My book about West Dorset begins with a description of the road from Dorchester to Bridport. About halfway through this desription I mentioned the lodge house which stands at a former entrance to the mansion of Bridehead. I have since learned that when the mansion was sold the lodge house was not mentioned in the sale. The lodge house was then occupied by squatters, who stayed there so long that it became their rightful property.
Similarly, when I wrote A Guide to the Isle of Purbeck I didn’t know that the village of Studland was the inspiration for Enid Blyton’s Toy Town or that Corfe Castle was the inspiration for Kirrin Castle in Five on a Treasure Island.
On page 81 of Exploring Dorset by Car I mentioned that the countryside of West Dorset was the setting for most of the novel Rogue Mail by Geoffrey Household. What I didn’t mention and didn’t know was that most of the action took place in Shute’s Lane near Symondsbury, which is featured on page 58 of A Guide to the West Dorset Countryside.
The books may be consulted here.