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The SDFHS Blog

A Boxful of Family Treasures

Posted on 31st December 2014

Barbara Elsmore describes the contents of her own box of family treasures, each with its reminder of past owners, helping her to envisage the lives of her ancestors I had had no idea of the word 'mnemonic' although I have used mnemonics many times over the years - 'i before e except after c', '30 days hath September', 'one collar and two socks' to remember how to spell necessary - I am sure you can think of more that have helped you too as an aid to the memory I first became aware that this... more

William Rowland – iron founder of Sherborne.

Posted on 23rd November 2014

William Rowland, one of Sherborne's iron founders, whose name can still be seen on gratings around the town, featured in one of Graham Bendell's talks at our Industrial Archaeology Day on 22 November William Rowland was born in Bristol about 1840 By 1851 his family had moved to Salisbury where his father was in business as an engineer and iron founder employing three men William was working for his father in 1861 as an engineer An advertisement in The Western Gazette, dated 11th October 1867,... more

Industrial Archaeology Day

Posted on

Our last Saturday event of the year was a real tour de force by Graham Bendell and Barry Brock who described aspects of Sherborne’s industrial heritage in a series of short illustrated talks which contained a positive wealth of information ‘Industrial Archaeology Day’ (held at our Family History Centre in Sherborne on 22 November) was chaired by George Tatham who said in his introduction that the afternoon could only provide a ‘taster’ of the subjects to be discussed and that he... more

Identifying a mystery object

Posted on 18th November 2014

Barbara Elsmore tells the fascinating story of an unusual object which she first encountered as a child in her grandparents' home in Nether Compton and with which she was recently reunited in Sherborne Ann-Marie Wilkinson, in her Chairman's musings in the latest Greenwood Tree, ponders on souvenirs and other items that our ancestors might have collected and prized and she suggests we should ask our relatives, if we can, why these items might be important to them I very much regret not asking... more

The Greenwood Tree for November 2014

Posted on 29th October 2014

The Editor of The Greenwood Tree, Bob Barber, previews the contents of the November 2014 edition The November edition of The Greenwood Tree returns to the more usual format, after the single-themed edition in August It seemed appropriate to devote the majority of that issue to an event as important as the First World War We will still be featuring items on WW1 as part of the general run of articles, but also marking particularly important phases of the War Despite publishing eight extra pages,... more