The article will cover key aspects of Charmouth`s History, many of which will give a greater understanding of how the village has evolved over the centuries.There are a large number of relevant illustrations to assist in telling the villages story.
It begins with the Romans, who constructed a road passing though this part of Dorset linking Salisbury, via Dorchester with Exeter.

Robert of Mortiane in Normandy, the half brother of William the Conquorer, owned the village at the time of the Norman invasion.He is shown on the Bayeaux tapestry to the right of William. It was one of 71 Manors that he was given, which included Catherstone and Wootton Fitzpaine. After his death in 1091,another french nobleman, William de Estre is shown as Lord of the Manor.

This slide shows the cover and one of the pages which clearly shows Charmouth in its title.The book has been translated by the Archivist -Steven Hobbs. This is an abstract referring to the creation of the Borough:
"Grant by brother William, abbot of Forde, desiring to improve the manor of Charmouth (Cernemue), that the vill of Charmouth shall be a free borough within the following bounds: on the east side of the vill all that place called Sevenaker by the water below the road from Charrereystone up to the road between Charmouth and Bridport, then along the watercourse which runs to the monks' mill; from there along the course of the river to the sea and to the chapel of the vill; thence along the road ascending to le pillory and then to the cross which stands on the road to Lyme above Radehorne; on the west side of the vill as far as le Sheote by the corner along the ditch to the bank adjoining Sevenaker on the north side. Grant to those wishing to build within these bounds plots measuring 4 perches by 20 perches, by the view of the monks' bailiff, rendering 6d a year for each burgage in equal portions at Michaelmas and Easter".
Though it is over 700 years old, this document reveals to us that there was a Pillory and Market Cross at the top of the village. A Mill, no doubt by the stone Bridge, which was worked until modern times. The Shoot, or spring, was at the junction of Higher Sea lane and gave its name to the Fountain Inn that stood near it from the times of the Abbey and is known as Charmouth House today. The houses with their long gardens known as Burgages were all approximately 1/2 acre and their boundary wall to the north of the street still exists with many of the original boundary walls.The boundary to the properties to the south of the Street were marked by a ditch, which can still be seen in places. Some of the original plots can be still located, though a number were amalgamated into larger more viable holdings by the tenants as the Borough was not a great success due to competiton from Lyme Regis and Bridport.

The village in the middle ages would have been basically a farming community, though Salt panning was to continue and the Cartulary in 1172 mentions a Grant concerning a tenement for making salt and keeping a boat.
But this world was to change dramatically in 1348 as the Grey Friars Chronicle records :
" In Melcombe, in the county of Dorset, a little before the feast of St. John the Baptist , two ships, one of them from Bristol came alongside. One of the sailors had brought with him from Gascony the seeds of the terrible pestilence and through him the men of that town of Melcombe were the first in England to be infected."
Soon people in the villages and hamlets near Weymouth were ill.  When villagers left the area, to seek refuge in other parts of the country, they spread the infection.  No doubt Charmouth, as elsewhere was to lose almost half its population from the Black Death.

Thomas Chard not only refaced and altered the Abbott's House in Charmouth, but rebuilt the Manor House, whose listing is dated to the 1500`s. Hutchins, in his History of Dorset records that the church was also i mproved at this time. A model of this building has survived and can be seen in the Pavey Rooms. It was constructed by a local carpenter just before it was demolished and the present church built in 1836. The roof can be taken off and the interior can be seen with all its pews and painted gallery.
But in 1539, the days of the Abbey came to an end and Thomas Chard was to receive a good pension and took on the position of Vicar of Thorncombe. The Reformation that followed released a considerable number of buildings and estates on to the market and initiated the growth of a many noble families. Richard Pollard bought Forde Abbey for just £400 and Queen Elizabeth sold the Manor of Charmouth for just £25.5.1d. to Robert and William Caldwell in 1564.

