Gerald Pitman was a popular teacher at St Aldhelm's, Sherborne and a founder member of the community Museum. Passionate about conserving Sherborne's heritage, he amassed a vast collection of photographs, postcards and paintings to create one of the largest pictorial records of a small town in Britain. The paintings were bought from Sherbornian artists and depict local scenes and landscapes, reflecting social and economic aspects of the town. He donated the paintings to the Museum in 1988 as a token of his affection for Sherborne, past, present and future saying, "may they give pleasure to all who visit this gem of a local museum".