RURAL media charity Windrose Trust has a new website – windroseruralmedia.org – where you can view old film, listen to audio and order DVDs.

All Windrose’s projects were cancelled or postponed because of the pandemic, but a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has enabled the charity, which was set up in 1984 under its earlier name of Trilith, to go ahead with new community-based work.

As well as the important Windrose film archive of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire life, the charity does educational, archival and creative work in rural communities.

Director Trevor Bailey says: “Creating a website for Windrose has always been a difficult prospect since the charity has tended to work project by project, so much so that while some of those projects have seen the development of their own standalone website, Windrose has never had the resources – or the money – to create its own bespoke presence on the web.

“The opportunity arose during the course of our current Heritage Lottery funded project, A Century of Sights and Sounds.  As well as working on digitising more than 200 hours of the Windrose video and audio archive, which is being done by James Harrison, the project also gave Windrose the resources to look at creating a website to publicise our work creating and preserving this important media.

“The catalyst was our existing Close Encounters website, a map-based portal into the charity’s vast collection of films, video, oral history recordings, and community focused media projects. This already existed in its own right on a purpose-built website, but we felt it would be more effective if it could form the backbone of a new site dedicated to both Windrose’s current work, as well as the many projects developed over its 36-year history.”

Over the years, Windrose has produced several video and audio productions of its own, but the only retail outlet had been shows and talks – the charity, has presented 256 archive shows across Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire – and some local shops. Now, you can order DVDs and CDs, featuring archive films and recordings of local life, via the website, which has been developed by The Mustard Agency from Wilton, Wiltshire.

Trevor says: “Seeing all of Windrose’s work brought together in one place, from the early days of Trilith and its numerous community-based video and audio projects through to more recent activities, really reflects the significant achievements of the charity over the years. The new website also provides an exciting opportunity to share those projects yet to come, as we continue our media-inspired journey exploring life past and present across rural Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset.”

Pictured: James Harrison of \Windrose, and a still from one of the archive films.