WILTSHIRE Community Foundation, one of the beneficiaries of our Deepest Wiltshire book sales, is 50 this year. It was the country’s first community foundation and the golden jubilee was celebrated at a sunny party at Wellington Barn near Calne, below the beautiful north Wiltshire downs and the Cherhill White Horse. The special guest at the…
AFTER 20 years of providing the best seats in the house, the distinctive first floor foyer sofas and benches at Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre are being offered free to good homes, thanks to a generous donation from a wealthy patron of the arts. Thanks to what is described as “a significant personal donation” from businessman…
WINDROSE Rural Media Trust has a new team at the helm, fir the first time in the more than 40 years since it was founded by Trevor Bailey, who has retired but will remain as a trustee. Three women have taken over the charity, which works across Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire on educational, archival and…
TRIBUTES have poured in for Tanya Bruce-Lockhart, former director of Beaminster Festival and founder and director of Bridport Literary Festival, who died suddenly on Saturday 5th April at the age of 81. A familiar and much-loved figure in both Bridport and Beaminster, Tanya had been at the heart of cultural life in West Dorset since…
PICTURE the scene – Lady Bracknell and her niece, Gwendolyn, are dressed for tea, in their best gowns … elegant, beautiful, utterly impractical, but a triumph of lace, chiffon and the designer’s art. A new exhibit at the National Trust’s Kingston Lacy House near Wimborne, gives visitors a chance to see a magnificent example of…
THE National Trust’s Holnicote estate on Exmoor was one of three finalists for this year’s UK River Prize awards, which are organised by the River Restoration Centre. The Trust’s pioneering project adopted an innovative American “Stage Zero” technique to restore a section of the River Aller creating new wetlands to benefit both people and wildlife….
THE big spring exhibition at the Somerset Rural Life Museum at Glastonbury, on until 8th June, is Strength and Resilience: Somerset Women in the Second World War, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, by focusing on the lives of four women who played their part during the conflict and…
WORK is under way to restore and re-wet peatland at Holt Mire near Wimborne, to protect a rare floating spider and flesh-eating sundew plants. Holt Mire is an important peatland habitat on Holt Heath National Nature Reserve, one of the largest areas of lowland heath in Dorset, cared for by the National Trust. The restoration…
AN unprecedented hoard of 2,584 silver coins from the time of the Norman Conquest, found by metal detectorists in the Chew Valley, has been saved for the nation, and will have a permanent home in the Museum of Somerset, after being exhibited at the British Museum and in museums across the country. The acquisition of…
THE deadline has been extended for farmers in Exmoor, Somerset and North Devon to get crucial advice to access the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2024. Registration closes on Monday 7th November, and the workshops will be running until December. The new date gives farmers a bit more time to sign up for a programme to help…