Travelling back in time and revealing fascinating history of market town Stur

By Karen Bate

Did you know that Sturminster Newton had links with a shopping mall in Australia and a fire station in Finland? That Glue Hill had its own football team? Or that the Angel Gabriel appears in Fiddleford?

Author Steve Case is casting light on how life used to be and the intriguing aspects of life in this North Dorset town in his new book A Glimpse of the Past – In and Around Sturminster Newton.

‘A Glimpse of the Past’ follows Around and About in Sturminster Newton and features more than 300 images, many previously unseen and unpublished.

It includes a chapter on the much loved Sturminster Carnival, which will bring back happy memories to many, and a chapter documenting the important historical discovery of the Hinton St Mary Mosaic. It also offers glimpses of some of the neighbouring villages – Fifehead Neville, Marnhull and Shillingstone among them.

The photographs are interspersed with facts and stories, including one about how Sturminster deployed a ‘lookout’ on the bridge in the 1700s and early 1800s during the smallpox outbreak, and would turn away strangers trying to enter the town.

Another tale reveals how a hayrick caught fire at a farm in Okeford Fitzpaine. Sturminster’s fire brigade was duly alerted, but some of the local lads were not prepared to sit around and brought out the retired manual fire engine from service and fought the fire themselves. By the time the horse-drawn engine finally arrived, the fire was out and the hayrick saved.

However, instead of being praised for their efforts, the lads were chastised for having put out the fire before the professionals arrived.

If you are local, you may find yourself, a member of your family or a friend featured in A Glimpse from the Past.

The book is available at £14.95, from Harts of Stur, The Emporium, Stour Books and Sturminster Museum.

All profits from the sale will be donated to the Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust.