Dorchester Accommodation

Dorchester's grand spires in the town centre
The Tourist Information Centre in Dorchester for guided walks and Hardy related leaflets
The Walks around Dorchester are a pleasant way to get around the town
The Old County Courts & Cells played a role in memorable events in British history
The site of the Bloody Assizes trials - now much more welcoming!
Dorchester's busy shopping centre
The commemorative plaque to the Tolpuddle Martyrs on the County Courts
Dorchester's busy & architecturally dramatic High West Street

Dorchester Tourist Guide Museums Roman Ruins Town Walks

Dorchester is Dorset's county town and as such has an excellent County Museum which houses the largest collection of Thomas Hardy artefacts in the world. It has also a mix of family attractions like the Teddy Bear and Dinosaur Museums and more cultural exhibitions at the Tutankhamun and Terracotta Warriors Exhibitions.

Having been created by the Romans it comes as no surpirse 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. The Old Crown Court and Cells is also worth a visit and has been the location for some of the country's most memorable trials such as the Bloody Assizes in the English Civil War and the Tolpuddle Martyrs. When you've had enough of culture there's a good shopping centre and plenty of cafes, pubs and restaurants.

Featured Dorset Accommodation

Higher Kingcombe Lodge - Toller Porcorum

Three star farmhouse B&B near Beaminster in the Dorset countryside offering guest accommodation. Optional evening meals, eight fishing lakes, cycle tours.

£35 Per person B&B

Dorchester Tourist Information

Dorchester originated as a Roman town during their occupation of the South West. But it is the legacy of eighteenth century buildings that inspired Thomas Hardy to use it as a backdrop for his novel The Mayor of Casterbridge.

Today, Dorchester is Dorset's county town. It is a pleasant shopping centre with several car parks around the outskirts. It also has several visitor attractions - five museums including the County Museum, the Roman Durnovaria town walk, Roman ruins, shops and memorials to both Dorset poets William Barnes and Thomas Hardy.

The Tourist Information Centre in Dorchester has a wealth of information for making the most out of your stay. There are a whole host of leaflets for self-guided towns walks from the Roman Walk to the Thomas Hardy Walk.

Dorchester Tourist Information Centre, Antelope Walk, Dorchester DT1 1BE. Tel: 01305 267992. Email: dorchester.tic@westdorset-dc.gov.uk

Dorchester Walking Tours

Blue Badge Guided Walking Tours in Dorchester are available on themes like Thomas Hardy's 'Casterbridge' or tours of Dorchester's Old Crown Court and Cells (the court famous for the trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the setting of Judge Jeffreys' 'Bloody Assizes' during the English Civil War.

All guided walks leave from The Pump in the shopping centre and you can find out more information from Dorchester's Tourist Information Centre on Antelope Walk.

There are also self guided walking tours highlighted by leaflets available from the local Tourist Information Centre.

Old Crown Court and Cells Dorchester Tolpuddle Martyrs

Dorchester's Old Crown Court and Cells have been the site for several well known trials. such as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. 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.

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.

Thomas Hardy is said to have used the case of Martha Browne heard at Dorchester's Old Crown Court & Cells in 1856 as inspiration for Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Browne was the last woman to be pubilcly hanged for murdering her husband with an axe!

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). Old Crown Court and Cells, Stratton House, High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1UZ. Tel: 01305 252241. Fax: 01305 257039.

Monmouth Rebellion - English Civil War - Bloody Assizes

The Duke of Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis harbour 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.

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.

Heart of Wessex Rail Line

The Heart of Wessex Line is a rail link from Bristol through the South West through Somerset and down into Dorset to Weymouth.

It's a great way of travelling through the centre of Dorset and visiting some of its historic towns. Stations include Thornford, Yetminster, Chetnole, Maiden Newton, Dorchester, Upwey and finishes at Weymouth. The route then goes up through Somerset all the way up to Bristol.

Click on the link right for more information and downloadable timetables. You'll find that local watering holes and attractions are highlighted on information for individual stations. There are also downloadable walks and trails that will help you find your way around the Dorset countryside from the trains.

Featured Dorset Accommodation

Higher Kingcombe Lodge - Toller Porcorum

Three star farmhouse B&B near Beaminster in the Dorset countryside offering guest accommodation. Optional evening meals, eight fishing lakes, cycle tours.

£35 Per person B&B