Wareham Gateway to the Purbecks
WELCOME TO WAREHAM TOWN COUNCIL TEXT ONLY SITE
Ancient town and former royal borough, the charming market town of Wareham is a veritable delight where ever you look at any time of the year. Between the rivers Frome and Piddle, the attractive gateway to the Isle of Purbeck was a major port until the Middle Ages. Now a thriving market town, happily combining the old and the new for locals and visitors alike.
Wareham Town Council was formed after local government re-organisation in 1974 when Purbeck District Council took over many of the powers of the former Borough of Wareham. The Town Council has 16 Councilors who represent all parts of the town. In April 2006 there were 4685 registered electors. Elections are held every four years with the next election scheduled for May 2007. All Town Council meetings are held in the Town Hall in East Street on Tuesday evenings at 7.00 pm. The public are very welcome to attend and may speak on any topic of public interest relating to the Town at the discretion of the Mayor.
Wareham has a long tradition of Town Mayors stretching back to 1336 and every name to date is recorded on panels in the Council Chamber. The Mayor is elected annually in May by the Town Council at a special "Mayor Making" meeting. A book is kept to record Mayor names since 1703, witnessed by Councilors, and forms part of the Town Councils civic regalia. The proceedings in the Council Chamber feature the Sergeant at Mace bearing the splendid Town Mace given to Wareham in the reign of James 1st. Two Constables from the historic Wareham Court Leet in dark suits and bowler hats also bear their own symbols of authority, a pair of two-metre wooden staves dating from 1778.
It is thought that very few councils can trace their Mayors back as far as 1336 - although the Wareham names were almost lost for ever. Prior to 1703, a Clerk named Nathaniel Child absconded to London with most of the Towns records, including the book recording past Mayor names. Child then attempted to blackmail the town for a large sum of money, effectively saying "Pay up or the records will be destroyed." Payment was refused, the records promptly disappeared and the name boards were made up later (from local records which still existed before they were destroyed in the Great Fire of Wareham in 1762) as the only record available of those times.
The activities and responsibilities of the Town Council are many and most of its work is overseen by various Committees appointed by the Council. The powers and duties of these Committees are set out below:
Top of page and menuStanding Committees (members of the public are welcome to attend and also ask questions):
Management of the Wareham Recreation Ground in Worgret Road containing cricket/football pitches and a play area, three other play areas in North Wareham, open spaces, allotment matters, rights of way, Howard's Lane car park, land and property management, public seats, war memorial, street lighting, arts and entertainment, litter/environmental issues, shelters, signs and matters arising from Wareham Burials Joint Committee.
Consideration of all planning applications within the Town area. Consideration of transport matters including liaison with Dorset County Council on highway and traffic regulation orders, parking and traffic calming, local and strategic plans, all other highway matters.
Deals with matters concerning policy, resources and general financial decisions, including the annual budget setting process, borrowing and investments, financial regulations, land and property (leases, rents, disposal etc), legal proceedings, public relations, tourism, standing orders, crime prevention, bye laws. Determines applications for donations (grants) from local groups and organisations, and generally advises the Town Council on policy matters. Considers all other matters not within the purview of another committee.
Top of page and menuLooks after all things connected with the Town Museum: acquisitions, exhibitions, projects, policy, finance, volunteer support.
Deals with all aspects of Wareham in Bloom including annual fundraising and sponsorship, allocation of floral display contracts, community involvement, environmental tidiness of the town, the local Wareham In Bloom competition and the annual entry for South East in Bloom.
Responsibility for all staff matters including recruitment, training and implementation of certain internal procedures.
Top of page and menuWareham Town Council has supported a number of initiatives in the town. CCTV in the town centre has been installed and there are further plans to extend it to the Northport area and the Worgret Road roundabout. Financial grants are given to the Wareham Carnival, the Christmas Lights Committee for festive lighting in the dark days of winter and to the Father Christmas Committee to support the annual Father Christmas Parade. Other donations include a number of worthy causes and organisations in the town including Wareham Hospital and the Citizens Advice Bureau. The Council also supports the Wareham Twinning Association in its efforts to maintain links with our twin towns of Hemsbach in Germany and Conches-En-Ouches in France. In 2006, Wareham celebrates the 20th anniversary of the twinning with Hemsbach.
