Dorset Museums- Blandford Museum

As all local museums Blandsford's is an idiosyncratic collection run by enthusiastic volunteers. It has a number of items pertaining to the Great Fire of Blandford and to the town's Georgian benefactor, John Bastard. Apart from rebuilding the town he took a keen interest in his local surroundings. Here  he records the remains of a Mizmaze or turf maze.

'This labyrinth vulgarly called mizmase was on the North side of the road betwixt Blandford and Pimperne but is now Annialated.
Supposed to be the work of the Munks of Old But to keep the world in ignorance they said itt was the work of Faierys whom used to dance there'

Mizmazes go back to the dawn of history and are wreathed in legend, though up until the 18th C they were still regularly maintained by villagers. They have all but disappeared from Dorset though there are some scant remains at Leigh which was recorded as  being used as a witches coven. Another maze was to be found at Troytown which took its name from the Old English for a maze -  caertroi

Dorset Folklore 3- The Byzant

At first glance this exotic-looking object would seem more at home on the Indian sub-continent than in darkest Dorset. 

It is called the Byzant and formed the centrepiece of a ceremony of the same name. The Byzant ceremony dates back at least seven hundred years and took the form of an annual tribute to the Lord of the Manor of Gillingham for the use of his water supplies. Once a year the Mayor and townspeople made their way in a procession with the Byzant at their head to the water source. Here the Lord of the Manor would be presented with the Byzant as well as gifts of gloves, ale, wheaten bread and..vegetarians leave the room... a calf's head. Sadly, the ceremony was discontinued in the 1830s because of...you've guessed it...the expense!
You can see the Byzant at the fascinating Gold Hill Museum, Shaftesbury

Dorset Museums 3-The Keep Military Museum, Dorchester

Flog it! Cat o' seven tails; two tails missing but who's arguing? Only abolished in 1881.

When I was a nipper I was always told, 'join the army and it'll make a man of you'...well in the 18th and 19thC it was more a case of 'join the army and it'll make mincemeat of you'...the museum lists  a few of the punishments that may have made you wish you'd opted for flower selling.

Flogging  Up to a 1000 lashes with a count of five between each lash to prolong the agony for up to four hours.
Picketing  Victim suspended by wrists with feet on stake just sharp enough to break the skin.
Wooden Horse  Rough, sharp edged, boards knocked together forming a horsey shape. Victim was made to sit on the sharp ridge of the 'back' for many hours with  muskets or other heavy objects tied to the ankles to increase the weight.
Strappaddo The unfortunate soldier's hands were first fastened behind his back, after which he was hauled high into the air by a rope tied to them and then dropped with a jerk often causing dislocation.
Running the Gauntlet  A man's comrades armed with sticks formed a corridor through which the victim, stripped to the waist, passed while being thrashed. In front of the unfortunate were guards with bayonets drawn to stop him moving through at faster than regulation pace.
Bottling or Cold Burning  The soldier's hand was tied palm uppermost. Water was then allowed to slowly drip on it from a height of several feet, apparently the accumulated pain over a period of time was said to make the strongest of men faint away.
Caution...I hope it goes without saying that none of the above should be tried at home.

Board hung round the neck of a murderer on the way to the gallows after riots in 1898.

Dorset Museums 2-The Keep Military Museum, Dorchester

Here's a military 'guess what I've got here, sarg?'. One of a host of small but telling objects to be found at the museum of the Devon and Dorset regiments.

No idea?... It's a deserters stamp... believe it or not it was considered a humane way of tattooing 'D' for deserter. 

The inhumane method was to trace a letter 'D'  on the left-hand side of the body. The skin was then pierced with a bunch of  ordinary sewing needles after which gunpowder was rubbed well into the wound to create a permanent mark of military disservice.