SO inspired was William Barnes by Beaminster that he lyricised to the town: 'Sweet Be'mi'ster, that bist a-bound By green and woody hills all round, Wi' hedges, reachen up between A thousand vields o'zummer green.' Nor was the 19th-century rural poet the first to be taken by this small market town.

Located on the road between two larger communities, the settlement has at times been treated as a dip in the hills rather than a centre in its own right. Narrow, winding lanes, clay vales and rolling hills form the backdrop to life in the town, which is still largely an agricultural settlement, although it now also functions as a retirement centre and tourist destination owing to its important heritage sites, including an outstanding medieval church.

But the inhabitants of Beaminster have not been entirely cut off from the rest of the world or untouched by such national events as the Roman invasion or the English Civil War. Their stories range from witchcraft, ghosts, a gypsy trial, the first airman to be awarded the Victoria Cross and the tragedy of Martha Brown, the last woman to hang in Dorset, whose body Thomas Hardy, then only a youth, witnessed swaying on the rope outside Dorchester Gaol.

Interestingly, she is now remembered as the inspiration for Hardy's famous heroine Tess, whom another Beaminster local, Gertrude Bugler, played during her time with The Hardy Players, and when the play was staged in London in 1929.

The Book of Beaminster tells the story of the town through words and a remarkable collection of photographs showcasing the locale through the ages. The book was put together by Beaminster Museum, where the authors are all volunteers.

The museum's collection curator Jenny Cuthbert lives in Beaminster and is an artist.

Duncan Harris, a retired university professor of education, a trustee of the museum and its education liaison officer, also lives in the town, while Pam Lemmey, a farmer's wife (they never retire), has a master's degree in Roman myth and history and is vice-chairman and a trustee of Beaminster Museum. She lives in Halstock, once the site of a Roman villa and also covered by the book, as are other villages and hamlets that depend on Beaminster for their livelihood including Netherbury, once important for flax-growing and Melplash, the original home of Melplash Agricultural Show. Near Stoke Abbott stands the old Beaminster Union workhouse, and Broadwindsor boasts links to Charles II and the poets Wordsworth and Coleridge.

John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, writes in the foreword to the book: 'The strongest images are those faces and places that some of us can still remember from our childhood: the farmworkers, the scouts, the proud bandsmen and the owners of veteran cars, the turn in the road or shopfront as it once was, the noble Beaminster tunnel, the cottage now demolished. Many people here portrayed remain among our friends even if they are no longer alive. And this of course is the point of the book. We have an archive here of true value, that we can keep and enjoy and show our own children, as long as we are around.' The Book of Beaminster is £19.99: quote ISBN 9781841146270 or, in case of difficulty, contact Halsgrove Direct on 01823 653 777.