2002, a Spatial Odyssey. An Investigation Into the Sphere(s) of Influence of Sherborne, Dorset (an...

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author and that no quotation from the dissertation and no information

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1

2002, A Spatial Odyssey

An Investigation Into theSphere(s) of Influence of

Sherborne, Dorset(an English Country Town)

by

Gordon Ralph Morris

A dissertation submitted to the University of Plymouthin partial fulfilment for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCEin Rural Development

June 2003

2

Abstract

Gordon Ralph Morris

2002, A Spatial Odyssey

An Investigation Into the Sphere(s) of Influence

of Sherborne, Dorset

(an English Country Town)

This study attempts to define, by means of a small scale survey of secondary school pupils

and their families, the sphere(s) of influence for Sherborne, a country town in a

predominantly rural part of Dorset, England. The study aims to find out whether this

approach can be used to determine, easily yet accurately, using self-administered

questionnaires, the town's sphere(s) of influence. A related aim is to discover, by

comparing various - mainly nineteenth and twentieth century - service areas, the extent to

which Sherborne's overall sphere of influence has changed with time.

A review of the literature relating to methods used to determine spheres of influence of

small country - "market" - towns in England since the 1940s suggests a continuing - and

largely unmet - need for regular information about how groups of settlements function as

service centres. With the creation of the Market Towns Initiative (announced in the Rural

White Paper of 2000), there is both a need for, and an opportunity to develop a means of

gathering this information, and of determining the sphere(s) of influence of small towns. It

is argued that this information can be acquired using the essentially simple methods and

approaches developed by, for example, Professor Arthur Smailes, and Drs Howard Bracey

and Liz Mills, whose surveys in the 1940s, 1950s and 1980s assessed the standard and

location of rural services, and the extent to which they were used by local people.

The results of the survey which forms the heart of this study suggest that, with some -

proposed - modifications to the approach, it should be possible to discover, relatively

easily, the degree to which a town's services are used by people living in the surrounding

settlements, and the geographical extent of the town's influence for the services surveyed.

3

List of Contents

Page

List of Tables 6

List of Figures 7

Acknowledgements 11

Author's Declaration 12

Chapter 1 Introduction 15

Chapter 2 Literature Review 20

2.1 Background 20

2.2 Post War Attempts to Understand the Role

of Rural Service Centres 28

2.2.1 Introduction to Bracey's Approaches 28

2.2.2 Bracey's Findings 32

2.2.3 Bracey's Conclusions and Implications for Future Work 38

Chapter 3 The Selection of the Case Study Town 43

3.1 Introduction 43

3.2 Why Sherborne? 43

3.3 Sherborne - a Pen Portrait 44

3.4 Sherborne's Sphere(s) of Influence 47

Chapter 4 Developing the Method 54

4.1 Introduction 54

4.2 Selecting the Survey Indicators of service provision 54

4.3 Data Collection 60

4.4 Questionnaire Design 62

4.5 Pre-test - Method and Results 63

4

Chapter 5 Results 68

5.1 The Main Survey - Method and Limitations 68

5.2 Analysis of Data 70

5.3 Analysis of Survey Results 72

5.3.1 Introduction 72

5.3.2 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Ward,

Parish, and Extent of use by Respondents 73

5.3.3 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - a Comparison

With Nearby Towns 92

Chapter 6 Conclusions and Recommendations 97

References 107

Appendices 117

1 The Relationship Between Sherborne

and Yeovil, and Sherborne and Dorchester 118

2 Reasons for Excluding Education and Transport

From the Indicators of Service Provision

Selected for the Survey 126

3 Questionnaire Development: Version 1 and

Version 5 (Used in the Survey) 131

4 Letters Sent in Connection With the Research 136

5 Completed Questionnaire From Pre-test Survey 140

6 Survey Data Presented by Electoral Ward 143

7 Sherborne's Services - a Discussion 145

8 Scatter Charts Illustrating Sherborne's Significance

as a Service Centre by Parish, Relative to Nearby Towns,

for Each of the Four Service Categories Surveyed 148

9 Analysis of Respondents' Written Comments 154

10 Copy of Front Page of The Conduit, Sherborne's Newsletter 156

5

List of TablesPage

Main Text

1 List if Settlements Within Various of Sherborne's Service

Areas/Spheres of Influence 53

2 Examples of Indicators of Service Provision

Used in Various Post-war Surveys of Services

in English Rural Settlements 58

3 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Parish-level

Data (5 or More Respondents) by Service Category, Distances

and Times From Sherborne and Nearest Alternative Town 76

4 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Respondents'

Sex and Time Lived in Area by Service Category 81


Sex and Age Band by Service Category 83


Sex and Occupation by Service Category 86


Sex and Place of Work by Service Category 89

8 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by

Male and Female Respondent's Usage by Service

Category and "Place of Recreation" 90

9 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre Showing

Those Parishes Within Sherborne's Sphere of Influence 104

Appendices

A6/1 Survey Data by Electoral Ward 144

6

List of Figures Page

1 Shopping Areas of Eight Somerset Towns

and Part of Bristol 30

2 Professional Service Area of Eight Somerset

Towns and Part of Bristol 31

3 Higher District Centres: Scores for Services

and Rural Component of Centrality 35

4 Lower District Centres: Scores for Services

and Rural Component of Centrality 36

5 Ordnance Survey Map of the Sherborne Area 46

6 Sherborne's Early Ecclesiastical Sphere

of Influence (pre-1836) 49

7 Dorset's Twelve (Poor Law) Unions 50

8 Postal Service Areas, 1861 to 1939 51

9 "Hinterlands" of Motor-Bus Centres 52

10 Trial Survey Form With Results 66

11 Ordnance Survey Map of Wards and

Parishes Featured in the Survey 71

12 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Ward 74

13 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Parish 76

14 Yeovil's Significance as a Service Centre by Ward 68

15 Sherborne's and Yeovil's Significance as Service

Centres by Ward 79

16 Sherborne's and Yeovil's Significance as Service centres (all

respondents) 80

17 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Male

Respondents' Usage by Service Category and

Time Lived in Area 82

18 Sherborne's Significance as a Service

Centre - Female Respondents' Usage by Service

Category and Time Lived in Area 82

7



Age Band 84

20 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Female

Respondents' Usage by Service Category and Age

Band 84



Occupation 87



Occupation 87



Place of Work 89



Place of Work 89

25 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Male

and Female Respondent's Usage by Service Category

and "Place of Recreation" 90


Parish Relative to Nearby Towns (Average of all

Four Services Surveyed) 93

27 Relative Significance of Sherborne's Service Categories

by Parish, Relative to Nearby Towns 95

28 Map of Sherborne's Area of

Influence - an Informed Estimate 106

29 Population, Trade Area and Related Data - Sherborne

and Area 120


Parish Relative to Nearby Towns (Medical Services) 149


Parish Relative to Nearby Towns (Professional Services) 150

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32 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Parish

Relative to Nearby Towns (Retail Services) 150


Parish Relative to Nearby Towns (Leisure Services) 151

34 Relative Significance of Sherborne's Service Categories

by Parish, Relative to nearby Towns 152

9

List of PlatesPage

1 View of Sherborne Abbey 14

2 Sherborne - Market Day 122

3 Yeovil - Market Day 122

4 Typical Sherborne Shops 123

5 Yeovil's Quedam Shopping Centre 123

6 The Yeatman Hospital, Sherborne 124

7 Yeovil Hospital 124

8 A Sherborne Restaurant 125

9 Yeovil's Cinema, Tenpin Bowling

and Restaurant Complex 125

10 Yeovil's Main Shopping Street 126

11 Sainsbury's Supermarket, Sherborne 126

10

Acknowledgements

Without the help of the people named below, I would have given up long ago.

I am indebted to many friends and colleagues in the Countryside Agency. David Coleman

always found time to read drafts and to talk to me about the project. Others who have been

very generous with their time, interest, and patience, are John Burns, Deborah Cassell, Pat

Connolly, Jaki Bayly, Pauline Warr, Victoria Westhorp, and Caroline Young, to all of

whom I gratefully extend my thanks.

I also thank the staff, pupils and students of the Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset, for

distributing, completing and returning the survey questionnaires. The Head teacher, Mr

Chris Shepherd, Deputy Head, Mrs Jan Leyshon, and the Head of the Geography

Department, Mr Phil Davies, were particularly helpful and encouraging.

There are three other people to whom I offer special thanks. Dr Liz Mills, whose research

and personal interest in my work was both valuable and motivating. My supervisor,

Professor Andrew Errington, encouraged me greatly, and helped me find my way through

the more arcane aspects of the academic process. Dr Alan Rogers, late of Wye College,

showed interest in my work throughout, and also, kindly, gave me a copy of "English Rural

Life", by the late Dr H.E. Bracey, the researcher on whose work this dissertation is

primarily based, and whose pioneering work served as my inspiration for the research.

Finally, and most importantly, I thank my wife, Diana, whose patience has been

extraordinary, and whose common sense and intuition led her, long before me, to the

conclusion that, where the role of rural settlements are concerned, there is much that

changes, but also much that stays the same!

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Author's Declaration

At no time during the registration for the degree of Master of Science has

the author been registered for any other University award.

This dissertation is the original work of the author except where

acknowledgement is given, and has not previously been submitted for a

degree in this or any other University.

..................................

Gordon Ralph Morris

Dated: ......................

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One can never hope to present an idea of the enormous variety ofinterests, economic and social, which link each town to thecountryside causing it to signify something slightly different foreach inhabitant of the rural areas and giving an essentiallypersonal meaning to the phrase, "Town and Country Relations".

A.J Heamon, The Towns of Somerset South of Mendip and TheirRelations With the Countryside (1950).

13

Plate 1

View of Sherborne Abbey, Sherborne, Dorset

14

Towns and country are indivisible, both geographically andsocially, and the establishment of the fundamental factsconcerning their inter-relations is a condition precedent of successin the social and economic planning to which we are committed.

Professor A. E. Smailes, The Geography of Towns (1966)

Chapter 1 Introduction

"Towns", as Professor Smailes noted, " no longer belong to the countryside as they once

did." (Smailes 1966 p129). However, he also noted (p129) that, " ... if the relations

between town and the surrounding area have been changed, they have not been severed.

The two are still mutually interdependent economically and socially.". Both everyday

experience and research findings suggest that these interdependencies remain. For

example, the Rural White Paper (DETR/MAFF 2000 pp73-88) stresses the importance of

country towns to the rural economy. Taylor (2001 p52), in a discussion about the

world-wide external influence of major cities in today's global economy, introduces the

concept of the "hinterworld", " ... as the particular form of hinterland for world cities.",

but is careful to note (p59) that he is not suggesting that, " ... hinterworlds have replaced

hinterlands1; local newspapers continue to operate in their local catchment areas and

rural people still shop in the local town.".

Interestingly, Taylor, in providing, " ... empirical evidence of the external relations of

major cities under conditions of contemporary globalization.", returns, " ... to ideas of

'urban influence' in service provision which were current before [the 1960s] ...." (p52). In

short, his work is based on consideration of spheres of influence. Smailes noted that, "We

are still woefully ignorant about the areas serviced by various urban institutions which

15

1 The Abstract from Taylor's paper alludes to the problems associated with , " ... concepts such ashinterland". In terms of some public sector grant schemes, discussions about the nature, and the search for adefinition of the word, hinterland, seem to have been have driven more by the bureaucratic need to categorisefor the purposes of determining eligibility for grant aid, than any consideration of a particular town'slocation, function, and purposes (Morris 2001).

express the central functions of towns.", and bemoaned, " ... the dearth of applicable

statistics ... ", that went some way towards explaining, " ... why so little work has yet been

done in Britain to distinguish the urban fields." (1966 p136).

A settlement's sphere of influence is not simply geographical (i.e. a single "hinterland"2,

within the confines of which live people who largely depend on a particular town for goods

and services). A report for the Countryside Agency (CA) suggests that, " ... globalization

has increased the number of different roles that [country towns] could perform - they are

no longer robust central place entities." (Medcalf' 2000 p20). Medcalf's research3 found

that current trends are altering, "... the relationship of an individual town with its

hinterland; between one town and another; and between clusters of towns and other

clusters in adjacent geographical regions." (p9). Underlying this, and other work, are

concerns about rural life in general (Sissons 2001), and country (“market”) towns, and their

potential as centres for sustainable rural development and locally led regeneration work, in

particular (Courtney and Errington 2000, CA 2001, CA 2001a).

In spite of these concerns, life today for most people is comfortable compared with, for

example, the circumstances that prevailed for some in the 1930s (Bondfield 1943, Orwin

1945), and earlier (Savage 1914). Clearly, given the overall improvement in the standard

of living during the last sixty years, this is not surprising. However, and inevitably, some

towns are relatively deprived (Morris 2001 p8), often for reasons beyond the control of

local people. For example, Aylesham in Kent - one of the towns identified by Margaret

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3 The research, part of a wider programme, examined, " ... the relationship [in a regional context] betweenthe inhabitants of [a "cluster" of five Wiltshire] market towns and the quality of the services and amenitiesthat these places provide." (Medcalf 2000 p10).

2 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, hinterland [German, from hinter ‘behind’ + Land 'land'] hasthe following meanings, none of which relate particularly well to country towns: 1) the often deserted oruncharted areas beyond a coastal district or a river's banks; 2) an area served by a port or other centre; 3) aremote or fringe area. However, for the purposes of this dissertation, the word is taken to mean, "The areaaround, and dependent upon, country towns, or other settlements." (this is the meaning commonly given tothe word by rural development practitioners).

Bondfield in the 1930s as a cause for concern4 - was purpose built to accommodate coal

miners in what is now a disused coalfield. Similarly, seaside towns have suffered as

people increasingly holiday abroad. This is not to suggest that all country towns are

experiencing significant disadvantage. Some are very successful, affluent places (Green

2001). The challenge for policy makers is to develop support programmes and grant

schemes that are capable of solving the - sometimes long-term - problems of disadvantaged

communities, perhaps by using the experiences of the more fortunate, or successful, to help

the less fortunate develop skills and expertise that will enable local people to identify and

solve local problems (i.e. to help people help themselves). One current approach is the

Countryside Agency's5 Market Towns Initiative which, " ... not only covers the whole town

and its surrounding countryside [writer's emphasis], but enables people to look at a wide

range of connected issues that affect the quality of life." (CA 2001 p1). It is the

relationship between a town and "its" countryside that is of interest in terms of this

research.

Although, understandably, much of the literature concentrates on topics of concern, for

example, rural services (Lievesley and Maynard 1992, RDC 1995, Spilsbury and Lloyd

1998), it is possible that not enough has been done to understand and exploit successful

social and economic structures and relationships between many towns and their

surrounding settlements. It is suggested that, despite the influence of globalization and

technological developments, many of the traditional relationships and service dependencies

between town and country in England remain substantially unchanged6, are fundamentally

strong, have proved to be enduringly resilient, and, perhaps because of this, are sometimes

17

6 Unlike the situation in parts of rural Australia and the USA, where some small country towns appear to bein terminal decline (Forth 2000), mainly because of the decline in the relative importance of primaryindustries (Hamilton, 2001).

5 The writer's employer.

4 Although Aylesham’s houses were built to a high standard - indoor lavatories and bathrooms, unusual in many communities in the 1920s/30s, were provided, Bondfield found evidence of poor health among thefamilies, all of whom had relocated (or been relocated) from other coal mining districts.

taken for granted, their success assumed to be a consequence of supportive rural

development policies, rather than inherent strength. For, to quote Medcalf (2001 p20), " ...

globalisation is a paradox, a process that makes a demand upon places to function both

competitively and collaboratively ... individual towns need to develop local distinctiveness

whilst maintaining and promoting a collective regional identity.".

Medcalf's points refer to town to town relationships, but are, it is suggested, equally valid

in terms of the relationship between towns and villages that this study aims to explore,

using a questionnaire to discover how far a particular country town's influence as a

service centre extends into the surrounding area, and to establish if this method can

be developed for easy, useful replication in other country towns.

The inspiration for this work is the late Dr Howard Bracey's practical investigations into

rural life and the role of towns as rural service centres (Bracey 1954). In his obituary of Dr

Bracey, Peter Haggett (1996 p330) wrote that Bracey's " ... work sits squarely in a tradition

of careful, pragmatic reporting on rural change. While the analysis he conducted was not

deeply theoretical by today's standards, his 'Domesday survey' type of approach laid the

careful foundations on which later studies could be built and against which the hectic pace

of rural change could be measured.".

For the research to add value to Howard Bracey's work, it must do more than simply

replicate his approach. It must take into account both the work of other researchers (Mills

1988, Errington 1994, Courtney, Dawson and Errington 1998, Dawson and Errington

1998a, Dawson and Errington 1998b, Errington and Morris 1998, Courtney and Errington

2000, Stride 2000, Medcalf 2000, OMAI 2001), and the changes that have occurred since

the 1950s. Above all, it should aim to inform the work of today's practitioners and policy

18

makers7. If it succeeds in this, if it helps to refine and improve regeneration methods, and

to develop policy and practice, then it may contribute to the well-being of the people who

live in, and around, England's towns, and to the vitality and viability of the ancient, and

symbiotic relationship between town and village.

The objectives of this research are:

1. to assess the current suitability of Howard Bracey's approach to the identification

of the "spheres of influence" of country towns;

2. to establish the most appropriate contemporary indicators of service provision for

such towns;

3. to identify a suitable country town for study;

4. to conduct a survey of residents of the study area;

5. to use the resulting data to map the "spheres of influence" of the case-study town;

6. to review the advantages and limitations of the method in determining the

"spheres of influence" of country towns.

The structure of the dissertation takes the reader through a review of the literature (Chapter

2), the reasoning behind the selection of Sherborne, Dorset, as the case-study town

(Chapter 3), the development of the method used to gather the data (Chapter 4), the

presentation of results (Chapter 5) and, finally, in Chapter 6, to conclusions and

recommendations.

19

7 For example, the Countryside Agency, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, RegionalDevelopment Agencies, Local Authorities, Rural Community Councils.

Chapter 2 - Literature Review

The story of the past should have the same effect as all greatstories. It should increase wisdom and understanding.

Professor Manning Clark, A Historian's Apprenticeship (1992).

2.1 Background

There is evidence to suggest that interest in both the functions and the "state" of English

country towns extends back to the medieval period. Many of the market towns that we

know today were founded in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries when the distance between

markets was governed essentially by the time taken for sellers and buyers to walk to and

from markets. Indeed, Barker (1975) refers (p1.14) to, " ... a thirteenth century lawyer

called Bracton, who argued that six and two thirds miles was the legal spacing between

markets.".

According to Chamberlin (1983), " ... at least 500 new towns were founded in a

tremendous explosion of confidence and energy ... [and as] many again were developed

out of existing villages while those that that had been established before the conquest

received new form, new life." (p78). The Rural White Paper (DETR/MAFF 2000 p74)

refers, in a chapter entitled, "Enhancing the Role of Market Towns", to, " ... over 1,000

[market] towns in England with populations between 2,000 and 20,000.". Although the

number and type of town can be disputed8, it is, nevertheless, extraordinary to think that, in

the year 2000, the number of English country towns was similar to the number that existed

in 1300. Many of these towns have, for many years, been regarded as service centres,

irrespective of whether they have, or indeed, have ever had, traditional agricultural

markets.

20

8 Ray Green suggests that there are 466 "market towns" in England and Wales, " ... the rest [being] very close

Indeed, the term market town is a mixed blessing. For some settlements it is accurate. It is

also a powerful metaphor for a certain type of place and way of life. However, it is also

misleading. Although there are traditional market towns, there are also other types of rural

settlement that neither fit the image, nor perform the classic functions of a market town,

and yet have the potential, either to be service centres, or, for example, centres for tourism

or the arts. Arguments about nomenclature do little to advance our understanding of how

towns function. Perhaps, in order to ensure fair treatment for all, and to avoid confusion,

the term, country town, should be more widely used?

It is, after all, a town's role today that is important, irrespective of whether it developed

from a thirteenth century market town, a nineteenth century milling town, or a twentieth

century mining village. For example, present day Dorchester, Dorset's county town, which

developed from its pre-Roman and Roman origins to become Hardy's nineteenth century

Casterbridge, " ... the pole, focus, or nerve-knot of the surrounding country life; differing

from the many manufacturing towns ..." (Hardy 1988 p62), is now primarily an

administrative and light industrial centre, although it retains both its traditional market

town function and scale. Today, Dorchester has a reassuring mix of - not always popular! -

modern development, attractive old buildings, and a continuity based on its long history

which, for many people, seems to represent an ideal form of settlement, neither too

crowded, nor too remote. Certainly, town living is nothing new. According to Christopher

Dyer (1997), almost one in five of the English population lived in towns in the fifteenth

century.

