The following publications are available from Gillingham Museum
- opening hours 10.00am-12.30pm except Sundays and Wednesdays and subject to steward availability to 'man' the Museum.
Some publications are available via this website - see BOOKS section.
Gillingham's Royal Forest: The Medieval Centuries
John Porter 2013 113 pp. This is the story of one of England's lesser-known royal forests, along with its ‘palace’ of King’s Court. It also relates the origins of the Dorset village of Motcombe. £10
Gillingham's Royal Forest: Discontent and Riot
John Porter 2014 125 pp. The book tells the story of the forest enclosures of the 17th century, the riots and turbulence which followed; and how the disturbances drew Gillingham and its neighbouring countryside into the turmoil of the Civil War. £10
Gillingham Through Time
David Lloyd Amberley Publishing, 2014. 96 pages with over 180 photographs.Gillingham Through Time uses street views of then and now to look at the changes in Gillingham over the past century. £15
Gillingham - The Making of a Dorset Town
John Porter 2011 496 pages, 125 text illustrations, 28 colour plates and hard coversA comprehensive history of the town from the earliest times to the present. Gillingham as a manor and forest; the country town; the industrial town; and the modern town. £15
Around Gillingham
128 pages of old photographs selected by David Lloyd 2006 £6
Around Gillingham: The Second Selection
160 pages of old photographs selected by Peter Crocker 2007 £6
Gillingham History Papers: Studies of the History of the Gillingham Area
John Porter 2019 106 pp 37, illustrations
A collection of detailed studies relating to the history of Gillingham and some of the people who helped to shape the town: Chantry Fields; Early Milton on Stour; Manor court rolls; John Leland; Gillingham vicars; the Helme family; Gillingham Crown Estate; Charles Maloney. £12
Gillingham History Papers: Studies of the History of the Gillingham Area Vol.2 NEW
2023 123 pages, many illustrations
A further collection of detailed studies relating to the history of Gillingham: The Forest Manor, Palmer’s Place, Gillingham Town Mills, Constable and Gillingham, Gillingham Victorians, Gillingham Parish Library, Hudson and Martin, Ethel Freame, Charles Gavin’s diary, inns and beerhouses, Gillingham Carmel. £20
The Buildings of Gillingham: The Gillingham Historic Buildings Project
2021 160 pages, many illustrations
A buildings history of Gillingham, listing and describing 400 buildings in the town built before 1930, with information many of their occupiers. £25
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham
AFHW Wagner First written 1956, republished 2018. 62 pages, 10 illustrations
A reprint of the definitive history of Gillingham’s parish church. £7
The Freame Diaries: Excerpts from the Diaries of Ethel Freame 1897-1900
A collection of lively extracts from the Gillingham diarist.
2003 32 pages £3
Short Guides:
A Short History of Gillingham and the Museum 2023 £3
Gillingham’s Royal Forest: A Historical Guide 2017 £3
King’s Court, Gillingham £3
We can also provide copies of:
The Wesleys and the Early Dorset Methodists Barry J Biggs 1987 £3
Discovering the Past in Gillingham Tony Thrasher 2019 £25
The Fallen of the First World War, along the Blackmore Vale Railway Line £10
Parish Churches in and around Cranborne Chase etc… Jack Skelton-Wallace 2004 £7
A Motcombe Miscellany Laurence Clark 2012 £10
Seventy-nine Years on Drugs: Memories of a Dorset Pharmacist 2020 Ernest Samways £8
Main Line to the West: Salisbury to Yeovil J Nicholas and G Reeve 2007 £15