Life Was Like This Then

Life Was Like This Then

What was it like to live here at the beginning of our period in 1580? Can you imagine it? It is over 400 years ago and there were only 1400 people in the whole town. Just think about that – it is possible that some of them might have known most, if not all, of the others!

During the project we came across many pieces of information about everyday life in Poole in those times and we felt that they offered interesting illustrations about the times that our audience might find interesting too.

In our blog, prepared during the project in 2017/2018, we inserted many of these stories and found they were indeed popular amongst our audience. All of these have been brought into this website with the same end in mind. Do please review a few of them and reflect upon what you find.

Since those days we have written and adapted several short stories to provide our highlight of what life might have been like in those days:

  • Beth’s story from 1590
  • Robert’s Story from 1621
  • Jane’s story from 1632

We hope to write one or two more to illustrate aspects of life in later times during the period too.

Our two short plays also feature events that happened in Poole:

  • Mayhem at the inn – Poole 1623
  • Elizabeth Hyde – Poole’s Glorious Revolutionary – Poole 1688

The first was performed by the Scaplens Court Players in 2019 and the second will be in August 2021. We hope to write another to illustrate aspects of Woodes Rogers’ life ready for performance perhaps in 2022.

(link to events)

Related Posts

The Smuggler’s Curse
Copy of an original letter written by a smuggler to a Captain Bursack of the Revenue Cutter Speedwell and was found in Poole Custom House during renovations. The gentleman in question, a one J. Spurier, is hopping mad that Captain Bursack has dared to interfere with his (un)lawful smuggling activities and says as much in very colourful language! ‘Sir, Damn thee and God Damn thy two Purblind Eyes thou Buger and thou Death looking son …
The Pirate Code
Pirates are considered to be a brutal, lawless lot.  But on board ship, they live under a set of rules called 'The Pirates Code' or 'Articles of Agreement'.  Each Captain had his own set of rules for the ship and crew under his command but they followed a general pattern.  These included discipline, compensation, share of the booty and compensation for injury.  Each crew member must make his mark or sign on the Articles whilst …
The Fate of the Anne
Early in August 1625, three sailors, Nicholas Nurrey, Robert Rapson and Thomas Marryner arrived in Poole with an ominous tale to tell. A meeting was hastily arranged with the Mayor John Harward and three Justices of the Peace, and the men were soon relating their story. A few days before, the three, together with 12-year-old ship’s boy, Nicholas Jerrard, had been sailing to ‘Croysick’ in France (probably the Breton port of Le Croisic) aboard the …
Henry Harbin and the Battle of the Fishing Nets 
The Admiralty Court of Poole assumed authority over activities in the harbour, including fishing and the conservation of young fish by the use of nets of suitable mesh size. They were particularly suspicious of the practices of fishermen from Wareham. This witness statement from the early 17th century tells of a confrontation, not exactly on the high seas but on the calmer waters of Poole harbour and with rowing boats rather than fighting ships: The …
No Friendly Fire
The blockhouse on Brownsea Island was built in 1547, one of a string of coastal defences ordered by King Henry VIII against invasion from the continent. It was based on a solid platform and consisted of a single storey square tower about 13m by 13m with walls 2m thick and guns mounted on the flat roof of the tower. On the eastern side was a barbican or walled courtyard and the whole structure was surrounded …
Swanskin
With many thanks to Roger Guttridge for his permission to use these extracts from his articles 'A habit from the past' and The water that is passed' for Dorset Life. Swanskin had nothing to do with swans.  It was a coarse, wool-based cloth known for its warmth and waterproof qualities.  The material was used to manufacture hooded garments popular with fishermen travelling to Newfoundland. This picture shows a fisherman wearing such a garment or 'habit' …
The Mulberry Tree
  In the Universal British Directory compiled by Peter Barfoot and John Wilkes (of Milland House, Sussex) it states that’ The (soil) foil of Poole and its environs is particularly adapted to the culture of the mulberry….’ The fascination with the cultivation of mulberry trees seems to have been passed down through the centuries. The mulberry tree was brought to England by the Romans who used the leaves and bark for medicinal purposes. In Tudor …
Fraud and Corruption
Fraud and Corruption contributed by Jenny Oliver In July 1682, William Culliford, an officer in the King’s Customs Service, arrived in Poole prepared to delve into the all too cosy relationship between the Poole merchants and local customs officers. Culliford had been appointed by the Board of Commissioners to survey the efficiency and integrity of the Customs Service in western ports from South Wales to Dorset. In Poole he found widespread corruption involving merchants, ship-owners, …
Women
  This project is about Poole’s Maritime Heritage in the period 1580-1730 and as such it draws on research materials that largely concern the men of Poole in their different guises and occupations. But we wondered what ‘was life like’ for the women in that time period as they receive very little written recognition in their own right. In an interview with Lyse Doucet for a Radio 4 programme in January 2018, Vigdis Finnbogadottir (Iceland’s …
Life was like this then… The Pirate Code.
The Pirate Code Pirates are considered to be a brutal, lawless lot.  But on board ship, they live under a set of rules called 'The Pirates Code' or 'Articles of Agreement'.  Each Captain had his own set of rules for the ship and crew under his command but they followed a general pattern.  These included discipline, compensation, share of the booty and compensation for injury.  Each crew member must make his mark or sign on …