01935 429609
Somerset & Dorset
Family History Society

Blackmore Vale

The Blackmore Vale Group is re-commencing meetings at The Exchange, Old Market Hill, Sturminster Newton, DT10 1FH on the third Wednesday evening of every month. The extended break has led many people to start researching their family tree and group members are happy to offer advice and share experiences.

There is, also, a fantastic line-up of interesting speakers presenting on a variety of topics. 

The group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month in The Bow Room of The Exchange, Sturminster Newton. The presentations start at 7.30pm.

All are welcome at the meetings. To help defray costs we ask £4 per meeting.

Programme

Searching for surnames: challenges, pitfalls and the downright ridiculous

Date: 20th March 2024
Time: 19:30
Location: The Bow Room of The Exchange, Sturminster Newton
Blackmore Vale Group

Searching for surnames: challenges, pitfalls and the downright ridiculous

Speaker: Kirsty Gray

Kirsty has been involved in the world of genealogy from a very early age. She researched her maternal family history and soon found the fascinating surname of Sillifant in her paternal lineage which she enjoyed exploring. Kirsty has continued from a rookie to a fully-fledged professional genealogist, business owner, heir tracer, TV/radio personality, Genealogy Show Director, and more besides.

150 years of courtroom drama

Date: 17th April 2024
Time: 19:30
Location: The Bow Room of The Exchange, Sturminster Newton
Blackmore Vale Group

150 years of courtroom drama

Speaker: Anne Brown

Shire Hall, Dorchester, was the centre of justice and local government from 1797 to 1955. The courtroom was the scene of many famous and infamous trials throughout this period from the internationally significant Tolpuddle Martyrs to Martha Brown, said to be the inspiration for Hardy’s Tess of the D’Ubervilles. Particularly fascinating, are the stories of the ordinary Dorset men, women and children who found themselves in the dock during the 19th century. Meet young arsonists, resourceful smugglers and inept engine drivers, encounter an alleged witch, and enter the crime hotspots of Dorset! Anne is Learning Manager at Shire Hall Museum in Dorchester.

To lie abroad – the Georgian traveller

Date: 15th May 2024
Time: 19:30
Location: The Bow Room of The Exchange, Sturminster Newton
Blackmore Vale Group

To lie abroad – the Georgian traveller

Speaker: Gordon Le Pard

In the eighteenth century, travel became easier for everybody. Roads were improved, canals and later railways were developed, and it became much safer to travel by sea. At the same time the idea of travelling for pleasure began, from seaside holidays to the Grand Tour of Europe and further to North America and the Far East.

This presentation is based around artefacts, the majority of which will be original. From maps and guidebooks for the traveller, to the equipment a traveller was advised to take, from Brighton Buns to pre-photographic cameras (and perhaps even rose-tinted spectacles); souvenirs from home and abroad, and objects brought back for armchair travellers – these will all be on display.

Gordon was, formerly, an archaeologist working for Dorset County Council. He has written extensively on Dorset’s history and archaeology and led numerous walks round archaeological sites and historic churches.

The Dorset Drowners

Date: 19th June 2024
Time: 19:30
Location: The Bow Room of The Exchange, Sturminster Newton
Blackmore Vale Group

The Dorset Drowners

Speaker: Paul Cheetham

A ”Drowner” is an occupation that you may have found on a census form as an occupation of one of your ancestors. There were a lot of them in Dorset as they were necessary for the management of the water meadows and healthy crops and farm animals. Paul’s talk will particularly reference the local water meadows at Colber.

Presenting Your Family History

Date: 17th July 2024
Time: 19:30
Location: The Bow Room of The Exchange, Sturminster Newton
Blackmore Vale Group

Presenting Your Family History

Speaker: Ted Udall

Most of us are not trained historians or archivists. We tend to dive in and collect information in a variety of haphazard ways and end up with piles of “stuff”. This presentation gives some guidelines as to what to do (in the nicest possible way) with all the research material you’ve collected, both real and virtual. We are pleased to welcome the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society Secretary to present at this meeting.

Contact

Use the form to send a message, or telephone Felicity Harrison at 01258 472942. Please use the form for any queries or comments about the programme.

While Group members have a good deal of local knowledge, they are not usually in a position to carry out documentary research. If you need research done, please see “How We Can Help.”

    JanuaryNo Meeting
    12 February (2)Mixing DNA results with a paper trail—Penny Walters
    11 March (1) Posted in the Past—Helen Baggott
    8 April (2) A day in a Georgian house or ‘Nothing like home for real comfort’ – Gordon Le Pard
    13 May (1) From blacksmith to online retailer – 100 years in the life of a Sturminster family business— Graham Hart and Jon Dart from Harts of Stur.
    10 June (2) Family history on tablets of stone—John Damon
    8 July (1) A message to the children—Jim Williams
    AugustOuting—more details later
    9 September (2) Mad Earl Henry and other despicable relations  – Sue Burne
    14 October (1) The second oldest business in Sturminster—Rob Cowley
    11 November (2) Where’s that to, then?  – Adrian Bailey
    9 December (1) My life as an African-American GI’s son—John Stockley