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"GILLINGHAM is a small market-town, in an extensive parish and liberty of its name, in the west division of Shaston, 105 miles from London, and about 4 miles and a half from Shaftesbury ; situated on the river Stour ; the parish occupying the northern extremity of the county, and includes an area of more than 60,000 acres, chiefly pasture land. Near here was anciently a palace built by the Norman or Saxon Kings ; and Henry I. seems to have at one time resided here, for his charter to the cathedral of Lincoln, giving the manor of Biggleswade to it, is dated from this place, A. D. 1132. It was repaired by King John at the expense of the county. The manufacture of ticks and dowlasses, with bleaching works, and some silk spinning, are the chief trades of this place. The church, an ancient building, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the living is in the gift of the bishop of Salisbury. The market-day is Friday and the annual fairs, on Trinity Monday and September 12th, for horses, cattle & sheep. The parish contained in 1821, 2,246 inhabitants, exclusive of the chapelry of Bourton." [Pigot & Co's Commercial Directory of Dorsetshire, 1830.]
View a Map of the Area.
Gillingham Library shares the same building as Gillingham Museum below. Amongst other reference material, it holds two copies of John Hutchins' The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, 3rd edition reprinted in 1973 by EP Publishing Limited in collaboration with Dorset County Library.
Michael Day provides pictures and bibliography for Gillingham church dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin as a part of UKOLN: The UK Office for Library and Information Networking, University of Bath.
Gillingham from "The Dorset Page"
Roger Shirley provides a transcript of the Gillingham pages from Robson's Directory for 1835, on his West Country Genealogy website.
Gillingham Local History Society is run from Gillingham Museum, Chantry Fields, Gillingham, Dorset. Their website gives a brief history of the town and lists some books available for purchase.