21to or a part of Metropolitan England." (Green 2002).

In any event, interest in country towns and their role as rural service centres arises

periodically, in Dr Bracey's case literally from the ashes of past research9, to be addressed

by a new generation of researchers, politicians, and development practitioners, each

seeking, in their own way, the holy grail of vibrant, sustainable, socially and economically

cohesive communities.

Currently, the aim is to develop and apply policies and programmes that will enable people

to help their towns develop in ways that they think appropriate. This approach is designed

to help local people gain the skills and experience needed10 to enable them to analyse their

town's circumstances, identify its, and the surrounding area's, strengths and weaknesses,

and develop and implement locally relevant improvement plans. This emphasis on the

strategic role of "reinvigorated" local government (DETR/MAFF 2000 p145) and

community development (SCCD 2001), appears to suggest that local people will be given

an increasing say over local affairs. Similarly, the growing interest in Local Strategic

Partnerships (DETR 2000, Nock 2001), and regional accountability (DETR 2001), suggests

that a more flexible, locally-centred, less mechanistic, rule-based and target-driven

approach will be required, with, "...success being judged by users, not governments."

(Caulkin 2002). Current trends suggest that Howard Bracey's practical ways of finding out

how rural areas work for people - i.e. to measure change by means of surveys of services

and usage patterns - may be about to come of age again.

There is much about current circumstances that Bracey would recognize; in particular,

perhaps, the underlying, unchanging tensions that prompt both interest and action. In the

22

10 Commonly referred to as capacity. The learning process is called capacity building.

9 In his obituary of Dr Bracey, Professor Haggett recalls how, when he visited him at his home, he found himburning his research papers on a garden bonfire. Fortunately Professor Haggett was able to save some of thepaperwork, which is now on file in the Somerset Record Office, Taunton.

Introduction to his report into the impact of industry on the countryside, Bracey (1963

p18), wrote,

Buses, cars and trains allow town workers to live in the countrysideup to ten miles or so from their work. At the same time, industry isbeing squeezed out of the urban areas for various reasons ... . Therenever has been a time when villages and country towns have seen somuch building.

The social structure of the rural locality is revolutionized by thisinfusion of newcomers with varied experience and different, usuallynon-rural, backgrounds. The pronouncements of the village eldersare questioned; some of them find themselves thrown off the parishcouncil: new groups are set up and new activities organised.

In another quotation from the same source, Bracey (1963 p224) noted,

We have tried ... to bring out the urgency of the problem. What wasuntil recently considered the natural order of things in thecountryside is changing rapidly with more industry, greater mobilityand an influx of newcomers. In past generations, change, whetherbrought about by industry or from other causes, came to thecountryside but slowly. The frightening thing about the present dayis the rate of that change.

However, change is not necessarily bad, for, as Benjamin Disraeli commented in 1867,

"Change is inevitable in a progressive country. Change is constant.". Change can bring

benefits. Orwin (1945) noted (p3) how technological change during the years between

1880 and 1940 had worked to the advantage of typical country towns, from which, " ...

most of the dark and narrow courts ... swarming with dirty children ... had disappeared.".

In any event, Howard Bracey spent much of his life trying to understand the nature and

implications of change in rural areas11. During his twenty-five years as a researcher, he

straddled the worlds of economics, geography, and sociology. His interest in country life

and the service functions of rural settlements produced, "the principal early attempt to test

the central-place model in rural environments ... [via] ... extensive and detailed surveys of

23

11 He was a member of Bristol University's Regional Reconstruction Group, which, in the years following theSecond World War, helped to plan development in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire (Haggett1996 p329).

Wiltshire and Somerset ... [followed by tests of his results in] ... Somerset, Dorset,

Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Hampshire ... ." (Cloke 1983 p58).

Bracey understood the weaknesses and difficulties associated with rural service provision,

and attached much importance to the role of town and country planning in raising rural

standards (Cloke 1995 p114). He noticed that certain villages12, with more shops and

services than their size would seem to warrant, acted as service centres (p117). His

categorization of these villages, and mapping of their spheres of influence, influenced, " ...

early rural settlement planning policy." (p118).

Bracey's approach, although practical, was, according to Dr Liz Mills, in her

re-examination of his Somerset survey work, somewhat remote. Her, " ... appraisal of his

work gives the impression that he did not involve himself closely with the planners, nor

with the representatives of the communities he studied." (Mills 1988 p303). Mills suggests

(p303) that, "Perhaps this stance contributed to the planners' selective and partial

adoption of aspects of his work ... ". For example, according to Liz Mills, the

identification of Somerset's Main Villages13 within each of the county's farming districts,

"... reportedly relied heavily on Bracey's work ..." (p223), for, as Mills noted, " ... the

settlement hierarchy was established with agricultural criteria in mind, though the actual

designation of Main Villages drew on Bracey's survey work, based not on agricultural

services, but mostly on more general retailing." [writer's emphasis14] (Mills 1988 p235).

24

14 In other words, Bracey's work was not primarily about agriculture.

13 Those settlements selected for support as local service centres, primarily on the basis of their historical andcurrent agricultural significance, but also, according to Mills (p224), in terms of population, "... sufficient ...to give the concentration of revenue to finance the various services within them.", although, according to theCounty Council, "The classification [of Main Villages] bears no relationship to population." (p225).

12 He called them English central villages.

The possibility that the planners were somewhat selective in the way that they used

Bracey's work is apparent in the results of Mills's analysis (1988 p269), and suggests a

perhaps unintended consequence of well-intentioned policies designed, as have been many

before them, to maintain an adequate level of service provision in rural areas15. Rural

policy development during the late 1940s and early 1950s was heavily influenced by the

Report of the Committee on Land Utilisation in Rural Areas, commonly known as the

Scott Report (HMSO 1942). The majority view of this Committee was that, "... the

well-being of rural communities and the preservation of rural amenities are dependent

upon [the maintenance of a prosperous agriculture]..." (HMSO 1942 p55)16. It is not

surprising, therefore, that this imperative was reflected by policy makers as they struggled

with the problems of post-war reconstruction.

Dr Mills (p224) suggests that, "It seems that the plans of the 1950s were characterised by a

lack of foresight concerning the changes that the increasing mechanisation of agriculture

would bring.". The presumption that agriculture (seemingly synonymous with the rural

way of life) had to be protected at all costs was central to rural planning. Whilst

understandable in the context of the immediate post-war years, it does appear that, to a

certain extent at least, Bracey's research was used by Somerset's planners17 to reinforce a

pre-determined policy direction, rather than to inform appropriate policy development.

25

17 How ironic then, the dissenting Professor Dennison's statement that, whereas his colleagues, placed their,"...chief reliance on the maintenance of the traditional agriculture; I prefer to rely on the maintenance ofbetter standards of Town and Country Planning." (HMSO 1942 p122).

16 This view was challenged by Professor S. R. Dennison, a member of the Committee. Dennison proposed a more inclusive approach to rural development, based on a diversified economy, and, whilst accepting thegeneralisation that, "... 'rural' is synonymous with 'agriculture' ...", stated that, "... it is by no means alwaysthe case that the village is predominantly dependent on agriculture. There are many areas in which thecountryside has become essentially suburban ..." (HMSO 1942 p110).

15 Mills's development of Bracey's approach led to closer working with county council planners, RuralCommunity Council staff, and people from the parishes surveyed. Subsequent surveys used Mills's method,and were, therefore, useful monitors of change.

In any event, as Paul Cloke explains (1995 p119), Bracey's central villages were, given

their existing importance as service centres, selected as "key settlements" suitable for

further development. This was seen, presumably, as a way in which existing strengths

could be built upon, for the benefit of both the service centre and the surrounding

dependent settlements. However, this approach may have served simply to help strengthen

the already well provided for settlements at the expense of poorly provided for outlying

settlements.

Bracey recognized, in the early 1950s, that, "Relatively little is known of the modern

pattern of service centres which has been, and is being, imposed on an earlier medieval

framework of market towns and service territory." (Bracey 1954 p95). Earlier work, by

Van Thunen (1826) and Christaller (1933), had helped to establish a theoretical basis for

understanding both the spatial relationships between settlements, and their forms and

functions18. However, as A. E. Smailes (1946 p88), a contemporary of Bracey's, pointed

out, "The complementary relations of town and country and the complex interactions

between towns and their surrounding regions [in England] require much more recognition

and analytical study than have been accorded them either by geographers or

sociologists.". Smailes also noted (p88) that, "The urban pattern of Britain ... cannot be

fitted into any such ... [as Christaller's] ... neat, orderly, and formalistic scheme.". This

point was also made by Heamon (1950) in his study of some of Somerset's towns. He

acknowledged (p313), "... that Christaller is not far wrong in his assessment of the form of

town and country relations.", but also noted (p168) that, "Christaller's method was devised

after studying a comparatively uniform and non-industrialised area in Bavaria, and

cannot, therefore, be expected to give good results when applied to diversified regions

such as Somerset.".

26

18 According to Dawson (1969), "One of the earliest works treating in a logical fashion the topic of thelocation of towns was that by Machiavelli ... ".

Whilst Smailes and Heamon readily acknowledged the usefulness of the theorists' work as

an aid towards understanding the nature of the linkages between town and country, they

also recognized the limitations. So too did Howard Bracey, who built on Smailes's

investigations into "spheres of influence", and the physical planning and transport related

work of, respectively, Dickinson (1942), and Green (1949).

Bracey's approaches and findings are discussed in 2.2 below.

27

2.2 Post War Attempts to Understand the Role of Rural Service Centres

2.2.1 Introduction to Bracey's Approaches

Dr Bracey, by means of questionnaires and surveys of local people, attempted to identify

and quantify local services, and to, " ... find out which towns were used for what services"

(Bracey 1954 p96).

Two approaches were tried. The "direct count" method, which involved counting the

number and type of shops, services and professions in a town, and the "indirect count", in

which selected people in villages were asked which towns they used for which services.

The former was found to be useful in communities with populations of less than 2000.

However, in larger towns, the method proved unwieldy and unreliable, and was abandoned

in favour of the indirect method, which measured the importance of a town as a rural

service centre by noting which villages used which town's services. As Bracey (1953 p96)

observed, "One village may use different towns for different services and indeed different

towns for the same service.". At its simplest, therefore, this approach, based on a detailed

analysis of questionnaires sent to, "head-teachers of schools, chairmen of parish councils,

village clergymen19 and other responsible persons" (p96), gave an indication both of a

town's importance and the extent of its influence. The result, which Bracey admitted was

not perfect, was the Index of Centrality. The method used to calculate the Index for a

particular town was essentially simple, but the process was complicated by the volume of

data, difficulties associated with questionnaire design, and the need to conduct

comprehensive, carefully controlled surveys in many settlements.

28

19 Similarly, according to Barker (1975 Appendix 1 p7), much of the information contained in Kelly'sDirectories was also obtained by local clergy.

In essence, each service was allotted one point. If one village used one town for a

particular service, then one point was awarded to that town. If two towns were used by the

village, for one service, then each town was given half a point. The number of points

allocated to each town were added together to give an overall score. In this way, a town's

importance to its surrounding settlements was gauged - and expressed as its Index of

Centrality. Similarly, the scores allocated by each village to different towns gave an

indication of the extent to which competing towns were used by a particular village

(Bracey 1954 p97). The results, when mapped, indicate the extent of a town's influence for

each of the services surveyed. Examples of some of these areas of influence, which differ

by service type, are illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

Bracey's work revealed that:

y a town's influence over its surrounding area diminishes with distance, and varies

with service type;

y other factors, such as the capacity and nearness of other towns and settlements,

and local geography (e.g. hills, rivers), also play a part in determining a town's

spatial influence20.

29

20 A finding apparent not only from Bracey's work in England, but also from application of his basic methodin New Zealand (Fookes 1974).

Figure 1

Shopping Areas of Eight Somerset Towns and Part of Bristol21

(Bracey 1954 p102)

30

21 The boundaries enclose all places taking five out of the following seven services from the town:gentlemen's outfitting, ladies' outfitting, footwear, hardware goods, electrical goods, radios, furniture.

Figure 2

Professional Service Area of Eight Somerset Towns and Part of Bristol22

(Bracey 1954 p103)

31

22 The boundaries enclose all places taking five out of the following eight services from the town: doctor,dentist, optician, dispensing chemist, bank, solicitor, chartered accountant, auctioneer.

2.2.2 Bracey's Findings

It should be noted that, although Bracey's team sent out a large number of questionnaires

overall, only a small number were sent to each settlement, and these to people from,

essentially, the professional classes. Similarly, the questionnaires were, of necessity,

limited in their coverage. Bracey selected fifteen services23 for inclusion in the Index of

Centrality, giving each settlement a total of fifteen points to be, " ... credited to one town,

or distributed between several" (Bracey 1954 p97). Some of the information collected

(e.g. retail deliveries of coal, laundry etc.) was excluded from the Index because of the

work's emphasis on, "places commonly visited". Later, Bracey reduced the number of

services surveyed to four (chemist, bank, shopping, cinema - i.e. each parish was given

four points to award to the various centres commonly visited). He applied the same

scoring method that he used for fifteen services, and discovered that the results obtained

were similar (the ten "top" service centres in his Somerset survey maintained their

positions relative to one another), and were, according to Bracey, within a safe margin of

error of 4-5% (p105).

Whilst not comprehensive in its coverage of services, and somewhat exclusive in terms of

the people surveyed, Bracey's surveys were extensive in their geographical coverage. His

Somerset survey has proved to be influential in planning terms (2.1 refers), both explicitly

(Whitelaw 1962, Cloke 1995), and implicitly (Green 1966) and also, possibly, for too long

(CA 2001b p24)24. Nevertheless, his work has been enduringly useful as a source of

information for succeeding generations of researchers (Mills 1988, Haggett 1990).

32

24 This report discusses evidence from five local authority sources which showed that, " ... adding newdevelopment to larger settlements with greater ranges of services and facilities did not support those servicesand facilities, which continued to decline." (p24).

23 Seven kinds of shops, and eight professions, namely:- Shops: gents' outfitting, ladies' outfitting, boots and shoes, hardware, electrical, radio, furniture. Medical services: doctor, dentist, optician, dispensing chemist. Other professional services: bank, solicitor, chartered accountant, auctioneer.

According to Paul Cloke (1995 p119), "Bracey's work ... was crucial both empirically and

conceptually to the rural planning of his day and, by implication, to rural planning over

much of the ensuing forty years since the key settlement model (often under other names)

has continued to take centre stage in the planning strategies employed in most areas of

rural Britain.".

Bracey recognized that the diverse nature of rural life meant that the results of his Somerset

survey could not simply be extrapolated to other counties. Using an amended version of

the shortened, four services, survey referred to above, he analysed returns25 from Wiltshire,

Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Dorset (Bracey 1953). The four - amended -

service categories surveyed were:

y medical supplies and services;

y business professions;

y shopping;

y entertainment26.

In total, seventy towns from the counties surveyed scored more than 25 points27 (i.e. an

Index of Centrality of 25, where the Index number is simply the sum of the scores for each

of the four services), and were categorized as service centres. Those towns with, " ...

scores for shopping higher than for professions" (Bracey 1953 p43) were accorded the

status of higher service centres; the remainder were classified as lower service

centres28.

33

28 It can be seen from Figures 1 and 2 that whereas the shopping areas frequently overlap, the professionalareas do so only infrequently; i.e. the influence of the towns as shopping centres exceeds their influence asservice centres for the professions, hence their status, in Bracey's view, as higher service centres (Mills 1988p73).

27 Ranging from Street and Castle Cary - both in Somerset - with 25 and 26 points respectively, to Taunton,Somerset (284 points).

26 The changes reflected the fact that people tended to visit the same town for all their medical/health-relatedneeds (hence medical services, rather than chemist), that where there was a bank, there were generally otherbusiness professionals, and that entertainment was a more broadly useful term than, e.g., cinema.

25 Obtained from the Geographical Association's, Spheres of Influence Enquiry, of which Bracey was amember.

Bracey's studies revealed, amongst other things,

" ... that approximately one-half of the total area of the six counties[was] still served for a majority of ordinary needs by a relativelylarge number of smaller country towns, or by towns which possessspecializations other than rural services; for example, the industrialtowns, the seaside towns ... provide some services for countrypeople. ... This is not to say that larger centers [sic] are not usedregularly or at all, but simply that frequent visits are not made tothem for the satisfaction of ordinary needs." (Bracey 1953 p47).

The "larger centers [sic]" (i.e. higher service centres) referred to by Bracey in the quotation

above are those listed in Figure 3 (Bracey 1953 p39). His "smaller country towns" (lower

service centres - i.e. those with scores for shopping lower than professional services) are

listed in Figure 4 (Bracey 1953 p40). For interest and completeness, the tables contain data

relating to all the towns surveyed.

34

Figure 3

Higher District Centres: Scores for Services and Rural Component of Centrality(Bracey 1953 p39)

8123261616Trowbridge8329211617Minehead9222242224Alton9523232821Wimborne Minster9723282224Sherborne9723322022Witney

10127371918Petersfield10730272525Frome11932352527Bridport12833363029Chippenham13036412924Bath13137333031Blandford14753462721Swindon15440473334Winchester15650503224Reading17042553934Devizes17143523838Basingstoke17244464240Bridgwater18549484642Andover18950604534Oxford21050615445Banbury24262686052Newbury26191764450Yeovil26473915644Salisbury26754737070Dorchester28486845856Taunton

EntertainmentShopping BusinessProfessions

MedicalSupplies &

services

RuralComponent of

Centrality(sum of the 4

servicescores)

Service Scores

Service Centre

35

Figure 4

Lower District Centres: Scores for Services and Rural Component of Centrality(Bracey 1953 p40)

258449Street267667Castle Cary266578Fordingbridge266965Windsor2761047Lymington287597Gillingham28321211Burford295888Glastonbury3066711Hungerford328987Maidenhead34821113New Alresford338889Burnham-on-Sea35124118Norton-Radstock37101476Ringwood37141562Fareham401151113Watlington40128911Didcot572391114Wellington4610101313Romsey4712111212Chard5014121212Crewkerne5013121411Wallingford511291515Calne5215101413Shepton Mallet6218141713Wareham5410111914Ilminster55-162118Sturminster Newton551951516Pewsey5517141212Weymouth5615131414Henley5913161416Abingdon6019121415Wincanton6015171414Wells60202965Southampton622321810Weston-Super-Mare6717121820Warminster6816131920Malmesbury6812172019Marlborough7423171618Chipping Norton7723141921Faringdon7821191919Shaftesbury7813212222Thame8219192222Wantage8218182323Bicester

EntertainmentShoppingBusinessProfessions

MedicalSupplies &

Services

RuralComponent of

Centrality(sum of the 4

servicescores)

Service Scores

Centre

36

Together, in the early 1950s, the settlements listed in Figures 3 and 4 met, " ... a majority

of ordinary needs...", thereby challenging the then current general assumption, " ... that

since 1920 the whole of the countryside has been gradually drawn into the net of a few big

shopping centers [sic] ... " (Bracey 1953 p47). Reflection and intuition suggest that,

although for the majority of the population personal mobility and consumer choice have

increased significantly since the 1950s, visits to major regional centres in the south west

(e.g. Bath, Bournemouth, Bristol, Exeter, Salisbury, and Swindon) are still made relatively

infrequently, in order to satisfy, as Bracey noted, " ... very special needs, obtained on very

occasional visits." (p47). The majority of visits to local towns are for everyday needs such

as education, primary health care, and shopping. For example, C.B. Hillier Parker's

examination of the impact of foodstore development on country towns and district centres,

" ... confirmed the importance of food shopping in smaller towns." (DETR 1998 p17).

These relative constants in people's lives go some way to explain why, despite

long-standing concern about rural decline, everyday needs in rural England are satisfied in

ways that have changed remarkably little. As Bracey wrote (1962 p180), "I see no reason

why the village shop and the central village ... should not be part of the rural way of life in

twenty or even fifty years time ... ". At about the same time, Green (1966 p2) noted that, “

... life in most parts of the countryside has changed so much that the social and economic

conditions of the 1920’s would not be tolerated by most farmers, farmworkers or their

families today.”, before commenting (p20) that, “The inhabitants of hamlets and farms

looked to the village for most of their needs, and what could not be obtained in the village

was usually obtainable in the nearest market town.”. In many ways things are much the

same today, in that, "Most people's lives are very local. ... most everyday journeys take

place within a radius of eight or nine miles." (Donovan, Pilch, & Rubenstein 2002 p11)29.

