Today we continue our journey through the past in west Dorset, this time stopping off in the town of Beaminster.

We begin with a photo of the Beaminster Union Workhouse, which was out in the country on the road to Stoke Abbot.

Back in the 1950s apparently it used to be a stopping off point for travellers, who would often be seen on the A356 out of Maiden Newton having spent a few nights at Hilfield Monastery.

Country folk in Beaminster had numerous nicknames for personalities living in and around the town.

Beatrice Poole, writing for The Dorset Year Book, 1968-1969 said: "My parents were country folk, and the stories they used to tell of their early lives were set against the background of country life in and around Beaminster, which was then a market town. When, as a child, I heard mention of such queer personalities as Bussie and Clutcher, I found myself trying to imagine who and what they were. Surely they couldn't be real people, but if, as Mother and Father assured me, they were."

"One of the most amusing stories we came across was, I think, about Bloater. The mental picture which had come to me was one of a big, burly figure - bloated in fact. But not on your life! There was nothing approaching personal description about this one. No, it was simply that, once, out on a long tiring walk, the remark was passed by a member of the party, "Coo, ain't I 'ungry", to which another replied, "Zoo be I, I could jist do wi' a nice bloater". The others saw the funny side of that, and so a nickname was born. Slightly more obtuse, but probably a shortening of Dry Wood was Dryood. This belonged to the local wit - he was noted for his cryptic comments to suit any occasion. Capper too was clever - he could be relied on to beat the band or 'cap' everybody else's story."