A St Aldhelm’s Head mystery

Laid to rest in a shallow grave lined with stones beneath a wooden board and sealed under a slab of Purbeck marble carved with an ornamental cross, who was the unknown woman buried close to the 12th century chapel at St Aldhelm’s Head?

Captain Grumpy & the Happy Hooker

Staring down the throat of a storm battling waves the size of houses and raging winds to match would force many to at least question the wisdom of fishing for a living, but not Ian and Annie Gilbert – perhaps that’s why their fifteen-year career as commercial fishers is as long as their marriage, almost to the day.

Purbeck is quite enough

There have been Bonds in Purbeck since 1472 when Somerset farmer William Bond leased land at Lutton. His descendants acquired land at Tyneham before Nathaniel Bond bought Creech Grange in the 1680s to establish impressive seats that within thirty years were joined by East Holme, bought by his son Denis. Tyneham was requisitioned during World Read More…

Lloyd Cole 2014

It’s 30 years since Lloyd Cole first troubled the charts. Not that he’s particularly celebrating the fact, but three decades is a milestone in whatever walk of life becomes a chosen path. Chart star, cult figure, folk singer, deep thinker, golf swinger (when last reported he was playing off 6.5, fact fans, but has been Read More…

Roddy Woomble

Reformed indie rockers Idlewild are to play their only mainland UK festival date with an acoustic show at Purbeck Folk Festival in August. The Scottish band released their last album Post Electric Blues in 2009 and since then frontman Roddy Woomble has released two solo albums, while guitarist Rod Jones has released material under his Read More…

Eddi Reader

Eddi Reader headlines the Friday night of Purbeck Folk Festival on bank holiday weekend, August 22. More than 25 years since she topped with charts with Perfect, Fairground Attraction’s relentlessly jaunty debut single, Eddi Reader has just released her tenth solo album. Vagabond is as fine a collection of songs as any she has shared Read More…

And this is me…

Nick Churchill has been sticking words together professionally for more than 25 years. Currently he is a busy journalist and has undertaken a wealth of celebrity interviews and human interest features to writing speeches, generating web and media content and production scripts. His first book, Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth – was met with great and Read More…

Purbeck’s champion trees

The Isle of Purbeck is home to the UK’s largest known black poplar and white willow trees. The management of these trees is still in its infancy, but we need to be identifying the veteran trees of today. It is sometimes said that a man of taste will find beauty in a tree that others condemn Read More…