37

29 Donovan et. al. predict, "... that while the number of trips that people take will remain stable, people willcontinue to travel further on average." (p12).

Then, as now, it was access to some form of transport (Cullinane and Stokes 1998, Gray

2001), that caused most concern.

The results of Bracey's wider study (i.e. his survey of Somerset, together with the results of

the five county survey) enabled him and his colleagues to plot the spatial influence of the

service centres. These results, interestingly, closely mirrored those obtained from a similar

exercise in the state of Wisconsin, USA (Brush & Bracey 1955). Essentially, the mean

distance between all the higher district centres surveyed in England and the United States

was 21 miles; the mean distance of all lower district centres from centres of comparable

distance was 8 miles in England, and 9.9 miles in the Wisconsin study.

2.2.3 Bracey's Conclusions and Implications for Future Work

Bracey concluded that whilst central-place theory appeared to hold good in the rural areas

he and his colleagues surveyed in rural England and Wisconsin,

" ... a satisfactory estimate of total centrality has first to be devisedand, from preliminary analyses carried out with census ofoccupation figures, it seems likely that this will eventually be doneby assessment of the number of people engaged in providing certainservices in excess of the number needed to serve thelocally-resident30. When such estimations of centrality becomepossible on a national scale the measurement of the ruralcomponent of centrality [described by Bracey] should provide ameans of making useful local checks on assessments based onless-laborious field work". (Bracey 1953 p50).

It is regrettable that Bracey's hopes for national estimations of centrality have come to

nothing, because many of the service-related questions that Bracey asked are still relevant,

as, it is suggested, is his practical, methodical approach. For example, the Countryside

Agency's (CA) towns and villages programmes are concerned with rural services, and the

38

30 Presumably this means that the greater the number of excess services (i.e. services over and above thoseneeded to sustain the settlement alone), the greater the likely - implied or actual - degree of centrality.Interestingly, a recent attempt (Shepherd 2003 p2) to classify country towns used an, "... above averagenumber of shops/1000 residents", as one of the criteria for a "service hub".

Rural Services Surveys produced by the Rural Development Commission continue to be

published by the Countryside Agency (CA 2001c). The literature relating to country towns

alone is substantial. A review conducted for the CA (ERM 2000) contains more than 115

references, all of which were written between 1986 and 2000. In addition, the document

refers to related web sites, bibliographies, research projects, and journal articles.

References are also made to five case studies based on the experiences of people working

in, and for, their towns. The need for regular monitoring of the ways in which rural service

centres "work" seems obvious. Revealingly, Dr Mills (1988 p2) noted that,

One of the factors contributing to the difficulty ... [about why it isthat some rural service centres grow and some decline] ... is thatstudies of changes in rural settlements have been conducted overvariable and generally rather short periods of time (5 to 10 years istypical). Longer run studies demand data that are rarely availablein a consistent and comparable form. But as the tradition ofresearch into rural areas grows, so it is now becoming possible forthe researchers of one generation to call upon the survey findings ofthose who preceded them.

It is frustrating to note that the data to which Mills refers are still not available in a

consistent and comparable form. The relatively limited review of the literature undertaken

as part of this research revealed a continuing, but ad hoc approach; a reflection perhaps of

the topic's inherent complexity, different research interests and priorities and, in this

information rich age, the surprising ease with which knowledge of past research can be

lost.

Such complications are not new. Dickenson (1942 p181), wrote:

“This field of research has developed tardily in Britain ... owing to the lackof a clear perception of the main issues involved and of a systematic attackupon them; of a central co-ordination and drive; and of the necessarypublished data of the distributive trades, rail and road traffic data by smallareas, and traffic density maps, upon which accurate studies of thischaracter must be based; ... Today one hears on all hands of planning andthe launching of research on economic and social surveys of regions andcities, which shall serve as a basis of such planning. All specialists seem tobe working towards the same goal from different points of view. In trueBritish tradition, the problem is not looked at as a whole and attacked

39

systematically; but is approached empirically, from special points of view inconnexion with some particular problem ...” .

It appears, therefore, that the impact of Bracey's work, and that of his contemporaries, such

as Smailes, and even of his successors (e.g. Mills 1988, Medcalf 2000) has not perhaps

been as great as it might have been in informing the development of administrative systems

that reflect the way that life is lived today, rather than, for example, the way life was in the

1890s, when modern local government was established, and the late 1940s, when the

National Health Service and post-war secondary education provision was developed. For,

as Smailes noted in his book, The Geography of Towns (Smailes 1966), in which he both

refers to Bracey's work (pp136-142), and discusses the anomalous nature of administrative

district boundaries when considered in terms of areas of influence,

"Administrative boundaries largely belong to an age beforemotor-transport and they ill fit the present-day facts of socialgeography. Before a satisfactory and comprehensive solution of thepressing problem of reform of areas in British local government canbe achieved, however, accurate information about the current socialand economic groupings is required." (Smailes 1966 p146).

Somewhat damningly, Smailes further noted (p147) that the then local authority system,

"... divorces towns from country along artificial and arbitrary lines of cleavage, inflicting

upon British local government the curse of a gnawing struggle between urban and rural

authorities.". He also suggested that to find an example of the opposite approach (i.e.

deliberate association of rural territories with urban centres) one had to go back to the work

of the Poor Law Unions which, in the 1830s, established groups of parishes that "crossed"

county boundaries, suggesting that, even then, "much less today, did these [local authority]

boundaries correspond to natural divisions." (p148), a point reinforced by Clark and

Murfin (1995 p158) who, in a discussion about the - forced - Union between the town of

Maidstone, in Kent, and the nearby village of Coxheath, note that, “ ... the town reacted

with dismay [in 1836] to its incorporation with those rural parishes which already formed

40

Coxheath Union.”, arguing that, "... a trading town could not work efficiently in concert

with agricultural parishes."31. Despite major reorganizations of local government in

197432 and 199733, many local authority and other administrative boundaries are broadly

similar to those referred to by Professor Smailes, who noted that,

Relations between towns and surrounding area are essentially fluid... . Urban fields do not ... divide the country into mutually exclusiveparcels like administrative units. But that does not mean that theyare not relevant for the administrative structures, which ought toconform as far as is possible with the realities of community life."(Smailes 1966 p146).

It seems unlikely that the national estimations of centrality that Bracey hoped for will be

made in the near future. Similarly, administrative boundaries are likely to remain fixed and

relatively arbitrary (by definition they exist for administrative purposes, and so are

unlikely, given current political and bureaucratic structures, to be changed to reflect the,

realties of community life, to which Smailes referred). Therefore, the problems associated

with such "fixtures", are also likely to remain34.

It follows that, if only to minimise, or better understand these problems, there is a need, as

confirmed to the writer by officers from West Dorset District Council (de Iongh 2002) and

Dorset County Council (Walsh 2002), to continue to develop, and use, practical methods of

the type employed by Bracey and his contemporaries and successors. If a suitably simple,

reliable approach can be developed, it should be possible to obtain, relatively frequently, in

a controlled and consistent way, from the most local - town and village - sources, up to

date survey information about rural services, centrality, and the changing nature of

settlement interrelationships. Dr Mills (1988 p301), observing that, " ... there have been

41

34 Although, perhaps not - there is some evidence of cross-border collaboration in the fields of mental healthand waste disposal (Dean 2003).

33 Although in Dorset, in which this research study took place, the historic rural shire county remained -geographically - largely unaffected, the mainly urban Boroughs of Poole and Bournemouth became UnitaryAuthorities.

32 When Rural and Urban District Councils were replaced by larger District and Borough Councils.

31 It must be pointed out that that there were concerns about the level of representation on the Board -Maidstone was represented by two Guardians, the same as other parishes, even though the town's, "...population was greater than that of all the other parishes put together." (Clark and Murfin 1995 p158).

few attempts empirically to examine in detail the links between counterurbanisation and

service provision.", noted that, "Such an examination ideally requires time series data on

both population characteristics and services, so as to monitor changes over a lengthy

period, data which are in practice not available.".

Chapter 3 explains how, and why, the case study town, Sherborne, in Dorset, was chosen.

42

Chapter 3 The Selection of the Case Study Town

3.1 Introduction

To enable some comparisons to be made with Bracey's original results, the survey on

which this research is based was conducted in Sherborne, Dorset, one of the towns

included in Bracey's "six county" analysis (Bracey 1953). In order to overcome the

problems of remoteness that Liz Mills suggested might have hindered Bracey's attempts to

influence policy (Mills 1988 p303), local people and central and local government officers

were involved, albeit in an informal way, in the development, conduct and assessment of

the method, the questionnaire and the survey.

3.2 Why Sherborne?

Sherborne is interesting because of its location and relationship to other towns, its history

and appearance (it is typical of a traditional southern English market town), and its

population which, at 9,64035 is approximately in the middle of the 2,000 to 20,000

population band for market towns quoted in the Rural White Paper (DETR/MAFF 2000

p74). The town also featured in Bracey's studies. Finally, the writer, who has both lived

and worked in the area since 1978, investigated the changes in service provision between

1953 and 1999 in, and around, three Dorset villages close to Sherborne (Morris 2000).

This study noted (p15) that,

"Of the three towns [Sherborne, Dorchester and Yeovil], Sherborneis the closest to the [survey] area, the easiest to reach, contains thearea's main (Abbey) church, and is the home of the Digby family,major landowners who have been resident since the 17th century,and whose estate has holdings in the area (as does that of thenearby, similarly long-established, Strangways Estate of Evershot).That the area is orientated towards Sherborne is indicated by the

43

35 Mid-year population estimates, 2000 (DCC 2003).

following quote from a local history about the village of Holnest(Coffin, 1984), which, although just outside the study area, looks toSherborne for the same reasons, namely that the parishes are, " ... inthe petty sessional division, hundred and union of Sherborne, RuralDeanery of Shaftesbury, Archdeaconry of Dorset, and Diocese ofSalisbury."

There are also links to Sherborne via the administrativearrangements governing health and education services. The localsurgery and primary school ... both of which serve the case studysettlements, "feed" Sherborne's hospital and secondary schoolrespectively.

Therefore, for geographical, historical, trade and administrative -civil and ecclesiastical - reasons, the people who live in the casestudy area tend to regard Sherborne as "their" town.".

Sherborne appears, therefore, to occupy a distinct niche as a service centre within Dorset's

settlement hierarchy. In addition, the town's links with outlying villages appear to be

strong, based as they are on convenience, organizational structures, and history. Further

interest in the study area's potential to inform arises, as noted in the 1940s and 1950s by

Lipman (1952) and Green (1952), from Sherborne's location close to a county boundary,

and its relationships with two other towns included in Bracey's analysis, Dorchester and

Yeovil36 (Appendix 1). It is for these reasons37 - the town's roles, connections, and location

- that Sherborne was selected for the study.

3.3 Sherborne - a Pen Portrait

"Sherborne - the town of the ... clear brook - lies pleasantly at thefoot of a green slope where it glides into the valley of the [River]Yeo. ... The town first emerges into the light of history as the capitalof Newer Wessex ... . This fair West Country included Dorset andSomerset, together with the land of Malmesbury. Of all of it the cityof the clear brook was the capital." (Treves 1935 p306).

44

37 In the interests of completeness it should be pointed out that the writer has lived in the area since 1978, andwas a Governor of the local primary and secondary schools attended by his children.

36 The distance between Sherborne and Yeovil is, at six miles, much less than the mean of 21 miles betweenBracey's Higher Service Centres (2.2.2 above refers).

In the eighth century, for a few years, Sherborne was the capital of Wessex (Wildman 1902

p3), a role partly attributed to its location. The town was bounded to the east by,

"Westwood ... the great forest which divided Wessex into two parts ... " (Wildman p3), by

lower lying land to the north and west, and by rivers and the steep scarp face of the Dorset

Heights to the south. Thus, in the days when dangers lay to the east and south from

marauding Danes, Sherborne was well protected by nature, and sufficiently far from both

the English and Bristol Channels to ensure a fair degree of safety. However, its early

importance did not last. The Domesday Survey gave, " ... no indication of urban status ...

and William of Malmesbury circa 1125 called Sherborne a small village ... " (Penn 1980

pp94). Nevertheless, the town's ecclesiastical significance, whilst somewhat diminished,

has continued to the present day (it is a Bishopric in the Diocese of Salisbury), and the

Vicar of Sherborne is also the Rural Dean for the Dorset villages that lie to the east and

south of the towns (Somerset lies within the Diocese of Bath and Wells). The early

geographical influences are still evident. The main road and rail routes run east to west,

and the Dorset Heights still act as a very obvious physical southern boundary, if not, in

today's car owning society, the significant impediment to travel that they must once have

been.

The town's estimated population (DCC 2003) in 2000 (9,640) is similar to that recorded in

the sixteenth century. In the intervening years the population has changed in response to

changes in the wider economy and local circumstances, but the town's role, as a centre of

education, a market town, and a staging post, both on the main roads from London to

Exeter (now the A30), and Weymouth to Bristol (the A352), and, subsequently, on the

Salisbury to Exeter Railway, and the nearby Bristol to Weymouth Railway, has changed

relatively little over the centuries. Sherborne's "place" in North Dorset, close to the

Somerset border can be seen in Figure 5.

45

Figure 5

Ordnance Survey Map of the Sherborne Area38

46

38 Reproduced from Ordnance Survey map with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's StationeryOffice, © Crown Copyright NC/03/2322.

3.4 Sherborne's Sphere(s) of Influence

The map in Figure 6 illustrates (blue outline) Sherborne's (Abbey's) sphere of immediate

influence prior to 1836 (the other areas outlined in blue also came within Sherborne's

jurisdiction). The dates associated with each of the parishes shown on the map (e.g.

Thornford - 1676, Folke - 1538) are the earliest known years for which the first parish

records are available. The parishes themselves, established as formal entities by the

Church, are much older (Barker 2001).

Figure 7 illustrates, by way of a further example of a "Sherborne hinterland", the area

covered by the town's (Poor Law) Union, together with the county's eleven other Unions.

Whilst clearly not identical to the area defined in Figure 6, it is recognizably similar, as are

the four postal areas illustrated in Figure 8 (Barker 1975), and the transport hinterland

identified by Green (1949)39 illustrated in Figure 9. It is interesting to note that, although

many of the larger postal districts change over time, Sherborne's remains relatively

unchanged until sometime between 1889 and 1939, when Yeovil's district appears to have

gained ground, both in the north of Sherborne's area, and via an incursion from the west

(possibly along the route of the present day A37, Yeovil to Dorchester road). Overall,

however, the "shape" and size of the four postal service districts are similar to the

ecclesiastical and Union areas shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Although it has not been possible to identify the parishes and settlements associated with

all of the areas shown in the Figures 6 to 9, Table 1 identifies both the known parishes and

settlements associated with some of the areas, the parishes and settlements within

Sherborne's secondary school's catchment area, and the distances and travel times between

47

39 Green showed that Sherborne's "transport hinterland" appears to be "squeezed" by both Yeovil's andDorchester's spheres of influence (although the area served by Sherborne appears similar to those served bythe similar sized towns of Blandford and Shaftesbury - possibly, in part at least, at Wincanton's expense!).

each parish and Sherborne40. It should be noted that, in total, 42 settlements are associated

with the four areas listed in Table 1. The average number of settlements associated with

Sherborne, based on the information contained in Tables 1 and 2 is approximately 24. The

average distance between town and village is 5.3 miles41 (8.5 km.). These figures accord

well with a quotation from the 1851 census (Howkins 1991 p29) about the relationships

between villages and markets,

"To the 21 preceding 'villages' there is on average a town, which stands inthe midst of 110 square miles of country, equivalent to a square of 10 ½miles to the side, a circle having a radius of nearly 6 miles; so that thepopulation of the country around is, on average, about 4 miles from thecentre.".

Therefore, given Sherborne Abbey's role as a very long-standing ecclesiastical centre

of power and influence over the parishes lying within the area outlined in blue in

Figure 6, and the similarity of the areas defined in Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9, it seems

reasonable, for the purposes of this research, to regard the settlements listed in Table

1, the majority of which lie within the town's secondary school's catchment area, as

the "reference area" against which the town's current sphere of influence can be

most effectively gauged.

The development of the method used to find out how Sherborne's role has changed since

Bracey's survey in the 1950s, and to determine the extent of the town's influence over the

surrounding area, is explained in Chapter 4.

48

41 The average travel time between Sherborne and the villages is 14 minutes.

40 Distances and times were calculated using a software package called Focus Routefinder set for "fastestroute", except where this involved a journey through Yeovil, when the settings were switched to "shortestroute" (i.e. to avoid traffic congestion through Yeovil - something which most locals would normally do).

Figure 6

Sherborne's Early Ecclesiastical Sphere of Influence (pre-1836)42

(Humphrey-Smith 1984)

49

42 This map, from a series of parish maps of the counties of England, Scotland and Wales, appears by kindpermission of Cecil Humphrey-Smith and the Trustees of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies.

Figure 7

Dorset's Twelve (Poor Law) Unions(DCC 1980 p7)

50

Figure 8

Postal Service Areas, 1861 to 1939(Barker 1975)

51

Figure 9

"Hinterlands" of Motor-Bus Centres(Green 1949)

52

Table 1Lists of Settlements Within Various of Sherborne's Service Areas/Spheres of

Influence

35143020Number of Settlements:

↓↓↓↓5.3/14Average Distance(miles) / time(minutes):

��6.8/20Yetminster

��3.1/9Trent

��3.6/10Thornford

�4.2/8Purse Caundle

�6.3/14Stourton Caundle

��8.9/30Stockwood

��

�0/0Sherborne (inc.

Castleton)

��3.7/10Sandford Orcas

��6.5/21Ryme Intrinseca

�3.4/11Rimpton

�2.3/6Poyntington

��3.4/6Over Compton

��0.9/2Oborne

��2.9/6North Wootton

��3/9Nether Compton

Unofficially - MPchildren attend the

school..

�2.7/5Milborne Port

(Somerset)

�7/16Middlemarsh

�12.7/39Melbury Sampford

�8.5/27Melbury Osmund

�9.4/31Melbury Bubb

�4.9/12Marston Magna

��3.4/8Longburton

��3.7/10Lillington

��3.5/8Leweston

��6.3/17Leigh

��7.7/19Holwell

��4.7/10Holnest

�8.7/25Hilfield

��8.3/20Hermitage

��4.6/11Haydon

��3.8/8Goathill

�6.3/13Glanvilles Wootton

��3.5/8Folke

��5.5/14Clifton Maybank

��7/22Chetnole

�5/13

CharltonHorethorne(Somerset)

��3.5/9Caundle Marsh

�9/19Buckland Newton

��5/12Bradford Abbas

��5/11Bishops Caundle

��5/15Beer Hackett

�8/23Batcombe

GryphonSchool

CatchmentArea

(GS 2002)

PostalArea,2002

(RoyalMail2002)

Sherborne Union(1885)

(Kelly 1885)

EcclesiasticalArea (pre-1836)

(Humphrey-Smith 1984)

Distance/TimeFrom Sherborne(centre to centre)

(miles/mins)

Name ofParish/Settlement

(42 in total)

53

Chapter 4 Developing the Method

4.1 Introduction

Indicators of service provision used in previous research are identified and discussed.

Their relevance to this study is considered and seventeen services are selected for use in the

survey associated with this research.

4.2 Selecting the Survey Indicators of Service Provision

In addition to the services surveyed by Bracey (Chapter 2), Smailes (1966 Ch.7) listed the

following as desirable indicators of service provision43 appropriate to small towns:

y Secondary schools44;

y Hospitals;

y Methodist chapels (i.e. on the basis of its organization along circuit - i.e. district - rather

than parish, lines);

y newspaper circulation;

y Employment-related information45;

y Livestock and fat stock market areas;

y Retail deliveries to the areas "outside" towns;

y Railway season ticket sales and "workmen's ticket issues";

y Bus timetables as a measure of accessibility of towns from outlying areas.

54

45 Smailes noted that none of the then available statistics from, e.g., the Census, the Board of Trade, and theMinistries of Labour and National Insurance, enabled researchers, "to establish the relationship betweenworkplaces and workers' homes." .

