A new fundraising appeal has been launched to catalogue the archive of Dorset writer and LGBTQ+ pioneer Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893–1978), opening the collection to researchers and the public for the first time.
The project, led by Dorset Archives Trust (DAT), aims to raise £48,000 to create a full online catalogue of Warner’s archive, held at Dorset History Centre in Dorchester. Once catalogued, the material will be searchable online, allowing readers and historians to explore the life and work of one of Dorset’s most distinctive literary figures.
Warner wrote seven novels, as well as poetry and short stories, including 154 pieces published in The New Yorker. Much of her life was spent in Dorset, where she lived with her partner Valentine Ackland.
The archive itself is substantial, containing 85 boxes of material, including diaries, letters, photographs, drawings and printed works that chart Warner’s creative life and relationships.
Chris Fowler, chair of Dorset Archives Trust, said the project would bring a major Dorset literary archive into clearer public view.
‘This significant writers’ archive deserves to be fully in the limelight,’ he said. ‘Sylvia Townsend Warner was a great observer of Dorset life during the war years and beyond. DAT is delighted to spearhead this fundraising effort.’
Interest in Warner’s work has grown in recent years. A statue of the author in Dorchester, depicting her with her cat and manuscripts, was unveiled following a campaign by the charity Visible Women. Author Tracy Chevalier, patron of Dorset Archives Trust, said making the archive accessible would help readers connect more deeply with Warner’s life: ‘This is an extensive archive of one of the county’s most interesting writers,’ she said. ‘Documents like this open up the past to us, and really bring a person to life.’
Donations can be made through the Dorset Archives Trust website.
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