

# Event Details

- **Event Name**: Tea with William Barnes with The Ridgeway Singers & Band
- **Event Start and End Date**: Sun, 22 Feb, 2026 at 03:00 pm
- **Event Description**: Our Annual Celebration of Dorset and the Dialect Poet William Barnes!

William Barnes was born in Bagber near Sturminster Newton on 22 February, 1801. A scholar, linguist, artist, priest and inventor, Barnes wrote over 800 poems in the Dorset dialect. Barnes also relished the country dances, folksongs and carols of Dorset, and often wrote about community celebrations, where music was a key part of the proceedings.

Alongside a delicious cream tea, The Ridgeway Singers and Band, led by Phil Humphries along with vice president of The William Barnes Society and folk musician Tim Laycock, will perform folksongs and dance tunes from across the county including One Night as I Lay on my Bed collected in 1906 by the Hammond brothers from Beaminster, Away Dark Thoughts from Winterborne Monkton, and The New Rigged Ship and The Young May Moon from the Hardy family manuscripts. This year’s programme also includes a musical setting of William Barnes’ poem Rustic Childhood. Recitals of some of Barnes’ much-loved poems will keep alive the rich dialect of Dorset in this wonderful celebration. Early booking is strongly advised.

Pop-Up Makers Market!

The Exchange is also delighted to host a pop-up producers and makers market. With stalls selling delicious food and drink, locally made products and crafts, there will be something for everyone to enjoy! Come along and try some famous local produce - perhaps you’ll discover something brand new made in Dorset!

The Pop Up Market and The Exchange Cafe will be open to the public from 11am-3pm.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/shaftesbury/tea-with-william-barnes-with-the-ridgeway-singers-and-band/200029476120243
- **Event Categories**: music, entertainment, pop-ups, art, literary-art, live-music
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 8

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket URL**: https://artsreach.co.uk/event/tea-with-william-barnes?utm_source=AllEvents.in&utm_medium=event-discovery-platform&utm_campaign=shaftesbury-events

## Event venue details

- **city**: Shaftesbury
- **state**: EN
- **country**: United Kingdom
- **location**: The Exchange, Sturminster Newton
- **lat**: 50.9275708176
- **long**: -2.3041094462
- **full address**: The Exchange, Sturminster Newton, Old Market Hill,Sturminster Newton, Shaftesbury, United Kingdom

## Event Organizer details

- **affiliate_id**: 2
- **organizer**: Artsreach Dorset (https://allevents.in/org/artsreach-dorset/9117737)

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: banner
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/3bdbedcea7ae72a24eb13cba1054e84869b8f672c02ea276fac93687f2f699b4-rimg-w923-h2048-dc040203-gmir?v=1771235357
- **Alt text**: thumbnail
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/98db3af200f460c465ce639445bcff79dfc374368c29d74acf802a11a9c2c3c2-rimg-w300-h300-dcc4d9f4-gmir?v=1771235357

## FAQs

- **Q**: When is the event happening?
  - **A:** Sun, 22 Feb, 2026 at 03:00 pm
- **Q**: Where is the event happening?
  - **A:** The Exchange, Sturminster Newton, Old Market Hill,Sturminster Newton, Shaftesbury, United Kingdom
- **Q**: Who is organizing the event?
  - **A:** Artsreach Dorset
- **Q**: What type of event is this?
  - **A:** music, entertainment, pop-ups, art, literary-art, live-music
- **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about Tea with William Barnes with The Ridgeway Singers & Band ?
  - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents.

## Structured Data (JSON-LD)

```json
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        "@type": "MusicEvent",
        "name": "Tea with William Barnes with The Ridgeway Singers &amp; Band",
        "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/3bdbedcea7ae72a24eb13cba1054e84869b8f672c02ea276fac93687f2f699b4-rimg-w923-h2048-dc040203-gmir?v=1771235357",
        "startDate": "2026-02-22",
        "url": "https://allevents.in/shaftesbury/tea-with-william-barnes-with-the-ridgeway-singers-and-band/200029476120243",
        "location": {
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        "description": "Our Annual Celebration of Dorset and the Dialect Poet William Barnes!\n\nWilliam Barnes was born in Bagber near Sturminster Newton on 22 February, 1801. A scholar, linguist, artist, priest and inventor, Barnes wrote over 800 poems in the Dorset dialect. Barnes also relished the country dances, folkson",
        "organizer": [
            {
                "@type": "Organization",
                "name": "Artsreach Dorset",
                "url": "https://allevents.in/org/artsreach-dorset/9117737",
                "description": "Bringing high quality live music, theatre, comedy, cabaret, dance, workshops and more to rural venues across Dorset."
            }
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    }
]
```