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Ironman event - service disruption

Due to the IRONMAN 70.3 event on Sunday 20 September, Weymouth Household Recycling Centre will be closed all day and Dorchester Household Recycling Centre will be closed from 9am to 2pm. Please use alternative sites or visit another day.

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Collections

  1. Home
  2. Libraries, history and culture
  3. Dorset History Centre (Archives)
  4. Collections

  • Parish registers and records

    We hold the registers and various records for many of the parishes in Dorset.

  • Family and estate archives

    A short guide to the family and estate archives held at Dorset History Centre.

  • Newspapers

    Newspapers are a rich source of local interest and historical flavour in their own right.

  • Photographs

    We hold thousands of photographs, including studio portraits, postcards and aerial photographs.

  • Audio and oral history

    We collect any sound recording which relates to Dorset, is unique and of long term historical value.

  • Books and pamphlets

    The Dorset Local Studies Collection contains books and pamphlets on a wide range of subjects.

  • Business records

    We hold records for various kinds of businesses, including brewers, solicitors, architects and more.

  • Court, prison, police records

    Records of crime and punishment include those of the local courts, prisons and police force.

  • Dorset Authors Collection

    A unique collection of works by authors and poets with a Dorset connection.

  • Electoral registers

    Electoral registers are a useful source for tracking individuals or families.

  • Local government records

    Various authorities have been responsible for local administration in Dorset.

  • Herrison Hospital

    Dorset County Lunatic Asylum, founded in 1832, was based at Forston House in Charminster.

  • Local clubs and societies

    Dorset History Centre holds the records of clubs and societies based in Dorset.

  • Maps

    We hold different types of maps, including ordnance survey maps, tithe maps and enclosure maps.

  • School records

    Most Dorset schools kept records fairly systematically from the mid to late nineteenth century onwards.

  • Wills

    There are three main types of probate records - wills, letters of administration and inventories.
Bankes Archive

Unlocking the Bankes Archive

Alsatian collects the paper D_HBT_3766_a

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