Victorian poet's archive made available online

A project to make the archive of a 19th Century poet available online has been completed.

Dorset dialect poet William Barnes bequeathed his writings, woodcuts and engravings to the county museum that he co-founded in 1846.

The William Barnes Society raised £35,000 to catalogue the collection so it could be accessed anywhere in the world.

Chairman Brian Caddy said: "The completion of this project represents a major step forward in access to William Barnes' life and work."

He added: "For the first time, this remarkable collection can be explored through a comprehensive online catalogue, opening new opportunities for research and discovery.

"By making these materials visible and accessible, we hope to encourage fresh appreciation of Barnes' achievements and enable people from Dorset and beyond to engage with the rich literary, linguistic, and social history reflected in his writings."

The catalogue, which includes letters, diaries, poems, sermons, notebooks, photographs, lecture posters, engravings, and personal papers, can be accessed online through the Dorset History Centre.

The society said it offered an "unparalleled insight into Barnes' life and the wider social and cultural history of Victorian Dorset".

The fundraising campaign was supported by Dorset Archives Trust - the charitable arm of the history centre where the archives are kept - and Dorset Museum.

Activities included a new staging of a play about Barnes' life to raise funds for the project, which enabled the appointment of a professional archivist to create the detailed catalogue.

William Barnes was born in Bagber in 1801 and, as well as being a writer and poet, he was rector of Winterborne Came parish where he was buried following his death in 1886.

A bronze statue of him stands outside St Peter's Church in High West Street, near the museum he helped establish.

Claire Dixon, executive director of Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, said: "Barnes was one of our founders, playing an important role in the early years of our organisation and contributing greatly to our collections.

"It is fantastic that this collaboration has led to the digitisation of our archive, enabling audiences both local and global, to access his works and find out more about this important but often lesser known Dorset resident."