Welcome to the
Merriott Local History Group
Digital Archive 2014
ARCHIVE INTRODUCTION BY DAVID GIBBS, WOKINGHAM 2014
Merriott Local History Group
The History Group came into being in 2008. The founder members were Cathy Herriman and Mary Paull, supported by a small group of like-minded people who shared their interest in the history of the village. There was no formal group constitution and membership was free.
Group activities consisted principally of monthly meetings with guest speakers held in the Tithe Barn but also included visits and special events such as the very successful Finds Day held in 2009, details of which are recorded in this archive.
The Group Website
In 2010, on hearing of the group, and also sharing an interest in the history of the village although living in Wokingham some 100 miles distant, Merriott born David Gibbs (the author of these notes) offered to set up and run a website on a voluntary basis in support of the group activities. This offer was accepted and in November 2010 a website came into being.
The objectives of the website were:
- To support and promote the activities of Merriott Local History
- To provide a worldwide online social hub for people who share an interest of the village and its
- To facilitate the collection, publication and eventual archiving of documents, photographs and other material of local historical
- To provide facilities for the online publication and archiving of research
Visitors to the website were invited to contribute photographs, documents and other material for publication and contributions were received from all over the country and from the United States, Australia and New Zealand, all of which were duly published and have been included in this archive.
Website Contributors
Below is a list of people who contributed material for publication, and also of people who were supportive in other ways. Thank you for your interest and support.
| Cathy Herriman | Mary Paull | Bryan Morris | David Gibbs | Sheila Spear | Richard Rumsby |
| Lynn Durant | Paul Fisher | Nigel Stephens | Alan Keene | David Bryant | Fred Pattemore |
| John Stuttaford | Will French | Jack Gibbs | Sylvia Best | Yvonne Taylor | Pat Webb |
| Angela Russell | Stella Howard | Christine Thompson | Paul Thompson | Marion Andrews | Coral Pike |
| Andrew Sheppard | John Smith | Bob Patten | Chris Packham | Marjorie Durant | Rebecca Tuck |
| Dulcie Stoodley | Dennis Stoodley | Kevin Close | Lizabeth Dawe | Tony Dowse Brenon | Jean Rosskelly |
| Karen Holt | Dave Pickford | Dave Sampson | Brian Tasker | Hilda Isaacs | Chris Durant |
| Peter Westman | Eileen Pitman | Kevin Edwards | Sue Hastings | Linda Middleton | Lorna Rumsby |
| John Osborne | Janet Wills | Chris Woods | May Tout | Ian Ball |
Many of the articles in the archive include the names of the author and, where appropriate, the photographer but a special acknowledgment is due to Alan Keene who provided the Merriott/Wokingham link by scanning and sending, via email, electronic copies of documents and photographs contributed by village residents.
Conversely, apologies are probably due for the text of many articles being attributed to the writer of these notes. This is purely for reasons of accountability, not personal recognition.
The Digital Archive
After three successful years, as interest in group activities waned so did interest in the website. In particular, there were far fewer visitors and the flow of contributions necessary to make publication worthwhile ceased. Consequently, in November 2013 publication of the website came to an end and, in accordance with the initial objectives listed above, this digital archive was assembled, copies of which will hopefully survive down the years for future generations to access and enjoy. With future accessibility in mind, a copy has been lodged with the Heritage Centre in Crewkerne. In addition, in early 2017, the archive is being published on this Merriott Families Genealogy Website.
The archive consists of 115 documents in pdf format. The pdf files are arranged in six folders: Folder 01 Archive Introduction (this document, which includes an archive contents list), Folder 02 The Village, Folder 03 Documents, Folder 04 Photographs, Folder 05 Personal Memories and Folder 06 Artefacts. A folder contents list is included as the first document in each folder.
To read pdf files, Adobe Reader software is required. This can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.adobe.com/downloads.html
Copyright – Important Notice
The copyright of articles, illustrations and photographs may be held by third parties and if so were included on the website, and are included in this archive, with permission. If you wish to use this material in any way whatsoever, you are respectfully advised to pay due regard to copyright ownership and seek permission accordingly.
Folders included in the Archive: (Click on the link to go to the page)
01 ARCHIVES INTRODUCTION This page