Affpuddle

"AFFPUDDLE, (or Aff-piddle), a parish in the hundred of Hundred's Barrow, in the county of Dorset, 8 miles to the N.E. of Dorchester. It was anciently called Aspundell. In 1849 the livings of Toners Puddle and Affpuddle were united by order of her Majesty in council. It contains the hamlet of Pallington and the tything of Bryant's Puddle, and is situated on the river Trent. It was formerly a possession of Cerne Abbey. On the summit of Blackdown, a hill between Piddletown and Poole, there are above a hundred large pits, remarkable for holding no water. One of the largest of them has a diameter of 180 feet. Some small tumuli are near them. The living is a vicarage with the rectory of Toners Puddle, in the diocese of Salisbury, value £210, in the patronage of J. Frampton, Esq. The church is an ancient structure, with nave, chancel, aisles, and a fine decorated embattled tower of the reign of Edward IV. At the dissolution of the monasteries the vicarage was given to Thomas Lyllyington, one of the monks of Arne Abbey, who caused the beautiful carved pulpit and seats, to be erected in the nave of the church. There is a small endowed school founded by Milbourne."  Source: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003