44 Smailes used the presence of universities and, " ... more highly centralised institutions ... " as, " ...symbols of high urban rank.".

43 Smailes's discussion makes the distinction between what was possible at the time he wrote (e.g. retaildeliveries to a town's service area), and what was desirable (e.g. direct information about the areas fromwhich visitors to theatres, cinemas, football matches etc. were drawn).

It should be noted that Smailes also recognized the importance of less tangible, qualitative

indicators of service provision relating to people's perceptions of "their" home area. In

addition to recognizing that towns are centres for employment, distribution (of goods and

services), transport, education, health, entertainment and culture, he noted their importance

as, " ... crystallising points of regional and district feeling and thought."46. This last point

is interesting, given the current determination to recognize, " ... the diversity and local

distinctiveness of the countryside." (DETR/MAFF 2000 p11), and governmental

commitment to ensure that, "Market towns stay at the heart of life in rural England."

(Wakeford 2001).

Nevertheless, quantitative indicators have been the most commonly used survey tools, and

a variety of service groups have been used since the end of the Second World War. For

example, a survey of urban spheres of influence conducted in 1949 (Smailes 1966 p136)

for the Geographical Association47, posed questions relating to nine service groups.

Bracey initially selected fifteen services for his Somerset survey in the early 1950s,

subsequently reducing these to four (2.2 refers)48.

The services selected for use in these surveys, together with those used during other

surveys, are listed, for ease of reference, in Table 4, which illustrates, for comparative

purposes:

y indicators of service provision relating to services and transport referred to in the Rural

White Paper (DETR/MAFF 2000);

y indicators of service provision relating to work done in the 1940s (Geographers'

Association) and 1950s (Bracey's "fifteen" and "four" service surveys);

55

48 In a project designed to discover reliable indicators of market town characteristics and vulnerability (ERM2001 p18), four indicators were selected: "at least five shops; at least one bank, building society or solicitor;a total provision of shops above 2.5 per thousand [population]; a jobs to economically active residents ratioabove 0.5.".

47 According to Smailes, "Although the data were collected for most counties in England and later forseveral counties of Scotland it [was] never possible to complete its thorough mapping and analysis, ... ".

46 Something which, perhaps, we would refer to today as, local distinctiveness or character.

y five "basic" - "Bracey Revisited" - village services considered by Mills (1988 p265)

and reported on by Hagget and Morgan (1982 p17);

y indicators of service provision used in more recent surveys (Dawson and Errington

1998, Medcalf 2000, Green 2001, OMAI 2001, Shepherd 2003);

y the composite list of village services referred to by Morris (2000 p43) in his study of

changes in village services in three West Dorset villages since 195049 (these services

were selected on the basis of their inclusion in at least two of three source surveys

reviewed by Morris).

The village services have been included because they represent elements in a hierarchy of

necessary services; i.e. people look to villages for local services (e.g. medical centre,

primary school, village shop, sub-post office), and to their local town(s) for services such

as hospitals and secondary schools. These services, upon which people depend for their

food, their money, their health and their education, are also - and not surprisingly - those

considered by the Countryside Agency (CA 2001d), to be of greatest importance to rural

dwellers.

The appearance, therefore, of the same service types in the majority of the columns in

Table 2 suggests that these are, and have been for many years, the most important services.

For this reason they are considered to be suitable headings around which to structure the

survey questionnaire (note, however, that two of these services, Education and Transport,

have not been included for the reasons explained in Appendix 2).

56

49 Surveys conducted by Dorset County Council, Dorset Community Action (Dorset's Rural CommunityCouncil), and the Rural Development Commission's Rural Services Surveys.

Therefore, the services shown against the shaded background in Table 2 have been

selected for this study. They have been incorporated into the questionnaire under

seventeen general headings50, within the following broad categories (4.4 below

refers):-

z medical

z professional services

z retail services

z leisure

57

50 This is similar to Bracey's approach in that respondents have, in effect, seventeen "points" to award to aparticular service centre.

Table 2 (page 1 of 2)Examples of Indicators of Service Provision Used in Various Post-war Surveys of Services in English Rural Settlements

(NB the shaded area identifies the services selected for this study - 4.2 refers)

Publichouses,cafes,restaurants;Public buildings(inc. placesof worship& villagehalls)

Cultural andleisure/recreation:-

� Community hall

� Church

� Major/Minorsports andleisure facilities

� Recreationground

� Pubs/takeaways

� Restaurants/tearooms

Sports facilitiesLeisure/recreationCinemaCinema andotherentertainment

Village store

• More than 10retail outlets

• Above averagenumber ofshops/1000residents

• Supermarket

Shop types:-

� Retail serviceprovider(hairdressersetc.)

� Supermarket

� Retailcomparisongoods

� Specialistconveniencestore (butchers,bakers)

� Mini-market orGeneral store

Shop types:-

� Range ofretail orsupermarket

� Clothing

� Newsagents

� Hardware

Shop types:-

� Main food

� "Top-up"food

� General

� "Quality",i.e. fashion& gift

ShopsShopping

Shop types:-

� Gentlemens'outfitters

� ladies'outfitters

� Boot andshoe

� Hardware

� Electrical

� Radio

� Furniture

Retaildistributionwithin a town'ssurrounding area

Food shop

Post OfficePost OfficeBank/BuildingSociety

Bank/Building SocietyPost Office

Financial ServicesLegal ServicesProperty services

Bank

SolicitorPost Office

Bank

Bank CharteredaccountantSolicitor

Cash PointPost Office

SurgeriesDispensariesChemists

Doctor'ssurgeryDoctor's surgeryDentists' surgery

Doctors' surgery

PharmacyDentists' surgeryDoctors' surgery

PharmacistDoctorMedical facilitiesChemist

DispensingchemistDoctorDentistOptician

GP surgeries

DorsetStudy

(Morris2000)

BraceyRevisited

(Mills 1988)

Service HubsClassification

(Shepherd 2003)

"SettlementHierarchy Service

List" (OMAI/Alan Turner

2001)

R J Green's"Minimum

Service List" (Green 2001)

"Wiltshire 5Towns" Study (Medcalf 2000)

Bude &Liskeard Studies

(Dawson &Errington 1998)

Bracey's 4Services(1950s)

(Bracey 1954)

Bracey's 15Services (1950s)

(Bracey 1954)

Geographers'Association

Survey (1949)(Smailes 1966)

Village ServicesSurveysRural White

PaperIndicators

(DETR/MAFF2000)

58

Table 2 (page 2 of 2)Examples of Indicators of Service Provision Used in Various Post-war Surveys of Services in English Rural Settlements

(NB the shaded area identifies the services selected for this study - 4.2 refers)

Service industries,including: vehiclemaintenance &building trades.

Parking

LibraryCommunityinformation

Police stationFire stationPolice

Village School

� Pre-school

� Primary/juniorschool

� Secondary schoolSchoolsSchoolSchools

Education(secondary grammarschools)

Childnurseries,Primary School

Public andcommunitytransport

Busconnections

� Main line trainstation

� Minor line trainstation

Bus servicesTaxi service

Access to serviceslisted in this columnwithout using a car

Public transportAccessibility tourban centres bypublic transport

Transport(hourly busservice)

Journies to workJournies to workLocal newspapers

Veterinary practiceAuctioneerAgriculturalmarkets andsupplies

Dorset Study(Morris 2000)

BraceyRevisited

(Mills 1988)

Kent CountyCouncil's "Settlement

Hierarchy ServiceList"

(OMAI/Alan Turner2001)

R J Green's"Minimum Service

List" (Green 2001)

"Wiltshire 5Towns" Study (Medcalf 2000)

Bude & LiskeardStudies

(Dawson &Errington 1998)

Bracey's FourServices (1950s)

(Bracey 1954)

Bracey's FifteenServices (1950s)

(Bracey 1954)

Geographers'Association Survey

(1949)(Smailes 1966)

Village ServicesSurveysRural White

PaperIndicators

(DETR/MAFF 2000)

59

4.3 Data Collection

In the Geographical Association's survey of 1949, "Grammar schools were used as the

principal agents in collecting the information, and the detailed questionnaire forms were

filled in by pupils drawn from the localities specified." (Smailes 1966 p136). According to

Smailes (p137),

"The grammar schools, situated as they usually are in urban centresand drawing their pupils from catchment areas that include thesurrounding settlements, provide a very satisfactory means ofgathering reliable information regarding these relations. Theircatchment areas are themselves one of the significant expressions ofurban spheres of influence, and often provide a first approximationto the general urban field, except near county boundaries, [writer'semphasis] which are limits of the areas controlled by differenteducation authorities.".

As has already been pointed out (3.3 refers), Sherborne is close to the Somerset county

boundary. Consideration must be given, therefore, to Smailes's caveat about the limiting

effect of a county border on survey results. Local education authority borders still exist,

but are by no means as limiting as was the case in Smailes's day. Parents today have, in

theory at least, greater freedom to choose their child's school (in practice of course such

choice is limited by access to transport, a school's physical capacity, and admission policies

which can, for example, give priority to local primary school pupils, and current pupils'

siblings). In view of the changes that have taken place in secondary education since 1949,

it is considered that Professor Smailes's caution, whilst worthy of note, does not invalidate

the approach - i.e. the use of schoolchildren from Sherborne's secondary school - or the

selection of the Sherborne area for the survey51.

60

51 Indeed, it is suggested, for the reasons given in 3.2 above, that the survey area's proximity to the Somersetborder, and Sherborne's long-established relationship with Yeovil, have the potential to add both interest andvalue to the survey work. Smailes himself did not, in any event, consider that problems arising from aparticular town's closeness to a county border were insurmountable. He wrote (p137), "Discrepancies ofextent [of influence] ... as well as exceptional towns which are not grammar school centres or grammarschool centres with only limited development as towns, were of course revealed by the detailed answerssupplied under the various headings of the questionnaire. These throw up the names of the centres to whichlocalities are to be attributed, and, at the same time show whether the association is general orexceptional.".

The survey method used for this study involved school pupils in the distribution and

collection of questionnaires, and is similar to that used by Professor Smailes in 1949.

According to the Gryphon School's Headteacher (Shepherd 2002), the school draws its

pupils from both Somerset (22% - mainly Year 12 and Year 13 students [sixth formers])

and Dorset (78%), and is, unlike the two grammar schools that served the town in 1949,

not restricted to serving children from its Dorset feeder primary schools52. The

involvement of secondary (comprehensive) school children and, by association, their

families, has helped to ensure the inclusion in the survey of a bigger, more widely

representative age and social grouping than was the case during the 1949 surveys53.

It is believed that this approach is both appropriate and sufficiently robust to give

confidence that the method is at least the equal of that used by Smailes.

Therefore, for the reasons discussed above, the method chosen (i.e. using a restricted

and very particular survey population - i.e. people with children of secondary school

age):

y is sufficiently robust in terms of the size and composition of the survey population

(i.e. it is representative of the majority of people in terms of their ability to access

services at places of their choice);

y will produce estimates of spheres of influence, no matter how partial, that should

prove to be of use, both to local people engaged in, for example, the Market Town

Health Check (DETR/MAFF 2000 p78, CA 2001), and to policy makers and

practitioners involved in the quest for appropriate indicators of rural "health"

(CA 2002)54.

61

54 It is possible that the information gained from this research could help to inform rural transport policy by,for example, helping to define rural transport cells, as proposed by Cullinane and Stokes (p310).

53 These were conducted by grammar school pupils, a relatively small sector of the total school population ata time when the majority of pupils left school at fifteen years of age (Pollard 1983).

52 The two grammar schools, which closed in 1992, when the Gryphon School opened, both, at one time, hadboarding houses, and so did not, in any event, necessarily, draw all their pupils from in and around Sherborne.

4.4 Questionnaire Design

Common sense suggests that the shorter the questionnaire, the better the chances of a high

response rate. For this reason, and to allow for easy replication of the survey elsewhere,

the questionnaire was designed, following the two-stage pre-test survey described in 4.5

below, to be as simple as possible, both to complete, and to analyse. Within the simple

framework, however, every care has been taken to ensure that the chosen topics - i.e.

"service indicators" - adequately reflect the service functions of an English country town

(4.2 refers).

The decision to use self-completion questionnaires was governed in part by the use of this

method by Professor Smailes in 1949. The advantages and disadvantages of this method of

data collection are discussed in detail by Oppenheim (1992). Basically, although

inexpensive, able to cover a wide geographical area, and avoid interviewer bias, response

rates can be low; they are inappropriate for the illiterate, the very young and the very old,

and, by definition, they do not allow help to be given to respondents, observations to be

made, or control to be exerted over the way in which questionnaires are completed.

However, Smailes and Bracey made effective use of self-completion questionnaires, and

recent work (Errington 2001) suggests that response rates from surveys similar to the one

conducted as part of this research were reasonable (p14), and that, "The self-completion

survey approach may ... provide a cost-effective means to construct local economic models

highlighting the spatial distribution of economic transactions in and around sub-regional

territories ... " (p19)55.

62

55 Interestingly, Dr Mills adopted an interactive approach - she developed, "...a close working relationshipwith the respondents, whom it was necessary to contact personally, so as to generate ... reliable and detailedquantitative information from what was to be essentially a qualitative research approach." (Mills 1988p136).

Errington's paper also suggests (p19) that, " ... it may also be useful to construct a ...

"social footprint" mapping the social networks of businesses and households." (for this

reason the "Personal" section of the questionnaire includes questions designed to identify

"social" destinations - Appendix 3).

4.5 Pre-test - Method and Results

The design of the questionnaire and the structure of the covering letter were developed in

two stages.

First, initial drafts of the questionnaire were given to twelve of the writer's friends and

neighbours. This very small sample was used to test for errors, ambiguities and

weaknesses in, for example, the structure of the questions, the clarity of layout and

instructions, and the phrasing of the covering letter. At the same time, a letter (Number 1,

Appendix 4) was written to a Deputy Head at the Gryphon School, Sherborne, enclosing,

for information, a copy of the draft questionnaire (Version 1, Appendix 3), and asking for

permission to conduct the:

y second stage of the trial during the Summer Term of 2002 (i.e. a larger distribution -

via a Year 13/Upper Sixth Form A-level Geography class - using the covering letter

and an amended version of the questionnaire used in the first stage of the trial);

y full survey, based on a distribution of three forms to each of the school's 1,350

pupils/students56 during the Autumn term of 2002.

In the event, draft questionnaires (i.e. as distributed to the writer's friends) were sent out

immediately via the chosen class. Therefore, both the pre-test and the pilot survey used

63

56 Three forms per household were considered sufficient - i.e. one form for the pupil and one, say, for eachparent or other adult aged 16 or over.

initial drafts of the questionnaire. However, comments made by the respondents, both to

the pre-test and to the pilot surveys, were sufficient to enable the questionnaire to be

refined. Further refinements were made following discussions with the writer's colleagues

and academic supervisor (copies of the draft and final questionnaires are shown in

Appendix 3). The questions posed are simple, direct, and relate to each of the four selected

service categories (i.e. those shaded grey in Table 2). Relatively few questions are asked.

In order to encourage a quick response an explanatory letter (Number 2, Appendix 4) was

enclosed with each questionnaire. A return date was specified.

Of the thirty-two letters and ninety-six questionnaires issued to the class, a total of ten

forms were returned by five students (ranging from one form per student to three forms per

student). This represented an overall response rate of approximately 15.5%57, a satisfactory

result, given the purpose of the exercise, and the fact that the students were in the midst of

exam preparation. However, whilst the relatively low number of returns from a class of

geographers, whose interest in the topic could be assumed to be greater than that of other

students, suggested that eventual response rate from the whole-school survey would be less

than 15.5%, the school staff were confident that a higher response rate could be expected

from the main trial (in the event this proved not to be the case - 5.1 below refers).

Oppenheim (2000, p104) suggests that some form of incentive - a prize - offered to

participants can increase response rates. Other factors likely to increase participation

suggested by Oppenheim (p104) that would seem to be appropriate to this type of survey

are: some form of advance warning; an explanation of the selection method; a promise of

confidentiality. It was not considered practicable to issue any form of advance notice (this

would have involved the school's staff in additional work - unfair to the individuals

64

57 Calculated by dividing the number of students returning forms (5) by the number of students given letters(32), and expressing the answer as a percentage - i.e. 5/32x100=15.6%.

concerned, and a complicating factor in what it is intended to be a simple, easily replicable

survey method). However, an explanation of the purpose of the research and the reasoning

behind the chosen survey method were contained in the covering letter. The question of

whether to offer a prize was discussed with the head of the school's geography department

and a Deputy Head. Their advice, that it was not necessary to offer a prize, was accepted.

Although recognizing that incentives should produce better returns, it was decided to keep

the process as simple as possible, in order to keep administration to a minimum, and to

determine, from the survey, the number of questionnaires that can reasonably be expected

to be returned in a survey of this type. The last point is important, given that, if successful,

it might be possible to use the method in other towns.

The data collected during the trial survey were used to inform the design of the simple data

analysis spreadsheet shown, with data, in Figure 10.

65

Figure 10

Trial Survey Form With Results

66

Bracey's simple method of awarding one point for each "use" of a particular settlement for

a particular service (2.2.1 refers) was followed (i.e. one point was awarded for each

reference to Sherborne as the location of a particular service). For example, consider the

form shown in Appendix 5. Three of the respondent's medical services are located in

Sherborne (hence a score of 3), but only one retail service. The scores are then totalled and

converted into a percentage "usage" figure. This process is repeated for each respondent

and totals are calculated for each service (i.e. 63% of respondents look to Sherborne for

their medical services - Figure 10 refers). These percentage figures provide an indication

of the extent to which each respondent depends on Sherborne for each of the four

categories of service58.

The design of the survey questionnaire, and the development of the pre-trial and main

survey methods and results, are discussed in Chapter 5

67

58 The process can, of course, be repeated for the other settlements named in the survey, if required.

Chapter 5 Results

5.1 The Main Survey - Method and Limitations

Of the 4,050 forms issued during the first week of the Autumn term, 2002, to the school's

1,350 pupils and students (i.e. three questionnaires per person), 248 forms - all but one of

which were usable - were eventually returned from 158 households59. Two hundred and

thirty-one forms were returned by the requested date, with the final seventeen arriving by

the end of term, after a reminder issued by the head teacher in response to a follow-up

letter60 from the writer (Number 3, Appendix 4).

It was hoped that enough completed forms would be returned to enable a comprehensive

parish by parish analysis. In the event, the relatively small number of forms returned relate

to thirty-nine parishes, of which twenty-nine are within the catchment area's forty-two

parishes/settlements. It is interesting to note that the school draws some of its pupils from

at least ten parishes that lie outside the official catchment area61. The number of forms

returned was disappointing, although perhaps not untypical (Oppenheim 2000 p102).

However, given that surveys involving schools can be problematic (Oppenheim p107,

Coleman 2002), it is considered that the process, if not the response rate, was satisfactory.

Indeed, to take a positive view, 247 usable completed survey forms to analyse, each

containing, potentially, twenty-six separate pieces of information (i.e. a total of 6,422 items

of data) about people's "use" of, and opinions about, Sherborne, represents a significant

68

61 Completed forms were received from a respondent living in a village some 27.4 kilometres (17 miles, 50minutes) distant from Sherborne.

60 This letter contains the suggestion that the survey method could be used to encourage the involvement of atown's school(s) in the Countryside Agency's Market Towns Initiative.

59 A response rate of (158/1350)x100% = 11.7% of the Gryphon School's households, assuming one pupil perhousehold. In fact, some households will have more than one pupil at the school. The overall response rateis likely, therefore, to be higher than 11.7%.

amount of information that should help to improve local understanding about Sherborne's

role as a service centre, and add to the body of knowledge about the workings of a small

country town. In addition, the involvement of a town's secondary school in this type of

research is likely to be of benefit both to the school and the wider community (especially if

there exists in the town some form of local regeneration partnership involved in, for

example, the Market Towns Initiative).

Although this study is primarily concerned with Sherborne's sphere(s) of influence, data

relating to Yeovil's influence are also presented, given the importance attached to the

long-standing close relationship between the two towns (Appendix 1).

The data from the questionnaires were entered in a Microsoft Works spreadsheet, and were

manipulated to allow analysis:

• at Ward and Parish level by service category (i.e. Medical, Professional, Retail,

Leisure), the percentage of "linked visits" made by respondents, and

catchment/non-catchment area;

• by respondents' sex, the length of time that they have lived in the area, their occupation,

age, and places of work and recreation;

• by parish, of Sherborne's local significance and influence as a service centre, compared

with nearby towns.