Links are maintained with other community organisations such as the Wareham and District Development Trust and the Wareham Town Trust. A major initiative was launched in 2006 in partnership with these two organisations and Dorset Community Action to consult local residents on what they wish to see for Council-owned open space at Hauses Field in north Wareham, which will form the basis for future plans to improve this site for all age groups.
The Town Council works in partnership with Purbeck District Council and Dorset County Council on many matters affecting the town, there are Council representatives on a range of outside bodies and there are regular meetings with the Wareham Chamber of Trade. In 2006, the Council supported a highly successful move of the Saturday Street Market to The Quay. The Town Council has also co-ordinated and supported a new "Wareham Guggenmusik Festival" with marching "Gugge" bands from Bournemouth, Germany and Switzerland converging on The Quay on Saturday 15th July, together with Wareham Town Band. The festivities will culminate in a grand fireworks display. Guggenmusik translates as "Happy Music", the festival is the first event of its kind in the United Kingdom and is great family entertainment! We hope to see Guggenmusik continue as a major annual event for Wareham's residents and visitors.
Top of page and menuThe Town Council takes bookings for the Recreation Ground (cricket and football pitches), the use of the Corn Exchange situated in the Town Hall for jumble sales, farmers markets, meetings etc, and for use of the Council Chamber for weddings and civil partnerships. Those who wish to book are requested to telephone 01929 553006 and speak to the administrative staff.
The Town Council ensures that allotment sites are provided for local residents in the town, at Northmoorand Bestwall. Contact the Council offices for details of the allotments secretary at your preferred site. In 2006, the Town Council approved a new "Best Kept Allotment Competition" for its hard working gardeners and the presentations of trophies will take place annually in October.
In 2005, Wareham Town Council adopted the Wareham Community Plan as the cornerstone of its future policies and is working to implement all aspects of what local residents said they wanted for their town after extensive consultation. With the help of community organisations and volunteers the Council is committed to all of its goals, including a priority goal of affordable housing for local people. A major initiative on local housing need is planned for the autumn of 2006 in a "Housing Action Day" at the Corn Exchange, together with Purbeck District Council housing officers and professional housing and marketing experts. Copies of the Community Plan have been delivered to every household and may also be viewed at the Town Council offices on request. If you want to get involved as a community volunteer, please let us know and we will pass on your details.
Wareham Town Council:
"Working for Wareham"
Tel. 01929 553006 (General Enquiries)
Town Clerk: 01929 550771
Available free from the Tourist Information Office in South Street opposite the library. Or:
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Wareham straddles the divide between the Isle of Purbeck and the rest of Dorset.
Occupying a strategic site between the River Piddle to the North and the River Frome to the South. Wareham has a long and storied past. The great earth walls which were built as a defense against the Vikings are still standing making Wareham one of only two Saxon walled towns in the country.
Today it is a thriving market town where the past and the present co-exist happily. There are shops, pubs and restaurants and there are churches, St Mary's was largely rebuilt in the 19th century whilst St Martins still retains Saxon and Norman features. A notable monument in St Martins is the effigy of T.E.Lawrence. The Priory, now an hotel, was founded by the Carthusians in 1414. There is a museum and a cinema which in itself is of historic interest.
Thursday is market day throughout the year and there is also a thriving farmers' market once a month.
In the last week of July Wareham has a carnival with all the usual that would be expected. Firework displays, a parade and music down by the quay. Money is raised for deserving causes and a family day out is enjoyed.
The main tourist office is located on South Street and is a good starting point for information about the town.
Visitors can make their way down to the quay where they can have a drink, feed the ducks or take a boat out on the river. There are many footpaths, the easiest being down by the river, where a great variety of wildlife can be observed (in the last couple of years sightings of otters has confirmed their return to the river).
Wareham WeatherWareham dates back over 2000 years. The town was once a stronghold for King Alfred the Great, who had built the huge earthen walls around three sides of the town to defend it against the Vikings. The Saxon church of St Martins (the oldest in Dorset) houses early medieval wall paintings and an effigy of Laurence of Arabia (originally intended for Westminster Abbey).
