Category: Local History

How an 1857 murder in India halted Dorset traffic last month

A young Dorset army officer, severely wounded during the 1857 Indian Mutiny, succeeded in leading women and children to safety despite being under constant...

The Milborne Martyrs | Looking back

This historic picture, dating from April 1874, provides a rare photographic glimpse of the agricultural turmoil and early trade unionism that played such a...

A tale of two number plates | Then & Now

My 1904 picture of Gillingham High Street is historically interesting on several fronts, not least because it features the town’s first car and its...

Handley’s Blackest Day | Looking Back

May 20, 1892, was the blackest of days in the annals of Sixpenny Handley. In a matter of hours, a fire that started in a...

Fontmell Magna’s Gossips Tree | Then and Now

Fontmell Magna’s Gossips’ Tree It’s sometimes known as the Cross Tree but a more evocative name is the Gossips’ Tree – and it’s just as...

A Garden Shed’s Unique Place in History | Looking Back

It’s home to wheelbarrows and gardening tools today but this glorified garden shed in the grounds of Manston House also holds a unique place...

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Chateau Rimmer hits the road

From Chateau Rimmer to soggy Chard, it’s been quite a month for Jess Rimmer, with laughs, qualifiers and falling in love with a little...

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....