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Fiddleford
The Fiddleford Inn
(originally The Malthouse and subsequently Archway House) was the home of the Fiddleford maltster. The maltster added
malt to barley to brew beer and so the Fiddleford Inn hosted a brewery in the 18th & 19th Century.
Alterations were carried out in the early 19th century and the house was enlarged. This involved bringing in matching
stone from Ham Hill. The archway, which gave the building its name, joined the new part to the old. Waggons
could be driven though it from the lane to the yard behind the house. The outline of this archway, which was filled
in some fifty years ago, can be seen around the door to the lane, There is a plaque over the porch confirming the
date of the additional building as 1865. The grandaughter of the owner at the time of the alterations
wrote, " grandfather paid extra money for blue stone for the kitchen. " The huge blue flagstone (much harder than
ther Ham stone, consequently moisture-resistant and less slippery), can still be seen today as part of the floor of The
Country Bar. The Brewery building itself was adjacent to the house and at right angles to it. This part
of the building has been demolished but it used to contain a large kiln, where the barley was spread on a brick floor with
holes in it, with the fire beneath. It must have been a wonderful sight! At the end of the brewery building were
the stables. These have now disappeared, though part, if not all, has been restored and modernised and is now the old
cottage beyond the inn car park. Eventually the brewery fell in to disuse (it is said because of the quality
of the water from the malthouse well, which had deteriorated. The family moved to Stourton Caundle, and about 1912 part
of the premises (including the former sitting-room) became a slaughter house. After several changes of ownership, the
house became a hotel in 1968.
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| The magnificent solar at Fiddleford Manor |
Fiddleford Manor
This is a restored medieval manor house, which has undergone a considerable number of changes since it was completed
around 1370. It is open to the public and managed by English Heritage. The splendid roofs over the great hall
and solar - said to be the most spectacular in Dorset - relect the original owner's rising status and ambition.
They have 600 year old timbers with collar-beam tursses and timber work of great complexity and beauty. Despite
its beautiful site by the River Stour, Fiddleford presents a rather bare appearance at first sight. However, one
of the features of thsi fine building is a plaster celiling of the typical Tudor style, there are traces of a
fine wall-painting in the solar, where part of an angel from an Annunciation scen survies to give a hint of the rich decorative
shceme whichoerginally graced this splendid room.
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