Often written as 6D Handley in the past,  the love of money has nothing to do with the name of the village, which is derived from the two medieval hundreds of Sexpene and Hanlege ('Saxon hilltop' and 'high clearing').

It was one of the homes of the dreaded Isaac Gulliver [1745-1822] whose smuggling operations spread from Poole to Lyme Regis. He married innkeeper's daughter Betty Beale at Sixpenny Handley parish church [5 October 1768]. His father-in-law's hostelry, the Blacksmith's Arms, Thorney Down, was on the main road from Blandford to Salisbury and horse-shoeing was William Beale's other trade.

Those who think that smuggling has, of necessity, to be carried on somewhere near the sea, might note that Sixpenny Handley is around 30 miles inland, which is a long way to travel, loaded and under cover of darkness. Gulliver, though he had a liking for spirits and lace, might well have had another string to his bow - an enterprise founded on the availability of deer on the Chase ... and a tomb adjoining the local church where 'hot' venison could be stored for the duration of the hue and cry.

In 1892, the village suffered a devastating fire, in which more than 200 people were rendered homeless and destitute. It's surprising to learn there were that many villagers - they must have lived about 20 to the house - but something about the tragedy caught the public imagination because people rallied around, and it was said that you could always tell a Sixpenny Handley man for some time afterwards because he usually wore two if not three waistcoats.

A great deal of money was collected and when all claims were met, there remained at least £1,000. But so much squabbling arose over how this large (in those days) sum was to be spent that it was put into Chancery and remained there, possibly to this day.