A request for help to fund project to extend and enhance the home of Dorset’s archives and local studies.
Dorset History Centre (DHC) is home to over 1,000 years of Dorset’s history including the records of communities and the records of parish and town councils and its predecessor bodies back to the Quarter Session courts that acted as the county's administrative decision-making body. The social, cultural, economic and political history of the county is held in physical and digital form - documents, maps, photographs, film and sound - dating from AD965!
Revenue funding is provided by Dorset and BCP Councils but capital investment in the building will be found largely from external sources. It has been 35 years since the building first opened and the climate-conditioned repositories are 96% full. The Past Lives, Future Proofed project will address a pressing need to increase space, as well as funding collections and engagement work including the urgent preservation of digital assets and provide:
- 30 years of new, secure, environmentally-controlled storage for Dorset’s physical archives.
- Improvements to Dorset History Centre’s public spaces, including a new entrance and reception area.
- A major programme of public engagement across Dorset in partnership with a variety of organisations, to help make archives accessible to a wide variety of Dorset’s communities.
Funding
The total cost of the Delivery Phase (mid-2028-2031) is £4.6 million. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £603k for the development phase (18 months) which will lead to a further application in November 2027 for £3.8 million leaving a funding gap of £95,000 between what the National Lottery are likely to provide and the current match funding that has been committed to by Dorset Coucil and donations from other sources including Dorset Archives Trust. This gap in finances is the fundraising target the project needs to meet before it can be delivered.
Town Clerks have received a letter from DHC encouraging town councils to consider contributing to the project and Dorchester Town Council have already agreed to contribute a significant sum subject to the successful second stage application to the National Lottery.
If you are able to help, or would like to know more about the project visit the Dorset History Centre pages on the Dorset Council website or contact DHC at:
