Dark past of pretty Stoke Abbott village in west Dorset

Here are some old photos of Stoke Abbott, taken from 1922 onwards by local photographer Claud Hider, show a village full of meandering roads and picturesque cottages.

Click into the picture gallery above to see these images full-sized.

The tranquility of this rural idyll would only be shattered by the sound of hooves from someone on horseback passing through and the cries of a youngster in a pram.

Residents pose for Hider's photo

But the village has a darker past. It's connected to the last public hanging in Dorset; in 1858 a cottage in the village caught fire and when it was extinguished the body of 23-year-old Sarah Guppy was found with her throat cut.

Her relative John Seale was found guilty and hanged on 10th August that year.

READ MORE: 'The Dorset village that doesn't live up to its name'

In the same century the Beaminster Union Workhouse was opened, located out in the countryside at Stoke Water on the road to Stoke Abbott.

The Beaminster Union Workhouse

The building was designed to accommodate 230 inmates and cost around £4,500.

A chilling insight into life in the workhouse is provided by the Pauper Offence book which illustrates how seriously misdemeanours by inmates were treated.

Offences against property, such as breaking windows, received particularly harsh punishment.

The church in Stoke Abbott

The church in Stoke Abbott is St Mary the Virgin and is originally Norman. It has an Early English chancel and western tower containing five bells.

The church was struck by lightning in 1828 and not restored until 1878, the church was further restored in 1913 when the bells were rehung.

Some parts of the Norman church remain; a small Norman window on the north side and the carved stone font. The church also houses a Jacobean pulpit.

Thanks to Neil Mattingly for sharing Claud Hider's photos and to Dorset OPC for the additional information on Stoke Abbott.