In the same year as the Abbots of Forde lost ownership of Charmouth a map was commissioned to show the defences along the Southern coast. Though simplistic it does give an idea of how the village looked with a group of buildings surrounding the Church. To the right of the beacons is Lyme Regis with its Cobb clearly shown at the top. The Church is not dissimilar to the model of the earlier building. Two years later Leland tours England and describes Charmouth as a "Good Fisher Town", it has an estimated population of 200 at the time.

Sir John Petre set about selling the village just 3 years after inheriting it. When studying the deeds of some of the older houses in the village there often appears records of the 2000 year leases that he gave for small rents. Amongst these are Charmouth House, Charmouth Lodge, Foxley Farm and the Rose and Crown. The original document dating from 1575 for the Elms, which now houses our parish council, can still be seen in the Dorset Record Office.It shows a Richard Piers of Lyme puchasing Manns tenement, as it was known with an acre of land from him.. Edward Lymbry also buys a number of properties from him, which are later assesed at £48 a year. They include the Fountain Inn, now Charmouth House.The balance of the properties and lands were bought by William Pole of Shute, near Axminster in the same year.

It is astonishing to think that in 1588 the villagers would have been able to view both the English and Spanish Fleets in Lyme Bay. On July 19th of that year beacons were blazed all along the coast including those at Charmouth.This map shows the two sides lined up. In a record of the times there is a note of the probable places for landing of men in the county of Dorset which reads as follows:
" Chidioke and Charmouthe are two beaches to lande boates, but it must be very fFayre wether, and the wind northerly. Lym. A cobbe or peere, wherein shyppes may aryve, having fayre wynd and bringing the tyde with them, and no danger." To pay for the ships, Charmouth was assessed with many other coastal towns in that year.The list has survived and includes Edward and William Limbry paying 10 shillings and Anthony Tutchen 8 shillings and 4 pence.

Charmouth was to be governed by Sir William Pole for the next 50 years until his death in 1635 aged 74 . He is famous today as a distinguished historian who produced one of the earliest histories of Devon, although it was printed long after his death.
During the Civil War, Charmouth suffered a period of decline. This is clearly shown in 1641, when the hundred of Whitchurch and the tithings of Hawkchurch and Dalwood are ordered to contribute £10 per year to the Poor Rates of Charmouth -"where there are many poor people whom the parish cannot relieve". The Siege of Lyme Regis in 1644, when the Parliamentarians withstood an eight-week siege by forces under Prince Maurice, must have had a detrimental affect on the royalist stronghold of Charmouth.

After many centuries of absentee landlords the village was at last to have a true Lord of the Manor in the shape of William Ellesdon. He was to purchase Charmouth from Sir John Pole in 1649 during the English Civil War. Both men were Royalists and must have known each other well. His family had represented Lyme Regis both as Mayors and Members of Parliament since the early 16th century. Lyme Regis with its support of the parliamentarians, may well be the reason the family moved to Charmouth.Their support of the King can be clearly seen with an incident in 1651 which was to go down in the village history for ever more.

In reward for Captain William Ellesdon`s services and loyalty, his Majesty, on his restoration visited the village and granted to him and two successive heirs a pension of £300 per annum, and presented him with a medal bearing the inscription "Faithful to the Horns of the Altar". The King also gives a beautiful miniature by Samuel Cooper of Ellesden, together with a pair of silver candlesticks.
It is interesting to read that Bartholomew Wesley, the great grandfather of John, the founder of Methodism was a minister in the village at the time, until he was ejected in 1662.

The Manor House today opposite the Church has had considerable alteration over the years but would have been the home of William Ellesden who had at least 4 children. The Hearth Tax for 1661 shows his ownership with 6 chimneys and the next largest would have been the Fountain,now Charmouth House then owned by William Limbry with 4 chimneys.
Anthony , the eldest son of William inherited the manor of Charmouth and was to live for 83 years in the village.He was to outlive his children and his fortune was to go to his sister, Mary's family - the Henvills, who had originated in Lower Looke, near Abbotsbury. In the year ,1669 they had bought Catherston for £13,000 and would have been neighbours of the Ellesdons.

