The Francis Frith Collection.
You are here: Home > Explore your past > England > Dorset > Tarrant Gunville

Tarrant Gunville

Tarrant Gunville maps (2 available)

Old map of Tarrant Gunville

Tarrant Gunville books (13 available)

Tarrant Gunville memories

Be the first to add a memory of Tarrant Gunville.

You can also read memories of nearby places in Dorset below.

Dorset memories

Corner Shop

Wimborne, East Brook 1908

I used to work in the shop on the corner, there is a man standing outside the door. It was called Langer and Son.  It was then a saddler, sports and shoe shop.  I met my husband there in 1963.  We are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary this year so this picture brings back many memories.
A memory of Wimborne contributed by Mrs C Holloway

The Central Stores.

Shillingstone, Post Office and Main Road c1955

My parents ran the Central Stores from 1951 to 1955, their names were Tony and Eunice Jeanes. The date of c1955 is about right as this was the year that my father and mother sold the business to Mr Dean, whose sign appears in the photograph. I was two years old when my parents took over the business and my earliest childhood memories are of life in this Dorset village. It was from these premises that at the age of four years old I was taken to the isolation hospital suffering with poliomyelitis in the outbreak of 1953. I was one of the lucky ones having no long term disability as a result of contracting the disease. ...read more here
A memory of Shillingstone contributed by Timothy Jeanes

Childhood memories.

Lyme Regis, the Promenade c1960

I noticed with some surprise a photo of myself aged about 12 years. I am the girl on the left with the ponytail the year being about 1960. I don't recall the boys name but it looks as if we are standing by the machine that used to print letters of the alphabet. I think it cost one old penny for 20/25 letters. There was a metal dial with a brass pointer like the hour hand on a clock and when it was pointing to the letter you required you pulled down a lever on the side (a bit like a one armed bandit) and the letters were embossed on a strip of metal.
A memory of Lyme Regis contributed by Chris Rowe

Family connections.

Wimborne, East Brook 1908

The lady standing on the bridge is my great grandmother Hannah Elton nee Churchill and the small boy her grandson, Cecil Henry Stickland, my uncle.  He became the verger at Christchurch Priory.  Hannah lived with her husband Henry, a carpenter, in the cottage to the left of the photograph just out of shot.  Hannah was the local midwife and at the time the photograph was taken her daughter Louisa Eliza had returned to her parents home for the birth of my mother, Ivy Emma Stickland.
A memory of Wimborne contributed by Judith Day

Extracts From Tarrant Gunville & Dorset books

Dorchester, High West Street 1891

A walk down High West Street from Thomas Hardy’s statue will bring the visitor to the County Museum, where the novelist’s study has been faithfully recreated, complete with the pens used to write each novel.
An extract from from"Dorset Pocket Album".

Dorchester, High West Street 1930

The tower of the medieval St Peter’s Church, seen here on the left, dominates much of Dorchester’s High Street. The building was restored in 1856 by the local architect John Hicks, with the help of his teenage apprentice Thomas Hardy. The interior is dominated by the tomb of Denzil, Lord Holles who fought for parliament in the Civil War, but survived to become a counsellor to Charles II.
An extract from from"Dorset Pocket Album".

Dorchester, Hangman's Cottage 1898

Hangman’s Cottage, seen here on the left, was the home of the town’s resident executioner in the 19th century. The young Thomas Hardy was shocked and fascinated by the public execution of a woman in Dorchester and was unable to dispel the image from his mind, using the scene for the climax of ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’.
An extract from from"Dorset Pocket Album".

Dorchester, Max Gate, Thomas Hardy's Home 1930

Hardy designed Max Gate as his final home and wrote his greatest novels there. Many famous personalities, such as Lawrence of Arabia, came here to pay homage to the grand old man of English letters. The poet and novelist died here in 1928.
An extract from from"Dorset Pocket Album".

Higher Bockhampton, Thomas Hardy's Birthplace 1930

Thomas Hardy was born in this cottage in 1840 and wrote his first three novels whilst living there. He retained an interest in the family home until the end of his life. The National Trust acquired the house and surroundings in 1948, and it is regularly open to the public.
An extract from from"Dorset Pocket Album".