The voice of rural communities
past and present

Welcome to windrose

Windrose was set up in 1984. We are a registered charity. Our purpose is to use the media to undertake educational, archival and creative work in rural communities. In the past it has worked throughout the country but, for many years, has concentrated on Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.

In 40 years Windrose has never had any regular funding but has developed a long succession of projects which respond to community needs, fundraising for them one by one.

Discover the region through film, video
and audio from the Windrose archive

Close Encounters

Latest Windrose News & Events

15/01/26

Born and Bred Film Show

Community Stories on Film: Windrose Rural Media’s Born & Bred Comes to Broadwindsor's Big Screen...

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15/12/25

Born and Bred Fundraiser for Dorset Village Amenities

Boost for Broadwindsor pub and shop from sales of local history book...

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03/11/25

Born and Bred Book Launch

Born and Bred book receives an enthusiastic welcome in Broadwindsor, Dorset...

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11/04/25

Windrose Rural Media A New Era

Windrose Rural Media Trust — A New Era: West Country women take over the helm...

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SUPPORT OUR WORK

Please click on the link to find out more information on how you can support Windrose.

The Windrose Archive

The Trilith-Windrose archive is an important community-based film and audio archive of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire which has been assembled through 35 years of improvisation, voluntary effort and small scale spasmodic funding. It is a considerable resource for communities, especially in rural areas but cannot be made properly accessible and put to real use unless a new phase of development is funded and its long-term preservation assured.

Born and Bred in
Broadwindsor

The Born & Bred community heritage initiative centres on the Dorset village of Broadwindsor, and builds on Windrose’s long-standing approach of combining oral history, creative arts and community participation to explore rural life and identity.

GREAT WESTERN APPROACHES REVISTED

Great Western Railway passengers across Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset can now travel back in time via the Windrose archive. Seven lines, 24 stations and more than 30 archive film clips to enjoy, Great Western Approaches Revisited is an exploration of our communities as they used to be and the nearest thing to living history there is.

Help us preserve Your Old Film

Please click on the link to find out more information on how you can support Windrose.

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