About
The Talbot Village History Group (TVHG) is a community-led group of volunteers brought together by a shared curiosity about the past and a desire to better understand the place we live in today.
The group began informally in the summer of 2023 as part of Talbot Village Trust’s wider community engagement work. What started as a small gathering of people with an interest in local history has grown into an active and welcoming group, now made up of members from across the community with diverse interest and backgrounds.
Our focus is the historic Talbot Village in Bournemouth, founded in the 19th century by the Talbot Sisters. While the village itself is at the heart of our work, we also explore the wider surrounding area to help place Talbot Village in its broader historical, social and geographical context.
Over time, the group has been researching maps, documents, photographs, buildings and landscapes to build a richer picture of how the estate has changed and how people have lived and worked here across the centuries. In July 2025, the group gave its first public talk, sharing this work with a captivated audience. The event sparked strong interest, led to new members joining, and confirmed a growing appetite for learning more about the area’s history.
Since then, the group has been planning its next steps. These include giving further talks and guided walks, developing materials suitable for schools and younger audiences, working with local partners such as Poole Museum and Bournemouth University, contributing to heritage interpretation within the woods and on the wider estate, and exploring creative ways to bring history to life — from digital storytelling to traditional printing techniques.
This website is the culmination of the group’s journey so far. It brings together the research, discoveries and stories that have emerged through collaborative exploration, and provides a growing public archive for anyone interested in Talbot Village and its heritage.
The Talbot Village History Group welcomes curiosity, conversation and community involvement. Whether you are a long-term resident, a newcomer, a researcher, or simply someone who enjoys uncovering hidden stories, we hope this archive helps you see Talbot Village, both past and present, in a new light.