At Dorset History Centre we are very fortunate to have secured funding for projects that enhance access to our collections. Projects have included cataloguing, digitisation, preservation and education work.

Projects are often undertaken in collaboration with partner organisations, and with the assistance of knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers. We also offer support for community projects.

Previous Projects

The Elisabeth Frink Collection

Thanks to an award from The Henry Moore Foundation, as well as generous donations through the Dorset Archives Trust, an archivist, David Johnston-Smith, was employed to catalogue and repackage the collection so that it will be available as a useful research tool for everyone.

The collection includes a wide range of photographic material – portraits of Frink, pictures of her at work in her studios, as well as family photos which encompass the whole of her life – from baby photos, to images taken only weeks before she died.  In addition, there is some original artwork – mostly juvenilia, a selection of small sculptural works, and a large quantity of paperwork including correspondence relating to the running of her business, and the sale, exhibition and marketing of her work.  There is also a sizeable collection of printed material, which includes books, press articles, exhibition catalogues and reviews.

Herrison Hospital

Funding was received from the Wellcome Trust to hire an archivist, Sophie Smith, to fully catalogue and repackage the records in order to ensure that research into records will be easier to understand. This money will also be used to conserve part of the collection to ensure their long-term usage along with engaging with academic partners in using the records for research/workshops.

In 1832 country home Forston House was converted into the Dorset County Asylum, and over the next 150 years more buildings were adapted and added, including a new building in 1863 and Herrison House in 1901. The hospital was closed completely in 1992. The Herrison Hospital records cover everything from administrate records and photographs to Rounders score books, this collection consists of approximately 300 boxes of archival material. Hospital patient records are subject to certain restrictions under the Data Protection Act, and access to records containing information less than 100 years old are restricted. Please get in touch if you have any queries: archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Unlocking the Bankes Archive

Dorset History Centre worked in partnership with the National Trust at Kingston Lacy and the Priest’s House Museum in Wimborne on an exciting project focused on one of Dorset’s largest and most significant archive collections, that of the Bankes family…

The Herbert Collection

A huge collection of delicate photographs has now been preserved at Dorset History Centre.