Publications

This booklet fills a gap of half a century between the jury books held amongst the Quarter Sessions archive at the Somerset Heritage Centre. It consists of the names, places of abode and occupations where given of all persons qualified…..

(J.H. Bettey) No periods in Dorset’s past have been so packed with pure history as those of the Tudors and Stuarts. The dissolution of the monasteries shifted wealth and power to a new landowning class of merchants and adventurers. The…..

This Society publication, of the accounts from Wellington in Somerset, are of particular interest to those researching early ancestors from this parish because the earliest register of births, marriages and deaths does not commence until 1683. The original churchwardens accounts…..

(Emma Jolly) Researching female ancestors at war requires a different approach from that of standard military history research. This book explores women’s military roles in the past, and discusses the wide range of occupations that women could undertake during a…..

The map covers the same area, is reproduced to the same scale (1:50,000), carries the same map number and uses the same British National Grid Reference, as the corresponding Ordnance Survey Landranger© map.

(David Tonks) Fifty years ago Britain was reliant on coal for its energy needs.  Across the country, over a million Brits worked as miners, risking injury and often their lives to extract this “black gold” from the earth. This book…..

Stories of some of the dramas, tragedies and even comedies that played out at the Dorset assize courts during the nineteenth century. Collectively the stories paint a fascinating picture, not just of nineteenth century crime, but also of the prevailing…..

(Ian H Waller)  If your research has not found information about your ancestors, then it is likely they were nonconformists. This immensely detailed book will provide all the help you need to find the information you are searching for.  Following…..

(Godfrey maps)  A map of Bridgwater in 1903 at a scale of approximately 15 inches to the mile providing great detail, showing individual houses, railway tracks, factories and churches etc, and even minutiae such as pathways, signal posts, sheds, wells…..

(Anne Murch)  The author brings to life what it was really like to be a member of the rural poor during the Georgian period.  Her findings are based on ten years of detailed research from many sources, primarily the accounts…..

(Anne Horsfall) Woodland in Dorset is a diversity of mixed plantations, conifers, beech belts, deciduous woods and copses.  Ancient oak and hazel woods are scarce, but have long and interesting histories associated with Royal Forests, monastic estates, medieval deer parks…..

(Ruth Paley)  A family historians guide to sources for illegitimacy in England and Wales, this book provides an introduction to the world of the unmarried mother and her child and discusses how best to formulate a research strategy. It describes…..

(Alastair Macleay)  Situated at the eastern end of the Mendip hills, the Somerset market town of Frome has a wealth of history, much of which lies waiting to be discovered among the architectural gems that line its scenic streets.  Frome…..

(Ian H Waller)  For centuries, the lives of our ancestors were controlled by the lord of the manor, which continued until their final demise in 1922.  Manorial records are an important source of information, providing a fascinating insight of the…..

(Godfrey maps)  A map of Burnham-on-Sea in 1929 at a scale of approximately 15 inches to the mile providing great detail, showing individual houses, railway tracks, factories and churches etc, and even minutiae such as pathways, signal posts, sheds, wells…..

(John Porter) Dorset’s towns are the survivors of a once much larger number of urban settlements.  Bere Regis, Cerne Abbas, Charmouth, Corfe Castle, Cranborne, Milton Abbas and Stalbridge, were all once towns, with markets and fairs, even MPs, yet none…..