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Somerset & Dorset
Family History Society
Family History Society
Below is a list of upcoming SDFHS events.
Jane, Helen and Paul, members of the West Dorset Group, will be giving talks from their own research findings on the topics of divorce, bigamy and breach of promise. These were scandalous and sometimes sad stories which found their way into the newspapers of the time. We gave this talk to our local group and thought we’d share it with the wider membership, as we were rather pleased with it
Please watch for updates for details about joining the zoom
Brought to you by the West Dorset Group on behalf of S&D FHS
Dorchester – Small Town, Big Story’ (Part 2) by Alistair Chisholm
Raymond Arnold Wills “Gypsies”
In Thomas Hardy’s novel, The Woodlanders (1887), he describes the local landscape of North Dorset as filled with orchards and the smell of apples. An iconic image depicts the hero, Giles
Winterborne, standing with his specimen apple tree in the midst of the town of Sherborne. Elisabeth explores the little-known history of cider-making in the local area, using her own research and oral histories she has collected from residents of several villages.
Speaker: Elisabeth Bletsoe
Fond memories of the bustle and activity of Monday market days at Sturminster are shared by many local families, yet far fewer people are aware of the town’s once-important Sturminster Agricultural Society cattle shows, held annually from 1832 into the 1880s. The shows were followed by prestigious dinners, usually at The Crown, attended by an impressive guest list. Reports in local and national newspapers record packed dining rooms – with over 200 guests accommodated in the room above ‘Holebrooks’ – while the town’s other inns did a roaring trade, too. This talk explores the people behind these events, compares Sturminster with other agricultural societies, and uncovers the speeches, debates and rural concerns that once placed the town firmly on the national stage.
Speaker: Jacqui Wrag