We are fortunate today to have two Impressive memorials to Anthony Ellesdon in the Church which both record what a splendid man he was in spending some of his considerable fortune on remodelling the church in 1732. There was also a fine Silver plate with his coat of Arms on it at one time, but was latee sold.

When he died in 1737 he gave a substantial proportion of his wealth to his two nephews, Richard Ellesdon Henvill and Charles Henvill. It seems Charles was to stay in Charmouth and married Elizabeth Hodder and both were later buried here. He would have lived at the manor house whilst his brother Richard was a merchant living in Bristol,who was very active in the Tobacco and Slave Trade.
Robert Burridge who bought the Fountain, now known as Charmouth House, was also involved in this trade and his account books for the many trips he undertook are to be seen in the Dorset Record Office today.
Richard is only Lord of the Manor for seven years and it is his 17-year-old daughter, Benedicta, who is to inherit the village. Later in 1760 she is left Catherston on the death of her uncle Charles Henville.She marries the Rev. Joseph Durston at the age of 36 , but they are to have no children and she is widowed by 1770. She is no doubt living in the village either at Charmouth or Catherstone Manor as her signature appears on many documents of the time.

Whereas the 17th century had been a time of poverty for the villagers, based on its land and absentee landlords. The 18th century marked a time of change and increasing prosperity. We are fortunate that a Poor Rate list from 1754 has survived. It shows although Richard Henvill, as Lord of the Manor was by far the largest landowner, but other gentlemen are listed paying substantall rates.We can pick out: Thomas Rose for Lily Farm, Reverend Combe for Church Lands, John Goring for The Fountain Inn, Benjamin Bradford for Lushes (Foxley Farm), Jacob Burrow for his own and Langmore Farm. It is interesting to see that Sir John Pole of Shute, still owned a farm here.
Most of the village would have consisted of thatched cottages, similar to Chideock. A number of fine houses were built including Lutrell House for John Bragge in 1735. Charmouth possessed 3 important Inns, these were the 3 Crowns (later the Coach and Horses), The George and The Fountain ( later Charmouth House) which all benefited from the regular coaches that passed through the village on their way to Dorchester and Exeter. Improvements were made both to their service and the roads in the mid 18th century and a newspaper report of April 9th 1739 reads as follows:
"Our townsmen beheld by only going to Charmouth, the wonder of the day, better known as "The Exeter Flying Stage Coach" which reached Dorchester from London in two days and reached Exeter in three days. The lofty Stonebarrow Hill had to be ascended from Morcombelake and the descent - a perilous one - to be made by the main road, better called narrow lane, beyond the eastern brook by Charmouth, since abandoned for one further inland, and recently for one still further inland, by which the hill from Morcombelake is altogether avoided."

Towards the end of the 18th century the village benefits as did Bridport from the orders for rope and sails needed by the Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and many fields are shown growing the hemp and flax which was the staple.It was at this time that Jacob Ridley Kitt expanded his business, but sadly it comes to an abrupt end in 1815 at the end of the wars and he was to lose his business. The following year Stephen Atkinson from Beaminster bought the site and began the transformation into Charmouth`s commercial centre. He rebuilt the Limes, now Charmouth Lodge and sold the building to William Stephens that would become The Star Inn.Ann Kitt, who was the daughter of Jacob Ridley was to briefly open a general store in what is Little Lodge. Most importantly was Joseph Bradbeers decison to become the Village Postmaster and run his business from the building that is Nisa today.

Smuggling was carried out all along our coast, and Charmouth was no exception to this trade. As early as 1765 there is a reference to a resolution in the vestry minutes to pay for the defence of Digory Gordge, parish clerk who was being prosecuted for smuggling.
The local newspaper on the 31st January 1825 reports that : On the night of Saturday week, three men of the Lyme Preventive Station were on the look-out near the mouth of the Charmouth River, where they captured 150 kegs and two men. They had not retained possession long before they were attacked by a party of smugglers 70 or 80 in number and as is usual in such adventures they appeared affected by liquor. They advanced with great violence. In defence, the officers were compelled to fire in the midst of them, in consequence of which, one man fell and was carried off by the party”.
Again on the 3rd March 1828,the paper reports that Henry Tippen, a married Charmouth Seaman aged 49 with a swarthy complexion was imprisoned for smuggling until he paid the penalty of £100.

