Sixpenny Handley

Photographs Courtesy of Anne Preston ©

Handley a large village in the Hundred of its name, is 4 miles from the Wiltshire border, 5 miles NW of Cranborne and 10 miles NE of Blandford. The village was originally known as Handley or Handley St Mary. The use of the name Sixpenny Handley to describe the village and parish is fairly modern, being used as an alternative name by the middle of the 19th century. Handley is derived from the Old English hean "high" and leage "clearing". Sixpenny was added to distinguish the place from other Handleys, and refers to Sixpenny Handley Hundred, first mentioned in the 14th century as the hundred of "Sexpenne et Henle". The hundred took its name from this Handley and a place called Sixpenny, now a farm, in the south west of the parish of Fontmell Magna. Sixpenny was first recorded in 932 as Seaxpenn, and means "hill of the Saxons" (from Old English Seaxe and Brythonic penn).

The Church of St Mary is of mainly Gothic architecture with an embattled square tower and a sturdy porch built in stone and of brick interior. It has a splendid wooden beamed roof, the font is of Early English 12^th c with straight supports on each corner. The belfry contains 3 bells. It has been much added to in later years.

Handley includes the hamlets of Woodcutts, Newton, Deanland and Minchington with the Chapelry of Gussage St Andrew 3 miles SW now annexed from Handley. Sixpenny-Handley were anciently two separate Hundreds, revenues each year make Sixpenny the more important. It belonged with the chapel of St Andrew to the Abbess of Shaftesbury.  About 1332 Sixpenny disappeared from the records. It reappeared in the 16^th c added to Handley. After the Reformation it was sold to the Glyn family. The Ley family known as ALYE have a memorial plate in the church dating from 1625. Handley is one long street with the church at the top. Worbarrow Hill is famed for its celtic treasure here and can be seen in Farnham Museum.

Two Wesleyan chapels were here and a National School was erected in 1851. Sheep farming was the main occupation but other trades were well covered. The population in 1861 was 1,203. Area covering 5,928 acres. A fire in the village in the 19th c made over 200 people homeless. Many donated sums of money to the homeless totalling approx £1000 at that time.

The OPC for Sixpenny Handley is Kim Parker

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Entrance to the parish church with the war memorial © Anne Preston

Chapel of St Andrew, courtesy of Peter Walker ©