The return of the Bayeux Tapestry to England for the first time in nearly 1,000 years allows us the opportunity to come face to face again with Wadard of Bayeux, lord of the manor of Rampisham in Dorset. Wadard of Bayeux, “HIC EST WADARD”, Bayeux Tapestry. In vol.17 of SDNQ (1922-23) the Dorset Editor of … Read more
The September 2026 issue of SDNQ (vol. 40, part 404) contains the following articles, book reviews, queries and news: Articles: Kathleen Thompson, ‘A new document for Keynsham Abbey?’ Kathleen Thompson discusses what a document discovered in Bristol Archives (44786/2 page 173) reveals about the economic and social position occupied by Keynsham Abbey in medieval Somerset … Read more
We are delighted to announce that Professor June Hannam will be speaking at our joint SDNQ BALH one-day conference on 17 October 2026. June Hannam is Professor Emerita of Modern British History at the University of the West of England and has published widely on socialist women and feminist politics in Britain 1880-1940. She is … Read more
The March 2026 issue of SDNQ (vol. 40, part 403) contains the following articles, book reviews, queries and news: Articles: Neil Howlett, A Response to East Somerset Maltsters 1647. In response to Steve Hobbs’s article (SDNQ, March 2023, vol. 39, pt.397, pp.289-92) Neil Howlett discusses what JP licences granted in Wiltshire and Somerset to badgers … Read more
The committee of SDNQ are delighted to announce that they have teamed up with the British Association for Local History (BALH) to host a joint one-day conference at Sherborne on 17 October 2026. Rebellion and Protest Across Six Centuries will explore how rebellion, protest and popular resistance have shaped communities, identities and historical memory across … Read more
In Dorset’s Private Lunatic Asylums: Cranborne, Halstock, Stockland and the foundation of the county asylum at Forston, 1774-1860, Sally Morgan investigates three private asylums established in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in three Dorset villages and looks at their impact on the lives of local families and the wider community. At Halstock the … Read more
SDNQ’s Editorial Board can never be accused of letting the grass grow under their feet. Here is an insight into some of the projects they are currently involved with. Our Chair David Burnett is a Trustee of the Dorset Archives Trust. Currently he is helping Dorset’s Lord Lieutenant, Michael Dooley, in his campaign to encourage and … Read more
On this eve of All Hallows, some gruesome and ghostly tales from Somerset: A Somerset Body Snatcher A Yeovil Ghost Story Find more stories from SDNQ visit our Spotlight on SDNQ page. Back issues of our journal from 1980 to 2020 can be viewed for free on our SDNQ Journal page.
We are delighted to announce that David Burnett has been elected Chairman of SDNQ. David, who has been a member of SDNQ’s editorial committee since 1986, said he is ‘well aware of the honour of stepping into the shoes of so many illustrious predecessors, not least Roger Peers.’ David Burnett is a trustee of the Dorset … Read more
‘Primitive, isolated and obscure, as one of the world’s earliest public railways, the Portland Railway can yet claim an honourable place in railway history’ is how J.H. Lucking summed up the Portland Railway’s significance. 2025 marks not only the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton to Darlington Railway, but also the incorporation of … Read more