Search Dorset Monumental Inscriptions

Each record contains a transcription of the original inscription. The information contained varies considerably and depends on a number of factors including weathering and the type of memorial but you could find the following about your ancestor:

• Name
• Age
• Year of birth
• Date of death
• Year of burial
• Burial place
• Denomination
• Dedication on memorial
• Inscription on memorial
• Type of memorial
• Names of relations

There are thousands records in this collection, transcribed by the volunteers of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society and covering hundreds of Dorset parishes.

Dorset is a rural county in the south west of England, bordered on the English Channel coast. On the west it borders Devon, with Somerset to the north west, Wiltshire to the north east and Hampshire to the east.

IIt has been inhabited since Stone Age times. More recently the Industrial Revolution largely by-passed the county and it remains largely rural to this day. One of the noted landmarks is carved into the hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas – the famous Cerne Abbas Giant is a huge stylised male figure brandishing a club. Its origins are unclear. The earliest recorded mention is in the 17th century but the figure is thought to be far older by many.