On the 24th February 1932, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937) made a surprise visit to Sherborne. Accompanied by his daughter Ishbel and a small group of friends, the Prime Minister visited Sherborne Abbey and lunched at the Digby Hotel (now The Digby) before proceeding to Newquay in Cornwall.
James Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937) had been elected Prime Minister in the 1929 general election, known as the ‘flapper election’ because it was the first general election in which women aged between 21 and 29 were allowed to vote. Sherborne and the Dorset West constituency was not, however, a Labour stronghold and in the 1929 general election the Labour party, represented by Thomas Robins, received only 19.1% of the vote, with the Conservative and Unionist party winning the seat with 49.1% of the vote, returning Sir Philip Colfox to the House of Commons as the MP for West Dorset. In 1935, having lost the support of his party, Ramsay MacDonald resigned in favour of Stanley Baldwin.
The following report of the visit appeared in the Western Gazette on 26 February 1932:
‘AN UNEXPECTED VISIT. PRIME MINSTER AT SHERBORNE. BRIEF STAY ON WAY TO CORNWALL. The Prime Minister (Right Hon. J. Ramsay MacDonald) made a brief stay at Sherborne on Wednesday on his way to Cornwall to recuperate after the operation to one of his eyes. His destination was understood to be Newquay. His visit to the Abbey town took the townspeople completely by surprise. It was in a purely private capacity that he came to Sherborne, and no previous intimation had been given of his intention. The majority of the townspeople, therefore, were only aware that they had entertained so distinguished an invalid when he had proceeded on his journey. Mr Ramsay MacDonald was accompanied by Miss Ishbel MacDonald, his great friend Sir Alexander Grant, and Lady Grant and Wing-Comdr. Louis Greig and Mrs Greig. Before lunch the party motored to the Abbey, and as ordinary visitors walked round the building unaccompanied by either of the members of the Abbey staff. The Prime Minister was obviously impressed by the beauty of the Abbey, but he did not sign the visitors’ book, and his identity was only privately revealed to the head verger (Mr A. Lambert). The party returned to the Digby Hotel for lunch, and when they left in the early afternoon their departure was witnessed by interested groups of sightseers, chiefly residents or workers in that particular district who had become aware that the Prime Minister was in their midst.’
See also:
- The Digby archives homepage
- The Digby house photographs
- The Digby roll of honour
- Creating The Digby: Peter Currie’s account of the early days of The Digby
- Plan showing the location of trees planted in The Digby garden in March 1981
- History of Sherborne School’s boarding houses
- Filming John le Carré’s A Murder of Quality in 1990, includes scenes filmed at The Digby.
For further information please contact the School Archivist
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