TALK | William Barnes and Leader Scott

Please join us for a morning to celebrate the life and work of William Barnes and his daughter Lucy Baxter, known by the pen name Leader Scott.

10am - 11am | Illustrated talk highlighting the archives of William Barnes, Dorset poet, recently the subject of an important cataloguing project by archivist Dr Ruth Burton, delivered by Principal Archivist, Claire Skinner. (This project was made possible thanks to the generosity of the William Barnes Society, Dorset Archives Trust, and private donors.)
11am -11.15am | Tea break
11.15am - 12.15pm | Illustrated talk by Rebecca Danicic on the life of William and Julia Barnes's fourth child, Lucy Baxter. The talk will explore Lucy’s remarkable personal and professional journey, with particular emphasis on her life and career in Florence, Italy, where she became an influential art and architecture critic. Rebecca Danicic is the 2025–2026 Bard of Dorchester, serving as an ambassador for the arts across Dorchester and West Dorset. A poet herself, Rebecca studied English Literature at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, and Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She will share the results of her research into Lucy Baxter's life and career in this talk.

These talks are being given on behalf of Dorset Archives Trust - please join us to help save Dorset's disappearing history!