{"id":904,"date":"2019-06-24T09:01:53","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T09:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetforyou.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/?p=904"},"modified":"2019-06-14T11:57:05","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T11:57:05","slug":"a-gaol-a-guide-and-a-man-of-great-girth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/2019\/06\/24\/a-gaol-a-guide-and-a-man-of-great-girth\/","title":{"rendered":"A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Volume 6 of\u00a0<\/span>Hutchin\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0Extra Illustrated covers Weymouth and Dorchester.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dorchester section is dominated by documents relating to Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assize<\/span>. There\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0even<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>48-page<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>biograp<\/span>hy<\/span>\u00a0of Jeffreys\u00a0<\/span>bound into<\/span>\u00a0the volume.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Right Honorable Sr. George Jeffreys, Lord Chief Justice of England<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are several documen<\/span>t<\/span>s connected with Dorchester Gaol<\/span>, including plans of the new gaol<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>pictures of the old one<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0an image of King George visiting the Prison<\/span>. The\u00a0<\/span>new Gaol was built in 1793<\/span>\u00a0and closed<\/span>\u00a0in December 2013. One of the men involved in building\u00a0<\/span>the prison was William Morton Pitt, who at his own expense set up a hat making factory in the gaol. You can learn more about him in\u00a0<\/span>a later blog in this series.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Dorchester Gaol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

—<\/p>\n

One\u00a0<\/span>person who was held in the gaol was Robert\u00a0<\/span>Wedderburn<\/span>, whose picture appears in this edition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>He was convicted of \u2018blasphemous libel\u2019 in 1820 and spent two years in the prison.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Robert<\/span>\u00a0was<\/span>\u00a0born in Jamaica in 1762. He was<\/span>\u00a0the son of\u00a0<\/span>James\u00a0<\/span>Wedderburn<\/span>, a\u00a0<\/span>Scottish<\/span>\u00a0sugar plantation owner, and his slave\u00a0<\/span>Rosanna. James\u00a0<\/span>Wedderburn<\/span>\u00a0sold Rosanna shortly before Robert was\u00a0<\/span>born<\/span>, but<\/span>\u00a0stipulated that the baby should be born free.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert<\/span>\u00a0arrived in England in 1778<\/span>. He was a\u00a0<\/span>Unitarian and radical reformer<\/span>\u00a0who supported the idea of a revolution against the government<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0He<\/span>\u00a0campaigned against slavery and\u00a0<\/span>published<\/span>\u00a0the book<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u2018T<\/span>he Horrors of Slavery\u2019 in 1<\/span>8<\/span>24<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A copy of the \u2018Dorchester Guide, or\u00a0<\/span>A House that Jack Built\u2019 is also included in the volume. This satir<\/span>ical p<\/span>amphlet<\/span>\u00a0by an unknown<\/span>\u00a0author was created in response to\u00a0<\/span>\u2018The Political House that Jack Built\u2019<\/span>, which was written by\u00a0<\/span>r<\/span>eformer William Hone in 1819<\/span>, just after the Peterloo Massacre, in which<\/span>\u00a0cavalry charged in to a crowd of protesters<\/span>, killing\u00a0<\/span>1<\/span>8 and injuring<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>hundreds<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>At the beginning\u00a0<\/span>of the pamphlet the author\u00a0<\/span>states the Dorchester\u00a0<\/span>\u2018promises to become a fashionable resort\u2019<\/span>\u00a0and proceeds to describe the sort of characters he would imagine parading to the town.\u00a0<\/span>These include<\/span>\u00a0the priest, the chief and the orator. T<\/span>hese\u00a0<\/span>characters\u00a0<\/span>are\u00a0<\/span>meant to represent<\/span>\u00a0well known figures of the day<\/span>, the final character being \u2018the devil\u2019\u00a0<\/span>who is meant to be Lord Byron.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Many of the additions to the Weymouth section\u00a0<\/span>are connected with<\/span> the frequent visits of King George III<\/span>\u00a0to the seaside resort. Articles, original letters and cartoons are just some of the items connected to the King that have been added by\u00a0<\/span>Broadley<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>several influential naval figures that feature in the Weymouth section. Some<\/span>\u00a0served with distinction, such as Admiral William Penn, who\u00a0<\/span>served as MP for Weymouth and\u00a0<\/span>Melcombe<\/span>\u00a0Regis and\u00a0<\/span>captured Jamaica for Cromwell<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Admiral Penn, and some of his hand-written letters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Others are not looked on so favourably by history.\u00a0 Marriott Arbuthnot, was born in Weymouth <\/span>in 1711\u00a0<\/span>and served as a naval officer and colonial administrator. According to one biographer quoted in the \u2018<\/span>Dictionary of Canadian Biography\u2019<\/span><\/a> he was: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018<\/span>ignorant of his profession,<\/span>\u00a0was\u00a0<\/span>destitute of even a rudimentary knowledge of naval tactics, and appeared in contemporary stories as a coarse, blustering, foulmouthed bully.<\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some historians argue that he was judged too harshly using material written by his enemies, but the nicest thing <\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0have found written about him was a quote from John\u00a0<\/span>Bartlet-Brebner<\/span>\u00a0about his time in Nova Scotia which describes him as \u2018well-meaning, but optimistic and gullible.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Our favourite document connected with this Navy is the<\/span>\u00a0response to a<\/span>\u00a0letter from William\u00a0<\/span>Dommett<\/span>, MP for Weymouth and\u00a0<\/span>Melcombe<\/span>\u00a0Regis, whilst he was serving on \u2018The Royal George\u2019 requesting replacements for supplies that\u00a0<\/span>were unfit for\u00a0<\/span>consumption.\u00a0<\/span>The document, written in 1794<\/span>, records\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>969 gallons of beer that was so<\/span>ur and stinking and\u00a0<\/span>618<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>pounds of rotten\u00a0<\/span>Cheshire cheese\u00a0<\/span>were onboard\u00a0<\/span>the ship\u00a0<\/span>when the inspectors\u00a0<\/span>arrived<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>We imagine the sailors were very pleased to have these replaced!<\/span><\/p>\n

