The new book by Stalbridge History Society
In September 1918, two months before the end of the Great War, Lord Stalbridge sold his Stalbridge Estate as individual Lots, including almost every house, cottage, business premises, farm and field in and around the town. For the first time local people had the opportunity to own their home – though for some this meant losing theirs, rented from the Estate for generations. 100 years later, the Stalbridge History Society, after years of research, mounted a very successful exhibition in 2018 to mark the Centenary.
We knew then that we had a duty to commemorate this event in book form, providing a legacy for both the exhibition and to ensure that our research was recorded for future generations.
We have worked hard to add to our original research, supplemented by information from the 1921 census, released in 2022, together with valuable information from the Stalbridge Archive and Dorset History Centre archive in Dorchester. Many of the families whose stories are recorded here still have descendants living in the town.
The resulting book, ‘Stalbridge Sold – a town under the hammer’ is to be enjoyed both for its historical information and as a visual record of life in Stalbridge and Stalbridge Weston before, during and after the dramatic year of the Sale. With 348 pages, and lavishly illustrated with original photographs and images, this is a fascinating book….
We launched the book at our highly successful Exhibition held at Stalbridge Hall on Friday 13th, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th June, 2025.
Thank you for your interest in ordering a copy of our book- ‘Stalbridge Sold’. Unfortunately we have now sold out of our 4th print run of this book and have now created a ‘waiting list’ for a potential new print run to which you will be added if you fill in our form below. Once the waiting list has reached the numbers required to produce another print run we will contact you to let you know the price for a copy and details of how to pay, should you wish to proceed. The anticipated price for each book is estimated to be £29.95.
In addition to this, we are currently arranging a ‘Print on Demand’ service, enabling anyone who needs a book immediately to be able to purchase a book and have it delivered to them within a few weeks. We will inform you by email when this service is up and running and will send you the link to the online shop. You can then choose to buy your own book or continue to wait until the waiting list has reached its optimal level.
If you would like to see if your family is mentioned in the book have a look at the index pages by clicking on the button below
