dorsetshire are not remarkable for their interest, with the exception of those at Wimborne Minster and Sherborne. SEATS OF THE GENTRY.-Kingston Lacy (D. Bankes, Esq.); Canford Hall (Sir I. Bertie Guest, Baronet); St. Giles' Park (Earl of Shaftesbury); Lulworth Castle (Joseph Weld, Esq.); Melbury Park (Earl of Пlchester); Ford Abbey (G. W. F. Miles, Esq.); Sherborne Castle (G. D. W. Digby, Esq.); Milton Abbey (Baron Hambro); Bryanstone Park (Lord Portman). WORTHIES OF DORSETSHIRE.-Anthony Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury, a leading statesman in Charles II.'s reign, and his grandson, the author of "The Characteristics," were born at St. Giles' Park, near Cranborne; Sir James Thornhill, the artist, and father-in-law of Hogarth the painter, at Weymouth; Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, the captain of "the Victory" at Trafalgar, was a native of Portisham; Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, and author of the "Origines," born at or near Cranborne; Thomas Sydenham, an eminent physician in the time of Charles II., at Winford Eagle; Captain Coram, founder of the Foundling Hospital, and Sir George Somers, the discoverer of the "vext Bemoothes" at Lyme Regis ; and Bishop Poore, the architect of Salisbury Cathedral, at Tarrant Crawford. GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS.-Two lofty ranges of chalk |