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 new series of blogs we will be highlighting some of the interesting articles within them! In this first blog we will be… Read more The Journals of DHC: Pre-1910
We are sharing a monthly look at the farm diary of John Foss, written from his dairy farm in Kingston Russell in 1851. August 1851 August in 1851 is “fine dry & warm”, with “grand weather for the harvest”. The hot weather meant that the milk in the dairy was regularly souring, and John spends much time churning… Read more The Diary of John Foss: August 1851
Whilst browsing through the archive catalogue seeking inspiration, Collections Archivist Owen came across the Bloxworth Estate archive (D-BLX), and when looking amongst the Family papers saw that there were several recipe books listed… — Recipe books can provide a good insight into social history and are always good fun to have a read through. They… Read more Cooking the Books!
Today, we have chatted with Clare, our Collections Assistant in Digital Preservation, who lets us know about how she has been working remotely and her favourite document from our collections… — During lockdown I had the chance to work remotely with our digital archive, taking the opportunity to tidy up digital files behind the scenes, ensuring that… Read more My Favourite Record – Collections Assistant Clare
The Sheridan of Frampton archive is that of the Sheridan family who lived at Frampton House near Dorchester from 1835 until it was demolished in 1932. This collection includes plans and maps of Frampton House and the surrounding area, but also includes personal diaries, poetry and manuscripts from the members of the Sheridan family. From… Read more Collection Spotlight: The Sheridan of Frampton collection
Bournemouth suffered a devastating aerial assault when 23 May 1943, a German ‘Tip and Run’ raid attacked the town. The incident is well recorded as the cost in human lives and physical destruction was severe with a reputed 130 deaths and the levelling of over 50 buildings. Amongst the premises badly affected were two large hotels, the Metropole and Central, as well as Beales Department Store where… Read more Beales, bombs and evidence within the archives
We are sharing a monthly look at the farm diary of John Foss, written from his dairy farm in Kingston Russell in 1851. July 1851 Battling the weather The main task on the farm from mid-July is haymaking, which requires hot dry days. Unfortunately for John, the weather for the latter part of the month… Read more The Diary of John Foss: July 1851
Recently, we have been exploring the work of Dame Elisabeth Frink, as part of our project to catalogue the Frink collection held at Dorset History Centre. However, Frink’s is not the only collection of artistic material we hold… — “It is a quiet region, without drama in either landscape or architecture; yet although each of… Read more The Rena Gardiner collections
The Baskett Family collection, D-719, is spread over three boxes, two containing documents and one full of photographs. The documents were clearly collected by someone who was interested in history and many of them contain notes about family history and pedigrees of families related to the Basketts. When you find an entry for the pedigree… Read more Collection Spotlight: The Baskett Family Collection
DHC houses the Local Studies Library, a reference library which houses publications about Dorset’s past, and we are always keeping an eye out for new books to add diversity and depth to the collection. This summer we have added “The Gypsy Camp” by Raymond Wills, the local ‘Gypsy Poet’. Ray is an author and poet from… Read more “The Gypsy Camp” by Raymond Wills
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