Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for MUDDIFORD

MUDDIFORD, a village in Christchurch parish, Hants; on a creek of Christchurch bay, 1½ mile E of Christchurch. It contains lodgings for summer visitors, and commands an excellent bathing-beach; and it had Coleridge as a lodger in 1816. Gundimore villa, in its vicinity, was formerly the residence of W. S. Rose, Esq.; and was visited, in his time, by Walter Scott, who there wrote part of his " Marmion." Mr. Rose afterwards wrote a poem called " Gundimore; " and lie said, in that poem

Here Walter Scott has woo'd the nor thern muse;
Here he with me has joy'd to walk or cruise;
and hence has prick'd through Ytene's holt, where we
Have call'd to mind how, under greenwood tree,
Pierc'd by the partner of his woodland craft,
King Rufus fell by Tyrell's random shaft.
Hence have we rang'd by Celtic camps and barrows,
Or climb'd th' expectant bark, to thread the Narrows
Of Hurst, bound westward to the gloomy bower
Where Charles was prison'd in yon island tower."


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Christchurch AP/CP       Hampshire AncC
Place: Muddiford

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