Join us at the Recreation Ground to celebrate this historic event. Dressing up actively encouraged. 11:30 – Procession starts from the Saxon Inn (the road’s closed so let’s make the most of a car-free Child Okeford) 12 Noon – Gather at the Cross for a Village Photograph (it’s a tradition!)…
Join with the good people of Shroton for a barbecue with burgers and hotdogs and cheer the lighting of our Platinum Jubilee beacon. Enjoy the musical accompaniment of our Jubilee Bugler and Child Okeford & Shroton Jubilee Choir singing the official Song for the Commonwealth. Parking (if required) at Shroton…
After a hiatus during the Covid years, Speedwatch began it’s operations again in April 2021. The monthly figures for that year are shown below and despite the fact that Speedwatch teams are easily seen in their high viz jackets up to 1 in 10 drivers still exceed the speed limit.…
The “Song for the Commonwealth” is the official song written to be sung as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June. Child Okeford is joining together with Shroton to form a choir to sing the song on this unique occasion marking the…
Dorset WI Teams ‘giggle and wiggle’ at SW Walking Netball Festival A Walking Netball Festival recently took place at Westfields Academy, Yeovil. Eleven Walking Netball teams across the SW region including three WI teams, from Dorset, took part. It was organised by Sarah Clark, England Netball SW Region Development Officer…
Appeal Decision -3279462 In June 2020 Leaper Land Promotions applied for planning permission to build 65 houses at a site at Gold Hill. This promotion was widely opposed throughout the village and by the Parish Council. In June 2021 Dorset Council refused outline planning permission and Leaper Land Promotions made…
Tom Hicks: “Bowlers Name?” Continued from last month. The full chapter about Child Okeford can be downloaded here and the full book Bowlers Name by Tom Hicks is available to purchase from Amazon. “The seam attack was completed by Dave ‘Sid’ Hall, who had two false knees and played in…
As mentioned last month the archive contribution for the next two months will be extracts from Tom Hicks’ book “Bowlers Name?” The full chapter will be published on the village web site in December. The book is available to purchase from Amazon. “My fledgling cricket education was not confined only…
We can reliably attribute a pub being present on the site in 1754 and owned by Robert Young Belbin. Unfortunately the name of the pub is not recorded but in 1790 Robert put the “Bear Inn” up for sale and, later, in 1813 the “White Bear”, as it was by…
The Baker Arms 1821 -2021 Contents In Days of Yore …… The Baker’s of Ranston The Building Exterior Pub Signs Floor Plans Publicans The Woolfrey family and the Baker Arms Any Other Business Photographs through the years Download a copy of this Booklet In Days of Yore….. In 1641…
Okeford Otters Cycle Speedway Team The Western Gazette announced in May 1952: “Child Okeford Cycle Speedway. The new cycle speedway track on the playing field was officially opened on the occasion of the first home match of the season, a Shaftesbury and District league match the visitors being Woodcutts “Woodpeckers”.…
A terrible milestone was passed this week when the death toll of our fellow countrymen from Covid-19 passed one hundred thousand. In commemoration a bell in St Nicholas church will be rung one hundred times, half muffled, on Sunday 31st January at noon.
