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)
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?
In the local studies library at the Dorset History Centre you can find a large collection of journals. These journals are packed with fascinating articles and are often an underused resource. In this series of blogs we will be highlighting some of the interesting articles within them! This is the seventh in our series of… Read more The Journals of DHC: 1960s
On July 17th we will be celebrating World Emoji Day 😀👍. It was surprising 😲 to learn that there’s a special day dedicated to these yellow smiley expressions, that have become common place online, in phone messaging and social media. Emojis have been around for a while as a way of communicating succinctly, in picture… Read more World Emoji Day
This is part two of a guest blog written for Dorset History Centre by Valerie Brenton. You can read part one here! — Incomplete Stories Sometimes the records do not exist or there is not enough detail in the records to confirm beyond doubt that they belong to the person being researched. In some cases… Read more From Workhouse Records: Sturminster Newton Workhouse to Newfoundland (part 2)
Why the Workhouse? We all know that the sons and daughters of Dorset have spread around the world – even a casual wander through the Dorset History Centre online catalogue will reveal the names of countries and territories from all around the globe. Often the records refer to business interests in foreign or empire countries… Read more From Workhouse Records: Sturminster Newton Workhouse to Newfoundland (part 1)
This is the second part of a look at the life of Alfred Stevens. If you missed the first part, you can catch-up here! — After nine years of travelling and studying under the great Italian masters Alfred returned to Blandford in 1842. For a while he helped his father George with his decorating business… Read more Alfred Stevens (1817 – 1875): Part 2
Sir Stephen Gaselee was an irascible judge who used to sit in judgment at the Dorchester Assizes in the 1820s & 1830s. He was well-known for his prosecution of radicals and reformers. This was evidenced in March 1832 when he sentenced Blandford’s George Long and Sturminster Newton’s Richard Bleathman to be hung in Dorchester Jail… Read more What the Dickens?!
Henry Maidment was an agricultural labourer who lived in the North Dorset village of Pimperne. In 1866, Henry was one of the few surviving British Army veterans who had fought Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Army in the Spanish Peninsular War. At 83, he could not work and had hit hard times. He was surviving on a… Read more Henry Maidment: Our Forgotten War Hero
A new book by Brian Bates tells about some of the dramas, tragedies and even comedies that played out at the Dorset assize courts during the nineteenth century… At the Lent assizes, in 1856, 15-year-old servant Flora Everitt stood in the dock accused of trying to poison her master, and in that same year Elizabeth… Read more Stories from the Dorset Assizes
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