A Short History of Stock Gaylard

R. Goode in his Lost Villages of Dorset refers to Stock Gaylard as a Saxon Village, the remains of
which maysubsequently have been covered when Stock House was built. Hutchin's History of
Dorset says that in 1086 the village belonged to William of Eu and had a population of 11 people.
(Its probable remains are to be seen to the East of the Garden.)

After this the population appears to have declined until 1333 when there were no further records.
However a license to empark deer was granted in 1266 and it is understood that there has been a herd
here ever since.

Hutchins goes on to say that in 1585 a John Petbyn sold the property to Barnabus Lewys of Stoke
Trister who came to live in his new property. Since that time the core estate has never been sold,
and has remained in the hands of the same family, though from time to time the surname of the
owner has changed.

There are few records held locally of the earlier history of the property as they have been dispersed,
however the Dorset Hearth Tax assessments of 1662-64 records Stoke Galliard Hamlett as
having 19 hearths and that Mr Benjamin Lewis lived in the parish.

The House appears to date from the early 18th century, and oral tradition says it was built in 1712.
The church close by has Medieval and 16th century features, whilst the dovecote in the garden is
described in Dorset Dovecotes as reputedly very old, having elements as early as the 14th century.
Nothing is known of the date of the enclosure of the open fields of Stock Gaylard but it had taken
place before the 18th century when the park of the house was laid out.

Whilst Taylor's map of Dorset published in 1765 puts the house South of the church, and not in
its present position. This is believed to be artistic license. The map also clearly shows an
avenue of trees leading straight from the road to the house, which then belonged to J. Farr Esq.

John Farr died in 1773 and the property was inherited by his daughter, Theophila. In 1779 she
married John Berkley Burland, who towards the end of the century, had the house remodeled
and enlarged.

A map of the County of Dorset published by Greenwood in 1826 and the 1 inch to the mile
Ordnance Survey map of 1865, both show the house and the church to be located as they are today.
However the entrance drive divides before it reaches the church, with one part going to the East of it
and then past the front of the house and the walled garden, after which the two rejoin and continue
in a horseshoe to come back to the road by the Rectory.

On both these maps the Rectory is described as Stock Farm; the area of the park appears to be much
as it is today.

The Post Office Directory of 1848 describes the church as being "situated in pleasure grounds of
the house, and almost entirely blossomed in trees and shrubbery". An engraving in Hutchins
third edition 1861-73 shows the drive coming past the front of the house and no deer fence though
this latter is probably artistic license. A different engraving in the second edition of 1815 clearly
shows the fence in front of the house and the church, neither picture shows the stables.

In 1884 the church was almost entirely rebuilt and the stables were remodeled. It seems likely that
it was at this time the drive was altered to the layout shown in the first large scale edition of the
Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1886 and published in 1890. The drive is shown as going
straight past the stables and then curving round to the front of the house as it does today.
It no longer goes to the East of the church nor does it carry on down to the Rectory, which
is now known as such.

Thus from the time of alterations in 1884, and to a large extent as far back as the alterations by
Mr Burland at the end of the 18th century, remarkably little changes appears to have taken place
in the layout of the buildings, garden and park.

The Church of St. Barnabus

The present vestry (in which some of the old pews were removed) and the mosaic floor were added,
as were new panels and carved bosses to the waggon roof. Otherwise no changes were made but the
work had revealed a stone chamber 4ft by 1ft. 6 ins by 1ft high, beneath the figure of the Crusader.

In this chamber was found a complete but dismembered skeleton and fragments of red leather.
It is to be surmised that some 700 years previously the body of the Lord of the Manor, killed in the
Holy Land, had been dismembered and placed in a bag and brought home by pack horse
for burial in his native place. There it remains for in 1884, with the restoration work completed,
the bones of the Crusader in a new wooden coffin, bearing the red Knight Templar's Cross,
were re-committed to their resting place. This church may have been Saxon in origin.
The figure of the Crusader certainly dates it back to the 12th or 13th century.

It was restored in 1884, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. H.F. Yeatman, by their children. At that time
ivy had grown down through the roof and more than a foot of earth covered the floor.
During the restoration the box pews and a tall pulpit with a sounding board were removed.

The Dovecote

The Dovecote is very early; parts are probably 14th century. It is 20ft in diameter and has
been much remodeled with reuse of earlier elements. It has rubble walls and a tiled roof, which is
partly hidden by a parapet. To the South, is a panel carved with the arms of the Lewys family,
who lived here in the 16th 17th centuries. On the North side there is a clock, probably late 18th or
early 19th Century, possibly moved there from the church when it was refurbished and the
dovecote converted for use as a Summer House.

The grounds, offering good views over the ancient deer park and some of the main rooms are
open to the public for the following times only:

OPENING TIMES 2008
(2.00pm - 5.00pm)

26th April - 5th May
22nd-30th June
22nd-30th September

ADMISSION CHARGES
Adults £5
Children £2

Terms & Conditions