Bestselling novelist Tracy Chevalier is championing efforts to preserve Dorset’s stories for future generations in a new film created by Dorset History Centre supporting a major archive project.
The internationally acclaimed author, who lives in Dorset’s Piddle Valley and is best known for novels Girl with a Pearl Earring and Remarkable Creatures, narrates the film thanks to her role as a Patron of Dorset Archives Trust.
The film supports Past Lives, Future Proofed, an ambitious Lottery-funded project led by Dorset History Centre to secure the future of Dorset’s archives, increase storage capacity and ensure the county’s documentary heritage remains accessible for generations to come.
Dorset History Centre in Dorchester houses the county archive service, funded jointly by Dorset Council and BCP Council as well as the county Local Studies collection, the Historic Environment Record and the Finds Liaison Officer of the Portable Antiquities Scheme for Dorset.
Thanks to National Lottery players the work is funded by a £603,000 development grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, awarded in April this year. Dorset History Centre will also be applying for further funding for this project, with a fundraising target of £5.28 million over the period 2026-2031.
Drawing on her own experience as a writer and her connection to Dorset, Tracy explains how archives provide the raw material for storytelling, helping uncover local history, inspire creativity and connect communities with their past.
Tracy Chevalier said:
“Archives open an intriguing and important window onto our collective Dorset past. I am so glad they exist and are being looked after.”
The film sets out to explain how the project will create additional archive storage capacity which is currently at 96% full, improve facilities for visitors and support engagement activities designed to capture, preserve and share stories from communities across Dorset.
Cllr Biggs, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economic Growth and Strategic Assets said: “We’re delighted that Tracy is lending her voice to this project. As an internationally recognised author, Dorset resident and passionate advocate for archives, she helps demonstrate why preserving Dorset’s history matters.
“Archives tell the story of Dorset and its people. Through Past Lives, Future Proofed, we’re working to ensure those stories are protected, shared and enriched so future generations can continue to discover and learn from them.”
Tracy’s second novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring, which was adapted as a 2003 film. Her sixth novel Remarkable Creatures tells the story of Dorset fossil collector Mary Anning and the discoveries that transformed scientific understanding of prehistoric life along the Jurassic Coast.
She’s also been a longstanding supporter of Dorset’s literary archives, including projects celebrating Thomas Hardy and William Barnes, and the current campaign to catalogue the archive of Sylvia Townsend Warner.
Residents can watch the film here at https://youtu.be/Nw8HljjNUjc and find out more about the project and how they can get involved at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/w/past-lives-future-proofed
For example, a large number of volunteers will be recruited over the lifetime of the project, helping with activities from indexing to podcasting, and help will also be needed to allow Dorset History Centre to reach its fundraising targets.
