| Dorchester | |
|---|---|
 Town Pump andMunicipal Buildings | |
 Coat of arms of Dorchester | |
  Dorchester Location withinDorset | |
| Population | 21,366 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SY690906 |
| • London | 116 miles (187 km)NE |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DORCHESTER |
| Postcode district | DT1 |
| Dialling code | 01305 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Dorchester Town Council |
| 50°42′55″N2°26′12″W / 50.7154°N 2.4367°W /50.7154; -2.4367 | |
Dorchester (/ˈdɔːrtʃɛstər/DOR-ches-tər) is thecounty town ofDorset, England. It is situated betweenPoole andBridport on the A35 trunk route. A historicmarket town, Dorchester is on the banks of theRiver Frome to the south of theDorset Downs and north of the South Dorset Ridgeway that separates the area fromWeymouth, 7 miles (11 km) to the south. The civil parish includes the experimental community ofPoundbury and the suburb ofFordington.
The area around the town was first settled in prehistoric times. TheRomans established a garrison there after defeating theDurotriges tribe, calling the settlement that grew up nearbyDurnovaria; they built anaqueduct to supply water and anamphitheatre on an ancient British earthwork. During the medieval period Dorchester became an important commercial and political centre. It was the site of the "Bloody Assizes" presided over byJudge Jeffreys after theMonmouth Rebellion, and later the trial of theTolpuddle Martyrs. As well as having manylisted buildings, a number of notable people have been associated with the town. It was for many years the home and inspiration of the authorThomas Hardy, whose novelThe Mayor of Casterbridge uses a fictionalised Dorchester as its setting.
In the2021 census, the population of Dorchester was 21,366. It is a centre for employment, education, retail, leisure and healthcare for the surrounding area, with six industrial estates, theDorset County Hospital, a weekly market, and a high school and further education college. The town has a football club and a rugby union club, several museums and the biannual Dorchester Festival.
Dorchester's roots stem back to prehistoric times. The earliest settlements were about 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of the modern town centre in the vicinity ofMaiden Castle, a largeIron Agehill fort that was one of the most powerful settlements in pre-Roman Britain. Different tribes lived there from 4000 BC. TheDurotriges were likely to have been there when theRomans arrived in Britain in 43 AD.[3]
The Romans defeated the local tribes by 70 AD and established a garrison that became the town the Romans namedDurnovaria, aBrythonic name incorporatingdurn, "fist", loosely interpreted as 'place with fist-sized pebbles'. It appears to have taken part of its name from the local Durotriges tribe who inhabited the area.[4]
Durnovaria was recorded in the 4th-centuryAntonine Itinerary and became a market centre for the surrounding countryside, an important road junction and staging post, and subsequently one of the twin capitals of theCeltic Durotriges tribe.[5]
The remains of the Roman walls that surrounded the town can still be seen. The majority have been replaced by pathways that form a square inside modern Dorchester known as 'The Walks'. A small segment of the original wall remains near the Top 'o Town roundabout.[6]
Other Roman remains include part of the town walls and the foundations of atown house near thecounty hall. Modern building works within the walls have unearthed Roman finds; in 1936 a cache of 22,000 3rd-century Roman coins was discovered in South Street.[7]
Other Roman finds include silver and copper coins known asDorn pennies, a gold ring, a bronze figure of the Roman godMercury and large areas oftessellated pavement.[8]
TheDorset Museum contains many Roman artefacts. The Romans built anaqueduct to supply the town with water. It was rediscovered in 1900 as the remains of a channel cut into the chalk and contouring round the hills. The source is believed to be the River Frome atNotton, about 12 miles (19 km) upstream from Dorchester.[9] Near the town centre isMaumbury Rings, an ancient Britishhenge earthwork converted by the Romans for use as anamphitheatre, and to the north west isPoundbury Hill, another pre-Roman fortification.[6]
