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Category: Local History

The Georgian phoenix that rose from the ashes of disaster | Then and Now

When fire ripped through Blandford on June 4, 1731, it was a catastrophe for the town and a personal disaster for most of its...

When Dickens came to Sherborne | Looking Back

‘Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.’ So began the greatest occasion in Sherborne’s literary history, and there...

Child Okeford Co-op – 100 years on | Then and now

One of the commercial stories of the 20th century centres on the gradual decline of the village and corner shop as supermarkets took over...

Dorset’s first woman driver | Looking Back

She was Dorset’s first woman driver, and she documented her motoring adventures in a diary written almost 120 years ago. Roger Guttridge shares the...

A tale of two changes at the Old Rectory | Then and Now

Happily tucked away from the passing A357 traffic is this magnificent example of Georgian architecture – the Old Rectory in Holebrooke Lane, Lydlinch. The...

The intelligent poltergeist | Looking Back

On January 11, 1895, the Western Gazette published a story about strange goings-on in a Dorset village. The paper described ‘considerable excitement’ at Durweston...

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The end of the season

It’s been a long five months, but June finally saw the end of the season at the stud – Lucy Procter explains just why...

Crops thriving, cows content … questions ahead

Autumn’s been kind at Rawston Farm, says James Cossins, who’s balancing good crops, community harvests and climate conversations The autumn has been relatively kind to...

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