The Purbeck Information and Heritage Centre is a mine of information, as is the small but fascinating Wareham museum. The Rex Cinema is also worth a visit as it is the only gas-lit cinema in the country. Thursday is market day, which dates back over 500 years. The oldest auction based market in the country and features a fruit and produce auction, the only one in England.
Top of page and menuExcavations at Bestwall has produced evidence of early Mesolithic activity dating to around 9000 BC. So far this is the earliest known use of the land. The first site comprised an area of flint knapping.
At the same site typical Neolithic flint tools (4000-2000 BC) consisting of worked arrowheads and scrapers have been found.
Flint working continued throughout the Bronze Age (2000-800 BC). To date eight Bronze Age houses have been located. Field boundaries in the form of ditches divided up the land and crops of barley, wheat and Celtic beans were grown. The excavation at Bestwall has produced the largest assemblage of Middle Bronze Age pottery in this country. Three Middle Bronze Age cremations have been identified, a man, a woman and an infant, were all interred in plain urns.
Pottery production continued during the Iron Age. A settlement area, dating to about 200 BC, has been identified. Enclosure ditches surrounded a round house and large amounts of pottery and a complete quern stone suggest that this was still an agricultural based society.
Many thanks to the Bestwall Quarry Archaeology Project.
Find out more on their web site.
The Roman settlement at Wareham underlies the modern town. Although no Roman roads are apparent, communication by water probably existed with the port at Hamworthy, and the River Frome may have been navigable in Roman times as far as Durnovaria (Dorchester).
There is a pottery-kiln nearby at Stoborough There are also substantial Roman buildings at Creech and Brenscombe. The Isle of Purbeck to the south-east was a hive of activity in Roman times, with shale quarries at Worbarrow, North Egliston, Kimmeridge, Encombe, Blashenwell Farm, Corfe and Worth Matravers. There were also stone quarries at Purbeck, and salt workings at Hobarrow Bay and others at Arne.
Being the nearest large settlement, a large amount of the managerial and bureaucratic workforce were probably housed at Wareham, and the activities were possibly centred there too. The settlement lies in an area which saw a lot of action during c.AD44/46, when Legio II Augusta under the command of Flavius Vespasianus (emperor AD69-79), subdued the Durotriges of Dorset. It is not impossible, therefore, that the settlement was preceeded by a military camp of some kind.
The Danes, for a century and a half, invaded Wareham repeatedly. Until Alfred the Great, whom Winston Churchill called "the greatest Englishman". Alfred had the walls built thus making Wareham into a "Burh", a town that could be defended by local warriors against raiders. But the Vikings still managed to invade yet again by marching overland from Cambridge, later joined by 150 ships that had sailed up the Frome. The pagan King Guthrun set up headquarters in the nunnery, now the Priory Hotel.
Alfred finally defeated Guthrun at the battle of Edington in 878, and with the destruction of his fleet off Swanage, so came the end of the Viking threat.
With a battleaxe held to his neck, Guthrun converted to Christianity and became Alfred's godson.
Top of page and menuDuring the next century the town assumed great importance to the extent that it housed two mints for the issue of Royal money. During the reign of Ethelred the Unready, after 100 years of peace the Danes again invaded and in 1015 King Canute left the town in ruins.
Things got somewhat better for Wareham under the Normans but when Civil War broke out because of the bickering between Matilda and Stephen over who should succeed Henry I Wareham, and nearby Corfe, became embroiled in it all. Since the townsfolk showed their sympathy to Matilda, Stephen turned up with his army and torched the town. The Normans had built a castle by the river Frome, this was destroyed leaving virtually no remains
Up until this time Wareham had flourished as a port; however the increasing importance of Poole and the silting of the river caused the trade of the town to suffer.
A present day survival of an ancient local court, which existed long before the current parallel systems of local and central government. Are still carrying out a ceremony handed down through the generations, in some cases from father to son, since the time of the Norman Conquest.
Read more on their web siteThe struggle between Charles and Parliament turned once again to Civil War, at first the town fell into Royalist hands.
