Beaminster Guide Dorset

UK City Guides: Beaminster, Dorset

Beautiful Beaminster, Dorset

Mapperton House & Garden. — The Italianate Garden at Mapperton House & Garden just outside Beaminster

Beaminster in Dorset is a pretty village with a long history. With a population of around 3,000 people, the name is pronounced as "Beh-minster" not "Bee-minster" or "Beam-ster."

Nearby is one of England's finest gardens - Mapperton. Indeed, in 2020 Mapperton won Christie's House & Garden of the Year Award. The Italianate garden was laid out in the 1920s by the owner Ethel Labouchere (who bought the property in 1919), in memory of her husband.

The beautiful gardens are a combination of both formal and informal styles.

A cricketer outside the Market Cross. — A "cricketer" outside the Market Cross

History

Historians believe that the place that is now Beaminster and its church date back to Saxon times. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) when the land was owned by the bishop in Salisbury.

From the medieval period on the town was a center for the production of linen, rope and woollens. The linen and hemp made from flax and hemp grown in the surrounding countryside and the wool from sheep pastured there. Much of the flax was spun and woven into sailcloth, and this area of Dorset was the main supplier for the British Navy.

St Mary's Church, Beaminster. — The tower at St Mary's Church rises to 100 feet

During the English Civil War, the town was on the side of Cromwell and the Parliamentarians. Unfortunately, Beaminster was taken by the Royalists and a fire destroyed most of the wooden buildings after a musket ball ignited a thatched roof.

The town prospered and rebuilt thereafter, however, due to its cottage industries of wool and linen. Various other businesses also thrived including clock makers, according to the local museum, and there were as many as 17 inns in the early 20th century.

However, no railway came to the town and many workers left for larger places, such as nearby Bridport or Dorchester.

Attractions

Beaminster Museum. — The Beaminster Museum is housed in what was once a Congregational chapel converted in 1990

Many of the buildings around The Square date from the 18th and 19th centuries and are protected.

The St Mary's Church we see today dates from the 13th to 15th centuries with restorations in subsequent centuries. The church boasts a 30 meter tall tower and several riches within. These include some fine memorial brasses, a 12th century marble font and a memorial created by the noted Flemish sculptor, Peter Scheemakers.

The free Beaminster Museum has a varied collection of exhibits from Jurassic fossils from Horn Park Quarry National Nature Reserve to vacuum cleaners. (Henry vacuum cleaners were manufactured in Beaminster for two decades from 1974!)

On display are farming implements, tools of the trade from the linen industry as well as Iron Age artifacts and finds from the nearby Roman villa in Halstock and Waddon Hill Roman Fort.

Staffed by volunteers, the museum is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and bank holidays (10.30 am to 4 pm) and Sundays (2 pm to 4.30 pm) from the beginning of April to the end of October. For more details visit beaminstermuseum.co.uk

The Market Cross in The Square. — The Market Cross in The Square

The annual Beaminster Festival of music, theatre, literature and art takes place in June. It began in 1996 and has gone from strength to strength. The next festival is June 23, 2024 - June 30, 2024. For more information see beaminsterfestival.com

Goods From Japan delivered to your home or business. — Goods From Japan delivered to your home or business

Housed in an 18th century coaching house, The Red Lion is two pubs in one. — Housed in an 18th century coaching house, The Red Lion is two pubs in one

Eat & Drink

The Red Lion and The Greyhound Inn are the two pubs in the town - both in The Square and both rather good. Housed in an 18th century coaching house, The Red Lion serves breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. The upstairs Lion's Den is an entirely separate bar. There is sport on TV and a dart board plus comedy nights, open mic nights and live music.

Restaurants and cafes presently include Tangerine Cafe on North Street, Brassica in The Square and Dexters on Hogshill Street.

Nearby Trading Post & Café is now a vegan and vegetarian cafe and down the road is Bombay Spice serving Indian and Bangladeshi curries.

Accommodation

Exeter, the nearest large city, offers a range of accommodation options to suit all budgets and tastes. Choose from a range of hotels and guest houses in Exeter including the four-star Mercure Exeter Southgate Hotel, the four-star Southernhay House Hotel, and Jurys Inn Exeter, also a four-star hotel.

See here for a complete list of accommodation in Exeter.

Lyme Regis (15 miles away) also has numerous hotels, B&B's and guest houses available for the tens of thousands who arrive each year. Noted places to stay include the boutique Hotel 1 Lyme, Dorset House on Pound Road, the nearby Mariners Hotel on Silver Street, Westwood Guest House on Woodmead Road, the Fernhill Hotel in Charmouth and a little north of Lyme, The Trinity.

See here for a full listing of hotels, self-catering apartments and guest houses in the Lyme area.

If you wish to stay in Beaminster itself try The Ollerod - a former priest's house - or The Barn - a holiday home.

Bridport is 6.5 miles south on the A3066. — Bridport is 6.5 miles south on the A3066

Access - Getting There

The town is 40 miles west of Exeter on the A30 and A35, Beaminster is also within easy reach of Colyton, Honiton, Seaton and Lyme Regis. It is also 15 miles (24 km) northwest of the county town of Dorchester - famous for its associations with the author Thomas Hardy.

The nearest railway stations are Honiton (25 miles away), Crewkerne (5 miles away) and Axminster which all have trains from Exeter St David's Station and Waterloo Station in London.

Colyton is a 45-minute drive on the B3165. Bridport is 6.5 miles south on the A3066.

The number 6 bus from The Square runs to Bridport. The number 2 bus runs from Crewkerne via Beaminster to Dorchester and stops outside The Red Lion.

Air

The nearest airport is Exeter International Airport, just 5 miles to the east of Exeter city near Clyst Honiton off the A30.

The airport has regular domestic flights to Aberdeen, Alicante, Belfast, Edinburgh, Guernsey/Jersey, the Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle.

International destinations include Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Dublin, Faro, Funchal, Geneva, Hannover, Larnaca, Nice, Palma, Paris, Malaga and Salzburg.