Henry Rolls Journal

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Henry Rolls (1803-1877) was a shoemaker of East Lulworth who taught himself to read and write. He kept a journal of the main happenings of village life in East and West Lulworth from 1824 until 1877.  

After Henry’s death, his son George Rolls (1846-1929) continued the journal covering the period from 1877 to 1928.

George’s daughter Agnes Mary Rolls (1879-1961) then took over responsibility for the journal from 1929 to 1955. Her daughter Winifred then made a couple of entries after her mother’s death.

The original journal is now in the safe custody of the Dorset History Centre, but Natalia A. McKenzie, a descendant of Henry Rolls made a full transcription of the journal in 1995 and has kindly agreed that the transcription can be made available through the East Lulworth OPC website.

Please note the transcription is the copyright of Natalia A. McKenzie and may not be reproduced without her express permission.

We hope to add an index over the coming months of the hundreds of individuals named in the journal.

Transcription of Henry Rolls Journal (729 downloads )

Please note a pdf will open in a new window – as the transcription runs to some 111 pages there may be a short delay while it downloads – given its length we recommend you avoid hitting the ‘print’ button!

Page last updated: 16 October 2022

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