Wareham, Dorset
Wareham (
Situation and geography
The town is built on a strategic
of Poole Harbour. Wareham is built on a low dry island between the marshy river plains.The town is situated on the
To the north west of the town a large conifer plantation,
History
The town's strategic setting has made it an important settlement throughout its long history. Excavations at the nearby Bestwall site have produced evidence of transient early
Archaeological evidence exists of a small Roman settlement, though the current town was founded by the Saxons.[2] The Roman name is unknown, but the town is referred to as Werham in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry of 784, from Old English wer (meaning 'fish trap, a weir') and hām ('homestead') or hamm ('enclosure hemmed in by water').[3]
The town's oldest features are the town walls, ancient earth
By the end of the Saxon period, Wareham had become one of the most important towns in the county, to the extent that it housed two
During the English Civil War, Wareham changed hands several times between the Royalists and Parliamentarians and in August 1644 was the site of a fierce battle with 2,000 Cromwellian soldiers besieging the town.[13]
After the
In 1762, a fire destroyed two thirds of the town, which has been rebuilt in
With the outbreak of the
Because of the constraints of the rivers and marshland Wareham grew little during the 20th century, while nearby towns, such as Poole, grew rapidly.
Religious sites
Wareham contains several places of worship with the oldest being the Saxon churches of Lady St. Mary (substantially modified but the origins are
Government
The civil parish of Wareham Town encompasses the walled town of Wareham, situated on the land between the rivers Frome and Piddle, together with the area of Northport to the north of the River Piddle, and a relatively small amount of the surrounding rural area. The parish has an area of 6.52 square kilometres (2.52 square miles).[19][20]
The sister civil parish of
Both parishes form part of the
Demography
Religion | %[21] |
---|---|
Buddhist | 0.21 |
Christian | 80.33 |
Hindu | 0.0 |
Jewish | 0.07 |
Muslim | 0.32 |
No religion | 12.24 |
Other
|
0.25 |
Sikh | 0.0 |
Not stated | 6.59 |
Age | Percentage[22] |
---|---|
0–15 | 15.4 |
16–17 | 2.5 |
18–44 | 29.3 |
45–59 | 23.4 |
60–84 | 26.4 |
85+ | 3.0 |
Year | Population[23] |
---|---|
1921 | 1,930 |
1951 | 2,750 |
1971 | 4,370 |
1981 | 4,580 |
1991 | 5,620 |
2001 | 5,680 |
2009 | 5,640 |
The population of Wareham according to the
Culture and Media
Wareham is
Since the 16th century Wareham has been a market town,[25] and still holds a market on Thursdays and Saturdays. In 2005 Wareham was named as a Fairtrade Town.[26]Events held in the town include the annual carnival which takes place in July with a parade, fireworks and music by the Quay.
In the church of St Martin-on-the-Walls, there is a recumbent effigy of
The Royal Air Force Air Cadets has an Air Training Corps squadron based in the town, namely 2185 (Wareham) Squadron ATC. The squadron's cadets regularly partake in activities around the town for charitable purposes such as supporting the carnival, training exercises and parades. The squadron has a Detached Flight based at Swanage.
Local news and television programmes is provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from the Rowridge TV transmitter. [30]
The local radio stations are BBC Radio Solent, Heart South, Greatest Hits Radio South, Nation Radio South Coast and Wave 105.
The Wareham Advertiser is the town's local weekly newspaper.[31]
Cultural references
Wareham is the setting for one of the "Amazing Adventures of Scary Bones the Skeleton" series of books for children by Ron Dawson, Scary Bones meets the Wacky Witches of Wareham. The book also includes a photograph of the town bridge and nearby Corfe Castle which also features in the story.
Some scenes from the 2002 German ZDF TV production Morgen Träumen Wir Gemeinsam ("Tomorrow We Dream Together") were filmed in Wareham.[35]
The hymn tune "Wareham" was composed by William Knapp (born at Wareham, 1698–9); Knapp composed several other hymn tunes and was parish clerk of Poole.[36]
Wareham appears in the 2020 video game Assassin's Creed Valhalla, under the name of Werham.
