During 1997 and 1998 many communities and organisations across the country were seized with the idea that something a little special should be done to mark the year 2000. In this village of Broadmayne, a number of ideas were advanced by parishioners including the idea of creating a permanent record, in the form of a book, of village life at the turn of the century.

The main purpose of the book is to convey a picture of current life. The past 100 years or so have seen many changes, both social and physical, in this village and yet the village still retains an essential rural setting. What the future will bring can be little more than mere speculation. We thought that it would be worthwhile to describe, through the words of us, the villagers, something of our origins, how we live our lives today, our interests and our concerns. This we hope will be of interest to future generations as they compare and contrast their lives with ours. We also hope that the book will be a source of information and interest for today’s villagers.

In the first half of the book there are articles from organisations, clubs, businesses and institutions describing their activities. The account would have been incomplete without an historical perspective, and so sections written by villagers, are included on aspects of the village’s history – both of the recent past and much longer ago. Many personal contributions are included from individuals, spanning the age range from the very young to the most senior of our citizens. These are grouped together and form the second half of the book. These contributions tell of their own lives, views and reflections. Each contribution stands in its own right, there has been no attempt to edit these into a collective view. Consequently, and inevitably, there will be elements of repetition or overlap since many contributors will have shared the same or similar experiences; the subject matter has been entirely the choice of each individual author. Thus it is not in any way an attempt at a systematic survey of all views. Broadmayne would not claim to be a rural idyll, although as you read the individual contributions you may form the impression that, for many, this indeed is the case. Like all communities, Broadmayne is not without its problems, naturally personal matters are unlikely to be covered to the same extent. Nevertheless it is hoped that that the variety, richness, and differences of perspective that come across in these individual contributions will give some insight into life in this typical Dorset village as we enter the 21st. Century.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

Thanks are due to the following:—

The Broadmayne Parish Council, Dorset Community Action, and The Millennium Festival Awards Fund, for financial support. Thanks are also due to Terry Butler, a local villager, who acted as treasurer in the administration of the funds.

The Dorset County Record Office for the loan of tape recorders and advice on audio interviewing.

The Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for references to material in the ‘Proceedings’.

Pat Burns, Headmistress, for making arrangements for the children’s contributions in the ‘School’ section of the book, and for allowing access to School logbooks back to 1917.

Jim Bayliss, Ray Burden, Sandy Gore, Ian Moss, Lloyd Thomas and Elizabeth Vince for drawings, paintings, and maps. Alan Thacker for the digital scanning of a number of 35 mm slides. ‘Class Portraits’ of Sturminster Newton for permission to use photographs of the classes at Broadmayne First School.

Ann Ashmore, Jim Bayliss Brian Burke, Jean Coates, Eric Coe, Pat Cozens, Julia Denham, Angela Elliott, John Elliott, Nikki Evans, Jill Foxwell, Katie Gale, Beverley Hanlon, Sue Hill, Sheila Lee, Chris Mellor, Margaret Mortimer, Richard Noble, George Pearce, June Salt, Ken Salt, Margaret Shepherd, Geoff Small, Wendy Stent, Beryl and Tony Stewart-Smith, Nicola Stickland, Naomi Sutton, Lloyd Thomas, Elizabeth Vince, Graham Walker, and Jane Williams for the many hours of volunteer effort involved in publicity, the recruitment of writers, interviewing and tape recording, information collection, typing and audio-typing, handling of computer files, archiving and cataloguing of information, checking of drafts and proof reading, all of whom have contributed to one or more of these activities.

This website has been constructed by Alex Thomas based on the book compiled and edited by John Foxwell

First printed and published in 2000 by The Broadmayne Millennium Book Association (BMBA), Broadmayne, Dorset, United Kingdom. Bookbinding by Francis Brown of Dorchester. Copyright ã 2000. Broadmayne Millennium Book Association. No part of this website may be reproduced or copied by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright owner, the BMBA.

The centrepiece in the roundel used on the title page and throughout the site is based on a 1st century bronze rosette brooch recovered in archaeological excavations at Broadmead (click HERE); about 1.4 X full size.

The photograph at the top of this page was taken in the winter of 1999 a few hundred yards along Osmington Drove looking back towards the village.