THE 2019 exhibition at the National Trust’s beautiful 18th century Mompesson House in Salisbury Cathedral Close tells the untold story of a young woman who lived at the house in the mid-19th century. Emma James, the visitor experience officer, says: “This year our exhibition is called ‘Standing by my darling’s side: A Victorian experience of…
THE Hardy Monument – the Dorset landmark which celebrates the naval Hardy, not the writer – will reopen to visitors on Wednesday 17th April after its winter closure. The Portland stone ‘spyglass’ monument stands on the highest point of Black Down, 241 meters above sea level, with uninterrupted views out over the English Channel. It…
LONGLEAT House is this year marking 70 years since it became the first stately home to open its doors to the public on a fully commercial basis. As part of the celebrations, Viscount and Viscountess Weymouth, Ceawlin and Emma Thynn, have recreated iconic photos from the time featuring Ceawlin’s grandfather, the 6th Marquess of Bath,…
VISITORS to the National Trust’s Lytes Cary Manor near Somerton get a taste of Tudor living and 20th century gardening style following a winter of conservation and restoration work. Changes in the Arts and Crafts inspired garden include the renovation and re-emergence of the pond, one of the original features of the garden introduced by…
FOR most of the year, the Chalke Valley west of Salisbury is a quiet area of rolling chalk downs, silvery streams, sheep and walkers – but for one week in June it becomes the world’s largest festival devoted to history. This year’s Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival runs from Monday 24th to Sunday 30th…
A PROGRAMME of horticultural walks, talks and masterclasses has been arranged to mark the 25th anniversary of Knoll Gardens near Wimborne. The events will be led by Neil Lucas, the UK’s leading authority on ornamental grasses, whose continuously developing style has seen the East Dorset gardens become internationally acknowledged for its naturalistic planting. The 2019…
THERE are two pieces of litter for every footstep you take on a beach, and once again the National Trust is appealing for volunteers to take part in The Great British Spring Clean, run by Keep Britain Tidy, running until 23rd April. The tide of litter on our beaches appears to be on the increase,…
DORSET’s media charity Windrose is bringing a remarkable programme of rare and previously unseen archive film to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Saturday 6th April, at 7.30pm. The films include Gertrude Bugler – Thomas Hardy’s original Tess on stage in Dorchester in the 1920s – talking in later life, and her sister Norrie Woodhall, also a…
SALISBURY Cathedral and BBC Wiltshire are running a series of discussions – The Salisbury Conversations – in the Cathedral during March. The series began with a conversation on the theme of “How should we talk to each other,” with panellists including Nazir Afzal, the lawyer who prosecuted the Rochdale grooming gang, the Dean of Salisbury,…
ARTIST Jason Wilsher-Mills interviewed descendants of the Tolpuddle Martyrs to create a new augmented reality artwork for Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum in Dorchester. Tolpuddle Martyrs Remixed: Six Dorset Men who Changed the World opens at the Dorchester courthouse museum on 19th March and runs to 14th June. Augmented reality uses technology to superimpose computer generated…