In 1823 Charmouth Bridge was washed away in a storm and Mr Burnard, a Sailcloth Maker had his house carried away by it. even worse was to come the following year,when a Great Storm hit the coast here and the paper describes it as follows:
In Lyme Regis -The beautiful promenade in Lyme is entirely destroyed.The Hotel, and several houses near the Cob, the Bank House and all the houses opposite the Pilot Boat, are in a wretched state: the sea rolled right through them, and carried away everything that came in its way.
The Unity, bound for London, was driven out of the harbour. Three men were on board, besides the Captain. They remained a considerable time in a very distressed condition under the cliffs at Charmouth, but as soon as the tide left them, they were rescued from their perilous state, and conveyed to the Coach and Horses public house at Charmouth, where they were immediately provided with a bed.

On the 16th October 1858 The Western daily reports "This pretty little fashionable watering place, which is provided with nearly every trade and profession has just added to its list of professors that of Photographic Artist", in the person of Mr. J. Bottomley, schoolmaster, whose ability and taste have already displayed themselves in the specimens that he has taken".
We are fortunate that a number of photographs were taken by him of the village which have survived. Amongst them is this historic image of the Coach which ran from Bridport to Lyme Regis, which is standing outside the former Coach and Horses Inn.

This photograph is of Bridport Railway Station shortly after it had opened in 1857. It initiated a number of schemes to link both Charmouth and Lyme Regis to it and Axminster Station.

The most important of these schemes was that of the famous engineer, Sir John Hawkshaw who in 1864 briefly owned much of Lyme Regis and Charmouth in his bid to get a railway through. It is astonishing today to see the detailed plans that he drew up. We were even to have a Station to be built in the field behind the shops which is now the village playing field. But it was turned down by Parliament after competion with the Great Western Railway.

This Map shows the proposed route of the Bridport, Lyme & Axminster Railway Line which included a station at Charmouth in 1864. The hilly West Dorset countryside with its call for tunnels and considerable earthworks must have caused the plan to be shelved after its defeat in Parliament.

The Bridport, Lyme Regis & Axminster Railway Company Map showing the Charmouth section and its proposed station with access from Barrs Lane.

After Hawkshaw`s scheme was turned down by parliament, he placed his property on the market in 1867 and this map shows how much of Charmouth was on offer. Lot 21 was Lily Farm that failed to reach its reserve and remained in his family until 1914. The largest lot no. 31 included most of Higher Sea Lane and the coast also failed to sell and was eventually bought by John James Coulton, a Solicitor from Kings Lynn in 1873.

The Bridport News on the 21st February 1867 reports :"One of those excellent institutions on a small scale is about to be established at this place, to be supported by voluntary subscription. A House has been taken, capable of receiving a few patients, in which a nurse will reside. It will be under the Superintendence of Mr. Norris, surgeon (originator of scheme) and a committee."The photograph shows the building next to the former New Inn at the top of the Street, which became the Village Hospital for a time.

This photograph shows The Coach and Horses, formerly known as the 3 Crowns which stood on this site for many centuries. But in 1882 a disastrous fire destroyed it, though it was later rebuilt.

In 1888 a fire broke out in Mr Durrant`s Grocery Shop and spread quickly to the adjoining New Inn occupied by Mr H. Wild. The newspaper report at the time mentions that the Lyme Regis fire engine made a start for the fire, but was unable to proceed for want of a horse. This is another very early photograph of the former New Inn and the shop that were destroyed in the fire.

The photograph shows Robert Hazard on the left outside his shop which he ran as a general store and Ironmonger. In 1891 he suffered a disastrous fire and was only partially covered by his insurance.