Little evidence exists to suggest continued occupation after the withdrawal of the Roman administration from Britain. The name Durnovaria survived intoOld Welsh asCaer Durnac[10] and later asDurngueir, recorded byAsser in the 9th century.[11][12]
The area remained in British hands until the mid-7th century and there was continuity of use of the Roman cemetery at nearbyPoundbury. Dorchester has been suggested as the centre of a sub-kingdom ofDumnonia or other regional power base.[13]
One of the first raids of the Viking era may have taken place near Dorchester around 790. According to a chronicler, the King'sreeve assembled a few men and sped to meet them thinking that they were merchants from another country. When he arrived at their location, he admonished them and instructed that they should be brought to the royal town. The Vikings then slaughtered him and his men.[14]
By 864, the area around Durnovaria was dominated by theSaxons who referred to themselves asDorsaetas, 'People of the Dor' – Durnovaria. The original local name would have beenDorn-gweir giving the Old EnglishDornwary. The town became known asDornwaraceaster orDornwaracester, combining the original nameDor/Dorn from the Latin andCeltic languages withcester, anOld English word for a Roman station. This name evolved over time to Dorncester/Dornceaster and Dorchester.[15]
At the time of theNorman Conquest in 1066, Dorchester was not a place of great significance; the Normans did build a castle but it has not survived. Apriory was also founded, in 1364, though this also has since disappeared. In the later medieval period the town prospered;[16] it became a thriving commercial and political centre for south Dorset, with a textile trading and manufacturing industry which continued until the 17th century.[17] In the time ofEdward III (1312–1377), the town was governed bybailiffs andburgesses, with the number of burgesses increasing to fifteen by the reign ofJames I (1566–1625).[18]
In the 17th and 18th centuries Dorchester suffered several serious fires: in 1613, caused by atallow chandler's cauldron getting too hot and setting alight; in 1622, started by amaltster; in 1725, begun in a brewhouse; and in 1775, caused by a soap boiler.[16] The 1613 fire was the most devastating, resulting in the destruction of 300 houses and two churches (All Saints and Holy Trinity).[16]
Only a few of the town's early buildings have survived to the present day, includingJudge Jeffreys' lodgings and aTudoralmshouse. Among the replacementGeorgian buildings are many, such as theShire Hall, which are built inPortland stone. Themunicipal buildings, which incorporate the former corn exchange and the former town hall, were erected in 1848[20] on the site of an earlier town hall, which was built in 1791 and had a marketplace underneath.[21][22]
In the 17th century the town was at the centre ofPuritanemigration toAmerica, and the localrector,John White, organised the settlement ofDorchester, Massachusetts. The first colonisation attempted was atCape Ann, where fishermen who would rejoin the fishing fleet when the vessels returned the next year, tried to be self-sufficient. The land was unsuitable, the colony failed and was moved to what is nowSalem. In 1628, the enterprise received a Royal Charter and the Massachusetts Bay Company was formed with three hundred colonists arriving in America that year and more the following year.[23] For his efforts on behalf of Puritan dissenters, White has been called the unheralded founder of theMassachusetts Bay Colony. (Some observers have attributed the oversight to the fact that White, unlikeJohn Winthrop, never went to America.)[24]
In 1642, just before theEnglish Civil War,Hugh Green, aCatholic chaplain was executed here. After his execution, Puritans played football with his head.[25] The town was heavily defended against theRoyalists in the civil war and Dorset was known as "the southern capital of coat-turning", as the county gentry found it expedient to change allegiance and to swap the sides they supported on several occasions.[26] In 1643, the town was attacked by 2,000 troops underRobert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon. Its defences proved inadequate and it quickly surrendered but was spared the plunder and punishment it might otherwise have received. It remained under Royalist control for some time, but was eventually recaptured by the Puritans.[27]
