What better way to get to get to know what a county archive does than to roll up your sleeves and work alongside us for a month? Each summer we host undergraduates and give them an insight into our service. Last year’s students told us that the role was ‘perfect’ – they felt well set-up… Read more Join us for your work experience this summer!
When rummaging through a box from the Fox Strangways Estate archive, we came across a book so small it can fit in the palm of your hand. It has a worn leather cover and tiny metal clasps and looks as though it has been well-used. Naturally, we wanted to know what it was! Closer inspection… Read more How to Tell the Time Using Your Hand, and Other Useful Information
Both functional as a form of authentication and aesthetically pleasing, seals are always an intriguing part of archival documents. Sometimes the connection between imagery and owner is clear – Simon Carp might have fish or a hook; but often the significance has been lost to time. We may not know the stories behind the seals,… Read more Wax Mysteries…
The archives hold a wealth of information on homemade remedies and recipes to save money during these trying times; from making your own cheese, biscuits, cakes, and sweets to your own cold remedies… (a disclaimer – while some are interesting insights into how ailments were treated in the past we would not recommend all)! There… Read more Tightening the purse strings – Money saving tips from the archives!
Welcome to the fourth part of our series exploring the history of Icen Cottage, Fordington. In previous blogs, we have introduced you to the cottage, shown you some of the earliest documents relating to the cottage, and discussed some of the problems when trying to identify the people who lived in the cottage. This time,… Read more Icen Cottage – George Cull
Welcome to our ‘at a glance’ review of 2022 across Archives and Records. The service has explored new ways of connecting people to information and cultural heritage both physically and digitally. We continue to operate in a mixed economy of archival material; whilst digital material – both ‘born digital’ and digitised – continues to grow… Read more Review of the year: 2022
While it is true that this iconic Christmas carol would begin and end with a partridge in a pear tree, the truth is Dorset possess their own interpretation. The evidence of this fact is backed up in “Dorsetshire Folk-Lore” by John Symonds Udal, on (page 80) where the carol begins and ends with “a sprig… Read more The 12 Days of Dorset Christmas!
— Everyone at Dorset History Centre wishes you a very Merry Christmas, and a peaceful New Year! We look forward to welcoming you to DHC in 2023! — —
This is the fifth and final part of our series of blogs looking into the life of the author John Fowles through the records we hold here at Dorset History Centre. In previous posts, we have introduced you to the author John Fowles, his interest in Mary Anning, his life in and around Lyme Regis, and… Read more John Fowles (Part 5)
It’s that time of year when we’re all writing lists of some kind or another. Whether it’s scribbled on a piece of paper, typed on to a mobile phone or sent up the chimney there will be lists everywhere. There will be: – Christmas cards to send. What we want from Santa. What they want… Read more It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
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