The Dorset History Centre is fortunate to have been given a collection of images belonging to the Gaumont Cinema, Weymouth. The images have been digitised by Eddie Prowse who has provided as much information as is currently available for an interesting insight into 1950s local cinema. Background to the Gaumont Cinema Archive of Photographs In… Read more A Collection Almost Lost: Remembering The Gaumont Cinema, Weymouth
In June 1904 Col. W. F. Cody, aka ‘Buffalo Bill’ and his Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders Show appeared in Dorchester for one day only. In a previous blog, we looked at the build-up to the event, and this time, we have taken a look at how the day of Buffalo Bill’s arrival… Read more The Wild West Comes to Dorchester! (Part 2)
Language changes over time. As new words come and go and regional dialects fade from memory, the English we speak today is very different from that spoken 200 years ago. Dorset History Centre holds an 1856 election poster from Bridport written, for political effect, in the Dorset Dialect: The author, Jems Mab, says ‘Ich be… Read more Dabbling in Dorset Dialect
It’s always exciting when a truly historic event takes place. Queen Elizabeth II is the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee and is now the third longest reigning monarch in history. Of course, to the British people it’s a perfect excuse to have a party! Let’s take a look at how Dorset celebrated… Read more Jubilations in Dorset!
The Dorset History Centre is fortunate to hold the Pleydell-Railston of Whatcombe Archive. This family archive contains the journals, note-books and letters of Captain Robert Carter Oakley, who was born in Wimborne in 1795, and who served with the 20th Regiment of Foot. His journals paint a vibrant picture of a 19th century soldier’s life.… Read more The Journal of Captain Oakley
RHS Chelsea Flower Show (24th – 28th May 2022), formerly known as the Great Spring Show is back this year after being cancelled in 2020 and moved to September in 2021 due to pandemic restrictions. “The world’s greatest flower show reveals cutting-edge garden design, fabulous floral displays and simply the best shopping.” Horticultural specialists, plant nurseries and designers from… Read more Stewarts of Ferndown: The First Garden Centre in Britain
Miss Harriette Evelyn Bendy (1877 – 1961) was, for around 20 years in the mid 20th century, a member of the community founded just outside Burton Bradstock by Miss Adela Marion Curtis. She was known as Sister Evelyn and she and other members of the Christian Contemplatives Charity (CCC) were nicknamed ‘The White Ladies’ because… Read more Evelyn Bendy: A ‘White Lady’ at Burton Bradstock
The Dorset County Constabulary was formed in 1856 and at the Dorset History Centre we hold the general order books dating back to the very beginning of the force. These handwritten books are small handwritten volumes that would take a long time to look through, but on our searchroom shelves is a transcript of the… Read more The First Dorset Policemen
WHO’S AFEAR’D is not just the motto on the Dorset Coat of Arms but also the name of a Spitfire which crashed near Meopham, Kent on 23rd June 1942. This fighter aircraft had been funded by local contributions from Blandford & Sturminster Newton District people and paid for in a manner which today would be… Read more Who’s Afear’d
In 1924 Mabel Lucy Matthews and Caroline Haslett electrical engineers and champion of women’s rights set out to popularize the domestic use of electricity. They, along with other leading female figures from the world of engineering, politics and business, established the Electrical Association for Women. The EAW set out to educate women on the range… Read more ‘Emancipation from Drudgery for Women’
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