In 1685 theDuke of Monmouth failed in his invasion attempt, theMonmouth Rebellion, and almost 300 of his men were condemned to death ortransportation in the "Bloody Assizes" presided over byJudge Jeffreys in the Oak Room of the Antelope Hotel in Dorchester.[18]
In 1833, theTolpuddle Martyrs founded theFriendly Society of Agricultural Labourers.Trade unions were legal but because the members swore anoath of allegiance, they were arrested and tried in the Shire Hall.[28][29] Beneath the courtroom are cells where the prisoners were held while awaiting trial.Dorchester Prison was constructed in the town during the 19th century and was used for holding convicted and remanded inmates from the local courts[30] until it closed in December 2013. Plans have since been made to erect 189 dwellings and a museum on the site.[31]
Dorchester remained a compact town within the boundaries of the old town walls until the latter part of the 19th century because all land immediately adjacent to the west, south and east was owned by theDuchy of Cornwall. The land composed theManor ofFordington. The developments that had encroached onto it were Marabout Barracks, to the north of Bridport Road, in 1794,[32] Dorchester UnionWorkhouse, to the north of Damer's Road, in 1835,[33] theSouthampton and Dorchester Railway and its station east of Weymouth Avenue, in 1847,[34] theGreat Western Railway and its station to the south of Damer's Road, in 1857,[34] thewaterworks, to the north of Bridport Road, in 1854,[35] a cemetery, to the west of the new railway and east of Weymouth Avenue, in 1856,[36] and aDorset County Constabulary police station in 1860, west of the Southampton railway, east of Weymouth Avenue and north of Maumbury Rings.[37]
The Duchy land was farmed under theopen field system until 1874 when it was enclosed – or consolidated – into three large farms by the landowners and residents.[38] The enclosures were followed by a series of key developments for the town: the enclosing ofPoundbury hillfort for public enjoyment in 1876, the 'Fair Field' (new site for the market, off Weymouth Avenue) in 1877, the Recreation Ground (also off Weymouth Avenue) opening in 1880, and theEldridge Pope Brewery of 1881, adjacent to the railway line to Southampton. Salisbury Field was retained for public use in 1892 and land was purchased in 1895 for the formalBorough Gardens, between West Walks and Cornwall Road.[38] The clock and bandstand were added in 1898.[39]
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A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of theDepot Barracks in 1881.[40] TheHigh West Street drill hall was created, by converting a private house, around the same time.[41]
Land was developed for housing outside the walls including the Cornwall Estate, between the Borough Gardens and the Great Western Railway from 1876 and thePrince of Wales Estate from 1880. Land for the Victoria Park Estate was bought in 1896 and building began in 1897,Queen Victoria'sDiamond Jubilee year. Thelime trees in Queen's Avenue were planted in February 1897.[38]
Poundbury is the western extension of the town, constructed since 1993 according tourban village principles on Duchy of Cornwall land owned byCharles III. Being developed over 25 years in four phases, it will eventually have 2,500 dwellings and a population of about 6,000. Charles was involved with the development's design.[42]
Dorchester became Dorset's first Official Transition Initiative in 2008 as part of theTransition Towns concept. Transition Town Dorchester is a community response to the challenges and opportunities ofpeak oil andclimate change.[43]
Dorchester is represented by two tiers of government, Dorchester Town Council andDorset Council, both of which are based within the town. Dorchester elects five councillors toDorset Council fromthree wards (Dorchester East,Dorchester Poundbury andDorchester West)[44] There are fourelectoral wards for Dorchester Town Council (North, South, East and West). Historically, Dorchester was amunicipal borough from 1836 to 1974, and then part ofWest Dorset district from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 2019.
For elections toparliament, Dorchester is in theWest Dorset constituency. Historically it was in theDorchester constituency from 1295 to 1868, and then theSouth Dorset constituency until 1918.
