01935 429609
Somerset & Dorset
Family History Society

Welcome to the SDFHS

How can we help you? We will help you to find documented facts about the lives of your former family members which will unlock doors to your own personal family story. Although we do specialise in Somerset and Dorset and have extensive records from our two counties, our experienced Research Volunteers have skills which can help you trace your family roots, regardless of where they might have originated.

SDFHS Family History Centre

Broadway House Family History Centre, our home in Yeovil, is an ideal location in the centre of the town.

Christmas/New Year closure

Our Family History Centre will close for the Christmas/New Year holidays at 4pm on Thursday 21 December 2023 and will reopen at 10am on Thursday 4 January 2024.

Online Talks

Online talks are being hosted by some of our local Groups, giving us the opportunity to engage with our members and the family history community worldwide.

Visit Our Shop

Are you looking for family history publications? Why not try looking in our on-line shop. We have a wide range of books and CDs relating to both Somerset and Dorset, as well as more general family-history and local-history publications.

AGM and Open Day

Join us

on Social Media

Recent Facebook

US Troops in An English Village- Everyday Life With the Americans in Burton Bradstock, Dorset, England, UK, 1944''Pfc Edward Shea (of 27 Wentworth Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts) fills up his jeep in the sunshine at the petrol station in Burton Bradstock, Dorset. According to the original caption, the gas station has been taken over by the army. Pfc Shea is helped by local boys Freddy and Chris Kerley, Barry Kneale and Billy Hubbard: one boy works the petrol pump, one holds back the seat, one holds the hose and another cleans the windscreen''.The garage is still there but looks slightly different today ... See MoreSee Less
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Who remembers the Obridge Road record office? I do!Before we moved to the Somerset Heritage Centre in 2010 we were based at the Somerset Record Office in Obridge Road, Taunton. Opened in 1958, it didn’t look very big from the outside but was tardis-like inside with over 5 miles of shelving! #ArchiveBuildings #Archive30 ... See MoreSee Less
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Would you like to research any Somerset or Dorset places? Or anywhere else, for that matter 😉 #AllAboutThatPlace is guaranteed to inspire you! And it’s free! If you’d like to tell the world about somewhere you’ve researched, get in touch with the team 📣 ... See MoreSee Less
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Volunteers needed!We need more volunteers to welcome visitors to our engaging displays and activities. There are opportunities to get involved in researching topics and arranging displays at our small, centrally located venue.If you would like to explore your interest in volunteering, please send an email to:[email protected]We’ll then make contact with you to invite you to meet one of us. ... See MoreSee Less
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In collaboration with Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust we're delighted to be hosting this forthcoming talk from Anne Brown at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton. Join us Somerset & Dorset Family History Society Dorset Family History Society Okeford Fitzpaine Local History Group Blandford Town Museum Stalbridge Archive & History Wimborne History Society Dorchester Historical Society The Hauntings Of The Shire Hall Dorchester Dorset with Haunting Nights Dorset Museums Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival #dorset #dorsethistory #shirehall #Tolpuddle #smugglers ... See MoreSee Less
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Happy Easter 🐣 ... See MoreSee Less
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On Good Friday we feature the famous @wellscathedral which is stuated in the North Transept, It is one of the group of famous 14th to 16th century astronomical clocks to be found in the West of England. The surviving mechanism, dated to between 1386 and 1392, was replaced in the 19th century and was eventually moved to the Science Museum in London...#somersetday #passionforsomerset #wellscathedral #visitwells #englishcathedrals #cathedralgram #somerset #livinginsomerset #astronomicalclock ... See MoreSee Less
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