Sylvia Townsend Warner Fundraising Appeal

Dorset Archives Trust is leading a fundraising appeal to bring the Archive of writer and LGBTQ+ pioneer Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) into the public domain through the creation of a full catalogue.  This way it can be discovered and searched online  opening up new lines of enquiry and research into one of Dorset and the UK’s literary treasures.  Our ambition is to facilitate greater understanding, awareness and appreciation of this fascinating writer, the author of seven novels and many poems and short stories including 154 that were published in the New Yorker magazine. 

Warner’s status and reputation have grown in recent years with the republication of her novels, radio adaptations and most recently, the unveiling of a statue of the author, her cat and various of her manuscripts in Dorchester town centre following a campaign by charity Visible Women. 

The archive consists of 85 boxes of records – diaries, letters, photographs, drawings and printed materials – the raw materials of Warner’s creative life.  It was deposited in 2018 at Dorset History Centre (DHC) in Dorchester by Dorset Museum and Art Gallery.  DHC and DAT working together wish to bring the archive to a much wider audience.  Following successful campaigns to raise funds to catalogue the archives of Thomas Hardy and William Barnes, Sylvia Townsend Warner is the third of our key Dorset authors whose archives deserve to be much more widely known about.  Experience clearly demonstrates that once a collection has an online catalogue interest in it grows and sustains with people travelling to view and use the archive or requesting digital copies of items within it. 

The archive is, along with her published works, Warner’s true legacy. 

Warner spent most of her life in Dorset.  Although born in Harrow, she lived with her partner Valentine Ackland at Chaldon Herring and latterly Frome Vauchurch until her death in 1978.  They are both buried in Chaldon Herring.  To many, they were brave and unconventional, living as a couple through an era when societal perspectives on same-sex relationships could be anything but tolerant. 

The archive project hopes to find support from anyone wishing to celebrate Dorset’s literary and cultural heritage.  Whilst preserving it on the one hand, we will also be bringing to light the hidden treasure contained within this wonderful collection of unique material reflecting the life and work of one of the country’s literary stars. 

We are hoping to raise a total of £20,000 in this crowdfunder by the end of Sep 2026, as part of a total goal of £30,000.

Please donate here. 

Digital Gifts to reflect our thanks to our Archive Fund Donors 

As a special 'thank you’, donors will be sent a small collection of unique digital images from the collection, for their own personal use, which reflect the special relationships that the author had with her friends and followers.  

Give up to £10:  you will receive a certificate of thanks for your donation incorporating one of the images in the Sylvia Townsend Warner archive. 

Give between £10 and £25: you will receive a certificate of thanks plus three digital postcards of unique, colourful illustrated envelopes sent to the author by her friend, Antonia Trauttmansdorff. (Please note that Antonia is believed to have died in the 1980s and the organisers have been unable to identify the author’s estate or any copyright holder. These digital images are distributed free of charge as part of a charitable fundraising initiative and are not offered for sale. Any individual or entity claiming rights in this material is invited to contact the organisers via archives@dorsetarchivestrust.org so that appropriate arrangements can be made.) 

Give £50 or more:  you will receive a certificate of thanks, the three digital postcards mentioned above and a high-quality digital image of Sylvia Townsend Warner at her writing desk, suitable for printing as an A4 print. 

Please donate here. 

Thank you in anticipation of your kind support!