A Day Out in Dorset

30th June 2012

A quick look online showed that one of our favourite beers (OK, it is our favourite beer) is brewed just down the road, and they have brewery tours . . . that includes a pint at the end – what more could you ask for?? It just so happened that there was also a king nearby in Wimborne Minster, and a fine National Heritage house as well – a good day out by all accounts.

“B” is for Blandford, where the Badger is brewed. “C” is for Cingston Lacy, where the Bankes family from Corfe Castle moved after supporting King Charles I in the English Civil war (OK so that should have been Kinston Lacy). “D” is for where another Dead King is buried (this time in Wimborne Minster.

The Badger Brewery

Hall began brewing in 1777, and called his brew “Badger” – back then with so few literate people a symbol was worth more than name, and for no other good reason the badger was born. Hall was also astute enough to know that with the coast so close, marketing to public houses where sailors fre-quent was also an astute move. With much needed capital, along came Woodhouse, and Hall & Woodhouse as born.

 

The pub tour was interesting – to see how English Ales are made, and what makes them bitter. We had an interesting guide – knew all about brewing, the hops, the maltings very informative. Working in a brewery, I don’t think he’d been in a pub in years . . . thought a pint cost £2.50 . . . that would be nice – try £3.50+. The Badger Hopping Hare is probably my favourite – and is thrice hopped. So, what does that mean? Well, two types of hops are used in the brewing process and a third is added into the firkin at the end – here’s what Hall and Woodhouse have to say (and I nicked both the logo above and the picture of the label from their website - hope that qualifies for acknowledgement):

 “Hopping Hare is thrice hopped with three types of hop used during the brewing process. Aro-matic Goldings and Cascade combine to provide an uplifting citrus-grapefruit and floral aroma, whilst First Gold carries the bitterness. The effect is a refreshing ale with a unique hoppy aroma and well-balanced bitterness that is bound to satisfy! It is a terrific match with roast lamb and spicy Thai dishes!” Pity that none of the Badger pubs serve Thai food ☹.

The brewery Museum has a number of quotes from the various brew masters and owners – here are some of them:

“Never trust a thin Brewer”

            John Woodhouse, Head brewer 1970 (127 kg)

“Better to be roughly right than precisely wrong”

            Jock Woodhouse, Director, 1968

When asked by the Bishop to define a lie: “A lie is an abomination to the Lord . . . but a very present help in a time of trouble!”

            George Edward Woodhouse, Owner, 1893

“What two ideas are more inseparable that Beer and Britannia”

            Sydney Smith, 1777

“I’m off for a quiet pint . . . followed by six noisy ones!”

            David Hoare, Retail Director 2002

Here’s our tour guide showing us how to plug a Firkin – 9 imperial gallons. The upright barrels in the photo are 18 gallons, and both are still used in pubs. By the way, the correct temperature to serve ales at is 12-14ºC (53-57º F) – that way you don’t kill the taste. Gosh I love living in England!!! (I’m gonna get so fat!)

Kingston Lacy

 Some time ago we visited Corfe Castle – this was the stronghold of staunch Royalists, the Bankes family. When civil war broke out in 1642, the formidable Lady Mary Bankes made it her home while her husband Sir John was away serving the King. Lady Mary held the castle against the Parliamentarians, end eventually it was taken through the treachery of an officer of her garrison – about the only way that castle would have been taken. 

Lady Mary was forced to surrender after 48 days under siege, but was allowed to keep the seals and keys of the castle in recognition of her courage. These keys and seals are still on display at Kingston Lacy (see left). Eventually the Royalists won the day in 1660 and as a reward the Bankes were granted a fistful of money and built Kingston Lacy, and the house was built between 1663 and 1665. The original site was chosen by Sir John (Lady Mary’s husband), and the house was built by his son Sir Ralph. Kingston Lacy takes its name from its ancient lords the Lacys, Earls of Lincoln, who held the area (along with Shapwick and Blandford (where the Badger lives ☺)).

 

King Charles I

Lady Mary Banks (with key & seal)

Sir John Banks

The last owner of the Lacy house, Henry John Ralph Bankes, was the seven times great-grandson of the original creator Sir Ralph Bankes. Upon his death in 1981 he bequeathed the Kingston Lacy estate (including 12 working farms and Corfe Castle) to the National Trust, its largest bequest to date.


 

Wimborne Minster

We had no preconceived ideas of Wimborne Minster – it is such a small town that we weren’t expecting much. However, the Minster was somewhat surprising (just what is a minster anyway??). Google and Wikipedia to the rescue! Minster is an honorific title. In essence, it refers to significant churches. It is derived from the Latin term for monastery, and was first used in 7th century (Saxon) royal charters of the 7th century. It went out of favour after the conquest when parishes were established – but was used as a term of respect for churches that had originated with an Anglo-Saxon foundation. 

The Minster is located on the site of an early 8th century Benedictine (nunnery) abbey (AD 705). In 871 Alfred the Great buried his brother King Ethelred (not the Unready) in the minster, which is why we were there. Whilst the monastery was destroyed by the Danes in 1013, the main abbey building survived. Between 1120 and 1180 the Normans added their bits – fantastic Norman arches in the transept. So, the central tower and nave are Saxon, but most of the building is Norman, with various gothic additions. All in all a very impressive building . . . would have looked very impressive with a spire on top of the tower, but that fell down in a storm around 1600.

But on to the reason for our visit . . . given that King Ethelred was buried here in 871 it was highly unlikely that we’d see his tomb – indeed, the only marker is a brass thingy on the wall. The exact location of the tomb however is unknown, though legend indicates that it resides somewhere near the altar. The metal brass memorial (made in 1440) next to the altar states that the former king is buried in the wall and is the only brass to mark the burial site of an English monarch. Darn, we didn’t bring any paper and crayons with us – wouldn’t that have been cool!! We also saw the tomb of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and his duchess – who were the maternal grandparents of Henry VII.


 

The Organ was also pretty cool – it has an “orchestral trumpet” mounted above the front pipes. I have no idea if they produce sound (I suspect not), but they do look good.  The organ was being played while we were there (and walking around the organ case) very loud up that close!!

Somebody told us that Edward the Martyr (who was originally at Shaftesbury Abbey) is also buried in the minster. No big deal if we have to go back to confirm this as there are lots of Badger pubs to visit in Wimborne (in fact there are eleven pubs around Wimborne in the Hall & Woodhouse pub trail booklet!)