The town's coat of arms depicts the old castle that used to stand on the site of the former prison and its taken from the town seal, which pre-dates the Arms. On the town seal, the royal purple background represents Dorchester's status as part of the monarch's private estate, a position held since before theDomesday Book was published. The shield is divided into quarters, two depicting lions and twofleur-de-lis, copied from the shields of the troops from Dorset who took part in theBattle of Agincourt in 1415. The fleur-de-lis have a scattered arrangement which shows that permission for the armorial bearings was given before 1405, after which date the rights were varied byKing Henry VI. The inscription 'Sigillum Bailivorum Dorcestre' translates as 'Seal of the Bailiffs of Dorchester'. The mayor has a similar seal of office, but this has the inscriptionDorcestriensis Sig: Maioris.[45]
In 2011, Dorchester was one of more than 20 towns across the country to apply forcity status to mark theDiamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II,[46] although in March 2012 it was revealed that Dorchester's bid had been unsuccessful.[47]
Dorchester town centre is sited about 55 to 80 metres (180 to 262 ft) above sea-level on gently sloping ground beside the south bank of theRiver Frome.[48] Measured directly, it is about 7 miles (11 km) north ofWeymouth, 18 miles (29 km) SSE ofYeovil inSomerset, and 20 miles (32 km) west ofPoole.[49] The town's built-up area extends south, west and southeast of the town centre; to the north and northeast growth is restricted by thefloodplain andwatermeadows of the river.[50]
The land immediately south and west of the town is part of theDorset National Landscape area.[51] It is traversed by theSouth Dorset Ridgeway, part of theSouth West Coast Path. There are over five hundred ancient monuments along the chalk hills that form the ridgeway, includingbarrows,stone circles andhillforts; many archaeological finds from the area are on view at the Dorset Museum in Dorchester.[52]
The geology of the town comprisesbedrock formed in theConiacian,Santonian andCampanian ages of theLate Cretaceous epoch, overlain in places by more recentQuaternarydrift deposits. The bedrock ischalk of various formations. The drift deposits comprise a cap ofclay-with-flints on the western edge of the town aroundPoundbury,alluvium in the river's floodplain, and several narrow ribbons of poorly stratifiedhead deposits, found particularly around the town's northeastern and southwestern boundaries but also elsewhere.[53]
In 2012 there were 17,500 people working in Dorchester, 51% of whom were working full-time. 57% of jobs were in public administration, education and health, 18% were in professional and market services (including finance andICT), 17% were in distribution, accommodation and food, 4% were in production and 2% in construction. The unemployment rate in July 2014 was 0.9% of residents aged 16–64.[54]
Dorchester has six industrial estates: The Grove Trading Estate (7.1 ha or 18 acres), Poundbury Trading Estate (5 ha or 12 acres), Marabout Barracks (2 ha or 4.9 acres), Great Western Centre (1.4 ha or 3.5 acres), Railway Triangle (1.4 ha or 3.5 acres) and Casterbridge Industrial Estate (1.1 ha or 2.7 acres). The estates mostly house light industrial units, wholesalers and the service sector.[55] Significant employers for residents in the town includeAEA Technology, BAeSEMA Ltd,Dorset County Council,Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Goulds Ltd, Henry Ling Ltd,Kingston Maurward College,Tesco, and Winterbourne Hospital.[54]
In 2008 the Dorchester BID, abusiness improvement district, was set up to promote the town and improve the trading environment for town centre businesses. Local traders were overwhelmingly in favour of the decision, with 84% voting in favour at the February 2008 ballot. The BID is funded by a levy on the businesses in the town. The BID lasts initially for five years, and between 2013 and 2018 the projects being undertaken include business support, security projects, town promotion, the provision of green spaces and making the town more visually attractive.[56] In June 2018 the Dorchester BID was successful in being voted in for a second term.
