History
BYGONE DAYS: Station Road in Gillingham and, right, The Commons in Shaftesbury
PASSING TIMES: High Street in Milborne Port and, right, Blandford’s Market Place. Below: Half Moon Street in Sherborne
Looking back at the Vale’s evolution
Why not start the New Year by delving into the past of the beautiful Blackmore Vale? Author Philip Knott is staging a phenomenal exhibition in The Exchange at Sturminster Newton where he will showcase some 1,800 historical photographs he has collected over 22 years. And these photographs are just a teeny tiny example of what will be on display at The Blackmore Vale Now and Then exhibition. Philip and his pictures will provide a fascinating insight into life in the vale during the 20th Century and will help residents to understand, and appreciate, how the vale has evolved into the landscape that we can all enjoy today.
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Despite significant residential and light industrial development to accommodate an everincreasing population and to provide much needed employment, along with the changes resulting from
New Blackmore Vale, 7th January 2022
modern farming methods, the rural landscape of the vale remains remarkably well preserved. An overview from the chalk hills or a walk along the banks of the River Stour or through the meadows
at Colber where Philip’s great-grandfather Tom made hay and grazed his cattle during the early part of the 20th Century, will reveal a landscape that has not changed dramatically since the days of Thomas Hardy and William Barnes. The exhibition will be split into five categories, Evolution of the Vale. Along the Dorset Stour (from source to Blandford), Tributaries of the Stour in the Blackmore Vale, Peripheral Towns and Villages and Everyday Life in the Vale. There will be some 13 sub categories, covering every town and village in and around the vale. The exhibition is on for three days between January 6 and 8, between 9am and 5pm.
blackmorevale.net
