Dorset History Guide Iron Age Hillforts Roman Ruins Saxon Abbeys Wessex

Maiden Castle Iron Age Hillfort

Maiden Castle lies two miles south of Dorchester town centre. It is the largest hill fort in England covering forty five acres and is also the most complex. The hill was believed to have been first occupied over 3000 years ago, but it wasn't until the Iron Age that the fortifications began to be constructed and it is this legacy we can still clearly see today. The huge chalk ramparts follow the contours of the hill and some are six feet high! At one time the ramparts contained a huddle of roundhouses and a road network making it an important regional centre. However, its vast fortifications finally fell to the Romans in 43 AD.

The local inhabitants were moved to the nearby Roman town of Durnovaria which became Dorchester. At some time later a temple was constructed at the northeast end of the hill. This contained a shrine and two roomed house and was in use until the end of the Roman occupation in 410AD. You can still see its outline today.

Many archaeological finds have been excavated from the hillfort and surrounding land, a good selection of which are on display at Dorchester County Museum. Archaeologists also found an Iron Age cemetery in which burials yielded evidence of the brutal injuries suffered by the local population at the hands of the Romans.

To get to Maiden Castle follow the signposts from Dorchester on the A354. Check the links right for photos and more information on Maiden Castle.

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Iron Age Hill Forts Around Blandford Forum - Badbury Rings - Hod Hill - Hambledon Hill NNR

The Downs around Blandford have yielded a huge array of ancient finds. South east of Blandford is Badbury Rings, an Iron Age hillfort that dates from 800 BC. It was in use until the Romans occupied it and four Bronze Age barrows indicate it was occupied even earlier. It is a seven hectare fort encircled by three concentric ramparts in the form of circular ditches each of which is forty feet high. It is believed that Badbury Rings is one of the settlements used by the Durotriges tribe who were also linked to the largest hill fort in Britain, Maiden Castle near Dorchester.

Three miles north west of Blandford Forum is Hod Hill that also has a large iron age hill fort, again thought to have been fortified by the Durotriges. It dates from 500 BC and archaeological investigations have revealed evidence of roundhouse huts and Roman iron ballista bolts which would have been used in battle.

Hambledon Hill prehistoric hill fort on the other hand shows no signs of ever being subject to invasion. This lies five miles north of Blandford Forum in the Blackmore Vale. The earliest sign of life was in the Neolithic period when the hill would have been wooded.

Hambledon Hill is also a National Nature Reserve due to its fantastic chalk grassland. Flowering species include milkwort, salad burnet, horseshoe vetch, squinancywort, pyramidal orchid and wild thyme. This means it is also a great place to see butterflies including dingy skipper, grizzled skipper, chalkhill blue and adonis blue. Check the weblink right for more information of now to get to the reserve.

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Dorchester's Roman Ruins

Dorchester was created by the Romans who called it Durnovaria. It comes as no surprise then that there are some Roman ruins to be seen at the Roman Town House and you can take the Durnovaria Town Walk that follows the old Roman fortifications of the town.

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Shaftesbury Abbey

Shaftesbury is an historic town having originated from at least Saxon times. Saxon King Alfred The Great founded the Benedictine Abbey in 888 AD and installed his daughter as its first Abbess. At its height the abbey was home to the largest Benedictine nunnery.

It has some famous connections as King Canute died at Shaftesbury and the boy King Edward the Martyr who was murdered by his stepmother at Corfe Castle, so that his half brother could be crowned, was buried in the Abbey after which Shaftesbury Abbey became a centre of pilgrimage. Catherine of Aragon is also said to have stayed here in 1501 when she was on her way to marry Prince Arthur, Henry VIII's brother.

You can now visit the Abbey's ruins and the gardens around them. The Abbey Museum holds carved stones and artefacts uncovered during excavation in the nineteenth century which help tell its history. The gardens have been planted with herbs and flowers that would have been used by Saxon nuns for flavouring foods, dyes or for their medicinal properties.

The Abbey Museum is open from 10am-5pm, end March-end October. Shaftesbury Abbey Museum & Garden, Park Walk, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 8JR. Tel/Fax: 01747 852910. E-mail: user@shaftesburyabbey.fsnet.co.uk

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Wimborne Minster Church Dorset

Towering impressively over the town centre is Wimborne Minster that gives the town its name. The site dates from 705 AD when St Cuthberga, sister to Ina, the King of the West Saxons, founded a nunnery on the site of the Minster. Many of the nuns followed St Boniface as missionaries to Germany. The nunnery was destroyed by the Vikings in 1013 but a Saxon chest still survives and is kept in the Minster today.

The Minster itself dates from 1120 although there have been additions throughout the centuries. In 1612 the Quarter Jack clock was added which you can see on the north side of the West Tower. It still strikes the bells every quarter of an hour today; although the figure was originally a monk but was painted as a grenadier during the Napoleonic Wars.

The central tower is the oldest part of the Minster and was once topped with a spire. This apparently fell during a service in 1600! Down a spiral staircase in the Old Treasury is the Chained Library - one of the first public libraries ever to exist. This was founded in 1686 and is the second largest chained library in the country. You can see a lambskin manuscript in a case dating from 1343 as well as a book bound for the court of King Henry VIII.

The Minster is open to visitors on Mon-Sat: 9.30am-5.30pm and Sun: mornings for services only then 2.30-5.30pm occasionally.

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Christchurch Priory

Christchurch originally developed as Twynham. When the Normans arrived they decided to replace the Saxon church, which had stood since 800 AD, with a grand new building. Legend has it that when building the present Priory one of the roof beams was cut too short. The carpenters not knowing what to do left for the day but when they came back the next day the beam had extended overnight to fit exactly. They attributed this miracle to Jesus, also a carpenter, and the church and town became known as Christ's Church.