The catchment population for major food retail outlets in Dorchester is 38,500 (2001 estimate) and extends eight miles west, north and east of the town, and two miles south.[57] TheBrewery Square redevelopment project now includes retail outlets, residential units, bars, restaurants, hotel and cultural facilities. The regeneration ofDorchester South railway station will make it the UK's first solar powered railway station.[58] The Charles Street development has had a first phase completed that includes a library, adult education centre and offices forDorset Council. Proposals for the development have included 23 shops, an underground car park, hotel and affordable housing.[59]
In the2011 census Dorchester civil parish had 8,996 dwellings,[60] 8,449 households and a population of 19,060, with 48.35% of residents being male and 51.65% being female.[61] 17% of residents were under the age of 16 (compared to 18.9% for England as a whole), and 22.4% of residents were age 65 or older (compared to 16.4% for England as a whole).[62]
Novelist and poetThomas Hardy based the fictional town of Casterbridge on Dorchester, and his novelThe Mayor of Casterbridge is set there. Hardy's childhood home is to the east of the town, and his town house,Max Gate, is owned by theNational Trust and open to the public.[63] Hardy is buried inWestminster Abbey, but his heart was removed and buried inStinsford.[64]
William Barnes, theWest Country dialect poet, wasRector ofWinterborne Came, a hamlet near Dorchester, for 24 years until his death in 1886,[65] and ran a school in the town. There is astatue of Hardy and one of Barnes in the town centre; Barnes outside St. Peter's Church,[66] and Hardy's beside the Top o' Town crossroads.[67]
John Cowper Powys's novelMaiden Castle (1936) is set in Dorchester and Powys intended it to be "a Rival of theMayor of Casterbridge.[68] Powys had lived in Dorchester as a child, between May 1880 and Christmas 1885, when his father was acurate there.[69] Then, after returning from America in June 1934, he had lived at 38 High East Street, Dorchester, from October 1934 until July 1935, when he moved toWales.[70] The building is commemorated with a plaque erected by the Dorchester Heritage Committee, but giving the date of his residence as 1936.[71]
Dorchester Arts, based in a former school building, runs a seasonal programme of music, dance and theatre events, participatory arts projects for socially excluded groups and the biannual Dorchester Festival. Dorchester Arts is an Arts Council 'National Portfolio organisation'. Dorchester Arts has been resident at the corn exchange since 2015.[72]
Dorchester museums include the Roman Town House,the Dinosaur Museum, the Terracotta Warriors Museum, theDorset Teddy Bear Museum,the Keep Military Museum,Dorset Museum, and theTutankhamun Exhibition. All of these museums took part in the "Museums at Night" event in May 2011 in which museums across the UK opened after hours.[73] TheShire Hall which contains thecourt where theTolpuddle Martyrs were held andtried opened as a museum in 2018.[74] The Durnovaria Silver Band is based inFordingtonMethodist Church Hall.[75]
British sculptorElisabeth Frink lived and worked in Dorset at herWoolland studio from 1976 until her death in 1993.[76] Examples of her work can be seen across Dorchester, from theDorset Martyrs Memorial sculpture to the Frink Collection at the Dorset Museum.[77]
Within Dorchester parish there are 293 structures that arelisted byHistoric England for their historic or architectural interest, including five that are listed Grade I and sixteen that are Grade II*.[78] The Grade I structures are the Church of St George on Fordington High Street, theChurch of St Peter on High West Street,Max Gate on Syward Road, the Roman town house on Northernhay, and Shire Hall on High West Street.[78]
The Church of St George has a late-11th-century south door that has aCaen stonetympanum with a realistic carved representation ofSt George surrounded by soldiers, said to depict the miracle of his appearance at theBattle of Antioch. The southaisle and the north part of the porch date from the 12th century.[79] The Church of St Peter mostly dates from 1420 to 1421, with a 12th-century south doorway reset into it. There are many notablemonuments, including two 14th-centuryeffigies and a 14th-century tomb chest.Thomas Hardy contributed to the addition of thevestry andchancel in 1856–7.[80]
Max Gate was designed by Thomas Hardy in theQueen Anne style, and was his home until his death in 1928. It was built in 1885.[81] The remains of the Roman house north of county hall date from the early 4th century, with later 4th-century enlargements. It has ahypocaust heating system andmosaic pavements. It is the only visible Roman town house in Britain.[82] The current Shire Hall building was designed byThomas Hardwick and built inPortland stoneashlar in 1797.[83] It replaced a previous structure that had fallen into disrepair.[84]
