Historic Archive 1

A census is taken every 10 years. Those currently available for public viewing cover the period 1841 to 1911 – data is only made available after 100 years have passed. Each household is required to complete a census return on a particular night. Thus, it merely provides details of who was present on that day, not necessarily of everybody who normally lives there. The data requested varies at each census, more information being available from the later ones. However, except for major dwellings such as the church, the school, larger houses and farms, there is no record of the actual location of each dwelling. The boundaries of Litton Cheney Parish have been manipulated at various times during the period covered by available census data. The following lists are taken from the introduction of each census. 1841 - View transcription see analysis below 1851 - Covers the whole of the Parish of Litton Cheney including Loder Lands Farm, Eggardon, Stancombe Charitys, Gorwell, Ashley, Parks and Litton Cheney Village.View transcription 1861 - Covers the whole of the Parish of Litton Cheney including Loder Lands Farm House, Eggardon Farm House, Dairy House and Cottages, Stancombe Cottages, Combe Farm House, Dairy House and Cottages, Litton Cheney Village and Charitys, Parks Dairy House, Ashley Dairy House and Cottages, and Gorwell Farm House and Cottages.View transcription 1871 - Covers the whole of the Parish of Litton Cheney including Litton Cheney Village, Loder Lands Farm Houses, Eggerton, Stancombe, Charitys, Gorwell, Ashley, Parks, White Cross and Combe Farm House and Cottages. View transcription 1881 - The whole of the Parish of Litton Cheney including Litton Cheney Village, Loder Lands Farm Houses, Eggerdon Farm House and Cottages, Stancombe Cottages, Charitys, Gorwell Farm House and Cottages, Ashley Dairy House and Cottages, Parkes Dairy-House, White Horse, Coombe Farm House and Cottages.View transcription 1891 - The whole of the Parish of Litton Cheney is bounded on the West by Chilcombe, on the North by Askerswell, on the South by Puncknowle and on the East by Abbotsbury. It includes Litton Cheney Village, Stancombe Cottages, Gorwell Farm House and Cottages, Ashley Dairy House and Cottages, Parkes Dairy House, the White Horse Inn and Coombe Farm House and Cottages. Unfortunately the census document does not show addresses.View transcription 1901 - The whole of the Parish of Litton Cheney is bounded on the West by Chilcombe, on the North by Powerstock and the Old Roman Road, on the South by Puncknowle and Swyre and on the East by Long Bredy. It includes the Parish of Litton Cheney, Stancombe Cottages, Coombe Farm House and Cottages, the White Horse Inn, School House and Cottages. Unfortunately the census document does not always show addresses.View transcription 1911 - The whole of the Parish of Litton Cheney is bounded on the West by Chilcombe, on the North by Powerstock and the Old Roman Road, on the South by Puncknowle and Swyre and on the East by Long Bredy. It includes the Parish of Litton Cheney, Stancombe Cottages, Coombe Farm House and Cottages, the White Horse Inn, School House and Cottages.View transcription

Baptisms: 1732-1880 Marriages: 1614-1812 1814-1843 Burials: 1731-1880 Bastardy Papers: 1758 - 1835

The 1841 census gives no schedule numbers, no indication of relationship and ages over 15 years are rounded to the nearest five years. Like all censuses, it is merely a list of names and occupations giving no idea of who owns and occupies the land and buildings within the parish. The 1841 version is different, however, as it can be cross-referenced to the 1840 tithe map and associated apportionment. A transcription of the modified data can be viewed here. The associated tithe apportionment can be viewed here The parish of Litton Cheney was much larger than it is today stretching to the Roman road to the north, Gorwell to the south east and an entirely separated area between Askerswell and Powerstock known as Loder Lands. For ease of display, the tithe maps below have been divided into five sections: a. Loders Land b. Area north of the Dorchester to Bridport main road c. Area south of the Dorchester to Bridport main road d. Litton Cheney village e. Ashley & Gorwell Occupiers of the land and buildings are denoted by coloured markers. The following table shows the main occupiers of the 581 plots identified within the tithe apportionment.

No. Plots No. Acres Name Owned Occupied Owned Occupied Remarks Richard Brinsley Sheridan Esq. 101 18 1179 148 William Legg 84 81 376 353 Walter Long Esq. 79 0 840 0 Rev Charles Fryer 59 0 426 0 Rev. Septimus Cox 45 72 143 500 Samuel Brown 23 26 100 100 All in Loders Land Blandford Charity 22 0 164 0 Rev. Gregory Raymond 20 0 140 0 George Fry 18 33 35 177 18 plots owned by Bradford Charity Charles Henvele Esq. 18 0 84 0 Francis Gladwyn 15 16 17 18 Richard Groves 15 23 86 114 Elizabeth Hansford 9 0 56 0 Charlotte Hunter 7 0 54 0 Parish of Litton Cheney 6 5 10 5 Includes chalkpit, sandpit, Poor House and Pound Richard Fowler 2 0 80 0 William Symonds 0 68 0 958 All plots owned by Richard Brinsley Sheridan Esq. Charles Fry 0 78 0 830 All owned by Walter Long esq. John Kellaway 0 55 0 425 All in Loders Land; owned by Rev. Charles Fryer Thomas Palmer 0 15 0 100 Thomas Baker 0 2 0 80 Plots owned by Richard Fowler Richard Mellish 0 14 0 65 All plots owned by Charles Envele Esq.

**Note: 1901 and 1911 scholar totals estimated from children’s ages i.e. 5 to 13 which was the compulsory period for education, although difficult to enforce. In 1841 there were 70+ children between the ages of 5 and 13 but no compulsory education. Families It is interesting to see how many names crop up during the period covered. Some families appear on as many as seven censuses and may continue after the 1911 version. The table HERE lists those that appear on at least two censuses.

Occupations The table below summarises the occupations of Litton Cheney residents during the period covered. As one would expect, the majority were involved with various types of farm-work. However, many now defunct (as far as the village is concerned) occupations are listed e.g. cordwainer, brewer, baker, harness maker and, in particular, servant.

FOOTNOTE An interesting statistic that has been missed from the BLAP analysis is the fact that Litton apparently has within its confines the brightest and best qualified inhabitants in the Bridport and Lyme Regis area - see below - and it would appear, the rest of Dorset, and England. Allington a) 28% b) 16% c) 22% Bothenhampton & Walditch 37% 16% 34% Bradpole 31% 16% 29% Bridport 30% 20% 26% Burton Bradstock 38% 14% 40% Charmouth 37% 14% 34% Char Valley 38% 13% 31% Chideock 35% 17% 34% Litton Cheney a) 54% b) 8% c) 46% Loders 37% 10% 34% Netherbury 37% 13% 33% Puncknowle & Swyre 39% 10% 34% Shipton Gorge 37% 16% 30% Symondsbury 36% 14% 34% Dorset (county) 32% 16% 32% England 34% 18% 33% KEY: a) Proportion qualified to degree level, b) Proportion with no formal qualifications, c) Proportion in managerial or professional occupations

Welcome to the Village of Litton Cheney Photo by Claire Moore 3_7_2021