The way in which the data were analysed is explained in 5.2 below. The results are

presented, and commented upon, in 5.3.

69

5.2 Analysis of Data

The data were initially sorted by parish. They were then grouped by ward to enable a

relatively large number of questionnaires to be analysed, and the results related to defined

geographical and local authority areas (as discussed in 5.1 above, the distribution of

respondents was such that on occasions only one or two responses were obtained at parish

level, and, in some cases, no responses were received). Results were also sorted and

grouped by parish in those cases where more than five completed questionnaires were

received. The ward and parish boundaries that feature in the survey are identified, in red

and black ink respectively, on the map illustrated in Figure 11.

It should be noted that, where ward and parish data are concerned, the number of forms

analysed is less than the total of 247 usable forms. This is because the only parishes

included in the analysis are those from which five or more returns were received.

However, where data are presented in terms of respondents' sex, the length of time that

they have lived in the Sherborne area, occupation, and places of work and recreation (i.e.

not by home parish or ward), the responses of all those who provided data are included.

The data are presented in tabular and graphical form.

70

Figure 11

Ordnance Survey Map of Wards & Parishes Featured in the Survey62

71


5.3 Analysis of Survey Results

5.3.1 Introduction

The data are presented in tabular and graphical form, and are discussed in 5.3.2 and 5.3.3

below.

The tabular data gives information about respondents, based on:

y local authority wards (Appendix 6);

y home parishes (Table 3);

y sex and the length of time that they have lived in the Sherborne area (Table 4);

y sex and age (Table 5);

y sex and occupation (Table 6);

y sex and place of work (Table 7);

y those respondents whose recreational centre is Sherborne or Yeovil, and those (the

majority) with no stated recreational centre (Table 8).

The tabulated data contained in Appendix 6 and Tables 3 to 8 are illustrated graphically in

Figures 12 to 25. The survey results presented in these tables and graphs are discussed in

5.3.2, and conclusions are drawn about the range and "strength"63, of Sherborne's spatial

influence, for each of the four service categories surveyed. The fact that, in some

instances, the results are based on only a very few returns from, for example, a particular

parish or category of respondent, must be borne in mind when considering the results of the

analysis.

72

63 That is, if of ten respondents living in one parish, five look to Sherborne for all four services, and the otherfive never "use" Sherborne , then the percentage "strength" is 50%.

5.3.2 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre Considered by Ward and

Parish, and Extent of use by Respondents

The data revealed that:

y Sherborne's medical services function is particularly and consistently strong relative

to the town's professional, retail and leisure functions (Figures 12, 13, and 11 to

25);

y Sherborne's significance (i.e. the extent to which it is used by respondents for a

particular service) tends to decrease with increasing distance and travel times from

the town (Figure 13);

y Sherborne's service functions are complementary to those of Yeovil - together they

satisfy the majority of the respondents' everyday needs (Figures 12, 14, 15 and 16);

y the extent to which respondents use Sherborne's services is broadly proportional to

their length of residence (Figures 17 and 18) and, possibly, their age (Figures 19

and 20);

y the four service functions maintain the same order of significance - medical,

professional, retail, leisure (Figures 17 to 25) - irrespective of respondent category

(e.g. age) or activity (e.g. occupation).

The order of service significance is illustrated in Figure 12, which presents the information

by electoral ward64 (data from Appendix 665). The average reported use by all respondents,

for medical services (doctor, dentist, chemist, optician) is 59%. For professional services

the figure is 34%, and, for retail and leisure services, 25% and 21% respectively.

73

65 Table A6/1 (Note 3), Appendix 6, summarises Sherborne's significance as a service centre by electoralWard and service category. Average dependency figures for all respondents are also presented in the table.

64 The data are presented by Ward for two reasons: 1) to ensure that as many returns as possible are included(parish information is only given for those parishes with more than five respondents - Table 3 refers) fromwithin clearly defined, albeit relatively large, geographical areas (Figure 11); 2) to enable a simplecomparison to be made between Sherborne's and Yeovil's significance for the survey population in terms oftheir location relative to the two towns (e.g. to the east of Sherborne, or between Sherborne and Yeovil).

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0102030405060708090

Perc

ent

SherborneQueen ThorneCaundle ValeBlackmoreBradford AbbasHolnestYetminster

Figure 12Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Ward

(Data From Appendix 6)

All four medical and professional options given on the survey form are available in

Sherborne, although only the four medical services are likely to be used by all respondents

(i.e. it is unlikely that the thirty-nine respondents aged between 16 and 24 - approximately

16% of the survey population - will need the services of a solicitor or an accountant). The

four retail options, although available, are, it is suggested, likely to be perceived as being

more limited in terms of choice than those available in larger centres (i.e. simply because

they are located in a small town). Of the leisure facilities available in Sherborne only one

of the five categories surveyed66 - playing/sports field - is available for relatively

unrestricted public use.

The majority of respondents (72% - Appendix 6) take the opportunity, when visiting the

town for one purpose, to do other things (i.e. to make "linked visits"67). It is possible,

therefore, that any reduction in the four medical category services could adversely affect

other services (especially, it is suggested, the largely discretionary retail and leisure

sectors).

74

67 An unsurprising finding - evident also from Bracey's work (Bracey 1953).

66 Cinema, theatre, swimming pool, gym/sports hall, and playing/sports field.

With three General Medical Practices (GMPs) in Sherborne employing approximately ten

(full-time equivalent) doctors, some of whom operate clinics and conduct operations in the

town's hospital68, and with rural practices in Yetminster (with admission rights to the

hospital) and Cerne Abbas69, the area is well-provided for in terms of medical services70

(Thring 2003).

The related medical - e.g. dental - and other services available in Sherborne are discussed

in Appendix 7.

When the electoral ward data in Figure 12 are disaggregated to parish level, and presented

in terms of the time taken for respondents to travel (by private transport) to Sherborne, the

rank order remains the same (Figure 13). The data in Figure 13, drawn from Table 3, also

reveal that Sherborne's significance is broadly inversely proportional to the time taken to

travel to Sherborne from a particular parish. The rate at which significance decreases is not

directly proportional to travel time, but varies according to service category.

75

70 In fact, the area is well provided for in terms of all four medical categories. (Appendix 7 refers).

69 All five of these surgeries are in the North Dorset Primary Care Trust There is also a GMP in MilbornePort (part of Somerset's primary care organization - as are Yeovil's General Practitioners).

68 Consultants based in Yeovil and Dorchester make hospitals visit as required.

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0102030405060708090

Perc

ent

SherborneLongburtonMilborne Port (NB hassurgery)Thornford/ThornhackettTrentBradford AbbasLeighHolwellStourton CaundleBarwick/StofordYetminster (NB has surgery)Pulham

Figure 13Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Parish

NB Parishes are listed in order of shortest time taken to travel to Sherborne (Data From Table 3)

Service Category Average of

all 4 servicecategories

Percentageof

respondentsmakingLinkedVisits

Distance/travel timefrom Sherborne inkm (miles) [time

mins.]

Distance/travel time

from nearestalternative

centre in km(miles) [time

mins]

Name ofnearest major

alternativecentre

Number ofRespondents

Parish Medical Professional Retail LeisureSherborne 81% 59% 37% 30% 51.75% 76% 0 10.5 (6.5) [12] Yeovil 97Longburton 81% 69% 29% 33% 53% 50% 4.7 (2.9) [6] 13.8 (8.6) [16] Yeovil 6

Milborne Port 38% 27% 31% 29% 31.25% 85.7% 4.9 (3.1) [7] 13.5 (8.4) [14] Yeovil 8Thornford/

Thornhackett65% 7% 15% 13% 25% 91.6% 4.9 (3.1) [10] 10.2 (6.7) [21] Yeovil 13

Trent 71% 43% 41% 29% 46% 100% 6.3 (3.9) [11] 7.7 (4.8) [13] Yeovil 7Bradford

Abbas35% 14% 8% 20% 19.25% 100% 7.0 (4.3) [14] 6.6 (4.1) [11] Yeovil 10

Leigh 50% 10% 5% 16% 20.25% 50% 9.3 (5.8) [15] 14.18 (9.2) [31] Yeovil 10

Holwell 40% 25% 13% 24% 25.5% 60% 11.5 (7.2) [18] 9.9 (6.1) [14] SturminsterNewton 5

StourtonCaundle

48% 3% 11% 16% 19.5% 54.5% 10.7 (6.6) [18] 8.8 (5.5) [14] SturminsterNewton 10

Barwick/Stoford

10% 5% 0% 8% 5.75% 60% 10.3 (6.4) [21] 2.4 (1.5) [4] Yeovil 5Yetminster 18% 13% 1% 7% 9.75% 50% 9.5 (5.9) [21] 10.9 (6.8) [16] Yeovil 10

Pulham 25% 0% 30% 21% 19% 85.7% 12.3 (7.7) [22] 11.3 (7) [21] SturminsterNewton 7

Table 3

Sherborne's Significance as a Service CentreParish-level Data (for Those Parishes Providing 5 or More Responses) by

Service Category, Distances, and Times From Sherborne and Nearest Alternative Town

76

For example, Bradford Abbas and Barwick/Stoford, both of which are close to Yeovil,

record a low dependence on Sherborne's services relative to some parishes that lie further

away - in terms of travel time - from Sherborne. Respondents from Pulham, a village close

to Cerne Abbas, a much bigger village with a dispensing GMP71 (used by five of the seven

respondents) and a post office, but with few shops and other services, report a relatively

high use of Sherborne for retail and leisure purposes72, but a low overall use of the town's

medical services, and no use of its professional services73. The relatively low percentage

significance recorded for these settlements, and also for Milborne Port and Yetminster, in

both of which there is a GMP74, suggests that the presence of a surgery, and a settlement's

location relative to Sherborne and other towns75, affects the extent of Sherborne's influence,

and the purposes for which the town is visited76.

77

76 This argument can, of course, be applied equally to village-based practices (and, no doubt, other services).Care must be taken to ensure that in the drive to ensure that country towns are helped to develop, or maintain,their role as rural service centres, the viability of services based in smaller settlements is not put at risk (2.1refers).

75 Milborne Port's respondents record a relatively high use of Sherborne - through which they have to pass ifthey wish to go to Yeovil - for retail and leisure purposes. Respondents from Yetminster, which is located onthe Yeovil side of Sherborne, do not have to pass through Sherborne to reach Yeovil.

74 There is a dental practice and a pharmacy in Milborne Port. Yetminster GMP is a dispensing practice (i.e.prescriptions are dispensed on the premises).

73 These being obtained from Yeovil, Sturminster Newton, Dorchester, the villages of King's Stag andAlweston, and Bovingdon, Hertfordshire.

72 Pulham lies to the north - i.e. on the Sherborne side - of Cerne Abbas (Figure 11).

71 That is a GMP with a dedicated dispensary attached to the practice for the use only of that Practice'spatients.

Therefore, as discussed above, and as can been seen from the data in Figures 12 and 13,

Sherborne's non-medical services do not appear to be sufficiently attractive to persuade

respondents from Yetminster, for example, to use the town's other services. This is

possibly because Yeovil, which can be easily reached from Yetminster, contains a range of

services which, to judge from the rank order illustrated in Figure 1477, appear to

complement effectively those found in Sherborne (Figure 12).

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Perc

ent


Figure 14Yeovil's Significance as a Service Centre by Ward

78

77 The data in Figure 14 were obtained by re-analysing the survey forms and awarding 1 point for everyreference to Yeovil as the service centre of choice.

When the percentage significance for each of the four categories in Figures 12 (relating to

Sherborne) and 14 (relating to Yeovil) are added together, the complementary nature of the

two towns' service functions for the respondents can be seen (Figure 15), with the rural

Wards of Queen Thorn, Caundle Vale, Bradford Abbas and Blackmore recording a

particularly pronounced use of the two towns (these wards are the closest to Sherborne

within West Dorset District, and Queen Thorn, Caundle Vale, and Bradford Abbas lie

between Sherborne and Yeovil - Figure 11 refers).

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0102030405060708090

100

Perc

ent


Figure 15Sherborne's and Yeovil's Significance as Service Centres

(Ward-level Data From Figures 13 and 14)

79

When the percentage significance of Sherborne and Yeovil for all respondents, for each of

the four service categories, are added together (Figure 16), it can be seen that the services

available within the two towns are sufficient to meet the majority of people's everyday

needs. Sherborne's relative strength in the medical and professional categories is evident,

as is Yeovil's in the retail and leisure sectors78.

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

YeovilSherborne

Figure 16Sherborne's & Yeovil's Significance as Service Centres

(All Respondents - Data From Appendix 6 and Yeovil-only Analysis)

80

78 It should be noted that nearly 16% of the survey population are aged between 16 and 24, and are, therefore,unlikely to need the full range of professional services.

The preceding discussion refers to the relative strengths and attractiveness of Sherborne's

services to the survey population as a whole (Figure 16), and in part (Figures 13, 14 and

15). The extent to which the town's significance varies according to the length of time that

respondents have lived in the area, to their age, occupation, and places of work and

recreation, is considered below for the whole of the survey population.

The data in Table 4, presented in Figures 17 and 18, suggest that Sherborne's service

functions increase in significance in line with the length of time that respondents have

lived in the area. This is most marked for medical and professional services, but applies

also to the retail and leisure categories, and is true for both sexes.

4315342535279171219Number ofrespondents:

76.7%80%94.1%72%87.1

%51.8%55.5%76.5%41.6%84%Linked

Visits

20%29%24%25%21%24%26%23%14%17%Leisure

31%41%25%13.5%25%27%28%21%18%25%Retail

46%44%32%22%30%46%33%27%21%27%Professional67%62%72%50%51%67%58%65%42%46%Medical

ServiceCategory

>20years

16>20years

11>15years

6>10years.

<5years

>20years

16>20years

11>15years

6>10years

<5years

Time inArea

Females (all respondents)Males (all respondents)

Table 4

Sherborne's Significance as a Service CentreRespondents' Sex and Time Lived in Area by Service Category

81

82

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Sevice Category

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Perc

ent

<5 years6-10 years11>15 years16>20 years>20 years

Figure 17Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Male Respondents' Usage

by Service Category & Time Lived in Area (Data From Table 4)

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Per

cent

<5 years6-10 years11>15 years16>20 years>20 years

Figure 18Sherborne's Signifcance as a Service Centre - Female Respondents' Usage

by Service Category and Time Lived in Area (Data From Table 4)

Sherborne's significance in terms of respondent age suggests, as illustrated in Figures 19

and 20 (drawn from data in Table 5), a level or increasing use of medical and professional

services with increase in age (especially for women). This is not surprising, for with age

often comes an increasing need for both professional and medical services. Although the

small number of respondents aged over 55 (Table 5) means that it is difficult to draw

meaningful conclusions from the data, a comparison between Figures 17 and 19, and 18

and 20, suggests that it is the length of time that a respondent has lived in the area, rather

than his or her age, that is of greatest importance in terms of the town's significance.

2133801526072736713Number

ofrespondents:

50%0%80%83%53%100%

N/A86%65%50%50%70%LinkedVisits

0%0%18%21%13%36%N/A21%21%14%19%35%Leisure0%0%37%26%12%22%N/A21%29%21%11%25%Retail0%0%42%37%29%25%N/A29%32%33%32%30%Professional

38%0%67%63%43%59%N/A39%56%58%39%62%Medical

>6455-6445-5435-4425-3416-24>6455-6445-5435-4425-3416-24AgeBand

Females (all respondents)Males (all respondents)

S

ervi

ce C

ateg

ory

Table 5

Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Respondents' Sex and Age Band by Service Category

83

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Perc

ent

16-24 years25-34 years35-44 years45-54 years55-64 years


by Service Category and Age Band (Data From Table 5)

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Perc

ent

16-24 years25-34 years35-44 years45-54 years55-64 years>64 years

Figure 20Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Female Respondents' Usage

by Service category and Age Band (Data From Table 5)

84

In each of the cases discussed above, the leisure category is generally the least significant.

The low average reported use of Sherborne for leisure (21% - Appendix 6) is to be

expected. Of the five facilities covered in the survey79, Sherborne has only one -

playing/sports field - that is generally available for public use at any time. The town does

not have a cinema, a dedicated theatre (although the town's Digby and Church Halls have

stages, and the Powell Theatre - owned by Sherborne School for Boys - is, on occasions,

open to the general public), or a public swimming pool80 (Sherborne School for Boys' pool

is available for - restricted - public use).

The reported use of Sherborne for leisure purposes is, therefore, effectively higher,

equating, say, to 42%. This is because only half - approximately - of the facilities listed on

the survey form can be said to be available, on occasions, for public use (i.e. what does not

exist or is not accessible cannot be used). It can be seen from Figures 21 and 22, which,

using data from Table 6, illustrate usage of Sherborne's services by occupation, that use of

the town's leisure facilities is particularly high for those in full-time education. Given that

the respondents were all associated with the Gryphon School, a relatively high reported use

(approximately 40%) of the gym, sports hall and playing fields, which are located at the

school81, is to be expected82 (it also usefully illustrates a limitation of the survey method -

i.e. the "use" of a relatively narrow, school-based, survey population).

85

82 This is also illustrated in Figures 19 and 20 - usage of Sherborne's leisure facilities is >35% for those agedbetween 16 and 24.

81 The local authority owned sports hall and gym are located in the Gryphon School's grounds at the northernedge of the town and are subject to restricted use during school hours. The town's public playing fields arelocated to the south - and outside - of the town.

80 Six of the forty-five respondents who made written comments mentioned the need for a swimming pool(Appendix 9).

79 1) Cinema, 2) theatre, 3) swimming pool, 4) gym/sports hall, 5) playing/sports field.

0-----Permanently

sick ordisabled

2294.4%18%27%26%56%Housewife/husband or

carer

250%0%0%0%38%Retired

1100%20%25%50%75%Registeredunemployed

0-----In part-timeeducation

22100%37%22%27%58%In Full-timeeducation

7479.7%22%27%40%66%In part-timeWork

3574.3%17%26%35%54%Full-time work(30+ hours per

week)

Female

0-----Permanently

sick ordisabled

2100%5%0%13%13%Housewife/husband or

carer

0-----Retired

1100%20%25%0%50%Registeredunemployed

1100%0%0%50%50%In part-timeeducation

1062.5%40%25%24%68%In Full-timeeducation

6100%20%29%38%38%In part-timeWork

6957.5%18%24%34%57%Full-time work(30+ hours per

week)

Male

Number ofRespondents

LinkedVisitsLeisureRetailProfessionalMedicalOccupation

Service Category

Table 6

Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre -Respondents' Sex and Occupation by Service Category

86

The fact that the leisure services in Sherborne are well supported suggests some untapped

potential. Additional - accessible - services, if provided, could, given the tendency of

people to make linked visits, help strengthen other services.

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Categories

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Per

cent

Full-time WorkPart-time WorkFull-time EducationPart-time Education (1respondent only)Registered Unemployed (1respondent only)Retired (no respondents)Househusband/wife or Carer (2respondents)Permanently Sick or Disabled (norespondents)


Usage by Service Category & Occupation, Data From Table 6)

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Per

cent

Full-time WorkPart-time WorkFull-time EducationPart-time Education (norespondents)Registered Unemployed (1respondent only)Retired ( 2 respondents)Housewife/CarerPermanently Sick or Disabled (norespondents)

Figure 22Sherborne's Significance as a Service centre - Female Respondents'

Usage by Service Category & Occupation, Data From Table 6

87

The continued significance of the medical services function when respondents' workplaces

and recreational centres are considered, can be seen from the data presented in Figures 23

and 24 (Table 7), and Figure 25 (Table 8). For those who work in Sherborne, the figures

for retail significance are above average83 (30% for men, 32% for women - Figures 23 and

24). Similarly, for those who take some form of recreation in Sherborne, the figure is also

above average (38% - Figure 25). Given that the four categories of shopping "types"

included in the survey84 are virtually all-embracing, and are available in Sherborne, the fact

that average reported use for retail is 25% (i.e. for all respondents - Appendix 6) suggests a

fundamentally healthy, but perhaps undersold, or relatively expensive, retail sector,

especially to 25-34 year olds (Figures 19 and 20). The percentage figures for this age

group (11% for men, 12% for women - Table 5) are less than half the average usage figure

of 25%, whereas for those who work in Sherborne the figures are above average (30% for

men, 32% for women - Figures 21 and 22). This is also the case for those who take some

form of recreation in the town (38% - Figure 25).