A tablet commemorates the sentencing of theTolpuddle Martyrs here in 1834.[83] The building housed the Crown Court until 1955; Thomas Hardy was a magistrate here and his experience provided inspiration for his writing.[84] The building has changed little since the 19th century, and in 2014 planning permission was granted to transform it into a heritage centre and tourist attraction, to open in 2017.[85]
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Dorchester has thirteen first schools, three middle schools:St Osmund's Church of England Middle School,St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown andDorchester Middle School and an upper school;The Thomas Hardye School which was founded in 1569 and endowed by Thomas Hardye, a merchant in 1579.A free school "one of the most striking achievements of puritan Dorchester" operated here in the 1600s.[86] The Thomas Hardye School was expanded and reopened in 1888 and in February 2023 it had 2,103 pupils enrolled.[87] The author Thomas Hardy, a distant relative, was a school governor here from 1909 until shortly before his death. The nineteen schools in the Dorchester area form theDorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP).[88] There is also a private school, Sunninghill Prep School.[89]
Kingston Maurward College is a land-based studies college on the outskirts of the town. It offers full-time and part-time courses, apprenticeships and university-level courses in a wide range of subjects including agriculture, horticulture, conservation, construction, countryside and wildlife management.[90]
The town's hospital isDorset County Hospital on Williams Avenue. It offers a twenty-four-hour accident and emergency treatment with services being provided byDorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.[91]
Dorchester Town F.C., the town'sfootball team currently play in theSouthern League Premier Division.Harry Redknapp and formerEngland playersGraham Roberts andMartin Chivers represented 'The Magpies' in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The club is based on Weymouth Avenue in the south of the town after moving from its old ground also on Weymouth Avenue. The club moved to the purpose-built 5,000 capacityAvenue Stadium on Duchy of Cornwall land in the early 1990s.[92]
Dorchester Sports F.C. is an amateurAssociation football team who currently play in theDorset Premier Football League. The club was founded in 2007 and ground share atDorchester Town F.C.'sThe Avenue Stadium.
Dorchester RFC is an amateurrugby union team who currently play in theDorset & Wilts South 1 League.[93] Dorchester Cricket Club play in the Dorset Premier League, being last crowned champions in 2009.[94]
Aleisure centre and swimming pool on Coburg Road replaced theThomas Hardye School Leisure Centre in 2012, at a cost of more than £8 million.[95]
In May 2009, askatepark opened at the junction of Maumbury Road and Weymouth Avenue in Dorchester after 12 years of planning and construction.[96]
The town has tworailway stations:
The town is on theA35, a trunk road connecting to Poole in the east andHoniton in the west; theA37 road north to Yeovil; theA352 road north toSherborne; and theA354 road south to Weymouth.Mowlem completed abypass road to the south and west of the town in 1988, diverting through traffic away from the town centre.[99] The A35 is often subject to severe traffic congestion due to it being one of the main routes towards the south-west.[citation needed]
Buses are operated byFirst Hampshire & Dorset. Notable services include route 10, a frequent service to Weymouth via Upwey and route X51 to Bridport.Damory Coaches andSouth West Coaches also operate local and regional services.National Express andMegabus operate long-distance coach journeys stopping at Dorchester with destinations includingLondon Victoria and Weymouth.[100]
Local radio stations serving Dorchester includeGreatest Hits Radio Dorset,[101]BBC Radio Solent,[102] andcommunity radio station Keep 106, which grew from the County Hospital'shospital radio station.[103] Local television news coverage is byBBC South Today inSouthampton,ITV Meridian inWhiteley,BBC Spotlight inPlymouth andITV West Country inBristol. Dorchester's regular print media comprises theDorset Echo.[104]
Many homes in Dorchester have access tofibre broadband services provided by private companies.[105] The town is part of the second phase of Superfast Dorset, a project to increase fibre broadband availability within the county, which has been completed.[106]
Dorchester istwinned with three European towns:[116]
The town's schools are twinned with schools in Europe, Africa and Asia.The Thomas Hardye School has partnerships with schools inTanzania,Dehradun andBayeux.[121][122][123]
Sir Frederick Treves received theFreedom of the Town of Dorchester in July 1902,[124] andThomas Hardy on 15 November 1910.[125]
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