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Yeovil

The Greenwood Tree – March 2018

Posted on 20th February 2018

Paul Radford, the new Editor of the SDFHS journal, The Greenwood Tree, previews the contents of the March issue which is now being printed The first issue of the year of The Greenwood Tree marks a new era for the Society with the transfer of our headquarters from the centre of Sherborne to Broadway House in Yeovil By sheer coincidence, my first task as the new editor of The Greenwood Tree is to bring you the story of the move and what it means for members and for the Society The change had to... more

Broadway House Family History Centre – Peter Street

Posted on 7th January 2018

As we return to 'business as usual' in our brand new, to us, Broadway House Family History Centre in Yeovil, we would like to mark the occasion with a piece on some aspects of the history of the street on which Broadway House is situated This has been brought to us by Bob Osborn, the instigator and sole contributor to the remarkable website An A-Z of Yeovil's History We would like to thank Bob for his timely contribution and for permission to include a selection of photographs The draper and... more

Tales of Local Railways

Posted on 29th November 2017

We were in for a treat as we assembled for two railway themed talks in the Raleigh Hall in Sherborne last Saturday This was the first time our talks were held in this hall and while we clearly regret leaving our Family History Centre in Sherborne, it was good that this, new to us, ground floor venue turned out to be so very convenient and pleasant With the emphasis on local history, the talks attracted many other people as well as members and we would all discover that underpinning these... more

Robert Goadby – founder of the ‘Western Flying Post’

Posted on 19th October 2016

When Patricia Goadby and her brother Michael arrived at the SDFHS Family History Centre one day to enquire about their illustrious ancestor, Robert Goadby, the founder of the Western Flying Post (now better known as the Western Gazette) we were about to shut up shop However, the timing turned out to be advantageous as we were able to get together with our fellow volunteers in Sherborne Museum, to do some background research, before inviting Patricia and Michael back to hear about what we had... more

The Whittle Box

Posted on 29th August 2016

The questions that kept popping into my head all began when I saw a green box with a name painted on it in an antique shop in Sherborne Who had owned the box Who had painted the name What was the script used and what did it say The script turns out to be 'Blackletter', identified for me by a friend who enjoys calligraphy, and the name - C T R Whittle Some rudimentary research led to one Charlie Thomas Whittle (b1877 in Yetminster) who went off to board at Kingston school in Yeovil around 1890... more

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