Those who take some form of recreation in the town not only record above average usage

of Sherborne's shops, and a slightly above average tendency to make linked visits, but

above average use of all services. Although the reasons for this cannot be deduced from

the results of this study, it can be seen that approximately 20% of the survey population

(i.e. 54 respondents out of 247) appear to have a strong affinity with Sherborne.

88

84 1) Day-to-day/"emergency"; 2) Main (weekly/monthly) food shopping; 3) shopping for clothes, shoes,hardware etc.; 4) "luxury"/"big item" (e.g. TVs, cookers, gifts, suits, furniture).

83 Appendix 6 refers.

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Perc

ent "Mobile"

SherborneYeovil


by Service category and Place of Work (Data From Table 7)

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0102030405060708090

Perc

ent

"Mobile"DorchesterSherborneSturminster NewtonYeovil

Figure 24Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Female Respondents' Usage

by Service Category and Place of Work (Data From Table 7)

263595421024012Number ofrespondents:

76%100%85.7%50%100%63%N/A60%N/A33%LinkedVisits

13%17%32%12%33%17%N/A24%N/A17%Leisure17%25%32%8%38%16%N/A30%N/A20%Retail22%4%51%0%63%27%N/A41%N/A30%Professional43%25%77%20%63%43%N/A67%N/A48%Medical

YeovilS-NewtonSherborneDorchesterMobileYeovilS-NewtonSherborneDorchesterMobilePlace of WorkFemalesMales

Ser

vice

cat

egor

y

Table 7

Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre Respondents' Sex and Place of Work85 by Service Category (Percentage)

89

85 With the exception of Dorchester and Sturminster Newton, two towns that are of sufficient interest in termsof their geographical and historical relationship to Sherborne to warrant the inclusion of low, or nil, returns,the only workplaces (including the "mobile worker" category) included in Table 7 are those in which four or

MedicalProfessional

RetailLeisure

Service Category

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Perc

ent Sherborne

Yeovil"None"

Figure 25Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - Male & Female

Respondents' Usage by Service Category & Place of Recreation (Data From Table 8)

141175486Number of respondents:76.3%70.6%73.5%Linked Visits19%18%33%Leisure23%14%38%Retail32%20%57%Professional60%38%73%Medical

ServiceCategory

NoneYeovilSherborneRecreationMales & Females

Table 8

Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre byMale and Female Respondents' Usage by Service Category and "Place of

Recreation"87

90

87 The only respondents whose data are included in Table 10 are those whose place of recreation is in Yeovilor Sherborne, or those (the majority) who did not enter information in this column (this last category has beenincluded as a control - i.e. non-specific - group [i.e. to give some indication as to whether usage is any way afunction of a respondents' place of recreation, which, to judge from the figures presented, appears to be thecase]).

86 Of the 54 respondents, 17 (31%) also live and work in Sherborne, and a further 9 (16%) both live and taketheir recreation in the town.

more respondents work (41 other workplaces were named in addition to those detailed in Table 7).

The relationship between the four service functions is particularly well defined in Figures

23, 24 and 25. This serves to reinforce the fact that the relative importance of the service

functions - i.e. medical, professional, retail, and leisure - is broadly the same, irrespective

of respondent category or activity.

With the exception of those parishes in which, or close to which General Medical Practices

are located, Sherborne's overall significance as a service centre decreases as travel times

between the town and parishes increase88 (i.e. the longer it takes a respondent to reach

Sherborne, the less significant to them Sherborne becomes). The town's significance also

appears to vary according to the ease with which respondents are able to access an

alternative town. These findings are discussed in 5.3.2 below.

91

88 The travel times (and distances) were calculated using a software package (Focus Route Finder). Thetravel times assume the use of personal, not public transport (Appendix 2).

5.3.2 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre - a Comparison With Nearby

Towns

An indication of the extent of Sherborne's influence is given in Figures 26 and 27. These

plots show Sherborne's significance as a service centre expressed as a function of the time

taken to travel to Sherborne, compared to the time taken to travel to the nearest alternative

town89.

Consider the data illustrated in Figure 26. These relate to the average usage of Sherborne

for all four service categories. Barwick's dependence on Sherborne is, at approximately

5%, minimal (and based, it should be noted, on returns from only five respondents). As

Barwick is approximately 4 minutes travel time away from Yeovil, on a direct route, and

21 minutes away from Sherborne90, on a less direct route, this is to be expected91.

However, another interpretation is that, for whatever reason (e.g. because the respondents

prefer Sherborne's schools), the respondents are prepared to travel further, for longer, to

reach Sherborne. In other words, Sherborne's influence could be considered to be

relatively significant - a smaller town extending its sphere of influence into that of a much

larger town. Clearly, on the basis of a such a small sample, it would be rash to draw too

many conclusions, but the fact remains that, for the respondents at least, Sherborne is the

preferred destination for some services, and it is for this - purely illustrative - reason that

Barwick has been included in Figure 2692.

92

92 It is recognized that Barwick clearly stands apart from - "outlies" - the other parishes. However, theessential relationship between the significance of each service and the parishes is not changed by theinclusion of the Barwick results (see also Figure 34, Appendix 8).

91 Data from Table 3.

90 Barwick's position on the x-axis (Figure 26) is calculated by dividing 21 minutes by 4 minutes, i.e. 5.25.

89 For nine of the twelve parishes Yeovil is the nearest town. For the remaining three, Sturminster Newton isthe nearest town (Table 3).

LongburtonSherborne

Trent

Thornford

Leigh S Caundle

Holwell

M Port

B AbbasPulham

Yetminster

Barwick

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

by Travel Time Between Named Parish & Nearest Alternative Town Travel Time in Minutes Between Named Parish & Sherborne, Divided

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Per

cent

Figure 26Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Parish Relative to

Nearby Towns (Average of all 4 Services Surveyed, Data From Table 3)

Sherborne's influence can be seen (Figures 26 and 27) to extend beyond the point where it

is quicker to travel to Sherborne (i.e. <1 on the x-axes) than to an alternative town93 (i.e. >1

on the x-axes). For example, the ten respondents from Yetminster, with its surgery,

dispensary and local shops, and relatively easier access to Yeovil than to Sherborne,

nevertheless record an overall usage of 10% for all four service categories (Figure 26).

The returns from Milborne Port (894) and Longburton (6), both parishes from which, in

order to reach Yeovil by main road, it is first necessary to pass through Sherborne (Figure

5), show a higher average dependency on Sherborne. Data relating to Medical,

Professional, Retail, and Leisure service usage are presented in Figures 30 to 33 in

Appendix 8.

93

94 The number of respondents (from Appendix 6).

93 Again, it must be stressed that the respondents, drawn from the Gryphon School, have all exercised apreference for one of Sherborne's services - i.e. the school itself - and so can be assumed to have someattachment to the town.

The data in Figure 27 illustrate how each of the four service categories surveyed varies in

significance with travel time. The data points are taken from Appendix 8, Figures 30 to 33.

Although the parish names are not shown in Figure 27 for reasons of clarity, they can be

gleaned from Figures 30 to 33.

The trend lines (Figure 27) give an indication of the way Sherborne's significance for each

service category decreases, as travel times to a parish's "nearest alternative town" reduce,

relative to the time taken to travel to Sherborne from that parish. Four trend types were

tried (linear, exponential, logarithmic, and power). Exponential trend - regression - lines

were chosen simply because they gave the best "fit", namely 0.655 for medical, 0.26 for

professional, 0.249 for retail, and 0.377 for leisure (where 1.000 represents a perfect fit

between the data points and the trend line95).

The degree of scatter is such that only the broadest of conclusions can be drawn from the

data. For example, Sherborne's medical services have some influence in a village (Barwick

- shown at 5.25 on the x-axis of Figure 27) whose residents can reach their nearest

alternative town approximately five times faster than they can get to Sherborne96. The

influence of the retail sector, on the other hand, falls rapidly from nearly 40% to 11%

within the travel time band in which it is quicker to travel to Sherborne, than to any other

town.

It is suggested that, although there is insufficient information available from this research

to enable a more detailed analysis using this approach, a further study based on travel times

(i.e. accessibility) might prove to be of value.

94

96 Figure 34, Appendix 8, excludes the data relating to Barwick, and, therefore, gives a clearer picture of therelationships between the various services and the parishes that lie more equidistant between Sherborne andtheir nearest alternative town (in this case the "best fit" was obtained using linear regression).

95 In which case the data points would all lie along the trend line - i.e. a perfect "fit".

Suffice it to say that Sherborne still appears, as noted by Green (1952 p353), to be linked in

terms of its service functions - which are, perhaps, both limited and enhanced by this

linkage, to Yeovil (Appendix 1). Other towns (e.g. Sturminster Newton, Stalbridge97,

Dorchester) also affect Sherborne's influence, albeit marginally (if only, for example,

because some of the respondents work in these towns, and, therefore, have the opportunity

to make use of their services). However, Yeovil's strength to the west of Sherborne is

marked compared with, for example, Sturminster Newton's influence to the east.

Sturminster, a traditional market town (population 3,23098) much smaller than Yeovil

(population 40,10099), is some 28 minutes100 away from Sherborne101. By way of

comparison, Sherborne had 113 shops in 1999, compared with 45 in Sturminster Newton

(DCC 2003). It is not surprising, therefore, that Sturminster Newton's influence on

Sherborne is relatively weak compared with that of Yeovil, the area's retail102 and

95

102 With both town centre and edge of town stores.

101 Yeovil is 8.9 kilometres (5.5 miles, 12 minutes) from Sherborne.

100 19 kilometres (12 miles).

99 Mid-Year population estimate, 2001 (SCC 2003).

98 Mid-Year population estimate, 2000 (DCC 2003).

97 7.7miles/12.4km/14mins to the east of Sherborne.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Travel Time in Minutes Between Parish & Nearest Alternative TownTravel Time in Minutes Between Parish & Sherborne, Divided by

0102030405060708090

Per

cent

Medical (Fig. 30)Professional (Fig. 31)Retail (Fig. 32)Leisure (Fig. 33)

Figure 27Relative Significance of Sherborne's Service Categories by Parish

Relative to Nearby Towns (Data From Appendix 8, Figures 30 to 33)

entertainment centre. Similarly, given Yeovil's undoubted strength as a service centre, and

Sherborne's complementary character and service functions, it is not surprising that

Dorchester103, population 15,800 (DCC 2003), and Wincanton104, population 4,600 (SCC

2003), do not feature strongly in the survey.

Nevertheless, on the basis of this research, definitive, clearly delineated spheres of

influence for Sherborne appear to be as elusive as ever. However, it does appear that a

useful estimate of Sherborne's overall sphere of influence, and an indication of the town's

role as a service centre, can be gleaned - relatively simply - from the approach followed in

this research, and discussed above. The implications of this are discussed in Chapter 6, in

which the conclusions are presented, and recommendations made.

96

104 10.3miles/16.8km/26mins to the north of Sherborne.

103 19miles/30.7km/41mins to the south of Sherborne.

Chapter 6 Conclusions and Recommendations

A number of investigations have in recent years been directedtowards determining the effective hinterlands of towns for shoppingand other purposes. ... Most of these investigations involve thetabulation of the answers to questionnaires, and there is little doubtthat this method, if the questionnaire is exhaustive, is the onlycompletely satisfactory method to employ. But, if carried outadequately, it takes a good deal of time, and it is desirable to find, ifpossible, an objective method suitable for quick reconnaissance.

F.H.W. Green (1949 p59)

Approximately fifty years after Howard Bracey's work, and more than twenty years after

Liz Mills completed her re-survey and analysis, the data to which they both referred

(Bracey 1953, Mills 1988), and the lack of which Dickenson (1942 p181) and Smailes

(1966 p146) lamented, have yet to be gathered. They remain, in the context of current

policies and practice, tantalisingly desirable as the Market Towns Initiative (MTI)

announced in the Rural White Paper (DETR/MAFF 2000) is implemented (CA 2001,

CAYF 2001). Although this research was inspired by Bracey's practical approach, and the

subject's topicality and relevance, it was not considered practicable to repeat his large scale,

county-wide, surveys. Instead, the study aimed:

1. to find out, using a questionnaire, how far a particular country town's influence

as a service centre extends into the surrounding area;

2. to discover if the method designed for 1 above can be developed for easy, useful

replication in other country towns.

The first aim has been partly achieved in that the results of the survey provide an indication

of the extent of Sherborne's influence. The limitations of the approach have been

acknowledged (5.1). Suggestions for improving both approach and method are given

below.

97

The second aim has also been partly achieved. Although the relatively low response rate

was disappointing, the willingness of the Gryphon School's staff and pupils to help with the

study105, the essential simplicity of the survey method, and the value of the information

obtained from the completed questionnaires (5.3), suggest that the approach is worthy of

development and further testing in towns where local people are involved with the Market

Towns Initiative (MTI). Whether this approach will work elsewhere is, of course, open to

question. However, the writer has, as reported earlier, gathered similar information from

Faringdon, in Oxfordshire (Morris 2003), and intends to conduct a further survey, using the

same method, in Thame, Oxfordshire, as part of the MTI106.

To a certain extent, the research has also demonstrated that the extent to which people use

Sherborne's services can be measured, as can people's affection for, and attachment to the

town. It is suggested, therefore, that it is possible to identify factors that could help to

inform policy development and identify ways in which Sherborne's services might be

improved (e.g. by ensuring that the town's medical service base is not weakened107).

Sherborne's strength as a medical centre108 suggests that the presence of services provided

for the public good might also benefit a town's other service sectors. In Sherborne's case

this is likely to include local government and postal services (both of which have a

presence in the town), as well as the town's state and private schools. It follows that policy

decisions relating to the location of public services are important in terms of a country

town's viability as a service centre.

98

108 Albeit that its strength is attributable, in part, at least, to the fact that all four services surveyed are presentin the town, unlike, for example, those for leisure.

107 Equally, however, it would not do to strengthen Sherborne's medical services such that ruralGMPs/dispensaries were put at risk (5.3.2 refers). It is interesting to note that town-based dispensing GMPsare not allowed to dispense to patients living within one mile of a pharmacy.

106 It should be noted that Sherborne was not, at the time of writing, part of the MTI. It is not unreasonable toexpect that the response rate to a survey involving a school that is part of an MTI partnership would be higherthan that achieved from the survey conducted as part of this research.

105 It is believed that a school's involvement in a survey of this type could offer cross-curricula benefits (e.g.geographers could help to design and conduct the survey, mathematicians could be involved in the dataanalysis).

Sherborne is also a tourist destination, and so appropriate retail services should be

identified and encouraged. In terms of leisure provision for local people, facilities should

be developed that complement, rather than compete with, those available in Yeovil (e.g. a

swimming pool rather than a leisure pool).

Broadly, the research has demonstrated that:

y Bracey's approach (2.2.1) and Smailes's method (4.4) are appropriate for gathering,

relatively quickly, useful data about a town's functions and local significance;

y Sherborne's influence over its surrounding area diminishes, non-uniformly, with

distance, and varies with service type (5.3.1);

y the relationship between settlements and service provision and usage remains

complicated and interrelated (Mills 1988 p65);

y the capacity and nearness of other settlements play a part in determining a town's

spatial influence (5.3.2);

y the work done by Lipman (1952) and Green (quoted by Lipman), referred to in 3.2

above, concerning the symbiotic relationship between neighbouring towns, appears to

hold good today - Yeovil and Sherborne, as far as the survey population is concerned,

are complementary, in that they operate as a single, well-balanced service centre;

y Sherborne's services do not meet the majority of the survey population's needs, but

when Yeovil's and Sherborne's services are considered together, the majority of

ordinary needs are met;

y the majority of people - an average of 72% - tend to make "linked visits" (i.e. when

visiting for one - main - purpose, they tend to take the opportunity to do other things

during the visit);

y use of Sherborne's services tends to increase in line with respondents' length of

residence and, possibly, age;

99

y respondents who work and take recreation in Sherborne tend to make above average

use of the town's retail services, and have an above average tendency to make linked

visits;

y the Gryphon School's catchment area is broadly similar to many earlier "service areas"

Table 1);

y the method is limited in terms of:

y the relatively low numbers of survey forms returned, and the uneven spread of the

survey population, both geographically and demographically109;

y the fact that this approach will only ever give an indication of a town's sphere(s) of

influence.

The last point made above is important. There can be no guarantee that a school will

always, or ever, draw students from every parish within its catchment area. In an ideal

world, questionnaires would be completed and returned by enough people in each of the

catchment parishes and, conveniently, from a significant number of those settlements lying

outside the catchment, to guarantee the statistical validity of the results. Equally

conveniently, analysis would show dependency decreasing uniformly with increasing

distance from the town. Each respondent living within the catchment boundary would

record, for each of the service categories surveyed, a dependency on the local town of at

least 50%. Respondents living outside the catchment would record figures of less than

50%. Clearly, this is unrealistic, and no matter how high the response rate, the patterns

shown will be as varied as the lives of the respondents, the location and quality of services

in villages and other towns, local loyalties, geography, historical trading patterns, road

classifications and routes, and public transport provision and accessibility. In short, the

100

109 The reliance on a population limited in terms of age (i.e. mainly pupils and their parents) and largelypre-defined in terms of the area in which they live.

survey method, whilst practicable, and capable of providing useful information, is

essentially indicative.

It is, however, on this basis of this research, reasonable to conclude that the "Gryphon

Parishes"110 provide an effective indication, for practical purposes, of Sherborne's overall

sphere of influence (Figure 28). As the data in Table 1 illustrate, the area covered by these

parishes is similar to that covered by other, much older areas of influence. It appears,

therefore, that the geographical area over which Sherborne exerts influence has changed

relatively little over the years. If it could be shown111 that this is generally the case

elsewhere, then these "traditional" service areas, within which the settlements have some

form of long established "natural" affinity and interdependence, could be used as

foundation stones on which to build a more detailed knowledge base, and an integrated,

accessible range of services112.

However, as David Alexander concludes in his report on key services in the north east of

England (Alexander 2003), there is a need for, "... local research to understand how

different rural settlements from across the range of the settlement hierarchy actually

function and work as communities." (p63). There is much still to learn about how these

defined areas, or, "... networks of settlements ..." function (Alexander 2003 p62).

On the basis of the above, therefore, it is suggested that the type of survey described in this

study, based on a school's catchment area, which, in Sherborne's case at least113, appears to

101

113 It should be noted that Sherborne has only one State secondary school and, therefore, only one Stateschool catchment area. By way of contrast, Yeovil has several secondary schools, and a Further EducationCollege, and, as a consequence, has several education catchment areas. It would be interesting to discover ifthe approach described in this research would work in a bigger town with more educational establishments

112 For example, local transport services designed to meet the needs of the small number of people with noconvenient access to transport (and, therefore, no convenient access to services).

111 By, for example, comparing the results of the approach and type of survey and analysis described in thisstudy with other known service areas, current (e.g. newspaper circulation, postal districts) and historical (e.g.ecclesiastical or civil - old Rural District Council - boundaries).

110 The average distance between Sherborne and the parishes within the school's catchment area is, at 5.3miles (Table 3), similar to the figure of 6 miles (Section 3.4) quoted in the 1851 census (Howkins 1991 p29).

compare well with much older areas of influence, can help to define, relatively easily, a

town's overall sphere of influence (as well as provide useful information about the usage of

a town's services and good cross-curricula project work for pupils and students). The area

so defined could then easily be compared with, for example, the distribution areas of the

local free newsletter114, or newspaper, and local bus services routes (i.e. the survey could

form one element of a standard academic "triangulation approach"). If the results of this

type of comparison in several areas revealed a good match, it suggests that a usable,

working definition of a settlement's sphere of influence could be obtained using readily

available information and local knowledge and judgement. If this were to be the case, it

should be possible to acquire, relatively quickly, sufficient information on which to base

judgements about a town's role and development115.

The importance of time as a factor affecting the extent of Sherborne's influence was

discussed in Section 5.3.2. Although the data available are insufficient to enable firm

conclusions to be drawn, it appears that some people are prepared to spend more time

travelling in order to reach Sherborne than to travel to the nearest alternative town in which

the same services are also available. The relationship between a respondent's willingness

to do this, the percentage usage of a particular service that they record, and the clear

preference that people have for making "linked visits", is not clear from this research.

