August 2021

Conservation Tales: Glass plates of Thomas Hardy

Conservation Trainee Helen has been working on various things during her period with us at Dorset History Centre. In this post, she takes a look at some interesting glass plate negatives… — Dorset History Centre has recently acquired a new set of glass plate negatives, mainly of Thomas Hardy. As part of my placement here… Read more Conservation Tales: Glass plates of Thomas Hardy

Cooking the Books – Dorset Apple Cake

If you asked someone for a food associated with Dorset, you might get the following responses Dorset Knobs, Dorset Blue Vinney, Portland Pudding, Dorset Horn, the Dorset Naga… Chances are though that the most popular response would be Dorset Apple Cake. The Dorset poet William Barnes mentions an apple cake of sorts in his poem… Read more Cooking the Books – Dorset Apple Cake

Thomas Hardy – exploring a new collection (part 3)

The collection of Hardy-related material acquired in late 2020 offers some fascinating insights into Hardy’s world and the eclectic range of contacts and correspondents he maintained links with and the wider perspective on Hardy’s life that this important purchase provides.  Below, we look at a few of the stories to have emerged. Hardy the son… Read more Thomas Hardy – exploring a new collection (part 3)

Bastardy records – what are they and what do they tell us?

When researching your family history, you may discover one or two ‘Skeletons’, one possibly being that an ancestor was illegitimate. This is normally discovered when looking at their baptism record where, not only is the mother the only named parent, but the child is recorded as a ‘bastard’ in the register. In the example below,… Read more Bastardy records – what are they and what do they tell us?