DORSET COUNCIL NEWS
Photo by Claire Moore 3_7_2021
Dorset History Centre News
Friday 5 August was International Beer Day! To celebrate, we took a look at where the Eldridge Pope Brewery in Dorchester
began.The brewery actually owes its existence to two 19
th
century entrepreneurs that, through their vision and hard work,
created the foundation upon which Eldridge Pope was to be built....
Help us catalogue the records ofThomas Hardy
Dorset Archives Trust (DAT) is leading a fundraising effort to permanently unlock the internationally significant, UNESCO-listed
archive of author Thomas Hardy. At present, the collection, which consists of over 150 boxes of material spanning Hardy’s life
and including diaries, photographs, letters, books, architectural plans and poetry, is almost invisible to the wider world. The
archive contains such items as the manuscript of The Mayor of Casterbridge, correspondence to Hardy from such luminaries as
T.E. Lawrence and Siegfried Sassoon, and the plans for Max Gate. Dorset History Centre is keen to undertake a project, led by
an archivist working with volunteers which will unlock this fantastic resource by creating a free online catalogue for all to
access. DHC estimates that it will take around 18 months to complete the task but that once done, Hardy’s archives – the
bedrock of any research into the author, his life and work will be permanently discoverable online – and anyone can then come
to the History Centre to view the physical collection.The archive is a true jewel in Dorset’s heritage crown and deserves to be
duly recognised and celebrated as such. The project will require £60,000 and DAT has started a crowdfunding campaign in
support of this. Anyone wishing to contribute can do so by going to www.dorsetarchivestrust.org and following the links, or by
donating at the link below.
Working Together to Preserve our Digital Heritage
Cast your mind back to 2013. That was the year scientists confirmed a skeleton buried under a car park in Leicester was that
of English king Richard III; Andy Murray won Wimbledon for the first time; and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed
a new royal baby.
2013 was also the year that we became the first local government archive service to use digital preservation software,
Preservica, to look after our digital archives. What started out as a pilot project soon became an essential part of our
management of digital collections...
Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day
2nd August each year is Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day – marking the dreadful day and night when over 2,000 Roma
and Sinti people were hurriedly and brutally put to death at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. You can read more about this
event, the attempts made by prisoners to fight back and the fate of GRT people across Europe during Nazi rule in this article
from Travellers Times.Kushti Bok, Dorset’s voice for GRT people and our valued partner, has been marking this event with a
Remembrance Service at Kingston Maurward College for seven years ever since the Chair, Betty Smith Billington visited
Auschwitz for herself and learnt how GRT people were persecuted by Nazis. Betty felt that these were ‘the forgotten people’ of
the Holocaust and has worked to bring awareness of this suffering to a wider audience.This year Kushti Bok were joined at the
service by the Mayors of Bournemouth, Poole, Sturminster Newton and Dorchester and Angus Campbell, Dorset’s Lord
Lieutenant, who has supported the event for the last six years. Prayers, music and readings accompanied shared lighting of
candles, and after the service we went to the orchard to see the new Legend Pole blessed by Rev Hilary Bond. The new Pole
stands in remembrance of the GRT people who suffered, were displaced and killed during the Holocaust.Our Community
Engagement Officer was honoured to be asked to contribute and concluded her speech with these comments;‘These are
uniquely difficult times for Travelling people and today is not just about the past, about memories of horrors many years ago. It
is about how a group of people can be belittled, excluded, mocked, viewed with suspicion, stereotyped, outlawed – because
that is how the seeds of persecution are sown, and to mourn for the tragedies of the past is to make a commitment to a future
of equality and inclusion.’
Do you know where this familiar summer scene and these thatched cottages might be located? If you think you have an idea,
then send us your guesses, and keep your eyes peeled for out next newsletter for the answer!
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