The Priest’s House Museum & Garden
The Building
The oldest part of the building, a stone and flint house, was probably begun in the early 16th century.
The earliest section of the building is the stone-built L-shaped hall and north wing and was probably 1 and a half storeys in height. It was increased to two storey and an attic, possibly in the early 17th century. The south wing is timber-framed and was added in the early 17th century. In the middle of the 18th century the courtyard between the two wings was in-filled, the ground floor today occupied by the museum shop. A brick built single-storey service/kitchen range was added in the early 18th century.
The property held some status in the late medieval period. From about 1687 it was occupied by John Bowdidge, who styled himself as a ‘gentleman’. For part of the 18th century the building was divided into four units, indicating a lowering in the status of the property. The King family reunited the house in the mid 18th century.
The name of the building is first recorded on an Ordnance Survey map of 1889. However, there is no documentary evidence to suggest that it was the house of one of the canons of the Minster.
Hilda Coles (1907 – 1987) owned the building, and with the Wimborne Historical Society opened a small museum and library in 1962. When she died in 1987, she left the house and garden to the town, to remain as a museum and reference library.
Since that time the museum has developed, expanding into the rest of the building.
The Ironmonger’s Shop (circa 1926)
In the entrance room the back wall is the original front wall of the 16th century stone-built house, complete with a partially restored window and the original doorway, which was reset in the 18th century. The model of the house on the ironmonger’s shop counter shows what we believe it to have looked like before the courtyard was in-filled.
In the Georgian period a shop with living accommodation above was built in this open space. In 1990 the frontage was restored to its 18th century appearance with bow fronted shop windows, assisted by the discovery of the original window shutters and a 19th century photograph.
On the right-hand side of the entrance is a reconstruction of part of the ironmonger’s shop, which Hilda Coles’ grandfather opened in 1872 and which closed in 1960. A hundred years ago, this was one of a number of ironmongery shops serving town and countryside. Coles supplied the needs of residents for hardware, gardening tools and general ironmongery. The shop also catered for local farmers, stocking guns, sporting equipment and agricultural tools. The counter and drawers beneath the cupboards, together with much of the stock on display, were left behind when the shop was closed.
The Stationer’s Shop (1838-1872)
The mid-18th century panelling in this room came to light behind fitted showcases during restoration work. From 1838 this room was used by William Low (Hilda Coles’ great, great grandfather on her mother’s side) as a stationer’s and tobacconist’s shop. His portrait and that of his wife, now hang here. In 1872 his son John closed the shop and ordered that it should remain boarded up until after his death.
When the Coles family entered the room in 1904 match of the original stock, including an outstanding collection of Valentine cards and boxes of clay pipes from Shropshire and Belgium, were found still intact. John Lowe has been reinstated in his shop, surrounded by displays, which give an impression of the town he would have known.
Mrs. King’s Parlour (1700 -1820)
This room has been set in 1775 during the widowhood of Elizabeth King, whose family occupied the house from the mid 18th century. She continued her husband’s business as a mercer dealing in fine imported silks and local woollen cloth. Here she is seen discussing her building plans with John Mitchell, a master plumber, who is known to have worked on the site.
Features of this room included an early 17th century plaster ceiling and decorative frieze with an inscription over the window reading ‘AL PEOPLE REFRAYNE FROM SYN’ followed by a heart and initials. The walls behind the panelling are painted with a simple pattern of vertical stripes.
The panelling was installed in about 1700 when the size of the room was reduced (note how the wall of the stationery shop cuts short the plaster ribs on the ceiling). At the same time the stone fireplace, visible through the panelling on the right-hand side of the room, was concealed.
In the corner a display of domestic items is housed in a buffet (a set of shaped shelves under an ornamental plaster canopy, which was rescued from a house in King Street).
Childhood Gallery
At the top of the stairs the door on your left leads to a display reflecting the change in our attitudes towards children, which have taken place since Victorian times. The stone mullion window, visible behind one of the display cases, is part of the original facade of the building.
Costume Gallery
This gallery houses part of the museum’s costume collection. The theme of the display is changed regularly. This room is in the north wing of the building.
Archaeology Gallery
This gallery houses the artefacts from the site of a Roman villa at Tarrant Hinton, including a rare water pump and a set of decorative wall plaster.
This room, again in the north wing of the building, has a fine 18th century fireplace and grate. The timber doorway near the window leads to a narrow passage, where a cupboard recessed into the stack houses a collection of objects found in local houses, including the mummified cat.
Special Exhibition Gallery
Displays in the room are changed regularly. This room includes another fine fireplace and range.
17th Century Hall (1640 – 1680)
In the 17th century the hall and would have been the principal room in the house. Today’s staircase and passage were inserted into the hall in the 18th century. The wall opposite the carved stone fireplace is of timber and contains, at either end, fragments of the original screen, which separated the hall from the cross- passage beyond.
The contents of the room closely follow a description of the interior of Wilksworth Farm, just north of the town, which lists painted wall cloth hangings, furniture and furnishings of the type displayed here. The painted linen cloths are modern copies of a set at Owipen Manor in Gloucestershire and depict the biblical story of Joseph.
Victorian Kitchen (circa 1891)
The single storey service range housing the kitchen, warehouse (now the East Dorset Villages Gallery) and the forge was begun in 1766 for Elizabeth King. Her initials, together with the name of the plumber, appear on the dated pump in the scullery beyond the kitchen. When first built, the kitchen fireplace was much larger and equipped for spit roasting, the spits being kept in the rack above the mantelpiece. In the late 19th century a range was installed and the size of the fireplace opening was reduced.
East Dorset Villages Gallery
This gallery houses an overview of the life and work of villages within the East Dorset area. Largely a rural area, many small industries were founded and continued for many years, including Verwood pottery and papermaking at Witchampton.
At the end of the display is a working forge used in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a tinsmith’s workshop, where domestic utensils were repaired and re-tinned for the ironmonger’s shop.
The Garden
The narrow garden, with its central path leading from the back door to the mill stream, is 100 metres long. It is sheltered by brick walls which mark ancient property boundaries and a medieval burgage plot. Photographs show that the central path has been a feature of the garden since at least the Victorian period. Older varieties of apple and pear trees line the path on either side further down. The present layout of beds and lawns was developed largely by the Coles family earlier in the 20th century. It would be expected that John Bowdidge would have had a private recreational area in the 17th century. An 18th century map shows that the east part of the garden was an orchard. The garden was probably used for domestic and trade functions during the period that the house was subdivided, though the King family would have returned the garden to its more tranquil nature.
At the bottom of the garden is a small shelter roofed with Roman stone tiles excavated from the Tarrant Hinton villa. The tesserae (mosaic tiles) on the floor are also from there.