Summer Gala at Hinton St Mary

We were lucky on the evening of the DAT Summer Gala, it was a bit breezy but the rain held off! This meant that the various parties could enjoy their picnics in the beautiful gardens that surround the Tithe Barn before coming in to listen to Martin Gething talk about T.E. Lawrence and his connections with Dorset. These proved to be many and various, ranging from a possible (but dubious) family connection with Sir Walter Raleigh, through a friendship with Thomas Hardy and several others links, to his residence at Clouds Hill and his death and then burial in Morton Churchyard.

Like all good talks we were held riveted and left wanting more; not so much about Lawrence's Dorset connections which Martin explored and explained, but about T.E Lawrence himself - did his parents ever marry, what happened to his four (I think) brothers? In one area we will have a chance to gain further knowledge - Martin is talking on the history of the house at Clouds Hill that Lawrence bought and renovated on December 14th at the Dorset History Centre.