In a former building that stood on the site of today’s post office there was believed to be poltergeist activity. In 1894 Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes and two companions - one of them, Mr. Podmore, a diehard opponent of spiritualism—visited the haunted house in Charmouth. An elderly woman, her grown son, and a married daughter were renting the old house. The family was plagued by poltergeist activity, mostly in the form of unexplained noises that was so severe they could barely tolerate living there. They investigated the fearsome noises that occurred, but could find no explanation. About a year after the investigation, the house burned down and an old skeleton of a child of about ten was found buried in the garden. Doyle wondered if this child, cut down too early in its life, was the cause of the haunting.

In 1903 Deputy Surgeon General Charles A. Innes. R.A.M.C. came to live at 'Lynwood'. He fought in the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny and looked forward to the centenary of Waterloo in 1915, as he hoped to wear his father's medals with his own at the Waterloo banquet. His father Lieutenant Alexander Innes served at Waterloo. It was a sad day when the centenary banquet was cancelled owing to the war with Germany. He died in 1920 aged 88.His son Sir Charles Alexander Innes moves into Lynwood in 1915. From 1927 until 1932 he was Govenor of Burma.

Lynwood is the building on the right, with Grasmere in the Middle and Fountain Cottage on the left in this early photograph.

These maps appeared in the auction details of a housing estate that was planned in both 1898 and 1904 in the lower part of Higher Sea Lane. The land was owned by John James Coulton, a Solicitor living in Kings Lynn. He initially offered 55 lots, but only a few sold and he tried again 6 years later to sell the balance, but it is said that no one turned up for the auction and the land was sold off piecemeal afterwards.

This is an aerial photograph of The Bristol works based in Bedminster operated by the Pass family.

The first motor car in Charmouth was a De Dion Bouton which was owned by Sir Cecil Harrison. It is seen here outside the Coach House on the Knapp. At the wheel is Arthur Harrison, with other members of his family.

The conveyance, showing the plans of the large estate at Langmore which he gave to Lyme Regis after holding a grudge with Charmouth.

Although Reginald Pavey recorded the village in his Albums and notebooks for nearly 50 years, photographs of him are very scarce. these are the only that we have so far traced. The first is of him as a scoutmaster soon after moved back to the village in 1926 and the other in 1950 when he opened the Tennis Club changing rooms with the builder W.Mills. He had been born in the village in 1884 and lived for awhile at Charmouth Lodge, then called the Limes. After a time as a teacher at Clifton School he returned and spent the rest of his life here living at the Well Head. The Pavey Group was founded in recognition of the important part he played in recording its past until his death in 1973.

G.K Chesterton of Father Brown fame, was a frequent customer at Charmouth Stores. One of the verses he was famous for was "The Wicked Grocer", which reflected badly on the trade. But after the impeccable service he received from the Dampiers in 1929 he penned a new verse which he dedicated to William called the "Good Grocer" that is full of his praises. The signed original copy of this is still treasured by Ron and Jean Dampier.

This astonishing photograph shows an elephant from a visiting circus outside the shops, soon after they were built. Earlier in 1929 the village made the national news when a Lion escaped from a Circus Car when it hit into a tree just outside the village. It roamed the fields for a time and attracted large crowds. It went on to seize one of the cows there and sadly was shot dead by a marksman.

This is a photograph of the Pass Family taken in 1937, and from left to right are Philippa, Mrs Olive Pass, Joan, Colonel Douglas Pass, Honor Matilda and Katherine. Douglas was very benevolent and sold the Parish Council the foreshore, their playing fields, and land for the tennis courts in Lower Sea Lane for nominal amounts. He gave much to Enterprise Neptune, helping to buy the farms that now provide the wonderful walk from Golden Cap to Charmouth along the cliffs. He also gave them Lamberts Castle and much of Fishpond and his wife gave Coney's Castle to the National Trust. Most of the estate was disposed of after his death though there are still links in Wootton with the family today.