Campaigners against a proposal to build 4,000 homes on farmland north of Dorchester are warning developers not to anger the Dorset Ooser – the traditional guardian of the countryside.
A replica of the scary Ooser mask will be paraded through Dorchester town centre next Saturday, April 27th.
A spokesperson for STAND (Save the Area North of Dorchester) said: “The countryside is under threat. Expensive new houses that don’t meet local need could be built on green fields north of Dorchester. The Ooser won’t like flood water oozing into people’s homes; contaminants oozing into drinking water and pollution oozing into the River Frome.”
An example of an Ooser, a grotesque wooden mask, is on display in the Dorset County Museum. It played an important role in the county’s folklore during the nineteenth century. Thomas Hardy mentions Oosers in The Return of the Native and The Mayor of Casterbridge. He describes how an Ooser would feature in traditional skimmity rides, a form of public humiliation for those who were believed to have behaved immorally.
Alistair Chisholm, Dorchester’s former town crier and a founder member of STAND said: “Saturday’s march is an attempt to raise awareness of the threat to Dorchester and the villages of Stinsford and Charminster. Voters go to the polls on May 2nd to elect a new Dorset Council, Dorchester Town Council, and two parish councils. People should ask candidates for their views on so-called “Norchester” before casting their votes.”
West Dorset’s Conservative MP Chris Loder, a strong opponent of the proposal, is expected to attend Saturday’s rally at the Town Pump from 11am.
View the Ooser leaflet associated with this protest: Ooser leaflet
The Dorset Ooser (as illustrated in a STAND leaflet)
The Area North of Dorchester viewed from Poundbury Hill Fort