An oral history project which invited local people to tell their stories – to be recorded and entered into the archives of the Dorset History Centre.
Project aims
We aimed to train as many volunteers as possible from across the area, including lots of young people, to capture individual stories of rich rural life so they can be shared and preserved.
These stories informed many other Chase & Chalke projects, and will be compiled as a publication to celebrate the area’s rich landscape and traditions.
By capturing these voices and stories we:
- provided content and inspiration for the development of other projects within the Chase & Chalke Scheme’s Cultural Landscape projects.
- promoted and raised awareness of the rich rural life, agricultural and farming history of the area to thousands of people through sharing the recordings online.
- provided a legacy for current and future generations to get an insight into people’s lives and experiences of living and working in this wonderful landscape.
Project achievements
Volunteers helped us to uncover and gather stories and living memories from those who have experienced the Chase & Chalke area, capturing stories of how the land was managed, how wildlife patterns have changed, and what craftsmanship and skills were used, such as charcoal making, coppicing, hurdle making and water-meadow management.
All volunteers received free training from industry experts in oral history, archiving and historical research to provide them with the necessary skills to embark on this exciting project.
Extracts from the interviews are being put together ready to share on our repurposed vintage telephone.
17 volunteer interviewers trained
29 volunteer interviewees
4 volunteer transcribers
Bournemouth University student interviews
From 2020–2021 the Chase & Chalke Landscape Partnership worked with Bournemouth University on a project titled ‘Socially Distanced Encounters of a Rural Kind’ which comprised of final-year BA (Hons) History students learning to become oral historians. During the project, the students worked to produce recorded oral interviews with people who have a connection to the landscape of Cranborne Chase. The interviews took place during the Covid-19 pandemic so were conducted online.