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Bronze statue in central Dorchester
  • 1835 Running his own school at Mere
  • 1846 NOT elected to headship of Dorchester Grammar school
  • 1847 Ordained at Salisbury & became pastor at Whitcombe
  • 1852 Resigned Whitcombe
  • 1862-1886 lived at Winterbourne Came rectory and regularly walked from there to his son's rectory at Winterbourne Monkton (see map below).
  • 1886 died and was buried at Came churchyard.

From Bartholomew's 1935 map
William Barnes' Engravings
This is a really interesting book by Charlotte Lindgren and Laurence Keen, published by The Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, in 1986.
It has a very illuminating essay on William Barnes' Dorset engravings. As well as fine reproductions of 27 of the engravings including a 'Vale of Blackmoor Turnpike' legal document from the 1820s, it has an excellent list of sources and bibliography. 		 
Local Connections
  • William Barnes County Primary School, Sturminster Newton. Opening in 1925 as Sturminster Newton Council School with 127 pupils, it has expanded to more than 200 and has a swimming pool. It is on Bridge Street next to the recreation ground.
  • Barnes Close, Sturminster Newton.
  • Less well known as a connection to William Barnes is Rabin Hill, the pen-name of Robert Young, a friend of William Barnes. Rabin Hill is quite a steep hill off the Bath Road, Sturminster Newton.
William Barnes - Dorset Poet. Several Poems. Chris at University of Bath.