Dorset History Centre (DHC), the county’s archive service has received a substantial grant to work on the archives of Wessex Water and its predecessor organisations. 

Until relatively recently, the company held its archive at its Sutton Poyntz facility near Weymouth, but in order to protect and conserve the material, the decision was taken to transfer the records to public archive services across the South West.  The archive, which covers a span of two-hundred years, includes plans, maps, photographs, and documentation relating mostly to the development of water supply and sewage treatment operations.

The archive is huge, comprising hundreds of boxes of material dating back to the early nineteenth century when small, localised water companies grew up and when sewage treatment was handled by urban and rural district and town councils, and land drainage by river authorities.  These functions were amalgamated when 10 regional water authorities were established in 1974. Wessex Water itself was formed from 99 different organisations and in 1989, it was privatised and retained the water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment functions of its predecessors.

Wessex Water has provided overall funding of over £103,000 to enable the cataloguing, conservation and digitisation of the collection of the Dorset material, allowing access to this huge and important resource. In addition, a significant quantity of historic video material will be digitised.  The project is due to start in early 2025.

Members of the public will benefit in the future from having online access to a wealth of information about the development of water supply and sewage treatment infrastructure across the Wessex Water area since the early 1800s.  Given the essential nature of water to health, wellbeing and the economy, this will represent a superb historical resource for local and academic historians.  

Marilyn Smith, Group Director of Communications and Community at Wessex Water said:

“We are pleased to have been able to fund the conservation, preservation and cataloguing of this terrific collection and to make it available for research and study.

“We are proud of our heritage and having been custodians of this collection for many years, we are delighted the archive will be freely accessible to anyone interested in learning more about the development of the water infrastructure across the Wessex Water region during the last 200 years.”

Cllr Ryan Hope, Dorset Council Cabinet Member for Customer, Culture and Community Engagement said:

“We are honoured that Wessex Water has gifted us this archive material and entrusted us to look after it on a permanent basis. Dorset’s Archives service will make this material available to all, and we will continue to preserve it, as the previous custodians have done.”

For more information about the work at Dorset History Centre, visit www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/dorset-history-centre.