William Barnes Fundraiser Update

DAT has been working with the William Barnes Society and Dorset Museum and Art Gallery to raise funds to catalogue the archive of the Dorset dialect poet. 66 boxes of material are held at Dorset History Centre.

We are delighted to report that the target for the Barnes For All! fundraiser has now been met. The £35,000 raised through a combination of personal giving and grant aid will fund an archivist to catalogue the collection and to make it available at Dorset History Centre. The project is due to start in October.

Chris Fowler, Chair of Dorset Archives Trust said “It is fantastic news that, we have reached our target with the combined efforts of all of the generous people who contributed to funds for the project. We could not have done this without you. However, rather than close the appeal now, we have decided to keep it open until October to allow for more money to be collected. This will allow us to fund both conservation and digitisation. Therefore, we would welcome any additional contributions and will ensure that anything donated will support this work.

You can read more on the Barnes Society Website: Barnes For All! Fundraising Campaign or you can donate directly at our CAF donation page.