In yesterday’s blog, we published an account of the ghost of John Daniel, who died in Beaminster in 1728. His relations and neighbours suspected he had been murdered by his stepmother, and their suspicions were only heightened when the ghosts of John and his mother – and an apparition of John’s coffin – were spotted… Read more The Ghosts of Beaminster: How to Get Away With Murder?
Several weeks ago, we came across a spooky document in the Weld of Lulworth Archive (D-WLC/Z/22) headed “A True Account and Narrative of an Apparition in the parish church of Beaminster in the County of Dorset”. Of course, this merited further investigation! After all, who doesn’t love a ghost story at Halloween? It’s not clear… Read more The Ghosts of Beaminster
We have recently had the pleasure of digitising a wonderful collection of 47 photographs of Sydling St. Nicholas, each with a caption clearly explaining the scene, and together they paint a wonderful picture of life in the small post-war West Dorset village in 1947. These official photographs were issued by the Central Office of Information,… Read more Life Through a Lens: A Post-War Dorset Village (Part 1)
We recently had a donation of photographs to the Dorset History Centre, with little information. We knew they belonged to the Morrice Family who lived at the (now-demolished) Glebe House in Weymouth. Included amongst the photographs were photos of the grand Glebe House: Also included in the donation was a handwritten diary from 1856. There… Read more Discovering Stories in Archive Collections
Dorset has close historical links to Newfoundland in Canada, with many of the immigrants who settled there coming from the county. Many Dorset people travelled to Newfoundland to work and trade in Newfoundland, some returning to Dorset in the winter, others making a permanent home there. Poole was one of the most important ports in… Read more Newfoundland Sources at the Dorset History Centre
Between 2015 and 2018 Dorset History Centre undertook the ‘Unlocking the Bankes archive‘ project. During the life of this project, staff and volunteers contributed well over 100 blogs to the project website. As we reach 2024, this project website is no longer functional in the way it originally was, and we have made the decision… Read more “Daphne Bankes – There’s No Place like Studland!”
Between 2015 and 2018 Dorset History Centre undertook the ‘Unlocking the Bankes archive‘ project. During the life of this project, staff and volunteers contributed well over 100 blogs to the project website. As we reach 2024, this project website is no longer functional in the way it originally was, and we have made the decision… Read more “What a Scorcher!”
A small collection regarding Askerswell Village has recently been donated to Dorset History Centre. The collection was compiled by Askerswell resident Martin Evans and shows a great insight into the village life throughout the twentieth century. In 1993, Evans created the Focus 1893 exhibition – an exhibition that looked back at the last 100 years of… Read more Memories of a Small Village
At DHC we are delighted to welcome our new volunteer Steve, who has lots of experience of creating interactive online maps. This can be a very engaging way to present material and we are already benefitting from Steve’s expertise as he’s made a map of the various fairs mentioned in Hutchins’ History and Antiquities of… Read more Mapping the Past: Hutchins and Dorset Fairs
Dorset History Centre has a close relationship with Kushti Bok, Dorset’s Gypsy Roma Traveller-led charity which celebrates the travelling lifestyle, the local history of GRT families and advocates for the rights of GRT people, whether settled or mobile or living at one of Dorset’s Council’s sites. While working with Kushti Bok, DHC has been able… Read more GRT History Month: Listen to the story of Gary Orange
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