The tendency of people to make linked visits is intriguing. It is suggested that this area of

work is worthy of further study. If this tendency could be better understood, it is believed

that both public service providers (e.g. transport, library services) and the private and

voluntary sectors (e.g. organizers of farmers' markets, late night shopping, food and drink

102

115 It is hoped that the proposed survey in Thame, Oxfordshire, will help in this regard.

114 The distribution area for Sherborne's newsletter, The Conduit (Dening 2003), includes most of theparishes listed in Table 3 (and also some that are not). A copy of the front cover of The Conduit is shown inAppendix 10.

(assuming, of course, that the service functions of larger towns such as Yeovil can be considered to bebroadly similar to that of relatively small towns like Sherborne).

outlets, musical and theatre groups) could capitalise on it for mutual benefit. Towns with

MTI partnerships116 could serve as useful test beds for such a study, as could towns

involved in the emerging Beacon Towns programme117 (DETR/MAFF 2000 p75).

In addition, some form of systematic monitoring of the ways in which rural settlements

change is needed118, perhaps coupled with service "threshold studies"119, as a means of

helping local people determine the type of business that might most profitably be attracted

to their town120.

In order to reduce the problems associated with the narrow (i.e. school-centred) respondent

base, and the associated methodological limitations (5.1 refers), Bayly (2003) suggested

that pupils involved in the survey should be asked to request that someone from a

"non-school" household (e.g. a neighbour) as well as family members complete

questionnaires. The survey base could also be broadened beyond a school's catchment area

by involving other groups, for example, Lions and Rotary clubs, Women's Institute

branches. Alternatively, a survey of one or more of these populations could be combined

with a randomised postal survey within the research area, or a concentrated (i.e.

house-to-house) distribution of survey forms in a selection of the settlements lying within

the survey area. Clearly, however, there is a balance to be struck between the need to

obtain detailed, meaningful results, and the desire, which prompted this research, to obtain

useful results relatively quickly.

103

120 The role of smaller settlements must be taken into account as part of the same process. Perhaps policydevelopment should be concentrated on "rural settlements" rather than "towns" and "villages"? In Australia,for example, all rural settlements are towns - there is no distinction, by population, between rural settlementtypes.

119 These are studies designed to find out what type and number of businesses particular types and sizes ofcommunity can support (Harder 1998).

118 This would help to address the concerns expressed by Dickenson (1942 p181) and Mills (1988 p2 ) - 2.2.3refers.

117 On which the writer is working.

116 In June, 2003, there were 216 partnerships in existence.

Nevertheless, the additional information that would be obtained by broadening the survey

base as described above, could improve both the quantity of data, and the quality of the

results. A suggestion by Errington (2003) designed to distinguish the method by which

data are gathered (e.g. by means of a survey) from that used to define a town's sphere(s) of

influence (e.g. percentage of the population that use a particular service) could also prove

useful in this regard. Errington suggested that, if the survey returns from a settlement show

a dependency of at least 50% of that reported by the town's own population, then that

settlement can be said to lie within the town's sphere of influence for that particular

service. The results of this approach, when applied to this study, are illustrated in Table 9

below, which shows, by way of example, that Longburton and Trent are clearly within

Sherborne's sphere of influence for all four service categories, whereas

Thornford/Thornhackett lies only within the town's medical sphere of influence.

Interestingly, this method reveals that the leisure category, although least significant to the

town's population (i.e. a 30% usage), is the most significant in terms of the extent of its

sphere of influence (i.e. in terms of the number of parishes - 8 out of 11 - that record a

usage figure of more than half that of Sherborne's stated 30%).

21%30%0%25%Pulham7%1%13%18%Yetminster

8%0%5%10%Barwick/Stoford

16%11%3%48%Stourton Caundle24%13%25%40%Holwell16%5%10%50%Leigh20%8%14%35%Bradford Abbas29%41%43%71%Trent

13%15%7%65%Thornford/Thornhackett

29%31%27%38%Milborne Port33%29%69%81%Longburton30%37%59%81%Sherborne

LeisureRetailProfessionalMedicalParishService Category

Table 9Sherborne's Significance as a Service CentreShowing Those Parishes (red Italics) Within

Sherborne's Sphere of Influence (Errington 2003)

104

Finally, to summarise, this research has shown that:

y a simple survey can provide useful information about a town's service functions

relatively quickly;

y Sherborne's service functions vary in significance, both relative to one another, and in

terms of their geographic influence;

y a realistic "working" estimate of Sherborne's overall sphere of influence can be made121

(Figure 28).

The extent to which this is the case elsewhere is for others to discover. In the meantime,

the search for, "... some sort of short cut which would enable one to define the average

spheres of influence of centres ...", referred to by Green (1952 p345), is likely to continue,

and rural life to change, as Howard Bracey (1953 p50), to whom the last word should most

appropriately be left, clearly recognized when he wrote, half a century ago,

With the creation of agricultural surpluses, the growth of industrialskills, and the development of improved means of communication,the point of exchange and service has, in the United Kingdom,swung from the medieval manor to the regional fair, back to thelocal market stall, then to the country-town shop and lastly, since1920, towards regional shopping and servicing at the expense ofmany small towns which had contrived to retain their rural customthroughout the nineteenth century. There may yet be another swingback to the small local town as customs develop and habits change[writer's emphasis].

105

121 The area defined appears to conform reasonably well both to the market town service area referred to inthe 1851 census report (Howkins 1991 p29), and to the distances associated with current everyday journeys(Donovan et. al. 2002).

Figure 28

Map122 of Sherborne's Area of Influence123 - an Informed Estimate

.

106

123 A-B is the line of the Dorset Heights. B-C approximates to the border between North and West DorsetDistrict Council Areas. C-D-E-F is, very approximately, the line of the Dorset-Somerset Border. F-Afollows the route of the main A37 Yeovil to Dorchester road (a Roman road).


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116

Appendices

117

Appendix 1

The Relationships Between Sherborne and Yeovil,and Sherborne and Dorchester

118

A1.1 The Relationship Between Sherborne and Yeovil

Bracey's survey of six counties (Bracey 1953) identified Sherborne (with its then

population124 of 5,987) as 22nd out of twenty-six Higher District Centres (and 4th out of

Dorset's five Higher District Centres - Figure 3, main text). The likely influence on

Sherborne of Yeovil (population, 23,337), a larger service centre located some six miles

from Sherborne, can be gleaned from the information in Figure 3. Sherborne's Rural

Component of Centrality125 was, at 97, considerably less than the comparable figure for

Yeovil (261).

An investigation by Bracey (1952) into the effect of population on centrality suggested that

the relative positions of the towns in his Wiltshire survey were, with the one exception of

Swindon, not a function of population. Nevertheless, it might be expected, given the

increases in personal mobility that have taken place since Bracey conducted his studies,

and the greatly improved main road between Yeovil and Sherborne, that the influence of

the former town over the latter might have increased since the 1950s, not least because

Yeovil has a much larger population than Sherborne (40,100126 compared with 9,640127

respectively, compared with 23,337 and 5,987 at the time of Bracey's study). However, the

rates of growth are similar128 for both towns, suggesting, perhaps, that each influences the

other almost equally. This view is supported by Barker (1975 Ch.7), who tabulated

changes in populations and trade areas for both towns in 1861, 1889, 1911, and 1939

(Figure 29).

119

128 For Yeovil, ~6.3%; for Sherborne, ~5.8%. These figures were obtained by expressing the annual increasein population during the period 1951-2001 as a percentage of each town's population in 1951. For example,for Yeovil: 40,100-9,640=30,460 (increase in population since 1951), divided by 50 to give average annualgrowth between 1951 and 2001 (i.e. 609 people/annum). The annual figure (609) is equal to ~6.3% of the1951 base population of 9,640.

127 Mid-Year populations estimates, 2000 (DCC 2003).

126 Mid-Year population estimates, 2001 (SCC 2003).

125 That is, its relative importance as a rural service centre.

124 1951 Census (Bracey 1953 p44).

Although, during this period, Yeovil's urban population (Census figures) increased by

163% (i.e. from 8,486 to 22,392), compared with an increase in Sherborne's urban

population of only 14% (from 5,793 to 6,601), the two towns' trade areas and associated

populations change relatively little until 1939, when Yeovil's acreage and population

increase significantly, but not, as can be seen, at Sherborne's expense.

Figure 29Population, Trade Area and Related Data - Sherborne and Yeovil

(Barker 1975 Tables 7.2 & 7.3)

11280102116YeovilN/K22N/KN/KSherborneNumber of

Settlements

75,03756,42657,41162,870Yeovil36,74537,07034,53937,417SherborneTrade Area

Acreage

41,72527,74823,15726,576Yeovil12,89111,92310,86012,793SherborneTrade Area

Population

22,39214,4229,6208,486Yeovil6,6015,9535,2735,793SherborneUrban

Population

1939191118891861Year

In any event, the commercial and social links between the two very different towns129 are

many, varied, and long-standing. For example, Lipman (1952 p212), referring to the way

in which, " ... two or three neighbouring towns may together perform the functions of a

single larger centre.", quoted a study (Green 1952)130 that noted how, " ... Sherborne and

Yeovil together function as a joint centre for south-east Somerset and Northern Dorset.".

120

130 Green noted (p353) that, "Yeovil is not easily considered apart from the neighbouring Dorset town ofSherborne with which it exists in a partnership similar, on a small scale, to those of Bristol-Bath andGloucester-Cheltenham.". In the work quoted, Green built on the findings from his earlier studies (1948 and1950). These demonstrated that bus services (frequency, bases, journey origins and destinations) wereeffective indicators, both of town "types", and the extent of their spatial influence (i.e. a town's hinterland).His aim in the later work was to note the changes that had occurred in bus service provision, and to use theinformation to show, " ... that in the complicated and rapidly evolving economy of the present day theboundaries of hinterlands will be subject to continual change ... " (p346). His work was part of the -continuing - quest for, " ... some sort of short cut which would enable one to define the average spheres ofinfluence of centres performing urban functions." (p345).

129 Kathryn Barker (2001), a Sherborne historian and lecturer, told the writer that, during lectures, she showsphotographs, taken in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, of Yeovil's and Sherborne's main shopping streets -they are difficult to tell apart. This is not the case today. Both towns, however, have well documentedhistories extending back to Yeovil's position as a Royal Manor, and Sherborne's as a Church Manor. Formany years, Yeovil was the wealthier place, and, as a consequence, its buildings were rebuilt (i.e.modernised) relatively often, unlike Sherborne's which, left untouched and relatively uncared for, eithersurvived or fell down, and were replaced in an ad hoc fashion, in a variety of styles. Consequently, andironically, Sherborne is today an attractive, traditional town with a great deal of (relatively expensive)picturesque property, whereas Yeovil has a much more industrial appearance with a lot of modern property.

The two towns developed along similar industrial lines (e.g., agriculture, leather, gloving)

for many years. The Industrial Revolution placed Yeovil, already at the junction of several

road systems, at the centre of a growing rail network (Weymouth to Bristol,

London/Salisbury to Exeter, Yeovil to Taunton). This, combined with its long-standing

importance as a service centre for agriculture, helped stimulate the development of Yeovil's

significant engineering base (Pittard's Leather Works, Westland Helicopters) which, in

turn, resulted in a rapid increase in population during the late nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries, culminating in a town which is now some four times larger than

Sherborne, with a local - economic - influence to match. Nevertheless, it appears that the

two towns have developed an unintended, but effective symbiotic relationship, the

dynamics of which may be worthy of further study.

The scenes illustrated in Plates 2 to 11 are included to give some indication of the

differences between the two towns, both in terms of "character" and the range of services

provided.

121

Plate 2

Sherborne - Market Day

122

Plate 3

Yeovil -Market Day

Plate 4

TypicalSherborne

Shops

123

Plate 5

Yeovil's

Quedam

Shopping

Centre

Plate 6

The Yeatman Hospital, Sherborne

124

Plate7

Yeovil Hospital

Plate8

A Sherborne Restaurant

125

Plate 9

Yeovil's Cinema, Tenpin Bowling and Restaurant Complex

126

Plate 10

Yeovil's Main Shopping Street

Plate 11

Sainsbury's Supermarket, Sherborne

127

A1.2 The Relationship Between Sherborne and Dorchester

Dorchester, Dorset's county town lies nineteen miles (30.6 km.) to the south of Sherborne.

Although Dorchester's physical and economic impact on Sherborne is less than that of

Yeovil, local government links directly affect Sherborne. The County and District

Councils' headquarters are in Dorchester, as is the headquarters of the local health

authority. Therefore, with its primary and secondary schools, its area offices, council waste

tip, hospital and General Practitioners' surgeries all controlled from Dorchester, Sherborne

is to a certain extent under the direct influence of its southern, administratively "superior",

neighbour.

128

Appendix 2

Reasons for Excluding Education and TransportFrom the Indicators of Service Provision

Selected for the Survey

129

"Education" is not included as a category in this study, because the case study area's

secondary school's pupils and their families formed the survey group, and the majority of

them they live within the school's catchment area (i.e. within Sherborne's "secondary

education sphere of influence").

Similarly, "transport" is not included. The fact that respondents use Sherborne's service

functions means - again, by definition - that they have the means to access those services.

Whilst the reality of "transport poverty" is accepted, " ... with public transport provision

decreasing and services increasingly being rationalised and centralised." (Cullinane and

Stokes 1998 p105),131 so too is the fact that, in the south of England, almost 90% of the

rural population have some access to a car (p29). Although Cullinane and Stokes believe

that this figure is misleading (p31), in that, when drivers without routine access to a car in

car-owning households, and those aged under 17 are taken into account, " ... just 45.3% of

the total population of rural areas have full [writer's emphasis] access to a car ...", the

situation is not clear cut. Gray (2001 p43) makes the point that, "Although reliance on the

car in rural areas increased markedly between 1985/86 and 1998/99, there is little

evidence to suggest that people are appreciably more dependent on their vehicles."

(writer's emphasis).

Nevertheless, given that almost 90% of people have some access to a car, and that

estimates suggest that, at most, 10% of the rural population have to rely on cars, " ...

because public transport alternatives do not exist." (Cullinane and Stokes p329), it is safe

130

131 It should not, of course, be inferred from this that public transport provision in rural areas is satisfactory(anecdote and observation suggest that it isn't - there are people who cannot get to where they want to go, andplenty of - sometimes empty - buses clearly not meeting their needs). The purpose of this research is todefine Sherborne's current sphere(s) of influence for the four service groups selected for survey, not todetermine the effect on the spheres of current transport provision. Inevitably, changes in public transportprovision have the potential to affect, for better or worse, the spheres of influence for the four service groups.It is suggested that an assessment of the impact of changes in transport (and, for that matter, mobile andlocally devolved - e.g. to primary care level - services) provision on Sherborne's spheres of influence, couldusefully form the basis of future research.

to assume that the majority of rural residents are able to access132 Sherborne's services,

should they so choose133. It is worth noting, however, that increases in non-car/public

transport provision do not always work to the advantage of rural service centres. For

example, "free" bus services dedicated to supermarkets clearly have the potential to

displace custom from one centre to another. As participants in two workshops held to

discuss rural transport in the context of town and country links noted, where rural transport

is concerned, there are no simple solutions134 (Morris 2002 p3, Morris 2003a p4).

131

134 Gray's work on rural transport typologies reinforces this - obvious - point, in that there are eight typologies(three of which are based on market towns), and a need for, "... further research ... to categorise and validatea typology of rural transport areas." (Gray 2001 p43).

133 In a related survey in Faringdon, Oxfordshire (Morris 2003), using the same school-based approach,respondents were asked to indicate the form of transport used to access services. Of the 99 respondents (10%return rate), 94% used private motor cars (of the non-car users, three walked, and one used a motor cycle - noone used public transport).

132 According to the Countryside Agency, rural transport policy is today more about "accessibility" ratherthan "mobility" (Bayly 2003).

Appendix 3

Questionnaire DevelopmentVersion 1 and Version 5 (Used in the Survey)

132

Version 1

Please:-• Note that the questionnaire has been designed to take the minimum amount of time to complete.

However, each question, no matter how trivial it might seem, is important in terms of the research.Please do your best, therefore, to answer every question.

• Write in, or tick, the boxes as appropriate (NB the questionnaire should only be completed by peopleaged 16 or over).

• Be assured that your answers will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Thank you very much for your help.

Gordon MorrisThe Countryside Agency & Seale Hayne (University of Plymouth)

++++++++++++++

Female

Male

Over7060-6950-5940-4930-3921-2916-20AgePlease indicate your age group and sex.P7

>25yrs.16-20yrs.11-15yrs.6-10yrs.<5 yr.How long have you lived in this area?P6

If you belong to any clubs/societies, pleaselist the town(s)/village(s) in which they arebased.

P5

If you are in work (paid or voluntary), or ineducation, please name the town/village inwhich your workplace or place of educationis located.

P4... housewife or carer?... retired or sick?... registered unemployed?... part-time education?... full-time education?... part-time work?... full-time work (30+ hours/week)?Are you in ...P3

What is your Post Code?P2

Where do you live (name of parish, please)?P1About you ...

the optician you mostly use?M4

the chemist you mostly use?M3

... dentist's surgery?M2

... your doctor's surgery?M1

In which town/village is ...Medical Services

If you use the services of an accountant, inwhich town/village is his/her office?

P4

If you use the services of a solicitor, in whichtown/village is his/her office?

P3

In which town/village is the Post Office youusually use?

P2

Where do you usually do your face-to-facebanking?

P1Professional Services

133

"luxury/big item" (e.g. TVs, cookers, gifts,suits, furniture)?

S4

shopping for clothes, shoes, hardware etc.?S3

main (e.g. weekly/monthly) food shopping?S2

"day to day/emergency" food shopping?S1

Where (i.e. the name of the town/village) do you do your:Retail Services

playing/sports field?L5

gym/sports hall?L4

swimming pool?L3

theatre?L2

cinema?L1

In which town/village do you normally go to the following(NB if you never go, please write, 'N/A'):

Entertainment

If you have any comments, please write them in this box.

Thank you for your help. Please return the questionnaire to the Gryphon School before dd/mm/02.

134

Version 5 - Used in Final Survey135




• Be assured that your answers will be treated in the strictest confidence. Thank you very much for your help.

Gordon MorrisThe Countryside Agency/University of Plymouth

654321

Female

Male

Over 6455-6445-5435-4425-3416-24AgePlease indicate - by a tick in the appropriateMale/Female box - your age group and sex.

A7

54321

>20yrs.16-20yrs.11-15yrs.6-10yrs.<5 yr.How long have you lived in this area?A6

If you belong to any clubs/societies, pleaselist the places (e.g., city, or town/village &county) in which they are based.

A5

If you are in work (paid or voluntary), or ineducation, please name the place (e.g., city,or town/village & county) in which yourmain workplace, or place of education, islocated.

A4

8... permanently sick or disabled?7... a housewife/husband or carer?6... retired?5... registered unemployed?4... in part-time education?3... in full-time education?2... in part-time work?1... in full-time work (30+ hours/week)?

Are you ...

Please put a tick in one box only (i.e. indicateyour main occupation).

A3

What is your Post Code?A2

Where do you live (name of parish, please)?A1

About you ...

... the optician you mostly use?M4

... the chemist you mostly use?M3

... your dentist's surgery?M2

... your doctor's surgery?M1

In which town/village is ...Medical

If you use the services of an accountant, inwhich city/town/village is his/her office?P4

If you use the services of a solicitor, in whichcity/town/village is his/her office?P3

In which town/village is the Post Office youusually use?P2

Where do you usually do your face-to-facebanking?P1

Professional Services

135

135 The two main changes between the versions are: the age bands were modified to fit those used byUniversity of Plymouth researchers involved in other projects; the "linked visits" question was added. NB In the questionnaire used in the Faringdon survey a question relating to the mode of transport used byrespondents to access services was included (p98, p130 [Footnote 130]).

luxury/"big item" (e.g. TVs, cookers, gifts,suits, furniture)?S4

shopping for clothes, shoes, hardware etc.?S3

main (e.g. weekly/monthly) food shopping?S2

day to day/"emergency" food shopping?S1


playing/sports field?L5

gym/sports hall?L4

swimming pool?L3

theatre?L2

cinema?L1


Leisure

Do you, when visiting a town for one purpose (e.g. to visit the Doctor), usually take the opportunity todo some shopping, or have a coffee, for example? Please put a "tick" in one box.

