While the building of Shire Hall has existed since the 1790’s, the history is a collection of often dark and tragic stories from its time as hall for justice.

It is both fitting and important that the structure now exists as a ‘social justice’ museum, highlighting the sad mistakes and local victims of the judiciary.

This weekend saw the celebration of Shire Hall Museum’s first five years bringing those tales to the general public. And of the volunteers that make the ongoing work possible.

Tamsin Little, Communications & Fundraising Manager, talks about the museum: “There’s all sorts of stories of people who came through Shire Hall. We don’t have huge collections but we do have this building and those stories. Those stories are still as relevant today, of society and justice, as the times of the trials.

“We have these stories of people within

Thomas Hardy Credit: DMCA

the justice system and share these with visitors. Hopefully inspiring them to engage with modern social justice and politics.”

Local school parties can read about the story of Harry Parker, age seven, who faced a full criminal trial in 1873, for setting fire to a shed in Wareham.

Interested book clubs can learn about the trial of Elizabeth Martha Brown who murdered her second husband, John

Brown, after he had taken a whip to her. A story that inspired Thomas Hardy, aged 16 at the time of her execution, to write Tess of the D’Urbervilles.

Dorset tourists can visit the site the six Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced to penal transportation to Australia for ‘swearing a secret [illegal] oath’ and forming a trade union.

These stories are those of the Dorset people, they are the ancestors of those walking the hall today and their lives are an important lesson for us all.

Tamsin continued: “Shire Hall Museum is also

Tolpuddle Martyrs plaque, London, Ontario Credit: Adam Bishop

committed to working with and for our community. For example, we have an award-winning learning programme Ann Brown runs, that engages with everyone from nursery schools to university students.

“We had a preschool group who put the gingerbread man and Goldilocks on trial. Anne is really good at adapting our learning sessions to the schools.

“Anne also runs our Memory Café, launched in 2021, to provide socialisation for those with memory difficulties and their carers and family. She does a different topic each month, and just expanded two sessions a month, because it was so popular.

Credit: Shire Hall

“It is really rewarding to work with participants and their family and hear the feedback on the difference it makes.”
The Memory Café is held in the Learning room and includes taking part in specially created reminiscence activities, 10am – 12pm, every second Monday of the month.

Tamsin added: “We do a lot of work with the young LGBT+ community too and last year we organised the first Dorest Youth Pride. We looked at the Pride events here and didn’t see a lot of options for young people in Dorset. We didn’t see it; so we held it.

“We had hundreds of teenagers in our building. It was a celebration and a joyous day but it was also about learning our history.

Memory Cafe Credit: Shire Hall Museum

All the time Shire Hall was a court room, homosexuality was illegal.

“It’s an opportunity for young people to come along and learn about the past and carry that information to today in pushing for change.

“We talk about social justice and it’s not just words, we try to put our actions behind it as well.”

Dorset Youth Pride is back at Shire Hall Museum for 2023, as an inclusive event welcoming all members of the LGBT+ community, families, young people and allies.

Desire, Love and Indentity exhibition Credit: Shire Hall Museum

Shire Hall will be hosting Space Youth Project, Pop ‘n’ Olly, The Keep Military Museum, Weymouth Gay Group, This is Me, Dorset Youth Voice, Budmouth College and Vinyl Van on Saturday 10th June.

Shire Hall Museum has also hosted a range of travelling exhibitions over the last half decade, such as Crossings: community and refuge from the British Museum.

Which included a cross made from the remnants of a refugee boat wrecked near the Italian island of Lampedusa, carrying messages about kindness, community and the indifference faced by many refugees. And a display of twelve tiny boats from Syrian-born Issam Kourbaj’s series Dark Water, Burning World. Made from repurposed bicycle mudguards tightly packed with burnt matches.

They donated their space to the ‘Coming Out of My Shell’ exhibition in September, supported by Humphries Kirk Solicitors. It featured contributions from people who find that expressing themselves through different forms of art helps their mental health or supports their recovery.

Ryan James (Exhibtions Officer), Tamsin Little (Communications & Fundraising Manager), Anne Brown (Learning Manager), Nina Corey (Director), Dr Rose Wallis (Chair of Trustees) and Laura Gardner (Curator) Credit: Shire Hall

Shire Hall Museum launched a new series, Raising Voices, in March 2022. The aim of the series is to explore and discover the stories of different people and communities who haven’t always been heard.

Tamsin said: “We started with ‘Women and the Justice System’, we looked at three women and their interaction with the justice system and how gender influenced how they were treated.

“We are working with University of West England students to expand the series. The students are currently researching stories from other underrepresented communities, including LGBT+, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller and conscientious objectors.”

All of these offerings from the last five years and more, keep an eye out for the Summer exhibition on smuggling, are brought to Dorset by donations, sponsors and volunteers.

Tamsin finished by saying: “We are a charity and an independent museum, so we do not receive any regular core funding. All the work to preserve this historic building and run exhibitions and community projects is possible because people who visit us, come to the café, and our events and support us through their business.

“We didn’t reach our second birthday due to Covid. We opened May 1, 2018 and had to close in March 2020. That said, we’re so grateful to still be here. There are so many Arts and Heritage organisations that cannot say that. That’s all possible due to our incredible supporters.

Learning at the Museum Credit: Shire Hall Museum

“That is one of the reasons that our community is so important to us, they were there for us when we needed them and we try to give back: we have been giving tickets to food banks for school holidays, we donate food leftovers at Christmas to charities, and we run community-focused projects.”

Nina Corey, Director at Shire Hall Museum, said: “Everyone at Shire Hall Museum is excited to be celebrating our fifth anniversary. So much has happened in the five years since we’ve opened, with a lot of challenges being thrown our way. Our incredible team of staff, volunteers and trustees have worked hard to steer the Museum through difficult times and get us to where we are today.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our visitors and our local community for the incredible support they’ve shown us over the last five years. From using our shop and café to engaging with the Museum and our community projects, everything we do would not be possible without their continued support.”

Learning at the Museum Credit: Shire Hall Museum