If you’ve never heard of the Swanskin Seafarers of Sturminster, that’s about to change.
Thanks to a £14,000 grant from the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust is to research this amazing band of people who left rural Dorset to work on the coast of Newfoundland in Canada.

The Swanskin Seafarers lived in Sturminster from the 1600s to 1800s and left for the fishing grounds of the North Atlantic. They were in demand because Sturminster Newton mill supplied the seafarers with swanskin, a coarse white cloth favoured by those who worked the freezing Atlantic waters, for its warmth and waterproof qualities.
Records show that swanskin manufacture was the main occupation of those who remained in Sturminster during this sustained period of long-term migration. The New Stories, New Audiences financial grant will enable the SNHT to involve the local community in researching and telling the lesser-known stories of the people who travelled thousands of miles in search of a better life.

As part of the project, students at Sturminster Newton High School will have the opportunity to become young co-curators, taking part in skills development workshops in historical research and helping to produce an exhibition and social media content for the museum.

The SNHT will be partnering with Emerald Ant, a local arts company, to work with students to develop a story line for a shadow film inspired by the mechanics of the mill and historical sea shanties. Emerald Ant will also help the Trust to establish a digital link with a school and community in Newfoundland with a strong Dorset heritage. In addition, young people will have the opportunity to explore these as part of their history curriculum, looking at how it felt to emigrate and why this was, and continues to be, a reality for many.

The SNHT also hopes the grant will be an opportunity to connect with families who have recently migrated to the area, especially from overseas. Through local community networks, and working with an oral history specialist in the County Archive, volunteers will record the stories of those who have migrated and settled in Dorset within the last 10 years, to be integrated into the interpretation, and also for public access in the archive repositories.

By Faith Eckersall