As you know, cities and towns all over the country are devising ways of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War in November this year. Here in Stalbridge the History Society is putting together an exhibition which has an extra dimension. Not only will we celebrate the ending of the war but we will also be looking in some detail at what life was like for the people of Stalbridge at that time.

Lord Stalbridge decided to put almost all of Stalbridge up for sale on September 3rd and 4th 1918. The catalogue of the sale, produced by Knight, Frank and Rutley, listed all the buildings and land in some detail, including their tenants or lessees and the amount of rent payable. We also know who bought each lot, and the price paid. Using all that information and the 1911 Census, we will be providing a comprehensive snapshot of life in Stalbridge at the end of the war.

The Exhibition will be at Stalbridge Hall and will run from 1st to 4th September. It will be of particular interest to those living here now, many of whom had ancestors or distant relatives who served or died in the Great War.

You will appreciate that putting together an exhibition of this scale will cost rather more than the History Society has in the bank. We already have a contribution from the Town Council for which we are most grateful, but may we hope that you will also be able to provide some financial support? All contributions will be acknowledged at the Exhibition.