Sturminster Newton - History

History

The town is situated at a historic fording point on the Stour. The ford was replaced in the 16th century with a six-arch stone bridge, and a quarter kilometre embankment crossing the flood plain. The bridge was widened from 12 to 18ft in 1820. A 19th century plaque affixed to the bridge states that anyone damaging the bridge would have been transported to Australia as a felon. On the south bank of the river is the watermill which was restored in 1980 and is now a museum.

Hidden on the hill above the bridge are the ruins of Sturminster Newton Castle, a manor house rather than a defensive building. The 14th century building stands on a crescent shaped mound which could be the site of an Iron Age hill fort. The town and castle were part of Sturminster Newton hundred.

The town was recorded in the Anglo Saxon charter in 968 as Nywetone at Stoure, and in the Domesday Book as Newentone. Newton refers to a new farm or estate, and Sturminster to a church (minster) on the Stour. Originally the two parts of the name referred to the settlements on the north and south of the river, but were combined to distinguish the town from Sturminster Marshall and other Newtons.

The town is set in the vale Thomas Hardy based his fictional Vale of the little dairies on, and Sturminster had the largest livestock market in Britain, which stood close to the town centre until it was closed and demolished in 1998.

The town centre is built in a mixture of styles, including 17th and 18th century thatched cottages, Georgian stone buildings, and 19th century brick buildings. Set back from the main road is the market square and parish church, which was rebuilt in 1486 by the abbots of Glastonbury. The church was heavily modified in the 19th century, but the carved wagon roof remains.

From 1863 the Somerset and Dorset Railway ran through the town until 1966 when it was dismantled as part of the Beeching Axe. The station and goods yard were demolished in the mid 1970s.

The railway goods yard gave milk trains access to the private sidings of the local creamery. Started in 1913 by local farmers to produce cheddar cheese and pasteurized milk, it was taken over by the Milk Marketing Board in 1937. Milk trains ceased in 1966 on closure of the line, with the creamery remaining in operation until 2000 under successor Dairy Crest.

The town is the home of the annual UK Boogie Woogie Festival, which in 2009 saw an appearance from veteran boogie woogie star Little Willie Littlefield.