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Category: Local History

Original Elizabethan kitchen is revealed at Athelhampton House

The kitchen’s open! A beautiful Elizabethan kitchen has been revealed at Athelhampton House, hidden and forgotten despite the room’s continuous use for half a...

Second mosaic at Hinton St Mary leads to a history re-write

Archaeologists are poised to pen a new narrative after the latest dig at Hinton St Mary’s famous Roman mosaic site. Roger Guttridge reports Archaeologists are...

A Right Religious Rackett (pt. 1) | Looking Back

The Rev. Thomas Rackett is famous for his interest in science, archaeology and antiquaries but did he neglect his churchgoers? Roger Guttridge reports It was...

From pub to post office | Then & Now

Roger Guttridge digs up the long and varied history of a prominent Shaftesbury building Few sites in Shaftesbury have seen a greater variety of uses...

An offer of marriage among apile of amputated limbs! | Looking Back

The tale of an innocent Dorset boy who quickly became a man in the horrors of the Napoleonic war is vividly described by Roger...

The wild history of Shroton’s village pub! | Then and Now

Pubs in previous centuries staged a wild variety of events to draw in customers – but they weren’t quite the same as today’s quiz...

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Life in the new yard!

Completely different yet utterly the same, let me explain… A full month of being back at my family base in Somerset. Wow what a...

Why AI-Driven Entertainment Works Best in Short Sessions

The past 12 months in technology have been defined by AI. In 2025, it sat in an odd middle ground. No longer just a...

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