In July, Dorset History Centre welcomed four students on work experience placements. Throughout the four weeks that the students were with us, they sampled all sorts of elements of life at DHC. In this blog, one of the students, George, reflects on the heatwave that was gripping the country at the time, and compares it with 1976…
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British summers are unpredictable. In the 21st century, we are no strangers to 30 degree heatwaves one moment and never ending downpours the next, making holiday planning rather difficult at times! However, the summer of 1976 would have had anyone praying for the heavens to open, particularly in Dorset. Like many regions across the UK, Dorset was the subject of extended dry periods and consistently hot temperatures that left their mark on the environment and local memory.
Dorset History Centre holds a number of records related to the drought of 1976 and its effects on Dorset. The one which stood out the most when reading through the records was an extract from the Dorset Evening Echo newspaper that went into considerable detail about the relentlessness of the heatwave in the county, awarding the summer of 1976 title of the ‘Sunniest summer on record’. The newspaper noted how from mid-May to mid-September, three separate ‘absolute droughts’ (15 or more consecutive dry days) occurred in Dorset, and specifically in Dorchester, 34.7c was recorded on 28th June, ‘the highest ever temperature recorded in the town’ at the time.
Photographs also capture the drastic changes that the heatwave brought to local environments across Dorset, such as the dry river bed of the River Allen. Other ecological damage at the time included when 50,000 trees were burned down due to fires in Hurn Forest near Bournemouth.
The diaries of Dorset locals Joan Sheman and P.H. Jackson highlight the extent of the heatwave, particularly in the period from late June to early July where virtually every day both Joan and Jackson document the scorching heat and their regular beach trips, with Joan stating how the beach was ‘crowded with locals’. Eventually, on Friday 9th July, in what can be interpreted as both a sigh of relief and an exclamation of disappointment Joan writes:
‘Rain. But not enough!’
Inevitably, extreme changes in temperatures and weather cause drastic responses. Wessex Water released a ‘Drought Leaflet’ in the summer of 1976 that laid out rigid rules to prevent the excessive use of water, including the implementation of a county-wide hosepipe ban. Active measures by the company to tackle the heatwave in Dorset went as far as plans to create a new water treatment plant in Beaminster to combat the ‘Dangerously low borehole supplies’. Perhaps this is something that will be having a much more regular occurrence in the future?
Recent years have brought home the significance of global warming and more dramatic temperature changes across the UK, with longer and more ferocious heatwaves occurring in Britain more regularly, such as the 2018 heatwave which in Dorset saw heights of 31oC. The summer of 1976 is likely to become a reality much more frequently experienced by people across Dorset.
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This was a guest blog, written by George Chapman, who has spent time working at Dorset History Centre as part of his work experience. If you would like to contribute a guest blog, please get in touch with us – archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.