William Barnes Society launches fundraiser to preserve works

The William Barnes Society has launched an ambitious fundraising campaign to ensure the legacy of the poet’s works is accessible to all.

Barnes’s extensive collection of work was donated to the Dorset Museum and Art Gallery upon his death in 1886. He bequeathed his writings, poems, letters, sermons, woodcuts and engravings to the museum on High West Street- which he had co-founded in the mid-nineteenth century.

The collection is now housed in the Dorset History Centre where a professional archivist would catalogue the materials. The society wants to ensure that anyone around the world can access and appreciate Barnes’ talents and are raising funds dedicated to the archival work.

Vice president of the William Barnes Society Tim Laycock (Image: William Barnes Society) A number of events will be organised over the year, including the revival of the Year Clock- a play about the life and times of Barnes written by vice president of the society, Tim Laycock.

Claire Dixon, Executive Director of the Dorset Museum & Art Gallery said that the Museum is delighted to support this important campaign that will improve public access to the William Barnes archive and collection. She said: “William Barnes is an important part of our story as well as the wider history of the county.

"The opportunity to catalogue this collection will mean more people can connect with his story and discover the important artefacts and materials associated with Barnes’ work and life. We are excited to be working with the Dorset History Centre and the William Barnes Society to deliver this important project.”

The President of the William Barnes Society, Sir Andrew Motion, former UK Poet Laureate and currently Homewood Professor of Arts at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, fully endorse the campaign. Sir Andrew noted that his own published selection of poems by William Barnes (Penguin, 1984) would not have been possible without access to important archival information from the Barnes collection.

William Barnes (Image: Archive) Brian Caddy, who has served as Chair of the William Barnes Society for the past decade said that the fundraising campaign represented an important moment in the Society’s history. He said: “By joining together with other organisations to raise money for the Barnes Archive, the Society will ensure a lasting legacy of our much-loved Dorset poet for all to enjoy and appreciate.”

Sam Johnston, county archivist, said, “We know that cataloguing is the key to opening up collections and making them accessible. We’re delighted to work on this campaign with the Dorset Archives Trust, the William Barnes Society and the Dorset Museum and Art Gallery making another vital piece of Dorset’s cultural heritage available to the wider world.”

To find out more about the ways in which you can donate, visit: www.williambarnessociety.org.uk/appeal