Over the bay, Poole had sided with Parliament and it was from there that Captain Lay sailed up the River Frome and took the town. Not for long though. Wareham was retaken by Colonel Ashburnham in April 1644 leaving 25 dead in the streets, 14 drowned in the Frome and 156 taken prisoner.
All this ended when the town was taken again by the Parliamentarians, under the command of Anthony Ashley Cooper (who later, ironically, founded Charleston, Carolina,) an ancestor of Lord Shaftsbury.
Top of page and menuOn June 11th, 1685, four months after King Charles's death, Monmouth landed his forces on the Beach near the Cobb at Lyme Regis. Marching inland his army was swelled by many local recruits.
The Kings forces were led by John Churchill, (later 1st duke of Marlborough), the son of Winston Churchill, squire of Minterne Magna.
The two forces finally met on July 6th at Sedgemoor in Somerset. In what was to be known as the last English battle to be fought with pitchforks, the rebels were soundly defeated.
Many of the townsfolk of Wareham had supported Monmouth in his Protestant cause. Six of them, after being tried by Judge Jeffries who was famous for his severity, were executed (hung, drawn & quartered) at the North-West angle of Wareham Walls, still known as Bloody Bank.
Monmouth fled from the battlefield, later dressed in the clothes of a shepherd he was discovered shivering in a ditch. He was promptly taken to London and executed for treason on Tower Hill, and so ended the Rebellion.
On Sunday July 25th 1762 a fire broke out in the back of the Bull's Head, South Street, in the centre of the town, turf ashes had been thrown on a dungheap. Thanks to a recent drought and a favourable wind two thirds of the town was destroyed (over 140 buildings).
After that time no thatches were allowed in the town. Where you see thatched houses today marks the boundary of the fire.
The Georgian architecture of Wareham is a direct result of rebuilding after the fire.
Top of page and menuThe Lordship of the Manor of Wareham was sold by the Drax family to John Calcraft of Rempstone in 1767 and from that time on, the Calcrafts tended to provide the main opposition, representing the Liberal interest against the Tory Drax family.
The Reform Act of 1832 had reduced Wareham's representation to just one member of Parliament. The town became alive at election times and both families fielded dominant characters. One in particular was John Samuel Wanley Sawbridge Drax, known as "The Wicked Squire", an arrogant and dictatorial man.
Elections took place over three days and there was much intimidation and other underhand tactics. Drax furnished his adherents with cudgels and banners proclaiming "Down with Calcraft" and it is said "blood ran in the streets". In 1868 Calcraft won by a small margin but died shortly afterwards and Drax regained the seat at a by-election.
Rivalry continued for the next ten years but the climax came in 1880. The Calcrafts stood down for Montague Guest, brother of Lord Wimborne of Canford.
In spite of all his gifts of venison and free beer, Drax was booed as he drove through the town. The pubs were open all day and windows were broken regularly. Dirty tricks were frequent and the Tories arranged for a party of Liberals to be hi-jacked and marooned on Horse Island in Poole Harbour. They were rescued just in time to vote by some passing fishermen.
At last the time came for the declaration of the poll. Silence reigned as the Mayor announced that Guest had won by 35 votes, then cheers and boos and a state of pandemonium ensued. Drax stood deathly pale at the Town Cross, a shattered man. After 250 years of service, his family had been rejected. He broke out in a torrent of unseemly oaths, cursing all and sundry. At that moment his coachman drove up with the Drax carriage. "Where to, Sir?" he inquired. The purple-faced squire shouted out, "Drive me to Hell!" and never entered Wareham again.
It was not known then, but the 1880 election was the last one in which Wareham would have the privilege of sole representation. As a result of the findings of a Royal Commission, Dorset lost five members of Parliament and Wareham to its disgust was merged with East Dorset.
When the Great War came, Wareham became a garrison town. In 1917 there were around 7,500 men camped on the town's outskirts, many of whom came from northern regiments. The Royal Engineers also trained here and practised bridge building techniques across the two rivers.
The main army camp at Worgret, just west of the Town, had its own chapel, infirmary, theatre and even its own sewage works.
By the 1920's all military activity had moved to Bovington.