Hayward Bridges Introduction There have been at least five ‘Heyford’ or, later, ‘Hayward bridges since the Norman Conquest 1. The story told here has been compiled from those historical sources that have survived but unfortunately the problems of COVID have meant that some which still reside in the vaults of…
CHILD OKEFORD ARCHIVE Child Okeford Parish Council Minutes: Roads and Traffic: Part 1 In January’s Hill we looked back to 1895 and the very first parish council meeting. These meetings were held 3 times a year plus an annual general meeting. While the actual months varied this was the format…
The Auxiliary Unit in the Second World War In November’s article about the Home Guard we mentioned the “Auxiliary Unit”. The Auxiliary Units were a secret resistance network of highly trained volunteers prepared to be Britain’s last ditch line of defence during World War Two. They operated in a network…
The Home Guard 80 years ago, on 14th May 1940, the Secretary of State for War, the Rt. Hon. Anthony Eden MP*, made an appeal for: “men in Great Britain who are British subjects between the ages of 17 and 65 to come forward and offer their service”. Thus the…
Salisbury Diocesan Guild On Saturday, 15 August 2020 at Child Okeford, Dorset St Nicholas the following was rung. Tenor: 10–2–27 in G 72 Stedman Singles 1 Gaynor Cox 2 J Lynne Crighton 3 Robert D Crighton (C) Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day
On Sunday 3rd July 1932 some of the inhabitants of Child Okeford were disturbed and amazed by the drone of what they took to be an aircraft – they were even more amazed when they turned their heads skywards. On the 2nd July, what the newspapers rather charmingly referred to…
Britain in the time of Cholera. Photographed by the author at the Dorset History Centre. I have been researching the life of a Dorset land surveyor called John Martin. He is important in the story of Child Okeford as at various times he mapped the parish and was responsible…
‘We unite to assist each other.’ Notes on the history of the Friendly societies in Child Okeford This Child Okeford Union Benefit Society banner will be familiar to many villagers, and it’s motto will seem particularly apposite in these difficult times. We will come to it’s history presently, but what…
The earliest record we have found so far is a cricket match between Child Okeford and Marnhull in August 1856 which was played at Steepleton Park, as were later matches against Sturminster’s “Vale of Blackmore” team, Shillingstone and Shaftesbury. On one occasion a match against Okeford Fitzpaine was played on…
CHILD OKEFORD ARCHIVE Recreation Ground/Playing Field Sadly we shall not soon be enjoying another wonderful Hey Day on the Playing Field but, instead, it is as good a time as any to wonder where, in the past, did the village hold their fetes and play their games? We know the…
CHILD OKEFORD ARCHIVE- No new thing under the sun. Traffic ! Child Okeford Parish Council Minutes: Roads and Traffic: Part 1 In January we looked back to 1895 and the very first parish council meeting. These meetings were held 3 times a year plus an annual general meeting. While the…
In line with government advice the Parish council has decided to cancel the next meeting on the 6th April. The council will endeavour to process its business via email and limited contact. Standard payments and agreed expenditure will be processed as normal and planning application responded to. The council is…
Transcription of the 1845 Inclosure Award for the Parish of Child Okeford The award was prepared by John Martin, Inclosure Commissioner, Surveyor and Valuer of Evershot Dorset. It is a hand written document, on vellum comprising 11 pages including a map of the lands to be inclosed. It appears…
“Nothing, perhaps, has done so much indirectly for the improvement of farming and the increase of food production as has efficient land drainage.” C S Orwin History of English Farming 1949 Water logged land creates numerous problems. Wet ground is heavy ground, difficult and sometimes dangerous for animals to walk…
The final chapter and the original version of Bob Holdemans war time memories can be downloaded here. Drat those pesky vacuees And the full edited version can be found here in docx format. Vacuees Edited version
Western Gazette, Friday, 14th November 1919 CHILDE OKEFORD: DEDICATION OF WAYSIDE CROSS AND MEMORIAL WINDOW A handsome wayside cross has been erected at the junction of the cross-roads in the centre of this picturesque little old-world village as a war memorial. The cross, the cost of which has been defrayed…
12:SHOOTING During the High Street period, I made friends with John Highman and Peter Wareham, finding that we were all interested in shooting. Peter had a couple of old American Daisy air-rifles and John two old air rifles. I did not have an air rifle, so would go out with…
11:POLICE & POACHING I never knew anyone ever being lodged in the cell in PC Clarke’s house although he did make arrests. He patrolled on his Raleigh two crossbars police bicycle. Batteries for cycle lamps were very scarce but carbide lamps were still used. However, the problem with carbide lamps…
After many years at the Saxon Helen and Peter have decided to hand on the Saxon Inn to a younger generation. They have leased the pub to Craig and Emma who have taken over the licence. A warm welcome to them and to Peter and Helen, who will remain living…
9: THRESHING Our family moved from Gold Hill to the High Street in a small terrace called ‘Sherburn Cottages’ right next to Walt Hutching carpenters shop and woodyard and opposite Bradley’s Farm. That year saw the beginning of apprenticeship to agriculture work. Haymaking, stocking corn sheaves and helping to build…
As many potential visitors to the website in recent months will have discovered we had a problem with our new security certificate which meant that you had a scary warning each time you visited the website, saying it was hacked. Of course it wasn’t it was just one of those…
We have just had a fantastic Hey Day and it prompted villager Tony Ward to look out this short video that he took on Hey Day in 1990. It’s a wonderful video and we are very grateful to him for digitising it and allowing it to be shared. The weather…
