Category: Local History

The rise and fall of the Union | Then & Now

Roger Guttridge revisits the hillside site of Shaftesbury Workhouse A century ago, it was one of the dominant buildings on Shaftesbury’s southern slopes, but today...

Blandford’s Baroque B’Stards

A recent clean of William B’Stard’s portrait revealed an intriguing detail, says Rupert Hardy, chairman of North Dorset CPRE The brothers, William and John B’Stard...

The map that Hardy drew

A sketch map of Wessex is a priceless companion to Hardy’s masterpiece, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, says Roger Guttridge Thomas Hardy’s novels often come with...

Who is Dinah? Was Dinah’s Hollow near Shaftesbury named after a woman?

Dinah’s Hollow is a holloway – a landscape feature common in Dorset, Somerset and many other parts of Britain. A holloway – literally a...

Green shoots at the Green Man

Well done to successive owners of the Green Man for sticking with the King’s Stag pub’s traditional name, says Roger Guttridge It’s refreshing to find...

(Un)pleasant tales of Lydlinch’s hunting country clergyman | Looking Back

A former Rector of Lydlinch was obsessed with hunting – but his first quarry was an unfortunate old woman, says Roger Guttridge You won’t find...

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Honeysuckle the wonder horse

Though The Glanvilles Stud is teeming with foals, March could only belong to Doug and Lucy Procter’s most famous mare Many column inches have already...

Long term bill for short term politics

One simple flaw underlies the many government failures that have afflicted us for decades. Too many spending decisions are based on short-term cost considerations,...

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