NoYes"Linked" Visits

Finally, if you have any comments you would like to make (e.g. about why you prefer to go to a particularplace for a particular service, or what it is that you like, or dislike, about a particular place), please writethem in this box.

Thank you for your help. Please return the completed questionnaire to The Gryphon School before 18 October, 2002.

136

Appendix 4

Letters Sent in Connection With the Research

137

Letter No. 1Mrs J LeyshonThe Gryphon SchoolBristol RoadSHERBORNE

07 April, 2002

Thanks very much for agreeing to consider my request for help from Gryphon students with myresearch into, "A Country Town's Sphere of Influence". As I said when we last spoke, my project,essentially a re-run of national research done in the late 1940s by geographers involved in post-warreconstruction work, is designed to see if a short, simple to complete questionnaire, sent out to thefamilies of a town's state secondary school can be used to determine a town's sphere of influenceand, consequently, help to inform/influence rural policy. We shall see! In any event, I would liketo think that the work might, in some way, be of some use to the school (e.g. as a case study).

Anyway, as promised, I am sending you copies of the draft letter and questionnaire for comment.

Basically, I need to do the following:-

Firstly, send letter and questionnaires home with, say, a Year 12 geography class as a trial (i.e.to see how/if the questionnaire "works").

Secondly, send letters and questionnaires (amended to reflect findings from 1 above) homewith each pupil/student (i.e. whole school). Obviously, I will supply all the paperwork, andarrange a timetable for distribution that is acceptable to you.

I hope that the above makes some sense. I will ring you in a week or so to find out what you think.In the meantime, thanks for agreeing to consider my request.

Gordon Morris

TanglewoodLeighSHERBORNE DT9 6HL

Tel. 01935 873051

138

Letter No. 2��

�� !#"%$&!#'#�

(*)�+-,/.�0 (*1�243�5 6

01 September, 2002

Dear Householder

Sherborne. an English Country Town - What's it for in the Twenty-first Century?

This letter, and the enclosed questionnaires, are being sent to the home of every Gryphon School pupil andstudent as part of a research project designed to find out how Sherborne "serves" the people who live in andaround it.

You may know that, in recent years, concern for the "state" of England's small towns has grown, not onlyamongst interested individuals and groups, but also within local and central Government. The CountrysideAgency, a central government organization, is interested in the "health" of small towns, and is keen to learnmore about the nature and strength (or otherwise) of the relationships that exist between towns and theiroutlying, traditionally dependent, villages and hamlets.

The Countryside Agency is supporting me in my attempt, as a post-graduate student at the University ofPlymouth, to find out how far Sherborne's influence as a main service centre extends into the countryside. Ihope that the work will be of use, both to the pupils and students of the Gryphon School, and to other peopleand organizations interested in the role of England's country towns. The approach I am following - i.e.working with the local secondary school - is similar to that used during a national survey of market towns inthe late 1940s.

And so to the help! Questionnaires should be completed, please, by individual family members - aged 16 orover - who live with you in your home (feel free to photocopy the forms if you need more than three). Pleasereturn the completed questionnaires to the Gryphon School before 18th October, 2002. The results of the survey will be given to the school. They will also, I hope, inform rural policy development,and may prove to be of some benefit to everyone who lives or works in, or simply visits for enjoyment,England's country towns and villages. Your contribution to this work is, therefore, important. Quite simply,the more forms I have to analyse, the better. Please accept, in advance, my thanks for your help.

The information you provide will be treated in the strictest confidence. No reference will be made inmy report to any individual household.

If you have any questions, please let me know, either by telephone (work number, 01622 765222) or e-mail([email protected]).

Yours sincerely

*RUGRQ�0RUULVGordon Morris

139

Letter No. 3

Mr C J Shepperd, BA (Oxon), MSc HeadteacherThe Gryphon SchoolBristol RoadSHERBORNEDorset DT9 4EQ

18 October 2002

Sherborne Hinterland Survey

Thank you very much for your help with my research. Thanks also to the staff and thestudents and their families for completing the questionnaires. To date approximately 230completed forms have been returned. I am hoping (fingers crossed) that I will receive atleast 500 forms eventually. Therefore, if you could make one final plea on my behalf,please, it would be very much appreciated.

At the back of my mind is the idea that my approach could be used by a town's school, bothas a cross-curricula activity, and as a way of involving young people in the national MarketTowns Initiative (MTI) announced in the Rural White Paper in 2000. Approximately 200towns in England are currently involved in the MTI and, as you can imagine, it is notalways easy to find ways in which young people can make a practical contribution to thework of their town's partnership. It occurs to me that my survey method could, if operatedby a town's secondary school, help to put both school and pupils at the forefront of thework associated with defining a town's hinterland (something that has to be done as part ofthe MTI's initial data gathering work). Also, I suspect that, if the school "owned" thework, the number of forms returned would increase significantly. I wonder, Chris, do youagree, and is it something that you think schools would be interested in? I suspect that theproject could have something to offer mathematics, business studies, and geographystudents.

Anyway, I will, of course, let you know how I get on, and make sure that the results aremade available to the school. I will call in in a couple of weeks to see if any more formsare handed in. Once again, Chris, many thanks for your help.

TanglewoodLeighSherborneDorset DT9 6HL

140

Appendix 5

Completed Questionnaire From Pre-test Survey

141




• Be assured that your answers will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Thank you very much for your help.

Gordon MorrisThe Countryside Agency & Seale Hayne (University of Plymouth)

++++++++++++++

9Female

Male

Over7060-6950-5940-4930-3921-2916-20AgePlease indicate your age group and sex.P7

7>25yrs.16-20yrs.11-15yrs.6-10yrs.<5 yr.How long have you lived in this area?P6

YeovilIf you belong to any clubs/societies, pleaselist the town(s)/village(s) in which they arebased.

P5

Sherborne

If you are in work (paid or voluntary), or ineducation, please name the town/village inwhich your workplace or place of educationis located.

P4... housewife or carer?... retired or sick?... registered unemployed?... part-time education?... full-time education?

7... part-time work?... full-time work (30+ hours/week)?Are you in ...P3

DT9 4DUWhat is your Post Code?P2

SherborneWhere do you live (name of parish, please)?P1About you ...

Yeovilthe optician you mostly use?M4

Sherbornethe chemist you mostly use?M3

Sherborne... dentist's surgery?M2

Sherborne... your doctor's surgery?M1

In which town/village is ...Medical

N/AIf you use the services of an accountant, inwhich town/village is his/her office?

P4

SherborneIf you use the services of a solicitor, in whichtown/village is his/her office?

P3

SherborneIn which town/village is the Post Office youusually use?

P2

SherborneWhere do you usually do your face-to-facebanking?

P1Professional Services

142

Bristol"luxury/big item" (e.g. TVs, cookers, gifts,suits, furniture)?

S4Yeovilshopping for clothes, shoes, hardware etc.?S3Yeovilmain (e.g. weekly/monthly) food shopping?S2Sherborne"day to day/emergency" food shopping?S1


N/Aplaying/sports field?L5

N/Agym/sports hall?L4

Yeovilswimming pool?L3

Baththeatre?L2

Yeovilcinema?L1


Leisure

If you have any comments, please write them in this box.

Thank you for your help. Please return the questionnaire to the Gryphon School before dd/mm/02.

143

Appendix 6

Survey Data Presented by Electoral Ward

144

Notes1 This figure is attributable to one family's liking for Sherborne's doctors and dentists (comment made on questionnaire), and also, no doubt, for the Gryphon School. 2 These figures represent the views of 5 or fewer respondents. Nevertheless, these individuals do make linked visits when in Sherborne. 3 These Wards are considered to be the most significant in that they represent the views of 12 or more respondents. 4 Milborne Port, Somerset, is technically outside the Gryphon School's catchment. However, for practical reasons to do with the village's closeness to Sherborne, and the distance from the nearest Somersetsecondary schools, an agreement between the two county Local Education Authorities allows Milborne Port children to attend the Gryphon School. 5 These figures relate to all respondents - they are not the averages of the columnar averages shown above them. This is because only those Wards from which at least two forms were received areincluded in the Table - single forms from Queen Camel and Wincanton (each recording a 25% dependency on Sherborne for medical services, and zero for all others) have not been included.

572%21%25%34%59%Average figures percategory based on allrespondents :

2NC100%0%0%0%0%0%Martock (1 parish/2returns)

2NC50%0%0%0%0%0%Hills & Vale (1 parish/2returns)

2NC60%5.75%8%0%5%10%Coker (2 parishes/5returns)

C50%11.75%0%13%17%17%Piddle Valley (1parish/3 returns)

2NC80%9%10%3%5%18%Yeovil (1 parish/5returns)

3C46%9.75%8%4%9%18%Yetminster (5parishes/17 returns)

Partly C87%18.5%19%27%3%25%Lydden Vale (2parishes/8 returns)

2Partly C100%18%20%17%5%30%Blackmore Vale (3parishes/5 returns)

4C86%29.5%29%25%23%41%Milborne Port (2parishes/8 returns)

3C58%20%13%10%15%42%Holnest (2 parishes/12returns)

2C100%15.75%0%13%0%50%Halstock (1 parish/2returns)

3C95%22.5%16%12%10%52%Bradford Abbas (3parishes/23 returns)

3C60%22.75%16%15%10%50%Blackmore (3parishes/18 returns)

3C64%36%18%27%35%64%Caundle Vale (7parishes/22 returns)

3C92%47.75%26%45%47%73%Queen Thorne (5parishes/13 returns)

3C76%52.25%30%37%59%81%Sherborne (97returns)

1, 2C66%52.5%27%25%58%100%Mudford (1 parish/3returns)

NotesC: Gryphon SchoolCatchment Area

NC: Non-CatchmentLinked VisitsAverageLeisureRetailProfessionalMedical

Ward(listed in order of

"medical significance")

Table A6/1 - Survey Data by Electoral Ward

145

Appendix 7

Sherborne's Services - a Discussion

146

In addition to Sherborne's three General Medical Practices (GMPs), there are three dental

practices, three opticians, three pharmacies, a chiropractor, a chiropodist and an osteopath

located in the town (Dentons 2003, Yellow Pages 2002). Common sense suggests that the

level and "health" of the various service categories are linked to one another, and

dependent upon a variety of external circumstances. For example, Sherborne's popularity

as a retirement town and its prominence as an education centre helps to maintain the high

level of medical and allied services. As well as the Gryphon School and two state primary

schools, there are, in, or close to the town, four private day and boarding schools and an

international college (Dentons 2003, Yellow Pages 2002), all of which to some extent rely

on, and therefore help maintain, local medical services. Similarly, the boarding students

probably contribute to the presence of the relatively large number - eight - of banks and

building societies, as well as a General Post Office, in the town (Dentons 2003). The

presence of these providers of, for example, mortgages to people buying property in the

area, could, in turn, it is suggested, help to maintain the number of solicitors (4),

accountants (6), and estate agents (7) in the town (Dentons 2003, Yellow Pages 2002).

The presence of large numbers of school children and, on occasions, their parents, together

with the relatively large number of people who retire to Sherborne (DCC 2003), as well as

the many visitors to this attractive Abbey town, no doubt helps to explain the numbers,

quality and variety of restaurants, tea, coffee, cake and other speciality shops.

Two supermarkets, Somerfields and Sainsbury's, are located in the town136 and cater for the

needs of the local shopper, as do Woolworth's and Boots, both of which, together with a

wide variety of food and other shops (e.g. white and fancy goods), are sited in Cheap

Street, the main shopping street. The fact that Sherborne's range of shops does not include

147

136 These shops are effectively at the north and the south ends of the town - they are not edge of, or out oftown stores, and, anecdotally, their presence seems to have improved the attractiveness of Sherborne as ashopping destination.

chain stores or "out/edge of town" white goods, Do-It-Yourself (although there is a

builders' merchant in the town), furniture and computer stores, for example, is perhaps

hardly surprising, given the town's proximity to Yeovil, where these outlets are to be

found137.

In general, therefore, Sherborne can be said to have a healthy and attractive mix of retail

services, bolstered both by the town's innate attractiveness and, to some extent, the link

between its medical services strength and people's apparent wish to make the most of their

time by making use of a visit for one purpose to do other things. It is also suggested that

people make assumptions about the relationship between the size of a town and the retail

offer within it that work to the disadvantage of some smaller country towns, because, to all

intents and purposes, Sherborne appears to have a good selection of shops.

The examples given above largely draw on the town's strengths in the education and

"heritage tourism" markets. Sherborne's success in these areas, however, and the degree to

which this success has helped the town to develop as a significant medical service centre,

has presumably encouraged people from the surrounding villages to use the other services.

It is suggested, therefore, that Sherborne's influence is, to a certain extent, dependent on:

y the continued availability of both medical (mainly) and professional services in the

town;

y the town's attractiveness as a destination in its own right;

y "selling" the town as a place in which general (e.g. food), speciality (e.g. gifts), and "big

ticket" (e.g. furniture, washing machines) products are available within an attractive,

historic and human-scale environment138.

148

138 It is suggested that people may make assumptions about the relationship between the size of a town andthe size and quality of its retail "offer" (i.e. the smaller the town the smaller the range and the lower thequality of the "offer" within it).

137 In addition, the major regional shopping centres Southampton, Bournemouth, Bath, Bristol, Salisbury, andExeter are all relatively accessible from Sherborne, both by motor car and public transport.

Appendix 8

Scatter Charts IllustratingSherborne's Significance as a Service Centre

by Parish, Relative to Nearby Towns,for Each of the Four Services Surveyed

149

A8.1 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Category and Settlement

For respondents for whom Sherborne is their closest town, those from Longburton (a

village with no medical services) show a strong dependency on Sherborne for medical

services, unlike respondents from Milborne Port, a village in which can be found a surgery,

dental practice and a pharmacy. Trent, Thornford, and Leigh, on the other hand (in none of

which are medical services to be found139), all lie on the Yeovil side of Sherborne, and

record levels of usage lower than for Longburton, but higher than those for Milborne Port.

The relative importance of Sherborne's medical services can be judged by comparing the

data in Figure 30 with those in Figures 31 to 33.

150

139 Although Leigh and Thornford are within both Yetminster's and Sherborne's GMP catchment areas.

LongburtonSherborne

Trent

Thornford

Leigh S Caundle

HolwellM PortB Abbas

Pulham

Yetminster

Barwick

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

by Travel Time Between Named Parish & Nearest Alternative TownTravel Time in minutes Between Named Parish & Sherborne, Divided

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Per

cent


Relative to Nearby Towns (Medical Services, Data From Table 3 [Main Text])

151

Longburton

Sherborne

Trent

Thornford

Leigh

S CaundleHolwell

M Port

B Abbas

Pulham

Yetminster Barwick

0 1 2 3 4 5 6


0

10

20

30

40

50

Per

cent


Relative to Nearby Towns (Retail Services, Data From Table 3 [Main Text])

Longburton

Sherborne

Trent

ThornfordLeigh

S Caundle

HolwellM Port

B Abbas

Pulham

Yetminster

Barwick

0 1 2 3 4 5 6


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Per

cent

Figure 31Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre by Parish Relative

to Nearby Towns (Professional Services, Data From Table 3)

In the case of all four categories it can be seen that respondents record some degree of

preference for Sherborne's services (although, in most cases, reported usage is less than

50%). This includes those respondents who live in parishes that lie closer to another town

in which similar services are available. However, the opposite also applies, in that

respondents who live in parishes that lie closer to Sherborne than to any other town record

low usage figures (e.g. approximately 5% reported use of Sherborne's retail services by

respondents from Leigh - Figure 32).

It is important to note, however, that, as stated in the main text (p94), the data available are

considered to be insufficient to enable anything more than the most general of inferences to

be drawn.

The brief discussion above is intended to stimulate debate in the belief that further study

based on this approach (i.e. relative travel times between settlements), perhaps linked to

152

Longburton

SherborneTrent

Thornford

Leigh S Caundle

Holwell

M Port

B AbbasPulham

YetminsterBarwick

0 1 2 3 4 5 6


5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Perc

ent


Realative to Nearby Towns (Leisure Services, Data From Table 3 [Main Text])

work on public transport route planning and accessibility to services, could yield useful

results140.

A8.2 Sherborne's Significance as a Service Centre Excluding Data From the

Village of Barwick

The trend lines (i.e. "best fit") in Figure 34 were obtained by linear regression (returns from

respondents living in Barwick - an outlying settlement - have been excluded). The "best

fit" for the data, including those from Barwick's respondents, was obtained using

exponential regression (Figure 27).

It is not surprising that the regression analysis for each of the service categories produces a

straight line "fit"141 - it is a reflection of Barwick's status as a statistical "oulier"142

153

142 In effect an atypical item of data that may distort results.

141 The "quality" of the trend line "fit" for the medical category is 0.522 (where a perfect fit would = 1). Thisreflects the relatively wide "scattering" of the results either side of the trend line.

140 Travel time is, by definition, related to ease of access - of course, for people who lack access to some formof transport, and who are unable to walk to the nearest service centre, the question of travel time is largely,and unhelpfully, academic. A brief discussion about transport is contained in Appendix 2.

0 0.5 1 1.5

Travel Time in Minutes Between Parish & Nearest Alternative TownTravel Time (Minutes) Between Parish & Sherborne, Divided by

0102030405060708090

Per

cent

MedicalProfessionalRetailLeisure

Figure 34Relative Significance of Sherborne's Service Catgories by Parish

Relative to Nearby Towns (Data From Figures 30 to 33, Exludes Barwick)

(Barwick is much closer to its nearest alternative town143 than to Sherborne than any other

parish featuring in the survey). However, the relationships between the four service

categories are not changed by the removal of the data relating to Barwick (compare with

Figure 27). The medical category clearly has the greatest significance. The professional

and retail service categories lose significance at a faster rate than the leisure category,

although they both start from a higher base (an interesting result given that all of the retail

and professional services are available in the town, whereas, of the five leisure categories

surveyed144, only one - playing/sports field - is available for relatively unrestricted public

use).

154

144 Cinema, theatre, swimming pool, gym/sports hall, and playing/sports field.

143 Yeovil, by far the largest town in the survey area.

Appendix 9

Analysis of Respondents' WrittenComments

155

Forty-six comments were received (from 247 respondents). The Table below summarises

the respondents' written comments. Where a particular comment is made by more than

one respondent, the number of respondents making the comment is given in parenthesis. It

can be seen that Sherborne's character, scale, and specialist - and other - shops account for

much of its popularity. Yeovil clearly serves to meet the balance of respondents' needs for

shopping and leisure services. The complementary nature of the two towns is effectively

summed up by the following quotations from two respondents:

"I try to shop in Yeovil and Sherborne as prices are different at mostsupermarkets.""It [Sherborne] complements Yeovil well.".

Table A9.1Summary of Respondents' Written Comments

"Dormitory town for the'ageing stranger'."

"Just knowing a placemakes you feelcomfortable & welcome."

... Tesco."

"Sainsbury's andSomerfields are moreexpensive than ...

"Pleasant place to live,work & shop."

"Aimed at 'old' market."Can combine shoppingwith school collection

Town's two personalities -daytime and night time("drunk young people inthe evening).

Can shop quickly andconveniently

"Planners have preventedindustry from revitalisingthe local economy."

Meets daily & weeklyshopping needs

Not suitable for "serious"shopping.

The marketSchools fullNHS dentist

Too much growth (housebuilding)

Good atmosphere

Lack of entertainment forteenagers (4)

Variety of shops (4)Expensive shoppingPleasant

"Snooty place"Friendly - "...good to bein." (4)

Cinema (2)Bowling (2)Leisure facilities

No public theatre No cinema

"Beautiful town ...character .." (5)

... but Yeovil's not faraway, so that's OK".

"Limited for shopping ..."... feels part of acommunity ..."

Writer's note: Yeovil hasa swimming pool.

No swimming pool (6) Good food shopping

Not enough shops/lack ofchoice (3)

Doctors & dentists (2)

"Has most of what I needto get."

Too many antique dealers& charity shops (2)

Nice environment (5)Traffic (A30)Good choice of shops (10)House pricesInteresting shops (3)ParkingHas lively church"Stuffy & oppressive."Easy parking (6)

" ... lacks a majordepartment store (e.g. JohnLewis, Debenhams)."

TescoNo large facilitiesSainsbury's (2)DislikesLikesDislikesLikes

YeovilSherborne

156

Appendix 10

Copy of Front Page of The Conduit, Sherborne's Newsletter

157

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