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The SDFHS Blog

Sherborne’s vanished pubs

Posted on 18th July 2014

Yesterday evening (17th July) saw Barry Brock, the Manager of our Family History Centre, suitably kitted out in a luminous safety jacket, guiding a group of us around the streets of Sherborne, on the trail of the town’s vanished pubs This was the first of four such pub walks (definitely not pub crawls!) that the Society has organized this summer We originally set three dates but these all booked up so quickly that we recently added a fourth - on Thursday 7th August (places still available... more

Ernest Chambers and other Anzacs in Weymouth

Posted on 5th July 2014

Phil Sherwood and Jennie McGowan of the SDFHS South Dorset Group took part recently in a 15 minute Radio Solent programme about Anzacs in Weymouth as part of the BBC’s 'World War One at Home 'series You can hear the programme at: http://wwwbbccouk/programmes/p01x5jzr Jennie gives further information about her family connection to the Anzacs Ernest Henry Chambers was born in 1895 in Sydney Australia, the son of Johanna and Frederick Henry Chambers He enlisted for service abroad on 12th May... more

Heritage Alliance Open Day

Posted on 14th June 2014

What a wonderful day the Heritage Alliance Open Day held at the Family History Centre in Sherborne on Saturday 31 May turned out to be It was the first public coming together of the newly established Sherborne heritage group consisting of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society, Sherborne Museum, St Johns’ Almshouse, Sherborne Boys' School Archives and Sherborne Steam and Waterwheel Centre It was a lovely day and I was particularly excited as I had been working on my exhibition of... more

Somerset in Historic Photographs

Posted on 22nd May 2014

The SDFHS Chairman, Ann-Marie Wilkinson, summarises a fascinating new photographic exhibition at the Museum of Somerset On Friday evening (16 May), Steve (right) and I along with Patrick Williams (a previous Chairman of the Society) and his wife Joan went to the Museum of Somerset to a preview of their new exhibition In the Frame – Somerset in Historic Photographs The exhibition displayed many photographs from Somerset, the earliest being a picture of workman renovating Mells Church in the... more

The Greenwood Tree May 2014

Posted on 14th May 2014

Bob Barber gives an outline of the next edition of The Greenwood Tree We start the May edition of The Greenwood Tree in seasonal mode with an account by Maureen Bowler of the social history of the celebrations of May Day This brings back grim memories for me of having to learn country dances at school, but the folk customs surrounding May Day spread much wider Bob Evered has unearthed a very nice etching of St George’s church Dunster by Elizabeth Piper, an etcher and painter who... more

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