Photo: Rod Morris
Langton
Herring
Dorset
Roughly six miles North West from the Dorset seaside resort of Weymouth, and within sight of the hilltop stone obelisk memorial to Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (of H.M.S. Victory), is the small village of Langton Herring. The name of the village comes from the Old English 'Lang + tun' meaning 'long farmstead or estate' with the 13th Century 'Harang' family affix, from their time as Lords of the Manor.
Photo: Rod Morris
The Church of St Peter has a fine 15th Century font and a list of Rectors going back to the end of the 13th Century. The renowned Thomas Purdue of Closworth cast one of the two bells. The village has a popular inn, a village hall,and a good mix of fine houses, picturesque cottages, and tasteful new developments.
Langton Herring is close to the inland lagoon, known as 'The Fleet', which was the testing place for Sir Barnes Wallis' bouncing bomb during the Second World War - one of the test projectiles is still to be seen on the shore.
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There is no war memorial in the village, but in the porch of St Peter's Church is a fine wooden Roll of Honour board from the Great War 1914 - 1918 naming the 31 men of the village who went to fight. The service of 11 of the 31 was at sea - 10 were members of the Royal Navy and 1 of the Royal Naval Reserve. Of all the Thankful Villages with a Roll of Honour which names each man's unit, this one at Langton Herring has the largest proportion who served at sea. This probably reflects the proximity of the Portland Naval Base near Weymouth. |