—\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, there is a picture of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>John Love<\/span>, a bookseller of Weymouth\u00a0<\/span>labelled the fattest and heaviest man in England.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Love was an apprentice to J<\/span>ames<\/span>\u00a0Ryland<\/span>, a famed London engraver who was convicted of forgery. Terrified that he would be linked to his master<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s crimes he fled back\u00a0<\/span>to his native Weymouth. At this\u00a0<\/span>time<\/span>\u00a0he was so thin\u00a0<\/span>that his friends and family feared that he had tuberculosis. They contacted a Dorchester<\/span>\u00a0doctor who prescribed a diet\u00a0<\/span>of rich<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0fatty foods. John acquired such a taste for these foods that within a year he had gone from skinny and wasted to\u00a0<\/span>hugely obese. He died\u00a0<\/span>on July 14<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a01793<\/span>, aged 40 and weighing 364lbs, which is 26 stone<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

This blog is part of our monthly series on the 12 extra-illustrated volumes of \u201cHutchins\u2019 History and Antiquities of Dorset.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Part one:\u00a0An introduction to the history and antiquities of Dorset<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Part two:\u00a0The Pitt family, a piano player, and a plague of caterpillars.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part three:\u00a0Coastline, Castles and Catastrophe<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part four:\u00a0A Phenomenon, Fake News and a Philanthropist<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part five: Antiquities, Adventurers, and an Actress<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volume 6 of\u00a0Hutchin\u2019s\u00a0Extra Illustrated covers Weymouth and Dorchester.\u00a0\u00a0 The Dorchester section is dominated by documents relating to Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assize. There\u00a0is\u00a0even\u00a0a\u00a048-page\u00a0biography\u00a0of Jeffreys\u00a0bound into\u00a0the volume.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There are several documents connected with Dorchester Gaol, including plans of the new gaol,\u00a0pictures of the old one\u00a0and\u00a0an image of King George visiting the Prison. The\u00a0new Gaol was… Read more A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1892,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,7],"tags":[82,69],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1892"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":918,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions\/918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}