In May our Reprographics Officer Tara left Dorset History Centre for pastures new up in Scotland. Tara had been part of the DHC since the autumn of 2023, working behind-the-scenes digitising records for customers, or creating surrogate copies of fragile or at-risk records. On the blog today, she reflects on her time at DHC…
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Farewell from me.
After just over two and a half wonderful years here at DHC, I am moving onto a big adventure.
My time at DHC has been amazing. I have been privileged to be part of a team that truly knows the meaning of team. I have seen and handled some truly incredible documents, from 16th century Charters, tithe maps, exquisite photographic glass plates, children’s nature books, Daguerreotypes; the list goes beyond my recall!
One of the standout projects has been digitising parts of the Thomas Hardy archives, a recently completed project to catalogue the collection, which was generously funded by the Dorset Archives Trust, the Valentine Trust, The Cooper-Dean Charitable Foundation and the National Trust, as well as public donations. I digitised Hardy’s notebooks, some of his architectural drawings, including the plans for his own house Max Gate, and original photographs of him and his family members.
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A collection of three nature books, written by two sisters, and also a later relative, (recently covered in on of our From the Stacks talks in 2025) were an incredible documentation not just of nature, but of these children’s lives – their relationship with their mother who actively encouraged them, their genuine fascination with nature, their eloquence of expression at such young ages (around 11-13), and their in-depth knowledge of the Latin botanical names, and their ability to spell them! There is a beautiful innocence in these diaries, and the preservation of the cuttings they had taken, dried, and stuck in their books that, whilst now faded and fragile, tell their own story.
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One of the first projects I worked on here was a large collection of glass plates that had been found in the Black Dog Inn at Broadmayne. This incredible collection gave an insight into village life in the early 1900’s, showing a community pulling together. It continues to fascinate me how such a small village tucked away in Dorset came to have such a prolific collection of photographs at a time when photography was a limited past-time and skill, unlike today where most people carry a camera of some form. Back then it wasn’t just a case of being able to handle a camera and make a correct exposure, but also to process the plates.
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In 2024 we were asked to digitise two huge photographic albums that belonged to and were created by Crispin Redshaw, former manager at the Beam Wireless Radio station along the Bridport/Dorchester Road. These two albums from the 1940’s were meticulously curated. They contained never previously seen photographs of the inside of the radio station, portraits of employees, views from the top of the masts, and the station covered in camouflage netting during WW2, all sat alongside family portraits and family holiday photographs. Mr Redshaw loved photography, and his detailed annotations of his various experimentations with different films, chemicals and techniques for processing and printing his photographs enthralled me – I am an analogue photographer in my own personal work and I love all things analogue so I found this particularly fascinating.
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I also digitised some of the Poole pottery collections for use by the Poole Museum. The original artwork is exquisite, and it is lovely to see photographs of the inside of the old pottery – I remember as a child being driven through Poole, and my mum always wanting to stop to explore the pottery.
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I remember the thrill I experienced when, whilst putting items together for a display, I discovered DHC held original Daguerreotypes! To handle something from the origins of the medium I love felt very special.
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DHC is a special place, with dedicated and knowledgeable staff with a love of preserving history. Please make sure to come and visit, there is nothing quite like holding a piece of the past in your hands. And with 8 miles worth of boxes, that’s a lot of history! If you can’t make it in, then have an explore of the online catalogue here.
Thanks to all at DHC for making me feel so welcome, and for a very fulfilling couple of years.
