Archive stories

Music, medical miracles, and mills

Volume 10 of Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated mainly focuses on North Dorset and includes Shaftesbury, Gillingham and Cerne Abbas. — The volume contains a large amount of material connected with the Earls of Shaftesbury, including letters, portraits, printed leaflets and a poster advertising some music composed in honour of the Countess of Shaftesbury and her daughter… Read more Music, medical miracles, and mills

The Patients of Herrison Hospital

Earlier in the year Dorset History Centre had two work experience students join us for a month. In this blog, Maddie talks us through some of the more interesting records she found in the Herrison collection… — During my work placement at DHC, I indexed patient files from a Herrison Hospital case book. This was… Read more The Patients of Herrison Hospital

Desertion, Drinks and a Diarist

Volume 9 of Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated is the thinnest volume of the series, but still has plenty of interesting additions! The first item we wanted to mention was a cartoon entitled ‘A trip from Wareham to Uxbridge by Worcester, or, Many a slip between the cup and the lip’. There have been several political cartoons… Read more Desertion, Drinks and a Diarist

Death of a Sailor-man (and other tales from the Coroners of Poole)

Having looked at taxes last month, this month we will shift our attention to look at the other half of that famous expression… deaths! Dorset History Centre holds parish burial registers for 300 different parishes around Dorset, but what if your ancestor met an unnatural death that had to be investigated? Whilst we hold recent… Read more Death of a Sailor-man (and other tales from the Coroners of Poole)

Graves, Grangerising and a man who wore Green

Portland, Wimborne and Shaftesbury are the largest places covered by the eighth edition of Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated. The additions for Wimborne include a newspaper article detailing the celebrations held in the town when King George III recovered from his madness. There are also many drawings of the inside of the minster, including one of the… Read more Graves, Grangerising and a man who wore Green

Managing the Marquis of Anglesey’s Dorset and Somerset Estate 1812 -1854

This is a guest blog from Dr Carol Beardmore, of The University of Leicester. Dr Beardmore’s research centres around the role of the land agent and the exploration of rural general practice through the letters and diaries of late nineteenth century practitioners. In this blog, she explores the papers of the Marquis of Anglesey… —… Read more Managing the Marquis of Anglesey’s Dorset and Somerset Estate 1812 -1854

Physicians, fires and false allegations

Two influential Dorset families dominate the additions to the seventh edition of Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated. The first is the Fox-Strangways family, who are the Earls of Ilchester. Among the many portraits of family members there is a picture of a young Charles James Fox, a politician who was the arch rival of Pitt the Younger,… Read more Physicians, fires and false allegations

Thomas Coram: “Unmistakable honesty and sterling goodness of heart”

In our series on Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated, some stories are so interesting that deserve more attention. In the first of our ‘spin-off’ blogs, we look at philanthropist Thomas Coram… — Thomas Coram is best known for his role in establishing the Foundling Hospital in London. By itself, this was a great achievement but it was… Read more Thomas Coram: “Unmistakable honesty and sterling goodness of heart”

A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth

Volume 6 of Hutchin’s Extra Illustrated covers Weymouth and Dorchester.   The Dorchester section is dominated by documents relating to Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assize. There is even a 48-page biography of Jeffreys bound into the volume.    There are several documents connected with Dorchester Gaol, including plans of the new gaol, pictures of the old one and an image of King George visiting the Prison. The new Gaol was… Read more A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth