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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Sara’s three-step Good Coach Guide

Riding is a constant learning curve and at some point most of us reach for the help and support of a coach. But how...

Planning Your Trip to the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show: Where to Stay and What to See

There is something uniquely British about voluntarily spending a significant portion of your August weekend standing in a field in Motcombe, surrounded by pristine...