Tea with William Barnes

The Ridgeway Singers & BandThis event has now finished

*please note that tickets for the live event have now sold out. You can either contact The Exchange to join the waiting list, or register for an e-ticket and watch the event being live-streamed online from home - further details below


Our Annual Celebration of the Dorset Dialect Poet!

Dialect poet William Barnes relished the huge variety of country dances, folksongs and carols originating from Dorset, often writing about lively community celebrations where music was a key part of the proceedings.

Alongside a delicious Dorset cream tea, The Ridgeway Singers and Band, led by Tim Laycock and Phil Humphries, will perform traditional songs from across the County, some of which were collected by the Hammond brothers, play dance tunes from the repertoire of fiddler Benjamin Rose and perform an arrangement of the R. Vaughan-Williams setting of William Barnes’ famous poem, My Orchard in Linden Lea.

Recitals of some of Barnes’ much-loved poems by members of the William Barnes Society will keep alive the rich dialect of Dorset in this wonderful celebration of the life of William Barnes.

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Artsreach is also delighted to be partnering with Dorset Food & Drink to host a mini pop-up producers and makers market on the day, offering the chance to try some famous local produce or discover something brand new made in Dorset! 

Taking place in the Atrium of The Exchange, the pop-up market will be open to the public from 10am-3pm.


Tune in and Watch Online

We are delighted to be able to offer those who are unable to attend in person the opportunity to tune in and watch this event live online from home.

You'll be able to watch the event live on your smart TV, laptop, tablet, mobile or other internet device, and we invite you to make and enjoy your own cream tea too, sending in photos and selfies so that we can share them on social media. We'll also be sharing some exclusive content with our online viewers before the show and during the interval!

How many e-tickets do I need to book?
You only need to book one e-ticket per screen/device, even if multiple people will be watching on the same screen. If you are planning to watch with more than one person, please consider adding a donation when booking as this will contribute towards the cost of streaming this event.

Read our simple FAQ's sheet here before registering for your e-ticket here