Category Archives: Uncategorized

Help us research these important people, they may be part of your family tree. They were pioneers, victims of oppressive laws and their story should be as well known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. William Vatcher 1753-1818 John Bennett, alias Vatcher … Continue reading →

In our translation of the Milton Abbey Customary of 1317, which is not yet completed, it is clear that the majority of the peasants working on the Abbey were compelled to provide labour services, that is they had to work … Continue reading →

It is not certain who was responsible for the design and building of the new “model” village of Milton Abbas. The names that have vied for credit are Sir William Chambers, one of Lord Milton’s architects, and Lancelot “Capability” Brown, … Continue reading →

It has to be admitted that women in England have had a very poor deal since the time of William the Conqueror. It is only in the late twentieth century that they have regained the rights they had in Anglo-Saxon … Continue reading →

This document is a note book of 60 hand written pages by one hand. It is held by Dorset History Centre, catalogue reference D-PLR/L/15. It contains transcripts of letters, opinions and memoranda of proceedings in the case of Pleydell v … Continue reading →

In the Dorset History Centre there are some 140 pieces of paper catalogued at PE-MIL/OV/2. These are the bills and receipts of our Overseers of the Poor. We are in the process of transcribing them. They provide further information to … Continue reading →

We have the account book of Joseph Rogers 1830 – 1839. It gives a unique glimpse into the life of a shoe maker in a rural Dorset village. The handwriting of Joseph Rogers, is small and cramped and this was … Continue reading →

Amongst the hundreds of documents that we have transcribed this is surely the pinnacle of tedium – an Indenture between John Tregonwell and John Harding, Charles Rawleigh, Thomas Radford, Robert Freke, 1678. Here is a sample: ………if she the s[ai]d … Continue reading →

We came across this piece in the Summer 2020 issue of the magazine ‘Who do you think you are?’. It is on page 46, in an article titled ‘The Lasting Value of Vouchers’. This magazine is free to read for … Continue reading →

This is a recent example of the kind of transcription that takes so many hours of painstaking work. It is a tiny part of the will of Richard Squybbe 1591. At least it is in English! Some wills of this … Continue reading →