At the outbreak of World War II there was a real fear of invasion by German forces. Purbeck beaches were protected by mines and barbed wire, and patrolled by the Home Guard.
To the east of Wareham at Holton Heath was a secret factory that produced cordite for naval shells. Thanks to an elaborate air defense system it suffered no major damage throughout the entire war.
In the run up to the D Day landings the whole area was used as a rehearsal theatre for the invasion, many of the American regiments temporarily stationed here landed on the Normandy beaches in June 1944.
Both General Eisenhower and Winston Churchill visited the area to oversee the rehearsals, secretly passing through Wareham in a private train, hidden in camouflaged sidings at Norden near Corfe Castle.
The post war period saw a great expansion of Wareham beyond the confines of its ancient walls and north of the Piddle River to the edge of Wareham Forest.
The revival of tourism during the 1950s and 1960s coincided with the decline of more traditional industries like pottery making, although clay mining is still very active.
Wareham is steeped in history, its dogged resistance of change for the sake of change has honed its individual character.
In January 1972 British Railways closed the line and lifted all the track. However, this was not the end, as a group of enthusiasts got together to rebuild the line. In the summer of 1975 a licence was granted to the Swanage Railway Society to occupy the disused Swanage station site, since when the dedicated volunteers have lovingly restored the railway to what you see today
1977, in February Wareham is cut off by a blizzard, essential supplies were delivered by the army in tracked vehicles.
For more information, including the permanent T.E.Lawrence exhibition, visit the Wareham Town Museum in the Town Hall, East Street. Tel: 01929 553448. Curator: Mike O'Hara
Website: www.wtm.org.uk
Open Easter to October, admission free.
Our local services section aims to provide both residents and visitors with a wealth of local information.
Wareham Town Council is not responsible for the content or quality of external links.
More information can be found in the Wareham Town Guide
Free from the Tourist Information Office in South Street opposite the library.
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Housing, Refuse Collection, Environmental Health, Council Tax Collection, Planning, Street Cleaning, Licensing, Improvement Grants
Purbeck District Council was established following local government reorganisation in 1974 as the successor authority to Wareham & Purbeck Rural District Council, Swanage Urban District Council and Wareham Borough Council.
Purbeck District Council,
Westport House,
Worgret Road,
Wareham,
Dorset,
BH20 4PP
Tel: 01929 55656
Website: www.purbeck-dc.gov.uk
Education, Social Services, Police, Fire, Highways, Footpaths, Transportation, Libraries, Refuse Disposal, Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Trading Standards
Dorset County Council:
County Hall,
Dorchester.
Tel: 01305 251000
How you contact us depends on the nature of your inquiry. In an emergency you should ring 999.
If you are reporting a crime but it is not an emergency, then please dial either: 01202 22 22 22 or 01305 22 22 22
Worgret Road Wareham BH20 4PW
Telephone: 01929 552222 or 01305 222222
Opening Hours: Daily: 0800 - 2000 hrs
email: wareham@dorset.pnn.police.uk
Service H.Q., Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1FB
Telephone: 01305 251133 Fax: 01305 252002
Website: www.dorsetfire.co.uk/main.asp
Email: General Enquiries
In an emergency you should ring 999.
Wareham Fire Station, Worgret Road, Wareham, Dorset BH20 4PL
Wareham is a retained fire station.
In an emergency you should ring 999.
Website: www.doramb.co.uk
In an emergency you should ring 999.
This Agency is responsible throughout the UK for implementing the Government
maritime safety policy.
Website: www.mcga.gov.uk
The RNLI is a charity that provides a 24-hour lifesaving service around the
UK and Republic of Ireland. Your support is vital in training and equipping
their volunteer lifesaving crews.
DONATE NOW
Website: www.rnli.org.uk
Poole Lifeboat Station
Telephone 01202 665607
Website: www.poolelifeboat.co.uk
Wareham is on the main line between London Waterloo and Weymouth
To download in PDF format click this link: Train
Time Tables
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South West Trains Helpline
For all general enquiries including up-to-the minute news of how their own trains
are running, details about local bus connections, advice on lost property, station
car parking information and messages to stations.
023 8021 3600 South West Trains Helpline