SHAFTESBURY, or SHASTON, a borough and market-town,
having separate
jurisdiction, though
locally in the hundred of
Monckton up Wimborne,
Shaston (East) division of
the county of DORSET, 28
miles (N. N. E.) from Dorchester,
and 101 (W. S. W.)
from London, on the great
western road from London
to Exeter, containing, with
the liberty of Alcester, 2903 inhabitants. The origin and
derivation of the name of this town have given rise to
much conjecture, it being supposed by some to have had
existence even prior to the birth of Christ, and to have
freen called Caer Palladur by the Britons; other periods
have been assigned for its foundation, but that which
appears to be most probable is the reign of King Alfred;
in confirmation of which, Camden states, that in the
time of William of Malmesbury was to be seen an old
stone, brought from the ruins of a wall into the nuns'
chapter-house, with an inscription purporting that King
Alfred built this city (if so we may render "fecit") in
80, and in the eighth year of his reign. Its Saxon
derivation from Sceaft, signifying the point of a hill, is
supposed to;be in allusion to the situation of the town.
A Benedictine nunnery, founded here about the same
pferiod,. has also been ascribed to various persons.
Camden, following William of Malmesbury, attributes
it to .Elgiva, wife of Edmund, great grandson to King
Alfred; whilst Leland and many other writers assert
this latter monarch to be. its founder, and that his
daughter was the first abbess. To this abbey the remains
of Edward the Martyr were removed after his
murder at Corfe-Castle, and it appears to have been
much resorted to by pilgrims, amongst whom was King
Canute, who died here; and the extent of its endowments
may' be estimated from their value at its dissolution
being £1166 per annum; the remains are very
inconsiderable. The importance of the abbey naturally
increased that of the town, which is reported at an early
period to have contained ten parish chxirches. In the
time of Edward the Confessor three mints were established
here; and, according to a survey made shortly
before the Norman Conquest, Shaftesbury contained
one hundred and four houses, and three mint-masters.
The town is situated on a high hill, with a gradual rise
on the east and south-east, but more precipitous on the
west and south-west, at the extremity of the county
of Dorset, and bordering on that of Wilts; it commands
extensive views over both counties. The streets,
which are neither paved nor lighted, are narrow and
irregular; the houses are principally built of stone, and
the inhabitants are badly supplied with water: on
the hill is a well of pn iigious depth, from Hvhich
water is drawn up by machinery worked by a horse;
but the inhabitants are principally supplied from the
adjoining parish of Motcomb. The manufacture of shirt
buttons was formerly carried on to a considerable extent,
but it has very much declined,' and there is now
but very little trade. The market is on Saturday, and
well supplied with all kinds of commodities; and there
are fairs on the Sa urday before Palm-Sunday, 24th of
June, and 23rd of November.
This is a very ancient borough, being described as
such in Domesday-book, but it was not incorporated
till the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who, according to
Htttchins, granted its first charter, appointing a mayor,
recorder, twelve aldermen, a bailiff, and common council;
but no charter can be found prior to that granted by
James I., in 1604, which, confirmed by one of Charles II.,
vests the government in a mayor and twelve capital burgesses,
assisted by a recorder, who elect annually a town
clerk, coroner, and two Serjeants at mace. The mayor,
the preceding mayor, and the recorder, are justices of the
peace, and, with the capital burgesses, have power to
hold a court of record every Saturday, for debts under
£10, contracted within the borough; three of them form
a quorum, the mayor or preceding, mayor, "being one. A
town hall, which is a handsome building, has been recently
erected, at an expense of about £3000, defrayed
by Earl Grosvenor. The borough first sent members
to parliament in the 23rd of Edward I., and has since
continued to do so without interruption: the right of
election is vested in the inhabitants paying scot and lot,
about four hundred in number: the mayor is the returning
officer, and the prevailing influence is exercised
by Earl Grosvenor.
The town comprises the three parishes of St. Peter,
the Holy Trinity, and St. James, in the archdeaconry
of Dorset, arid diocese of Bristol. The living of St. Peter's
is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books
at £11. 10. 2., and united to that of the Holy Trinity,
which union comprehends the ancient parishes of St.
Lawrence and St. Martin: the living of Holy Trinity
parish is rated in the king's books at £4. 1. 10.
St. Peter's church is of considerable antiquity, but
contains many modern alterations: it possesses a curiously'
carved font, and a very ancient monument,
supposed to have been removed from the abbey.
That of the Holy Trinity is also ancient, and is said
to have been enlarged by Sir Thomas Arundel, in the
early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth; it has
a square embattled tower, ornamented with pinnacles
the churchyard is spacious, and adjoining it may
still be seen the remains of the wall of the abbey. The
living of St. James' (a portion of which parish, in the
liberty of Alcester, is without the borough) is a rectory,
rated in the king's books at£l. 11. Oj.; the church is a
small and ancient fabric. The ancient parishes into which
the town was formerly divided are now comprised in the
above three, the livings of all which are in the patronage
of the Earl of Shaftesbury. The Society of Friends, Independents,
and Wesleyan Methodists, have each places of
worship here. The free school, for educating, clothing,
and apprenticing twenty poor boys, was founded and endowed
by Mr. William Lush, in 1719. Spiller's spittal,
for ten poor men, was founded and endowed by Sir
Henry Spiller, in 1646 j and an almshouse for sixteen
poor women was founded by Matthew Chubb, and
endowed by him and several other benefactors. On
Castle Green, an eminence near the town, is a small
mount, surrounded by a shallow ditch, which some
have conjectured to be the site of a castle, but of
which no mention can be found; by others it is supposed
to have been a Roman mtrenchment. The
old city, which tradition reports to have existed
prior to the time of Alfred, is said to have been near
this mount. Shaftesbury was the birthplace of the
Rev. James Granger, author of the Biographical History
of England: it gives the title of earl to the
family of Ashley Cooper.