At the western tip of Hertfordshire the group of towns and villages comprising the borough of Dacorum takes its name from the ancient hundred and the Anglo-Saxon name for the area. It is an area rich in historical significance and has an interesting story to tell. Archaeological evidence is abundant and Neolithic, Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman remains have been found on various sites throughout the area.
The river valley and trackways have determined the position of its towns and villages and their prosperity was based on agriculture. Later, the coming of the canals and railways brought other industries – paper-making, engineering, pharmaceuticals and electronics.
People have lived and worked in The Dacorum for several thousand years and this heritage has now been recognised as worth keeping. All to often the past has been ignored or destroyed and much that has been preserved has left the area and been displayed elsewhere, as unfortunately there is no museum dedicated to The Dacorum.
The need to rectify this situation came to a head in 1980 due to pressure from local archaeological and history societies who came together to form The Dacorum Heritage Trust. The Dacorum Borough Council and the town councils of Tring and Berkhamsted have given able support and the trust became a registered charity in 1993. A disused fire station after conversion, became the museum store. It contains a large collection of material: some 20,000 items in all. These range from flint tools, Roman vessels and decorated wall plaster from a local Roman villa site, to 17th century trade tokens, photographs, pictures and maps – an endless variety of material spanning the centuries.
To raise public interest it was decided in October 1988 to form a society called The Friends of Dacorum Museum. The objects of the society are:
To work towards the establishment of a permanent museum or museums for the benefit of the public generally and especially the inhabitants of the district of Dacorum in the county of Hertfordshire;

• To organise periodic exhibitions relating to local history in the said district for educational and cultural purposes;
• To raise finances to enable the Dacorum Heritage Trust to purchase material relating to the area.

The society now has 179 members and has arranged a programme of events, visited the new Verulamium Museum and arranged historic walks in the area. Several parties have toured the museum store under the guidance of the curator, Matt Wheeler.
This year, the trusts annual touring exhibition focuses on the history of the canal in Dacorum. It will be on show at Hemel Hempstead Pavilion from 18-23 October and Victoria Hall, Tring from 25-30 October. Admission is free and the exhibition is open l0am-Spm.
John M.D. Saunders
Friends of Dacorum Museum Society