driven by the general depopulation of the country that occurred in the Middle Ages due to migration to the towns and the Black Death. A third part of the village came to be known as Corfe Mullen St Nicholas. The origin of this appears to date back to a land acquisition by St Nicholas Hospital (a Salisbury charity) in 1279. The present-day areas of Lambs Green, East End and Brog Street were still called this until the early part of the 20th century. Construction of the original parish church, then called St Nicholas but now St Hubert's, was commenced during the 13th century, with the tower being added a little later. Elizabethan to Georgian period After the major changes seen after the Normans, a period of stability came to the village for about 300 years. From Elizabethan to Georgian times prosperity increased, with a number of wealthy families being the major landowners. None of these families built their homes within the parish boundaries, although the Phelipps family took over an Elizabethan Manor House (the Court House) near the church and lived there for many years. Other architectural legacies of this period are some notable farm houses, a few cottages and the original building that housed Lockyer's Charity School, formed in 1706 by Richard Lockyer. This building is still used by the present-day Lockyer's Middle School. During the latter half of the 18th century, a toll road was constructed by private enterprise; Higher Blandford Road and Mill Street were part of a new route between Poole and Blandford which resulted in the people of Corfe Mullen having access to the major markets of these two towns. Victorian era During the reign of Queen Victoria, more toll roads were constructed, including an extension to Mill Street which provided a new route from Bere Regis to Wimborne. The railways arrived by the late 19th century, with tracks first appearing within walking distance of the village at Wimborne and later with a route that went through the village, though it was well into the 20th century before a halt was provided. 20th century In the 20th century development accelerated. Development between the wars occurred along Higher Blandford Road and Wareham Road, with the populated area gradually extending up the hill, away from the original riverside centre at Mill Street and the older cottages at Brog Street, Lambs Green and East End. African American troops