“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” – Benjamin Franklin Throughout Dorset’s history the certainty and importance of tax collecting has lead to some meticulous record keeping. Auditors and future collectors might refer to the records of a tax collection that had been produced decades earlier. For local… Read more Death and Taxes
Two influential Dorset families dominate the additions to the seventh edition of Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated. The first is the Fox-Strangways family, who are the Earls of Ilchester. Among the many portraits of family members there is a picture of a young Charles James Fox, a politician who was the arch rival of Pitt the Younger,… Read more Physicians, fires and false allegations
This is the fourth blog in our series on the railway plans. In the last part we explored how the plans are graded, which informs how our Conservator approaches the work. Due to the large number of plans a volunteer, Clare, was taken on to help conserve those plans graded two. These plans mostly require… Read more The work of a Conservation Volunteer
In our series on Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated, some stories are so interesting that deserve more attention. In the first of our ‘spin-off’ blogs, we look at philanthropist Thomas Coram… — Thomas Coram is best known for his role in establishing the Foundling Hospital in London. By itself, this was a great achievement but it was… Read more Thomas Coram: “Unmistakable honesty and sterling goodness of heart”
In April, Dorset History Centre appointed Sophie Smith as the Archivist to catalogue the Herrison Hospital collection. In this blog she gives us her thoughts on her first three months… — When this Wellcome Trust funded project at Dorset History Centre began we were tasked with structuring the catalogue of the Herrison Hospital collection. The… Read more Herrison Hospital Project Update
The work of an Archive Conservator is diverse. One day could be spent looking through a microscope, consolidating flaking pigment with a 000 brush, the next we could be using a backing hammer to shape the spine of a book. A Conservator’s toolkit needs a plethora of tools to ensure we have the right instrument… Read more Tools of the Conservation Trade
Volume 6 of Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated covers Weymouth and Dorchester. The Dorchester section is dominated by documents relating to Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assize. There is even a 48-page biography of Jeffreys bound into the volume. There are several documents connected with Dorchester Gaol, including plans of the new gaol, pictures of the old one and an image of King George visiting the Prison. The new Gaol was… Read more A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth
In the third of a series on the railway plans we hold at Dorset History Centre, Jenny Barnard, the Conservator here at Dorset History Centre details the problem of conserving the large railway plans we hold. — The railway plans present a complex conservation challenge due to three main aspects: their size, the material from… Read more The challenges of the railway plans…
Dorset History Centre has been working with the recent Voices from 1918 project which has been utilising sources within our collections to tell the tales of the people in the last year of the Great War and its aftermath. — Sometimes we can use an account of an event recorded in a diary and do more… Read more “Did they get a U-Boat?”
Thursday 6 June 2019 is the 75th anniversary of D Day. This important landmark of World War Two will be commemorated across the country, and much of Europe. D Day holds particular significance for Dorset as the county was in the front line of the build up to the invasion of Europe. Soldiers from America,… Read more D Day on the Home Front
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