DORCHESTERDorchester is a delightfully typical English market town and has been the county town of Dorset since 1305. The town was founded by the Romans in 43AD. Lovely Georgian buildings off the steep main street, broad Walks, and a busy townscape. Its river is the Frome. A very pleasant place to live and to visit and a good starting place for tours of Dorset.
The town has an ancient history with plenty of attractions. Dorchester makes a good base for Thomas Hardy enthusiasts as the writer had strong connections with the town. Market day is Wednesdays. There are lots of shops with the main area for this activity being South Street where there are both local and High Street chain shops. Accommodation Plenty of accommodation for the visitor of all types from hotels, B & B's etc in the town to camping sites in the surrounding area. Instead you may feel like staying in an attractive cottage in the Dorset countryside, then this is for you Looking for a last minute break? - Lovely idea! Travelling to this attractive town
The county town has two railway stations. Dorchester South and Dorchester West. Dorchester South is the station for the London, Waterloo, line. Thee are plans afoot for Dorchester South. Dorchester West is a smaller station, served by First Great Western, trains from Gloucester and Bristol Temple Meads. A useful connection from Maiden Newton for cyclists who do not wish to do the return cycle ride through the Frome Valley. National Express coaches run between Weymouth and London Victoria, stopping here. There are plenty of local buses in and around the town. Hire Cars and Taxis Hire Cars and taxis are plentiful. (One very helpful taxi driver took us from Dorchester South Station to Lyme Regis with all our heavy luggage! His fare, contracted first, was very reasonable indeed! Life saver that day - thank you taxi driver, sorry I do not know your name.) In and around the town. Poundbury a new town on the edge of Dorchester can perhaps be described as back to the future. Thomas Hardy
He is the famous son of Dorset and was born a few miles away at Upper Bockhampton. Many of the places in his novels of Wessex have at least a resemblence in fact and “Casterbridge” is thought to be Dorchester. Hardy walked to school in the town from Upper Bockhampton every day summer and winter and at the age of 16 he was apprenticed to John Hicks, a local architect. A statue of Thomas Hardy can be found sitting in Colliton Walk. Dorset County Museum A lovely Gothic building in High Street West has the largest Hardy collection in the world donated by his second wife, Florence. A Mecca for Hardy enthusiasts Other galleries hold collections of the Roman occupation of the area including artefacts from the Roman Villa, dinosaur footprints, history of the area, archeaological artefacts and geology of Dorset. Walks round Dorchester A fine day and a walk is a good way to see a town. There are several walks and details can be found on a display board near the Town Pump in South Street close to the clock tower and Corn Exchange. Walk in the attractive Borough gardens amid colourful flower beds. It is an extensive area with a couple of tennis courts and a bowling green plus a large play area for the kiddies. There is a clock tower and a bandstand where live shows take place during the summer. Cycle to Lyme Regis NCN2 The start of the NCN2 the The Sustrans Cycle route starts here in the town. It is an ideal for a stopping off place for a cycling holiday as several pedals into the surrounding countryside start here. The Dorchester County Show, is held in September on the outskirts of the town. Very popular with locals and visitors, presenting a large number of interesting events. Reverend John White MA 1575-1648 He was born in the town. It was his energy and foresight that brought together the 150 brave souls, men, women and children, who sailed from Plymouth in 1630 to found Dorchester and later Windsor in Massachusetts. Rev White was Rector of the Parish of St Peter and Holy Trinity in the town and is buried in the Church porch. There is a plaque to his memory there which describes a very able and kindly man. Hanging Judge Jefferies Presided over one of the “Bloody Azzizes” in Dorchester in 1685. Infamous for his severe punishments of the prisoners of the Monmouth Rebellion, he would not have been popular with the crowds on the streets. His lodgings could well have been chosen carefully as it is said that there is a secret passage from where he stayed to the court in the Oak Room of the Antelope Hotel. His lodgings are now a restaurant and his courtroom is now a tea room. Old Crown Court and Cells In the Old Shire Hall. Famous for the trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs transported to Australia in the 1830's. They were convicted of swearing an oath to each other under a law from forty years earlier. The real reason was of course their protest regarding the lowering of agricultural wages for which they had founded their Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were eventually released, returned to England and some went on to Canada, one died in the workhouse. Admission is free but check opening times. The Keep Military Museum
