CERNE, or CERNE-ABBAS, a market-town and
parish in the hundred of CERNE-TOTCOMBE-and-MODBURY,
Cerne subdivision of the county of
DORSET, 8 miles (N.N.W.) from Dorchester, and 120:
(S. W. byW.) from London, containing 1060 inhabit-,
ants. The name of this place is derived from its.
situation on the river Cerne, and its adjunct from its
ancient abbey. Eadwald, brother of King Edward the
Martyr, became a hermit at this place; and in the reign
of Edgar, Ailmer, Earl of Cornwall, began to erect a
noble abbey, and completed it in 987, for Benedictine,
monks, dedicating it 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
that surrounded it. 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 the town, who retired on
finding that he had been further reinforced with 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, not lighted, and
only partially paved; the houses are in general ancient,
and possess little architectural beauty; the inhabitants
are amply supplied with water from a spring,
called St. Augustine's well, which, as the legend asserts,
burst out to provide St. Augustine with water for baptizing
his Christian converts. Considerable improvement
is taking place, including the erection of some
handsome modern 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 King John, is on Wednesday;
the fairs are on Whit-Monday, April 28th, and
October 2nd, for cattle. The petty sessions for the
Cerne subdivision of the county are held here.
The living is a discharged vicarage, in-the archdeaconry
of Dorset, and diocese of Bristol, rated in the
king's books at £8. 16.,, endowed with £400 royal
bounty, and £ 600 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage
of Lord Rivers. The church, dedicated to St.
Mary, and 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 style of English architecture, with
a square embattled tower ornamented with octagonal
turrets at the angles: it has recently received an addition
of three hundred free sittings, the Incorporated
Society for the enlargement of churches and chapels
having granted £ 150 for that purpose. There is a
place of worship for Independents. Sir Robert Miller
and Dame Margaret gave a rent-charge of £10 for
apprenticing poor children. 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 right
hand, and extending his left arm; it is one hundred
and eighty 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.
It is by some antiquaries referred to the Saxon times,
and supposed to represent one of their 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; and according to vulgar tradition, it was cut to
commemorate the destruction of a giant who ravaged
that part of the country, and was killed by the pea-
sants: the figure is occasionally repaired by the inhabitants
of the town.