History Trail

Tree Trail

Wimborne has had its current Militia since 1998 with the largely ceremonial role of ensuring the safety of the Mayor and the Town Councillors - as well as keeping good order in the town - but the roots of town militias go back some considerable time in English history.  In Anglo Saxon times all able-bodied men were required to support groups of  experienced soldiers in times of trouble. This was then known as the Fyrd and was called together when invaders - such as the Vikings - came along from time to time.  (The monastery at Wimborne Minster was destroyed by Danes in the 10 th century)

Each Lord in an area was also obliged to provide an army to support the king in whatever ventures were thought to be profitable to the Crown and Country and so each small community was obliged to keep a body of men in training with archery practice and

other such military training.

(Maybe, consider the area known as Hillbutts -

It’s just outside Wimborne, towards Pamphill).  

Militias were used in many larger conflicts too such as the Wars of Scottish Independence (13-14th  centuries),the Hundred Years War with France (14th century) and the the War of the Roses (1455 to 1487)

One other reason Militia’s are often associated with the County of Dorset dates to the Civil War in the mid seventeenth Century when the King (Charles l) needed money to fund his expensive court lifestyle,  Dorset - a coastal county - had trained militias dating back to 1588 and the King wished to control these  He also held an unshakeable belief in the ‘divine right of kings’ to rule - all of which combined in Parliament's desire to curb the powers of the king. The King attempted to arrest those against him - and the

division that started the Civil War began.

Dorset was the site of only two main battles; Corfe Castle and Sherborne Castle but the county was divided in the side individual families supported and this led to disease

and conflict killing many of its folk as the troubles continued.

Dorset had supporters for both Cromwell (the Parliamentarians) and for Charles - the Crown; (the Royalists)  -  and so the armies of each side would fight and along the way take whatever provisions they needed from the farms and the land.

There was little for the country folk and agricultural workers to do but to further band together in local Militias to protect their property from the

ravages of both of the fighting forces.

One such band of country-folk known as the  ‘Clubmen’ were just such a military group. They were in a major battle that took place in August of 1645 at Hambledon Hill. when Cromwell’s Parliamentarian forces, that were in the area after the Battle of Sherborne, easily defeated the poorly equipped  group

 (…yet another research project !)

Wimborne Militia