Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for CANFORD (Great)

CANFORD (Great), a village and a parish in Poole district, Dorset. The village stands on the river Stour, near the Southwestern railway, 2 miles E of WimborneMinster; and has a post office under Wimborne, and an iron-foundry. The parish contains also the village of Little Canford, and the tythings of Kinson, Longfleet, and Parkstone; extends southward to Poole harbour; and includes part of Poole borough. Acres, 17,739; of which 1,740 are water. Rated property, exclusive of the parts within Poole borough, £6,401. Pop., 4,877. Houses, 976. The property is much subdivided. The manor belonged once to John of Gaunt; belongs now to Sir J. B. Guest, Bart.; and is of great extent. The mansion on it, Canford Hall, occupies the site of an Ursuline convent; is an edifice in the Tudor style, built, in 1826, for Lord de Manly; includes remains of the convent kitchen, with two huge fireplaces; and has a very fine hall. A gallery, connected by a cloister with the mansion, contains Assyrian sculptures from Nineveh; and drives go through fir woods to the vicinity of Poole. Merly House, to the west, the seat of Willett L. Adye, Esq., contains paintings by Hogarth, and the sketches of his "Marriage a la Mode." The living is a vicarage in the dio. of Salisbury; and till 1865 included Kinson chapelry. Value, £450.* Patron, Sir J. B. Guest, Bart. The church has Norman features, particularly in the tower; and contains monuments, by Bacon, to the Willetts of Merly. The chapelries of Kinson, Longfleet, and Parkstone are separate benefices. Charities, £22.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Poole RegD/PLU       Dorset AncC
Place names: CANFORD     |     CANFORD GREAT     |     GREAT CANFORD
Place: Canford Magna

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