Category: Local History

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...

The rich history that makes Yetminster a unique village

Tucked away on the western edge of ‘The Vale’ is a village with a very unusual history, indeed, possibly unique – Yetminster. Situated about five...

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The science of diet, and prepping for Hurdles

Feeding different diets to a range of growing foals and mares living in the same field is an art form which Lucy Procter has...

How Dorset Became One of England’s Finest Food Counties

There are counties in England with a food reputation that precedes them: Yorkshire for its puddings, Cornwall for its pasties, Kent for its orchards....