(Continued from page 3)

The Normans' Domesday Book gives the first clear picture of life in the valley.  All the villages along the Tarrant River are mentioned but, as all the settlements were called 'Tarente' in the original, equating them with today's villages has only been possible using other evidence like tax returns.  The total of all classes of citizen in the Domesday Book is 174.  This would be male heads of households only.  Today the current electoral roll for the valley totals 946.  Dividing by 2 for an indication of the number of males gives 473 which is only 2.7 times that of the Domesday Book.

Domesday Book records 6 water mills in the valley which indicates the economic value of the river.  Dorset had the highest number of mills per plough teams for it was producing more grain than any other county per head of population. The tax of 30s & 1000 eels for the Tarrant Keynston mills suggests that they were the most productive.  Eels are still found in the river. Presumably there was sufficient water for the mills to operate reliably. 

Tarrant Crawford achieved national importance due to the "little monasterie" founded by Ralph de Kahaines probably in the reign of Henry II for three Anchoresses.  Amongst his gifts were the Church of All Saints, a manse before it, a mill before the manse, two acres of meadow at the bridge of Crauford, etc.   Gifts by his son included….all the course of the water of the Tarent from the old manse of the nuns to the water of Stur (the Stour).  The importance of the river is underlined by these gifts.  The "little monasterie" became a Cistercian Nunnery which was famous throughout All England and very rich at the time of the Dissolution.

In the seventeenth century water meadows were developed in England and traces can still be seen beside the river at Tarrant Monkton (see next page).

The average country dweller probably seldom travelled far from home but there was considerable road traffic and rivers could be an impedance to

Back to home page
Continued on next page