By Catherine Bolado

DORSET’S county town is the subject of this week’s Looking Back as we discover a horde of old postcards.

Derek Pride, from Dorchester, sent in this collection of old postcards and a guide book for the town in 1934.

The book opens by describing the town as ‘a thriving, progressive market town, as is amply evident by the bi-weekly markets, the sheep and cattle fairs held during the year, an annual wool sale in July and also a weekly corn market of considerable importance in the world of cereals.’

The town, says the guide book, is very popular with sportsmen, especially with gentlemen that like to hunt, play golf and spend a day at the greyhound races.

The guide states that ‘to many people it is a delightful fragment of Old England, and to others it is a thronging go-ahead market town doing a large trade in numerous directions.’

The town is popular with the country person, says the guide, while ‘the town-bred person will find at times a peacefulness greatly welcomed and at others that it is a lively place which dispels any feeling of ennui.’

It says that the town is a great place to explore Thomas Hardy’s Wessex and mentions that the writer’s heart is buried beneath a giant yew tree in Stinsford churchyard.

The postcards show several key attractions around the town as they were in the 30s, 50s and 60s, including The Keep, High West and East Street, the Hangman’s Cottage, South Walk and Cornhill.

One of the postcards is undated but bears the wording on the back ‘Roman remains at Colliton Park before County Hall was built.’

Mr Pride’s mother, Majorie Coombes, moved to Dorchester from Bournemouth to teach at Charminster School.

She brought the guide to the town in 1934 when she moved there.

Mr Pride said: “I assume she brought the Dorchester guide and she was the sort of person that kept things. I have hung on to it because I’m a Blue Badge Guide.”

Mr Pride is involved in giving tours all around Dorchester and the surrounding area, including at the old court and gives tours about the Tolpuddle Martyrs.

He said: “It’s interesting to know what was there before, because of course, places have disappeared and shops have changed hands and the town’s changed over the years.”

Mr Pride, 73, was born in Lower Bockhampton and he said he could remember the family doing all their shopping in High East Street and hardly going into South Street.

He said: “It’s quite interesting when you see what’s changed over the years – the guide makes quite interesting reading.”

The photos of The Keep are very interesting as they show the wide tree-line road past The Keep and along Bridport Road towards what is now new Poundbury.

Looking at the old postcards of High East and High West Street Mr Pride said: “That part is most likely unchanged since Victorian times – since Thomas Hardy. If he came back to life he’s instantly recognise that view from the top to the bottom.”

Another interesting fact that the guide showed was the Antelope Hotel has the phone number Dorchester 1. Mr Pride said: “I assume they must have been the first place to have a telephone.”

Mr Pride said although he had moved away for a bit, he had spent most of his life in Dorchester and surrounding area.

He said his favourite part about the area was that although it was a town, it was right in the middle of the countryside and it was easy to get out and into the country very quickly.

He said: “There are lots of very pleasant walks on the verges of the town, so you have a town but the countryside is just over the rise.”