Sport
Wareham is the home of Wareham Rangers Football Club who currently play in the
Twin towns
Wareham is
- Conches-en-Ouche, France[37]
- Hemsbach, Germany
Notable people
- John Hutchins - Rector of Wareham, 1743–73; Author of The History & Antiquities of the County of Dorset. Lived in Wareham from 1744 until his death in 1773. Buried in the town at the church of Lady St. Mary.[38]
- Edwin Keppel Bennett - Writer, poet, Germanist and academic. Born in Wareham in 1887.
- Shelley Preston - British singer and member of pop group Bucks Fizz grew up in Wareham and attended The Purbeck School.
- T. E. Lawrence lived at nearby Clouds Hill and was a frequent visitor to the town in the latter years of his life.[39]
- David Mellor - British politician, born in Wareham in 1949.[40]
- Actor Edward Fox lives locally and in 2010 campaigned against the building of a supermarket on the outskirts of the town.[41]
- Chad Gould lived here throughout his childhood.
- Ex-footballer David Best (footballer) was born in Wareham. [42]
See also
Wareham travel guide from Wikivoyage
References
Citations
- ^ Ladle, Lilian; Woodward, Ann (November–December 2010). "Bestwall Quarry". British Archaeology (115). Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ Davis 1997, p. 9
- ISBN 0-7190-3218-0.
- ^ a b Davis 1997, p. 14
- ^ a b Davis 1997, p. 15
- ^ A Freeman. The History Of Norman Conquest Of England Volum One.
- ^ a b "DTC Wareham History". Wareham Town Council. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ A Freeman. The History Of Norman Conquest Of England Volum Iv.
- ^ Davis 1997, p. 18
- ^ Edward Augustus Freeman. The History of the Norman Conquest of England. Harvard University.
- ^ D. F. RENN. "The Keep of Wareham Castle" (PDF). Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ Davis 1997, p. 20
- ^ Davis 1997, p. 31
- ^ a b Ladle 1986, p. 28
- ^ Davis 1997, p. 35
- ^ Davis 1997, pp. 85–90
- ^ Davis 1997, p. 91
- ^ Davis 1997, p. 11
- ^ ISBN 978-0-319-23865-3.
- ^ "Parish Statistics" (PDF). Purbeck District Council. 11 January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
- ^ a b c "Key Figures for 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics Information on 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics". Office for National Statistics. 2001. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Wareham Census Town Profile". Dorset County Council. 2005. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ "Wareham Keyfacts". Dorset For You Partnership. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ^ "Dorset Twinning Association". Dorset Twinning Association. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
- ^ Letters, Samantha (18 June 2003). "Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs to 1516: Dorset". Centre for Metropolitan History (Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London.
- ^ "Fairtrade - Towns List". Fairtrade Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
- ^ a b "About Wareham". Wareham Town Council. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
- ^ Terry Holland. "Duties of the Court Leet". Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ISBN 9781841623931.
- ^ "Full Freeview on the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "The Swanage and Wareham Advertiser". British Papers. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "The Thomas Hardy journal". 17–18. Thomas Hardy Society. 2001: 45.
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(help) - ^ Davis 1997, p. 51
- ^ "T E Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia". Dorset Guide. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
- ^ "Film & TV Productions Shot On Location In The South-Central Region".
- ^ Rowe, Lionel (c. 1960) The Churches of Wareham, Dorset; 9th ed. Gloucester: British Publishing Company; p. 19
- ^ "British towns twinned with French towns [via WaybackMachine.com]". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ "REV. JOHN HUTCHINS – The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset". Dorset OPC. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ^ Ryan, Robert (6 April 2008). "Dorset according to TE Lawrence". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ^ Hough, Andrew (10 June 2010). "David Mellor: a profile". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ^ Fox, Edward (10 October 2010). "Edward Fox: how I helped save Wareham from the supermarkets". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ^ "Where Are They Now? | Footballers | David Best".
Sources
- Pitt Rivers, Michael (1970). Dorset. London: Faber & Faber.
- Davis, Terence (1997). Wareham Gateway to Purbeck (2nd ed.). dpc. ISBN 0-948699-62-0.
- Ladle, Lilian (1986). Explore Wareham. Lady St. Mary Parochial Church Council. ISBN 0-9511365-0-X.