A history society is to hold a talk with a university professor delving into Bridport’s netting heritage.

Bridport History Society will host its next meeting at 2.30pm on Thursday, May 9 and will welcome Professor Karen Hunt from Keele University to give a talk about Bridport netting industry in the twentieth century.

Research has been informed by ledger excerpts from Bridport Museum, which documents a Bridport net worker’s life, including their household, neighbourhood and the town that dominated the trade.

Prof. Hunt said: “Most of the outworkers — those who were paid by local net manufacturers to make nets of all shapes and sizes in their own homes — were women.

“Reading against the grain of these apparently unpromising documents I will conjure up individual life stories that tell us about making a living in the challenging times that the ledger covers, 1916–25.”

The talk will be held at the United Church Hall on East Street, Bridport and entry costs £5 per person.