01935 429609
Somerset & Dorset
Family History Society

Events

Below is a list of upcoming SDFHS events.

Raymond Arnold Wills “Gypsies”

Date: 18th May 2026
Time: 19:30
Location: The Hilda Coles Learning Centre off Crown Mead, Wimborne
East Dorset Group

Raymond Arnold Wills “Gypsies”

Sweet Sheep’s Nose and Buttery Door: The history of our lost orchards

Date: 20th May 2026
Time: 19:30
Location: The Bow Room at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton
Blackmore Vale Group

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

Topic TBC

Date: 10th June 2026
Time: 19:30
Location: The Bow Room at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton
Blackmore Vale Group

Speaker: Jacquie Wragg

Topic TBC

Members’ Evening “Crime and Punishment”

Date: 15th June 2026
Time: 19:30
Location: The Hilda Coles Learning Centre off Crown Mead, Wimborne
East Dorset Group

Members’ Evening “Crime and Punishment”

‘The Wall of Death’ by Kay Townsend

Date: 19th June 2026
Time: 14:30
Location: St. Aldhelm's Church Centre, DT3 5EW
South Dorset Group

‘The Wall of Death’ by Kay Townsend