Cranborne: from royal hunting ground to quiet Dorset village

Summarised from Dorset Echo's report · Updated 11 Oct, 06:37 · Archive

Cranborne was once a significant market town where kings hunted, but declined after the nearby Chase was disafforested in 1830.

Cranborne, on the Dorset-Wiltshire border, was once a market town of considerable importance. It held two annual fairs and a weekly market, and had a grammar school and seven inns, of which only two remain today: The Sheaf of Arrows and the Fleur-de-Lys.

The nearby Cranborne Chase, extending 80 miles, served as a great hunting ground for kings. King John acquired it through his wife, and it remained royal property until James I granted it to the Earl of Salisbury. During the royal hunting period, the Chase flourished with authorized keepers and the King's aristocratic gentlemen hunting deer and wild game.

Gradually, the Chase became infested with poachers, smugglers, thieves, murderers and criminals who hid in its hollows and dells. By the 19th century it was regarded as a den of iniquity. In 1830 the Chase was disafforested and its importance faded. As Cranborne lost its significance in the Chase, its fairs and market ceased, and it became a quiet village with only its historic church and Manor house as notable features.

Read the report

• The Dorset village where kings once hunted and poachers later roamedThe Dorset village of Cranborne was at one time a place where kings hunted and poachers roamedDorset Echo · 11 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Cranborne · Dorset · Wiltshire · King John · James I · Earl of Salisbury · Cranborne Chase

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