Christchurch Priory is considered the finest church in England and at 311 feet long it is the longest. It's an impressive building with a distinctive Norman style. You can also spot three Gothic architectural styles, early English, Decorated and Perpendicular and Tudor Renaissance. The inside is beautiful with tall arches sweeping up above, stunning decorated reredos and you can see the miraculous beam in the Ambulatory.

With so much to see it's well worth picking up a guided tour, you'll need to pre-book. Alternatively there are special evening guided tours organised throughout the year. St Michael's Loft Museum is in what was the grammar school for boys and has an exhibition on the Priory's history. You can also pick up a guide book from the Priory's Gift Shop.

Entrance is free to the church but a donation is suggested which goes towards the upkeep of this magnificent church.

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Monmouth Rebellion - English Civil War - Bloody Assizes

Lyme Regis harbour, was where the Duke of Monmouth landed in 1685 which saw the start of the Monmouth Rebellion against King James II. This had a huge and devastating impact on both Dorset and Somerset.

As the Duke went about the Dorset countryside drumming up support for his challenge to the throne, his followers couldn't have imagined how brutally the uprising would be dealt with. After Monmouth's army was defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor in Somerset only six weeks after he landed, the King ordered for Monmouth's followers to be found and tried for treason. To bring rough justice to the masses Judge Jeffreys, so notorious that he was named "the hanging judge", headed up the investigative team and scoured the West Country for Monmouth's followers. When they were found they were whipped through the streets or imprisoned; these brutal and extreme punishments were how they became to be known as the Bloody Assizes. Three hundred and twelve followers from Dorset were tried in Dorchester, of which 74 were executed; the rest were transported to Barbados and Jamaica for ten years as slaves.

Many Dorset towns and villages suffered the wrath of Judge Jeffreys where gallows were erected to hang those thought to be Monmouth supporters and many towns were burnt to the ground during the late seventeenth century, like Beaminster in West Dorset. The people of Weymouth were ordered to erect a gallows for the execution of twelve men whose remains were exhibited to show others what would happen to those who challenged the throne.

Judge Jeffreys was known to have lodged in Dorchester at 6 High West Street from which it was rumoured there was a secret passage to the Oak Room in the Antelope Hotel where the Bloody Assizes were held! His former lodgings are now somewhat more welcoming as the Judge Jeffreys Restaurant that has an attractive historic Tudor exterior. You can follow the Gallows Walk around Dorchester which takes in Gallows Hill where the public executions took place amongst other less gruesome historic sights of Dorchester.

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Corfe Castle National Trust

Corfe Castle was built in a gap in the Purbeck Hills as a strategic defence from invaders coming from the sea. The castle was started by William the Conqueror soon after arriving in England in 1066. In the thirteenth century although being a royal residence it is was also used as a prison from which many prisoners didn't leave! During the English Civil War despite being defended successfully by Lady Mary Bankes and her garrison in 1643 the Parliamentarians succeeded in capturing the castle and inhabitants in a second siege in 1646 after which they deliberately demolished it leaving it very much as you see it today.

Ravens nest in crevices in the Castle and were thought to be something of a lucky charm much like the Tower of London. They apparently left in 1638 after which the castle was besieged during her Civil War.

The National Trust who now own the castle and much of the neighbouring village have the Castle View Visitor Centre which tells you more about the lives of those associated with the castle through the years. There is a range of events organised throughout the year including open-air theatre, school holiday activities and living history events. Guided tours are also available. The castle is a stunning sight at all times of year and is specially lit up for Christmas.

Corfe Castle, The Square, Corfe Castle, Wareham, Dorset BH20 5EZ. Tel: 01929 481294 (Infoline). 01929 480921 (shop). 01929 480609 (Learning). Fax: 01929 477067. Email: corfecastle@nationaltrust.org.uk

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The Tolpuddle Martyrs

The Tolpuddle Martyrs are more famous than the village itself. These were six farm labourers who took a stand against the grinding poverty forced on them by landowners and squires who controlled their work, were consistently lowering wages and raising prices for basic provisions. Together George Loveless, the leader, James Hammett, James Loveless, Thomas Standfield, John Standfield and James Brine formed what was effectively the first trade union "The Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers" in 1832. Prior to 1824 it had been illegal to form any kind of group whose aim was to push for better working conditions!

The local squire took exception to this act of rebellion and wrote to the Prime Minister citing an obscure law from 1797 which prohibited people from swearing oaths. The men were subsequently arrested and escorted to the Old Crown Court and Cells in Dorchester where particularly harsh sentences were passed with five of them being transported to New South Wales to work as convict labourers and the leader, George Loveless, sent to Tasmania. You can see a commemorative plague on the court buildings in Dorchester bearing the Martyrs names. The Courts are open to the public on Mon-Fri from 10am-12pm and 2-4pm (excluding bank holidays). The court and cells are open on Mon-Fri from 16 July-7 September, 2-4.15pm (excluding bank holidays). You can also pick up audio tours (also in several languages) and Blue Badge Guided tours. Old Crown Court and Cells, Stratton House, High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1UZ. Tel: 01305 252241. Fax: 01305 257039.

The ensuing public outrage over the harsh sentences and the unfairness of the upper classes who engineered the whole episode forced the King to pardon the men meaning they were free to return just three years after sentencing. Four of the six returned in 1936 landing at Plymouth where a plague in the Barbican commemorates this historic event.

The Martyrs met under a sycamore tree in the village which still stands today and is protected by the National Trust. The tree is thought to date back to the 1690s. The village has a memorial to the martyrs erected in 1934 and a recent sculpture of the martyrs stands outside the museum.

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