Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Wareham

Wareham, market town, Dorset, between the Piddle and the Frome, near their influx to a creek of Poole harbour, 15 miles E. of Dorchester and 123½ miles SW. of London by rail, 124 ac., pop. 2112; P.O., T.O., 2 Banks, 1 newspaper. Market-day, Tuesday. The town comprises parts of the parishes of Wareham Holy Trinity, 2670 ac. (150 water), pop. 818; Wareham Lady St Mary, 823 ac., pop. 1476; and Wareham St Martin, 4873 ac. (840 water), pop. 730; and is a place of great antiquity, which figured in British, Roman, and Saxon times. It is still surrounded on three sides by the old British earth wall. There was at one time a considerable harbour, which became choked up. No vestige remains of the castle. There is a 5-arched bridge over the Frome, and a 3-arched bridge over the Piddle. Trade is carried on in corn and cattle, and in fine potters' clay. Horace Walpole (1717-1797) was a native. Wareham was anciently a borough by precription (so styled in Domesday Book), and was chartered by Queen Elizabeth. It sent 2 members to Parliament from Edward I. until 1832 (when its parliamentary limits were extended), and 1 member from 1832 until 1885.


(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "market town"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Dorset AncC
Place: Wareham

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.