The Museum is situated in an impressive Grade II listed building - a large keep in Bridport Road – a building that just cannot be missed! With their physical and their virtual museums, archives and research this is an extensive and ongoing project. A harmonious empathy of building and collection with a modern outlook on the web. Their collection covers three floors and includes weapons, uniforms, medals and artefacts of The Devonshire Regiment, The Dorset Regiment, The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, The Dorset Yeomanry, The Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry, The Dorset Militia, The Royal Devon Yeomanry and 94 Field Regiment Royal Artillery. There is a lift for the disabled and wheelchair access. Go up on to the battlements, the views are incredible. The camera is a must have here. Kingston Maurward Gardens and Animal Park English Heritage 35 acre garden open most of the year with the best times around mid May to October. Ornamental Lake, tree and nature trails, small gardens each with their own theme and a walled garden. The animal park has an interesting collection and children can feed some of the animals. The Palladian style house is not open. It was built in the early eighteenth century for George Pitt who was a cousin of the Prime Minister William Pitt. George Pitt died there in 1734. The original gardens were in the style of Capability Brown but were recreated in the present style between 1915 and 1920 by the Hanbury family. Opened to the public in 1991 and new plantings are put in every year to complement the extensive existing features. History of Dorchester The town was founded by the Romans after their battle at Maiden Castle against the Celtic Durotriges tribe in 43 AD. There had been a setttlement there for 6000 years. Artefacts have been found showing Stone Age and Bronze Age habitation as well as Celtic. Its Roman name was Durnvaria. It is probable that it was a garrison town to start with until the local tribes had been subdued around 70 AD. When the Romans left around the fourth century it is likely that it returned to Celtic occupation. Saxons inhabited the area from around 864 and the town's name gradually devolved into its present form from Roman, Celtic and Saxon roots. Maiden Castle Run by English Heritage and open all the year. It was the Dorchester of its day by the time the Romans attacked in AD43. Its name describes it, the Celtic “Mai Dun” means great hill and it is. Very ancient in human habitation and at 47 acres the largest Iron Age Hill Fort in Europe. Founded about 3000 years ago and inhabited by the Celtic Durotriges Tribe, Maiden Castle was built on an even earlier Neolithoc site founded about 3000 years before that. With all that history behind it the organisation and fortifications would have been considerable. Evidence of this is all around, multiple ramparts with steep banks and deep ditches all speak of the intensive labour it would have taken to build, albeit over centuries It must have been a difficult task to capture. It took Vespasian, the seasoned Roman general, to win what would have been a terrible conflict. Artefacts have been found from the Stone and Bronze Ages. Coins minted by the Durotriges at Hengistbury Head on the coast have been found on the site. Sadly there is no inscription and so there is no evidence of their rulers. Bronze Age burial mounds can be found at the end of the castle. Poundbury Hill A Middle Bronze Age hill fort. These forts needed a good view all over the countryside and here wide views exist over the River Frome and its valley. The pattern of the rectangular earthworks can be seen with massive banks, terraces and ditches built over the centuries of occupation as needs arose. During the 4th century BC they faced the banks with timber and it is about this time they built the massive ditch. In around 50 BC they added a refinement when they again enlarged the banks and put in a revetment of limestone to protect the slope, but whether just against erosion or an added defence is perhaps conjecture. It is more like to be erosion and may be the reason the banks had to be extended. When the Romans built their Aqueduct that runs into Dorchester they damaged the outer defences on the northern and eastern sides of the fort. Doubt the locals could protest at the time. The local people did argue when Brunel wanted to run the Dorchester to Yeovil railway through a cutting in the ramparts of the fort. Brunel had to settle for spending more money on a tunnel underneath. Protests were so intense that it led to the formation of the Dorset Archealogical Society. On the north east side of the fort is a cemetery used by the local population and the Romans in around the 4th century AD. Maumbury Rings It was built as a henge during the late Neolithic Age. A henge is more of a ritual site than a defensive one. There was a large bank with 45 shafts, about 10 feet apart and over 30 feet down. Some of these shafts have been excavated and skulls have been found. An ancient site that has continued to be used from about 2500BC and is still in use today. Well worth a visit. It is free and open all year. Just a few minutes walk from the town centre. The Romans loved their amphitheatres and Maumbury Rings was an ideal place to convert to one close to their town of Dorchester. During the early part of their occupaton they adapted this site and made one of the largest amphitheatres in the country there. They dug down into the centre and used the soil they dug out to renovate the bank to their requirements. They only used it for about fifty years. The town needed defences during the Civil War and Maumbury Rings was a useful site for an artillery fort. Now it has come into its own as an entertainment centre again. It is used for Dorchester's Arts Festival and has been used ans an ideal venue for live performances, even a fireworks display. Roman Town House Dorchester's Roman past is demonstrated in the 4th century Roman Town House found in the 1930's. It has been excavated and the remains can be seen. Foundations and remains of the walls with patterned floor gives indication to what life must have been like for a Roman famly. They were probably quite well off and lived a civilised existence. Relics from the site add colour can be found at the Dorset County Museum Roman Aqueduct The Roman's engineering is well known all over the country. In this town they built a five and half mile long aqueduct to supply their bath houses. It can be easily seen from the town end – a terrace with a gentle gradient towards the town. Passes the edge of the new town of Poundbury, A waste channel also existed into the River Frome. Return from Dorchester to Dorset Return to Home |
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