About us

Dorset History Centre is the archives service and local studies library for Bournemouth, Christchurch, Dorset and Poole. We are dedicated to preserving, sharing and celebrating the rich heritage of Dorset.

Our online catalogue contains descriptions of over 350,000 records spanning over a thousand years of our history. We are increasingly adding digital content associated with some of these records.

See our website for more details.

About our collections online

We are committed to widening access to our collections and this includes sharing materials online where possible.

Unless otherwise stated all materials are copyright of Dorset History Centre. You can check the copyright status of an item by reading the ‘Copyright’ field on the catalogue record.

If an item is in copyright you must not copy the item or display it on your own website. You may use it for private study or non-commercial research, with due acknowledgement. You can link to the item from your website, blog or other online account, but you must not reproduce it without written permission of the copyright holder.

We have sought to ensure that appropriate permissions have been granted for all items made available online. Where rights holders have been located and permission granted this has been recorded. If you feel that your copyright has been infringed or would like to discuss the terms of your deposit please contact us at archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk