Dorchester’s Town Crier and Blue Badge Guide Alistair Chisholm took us on one of his famous guided walks to unearth some of Dorchester’s amazing and ancient past – Dorset’s county town celebrated its 700th anniversary of its Royal Charter in 2005.

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Distance: 2km approx
Time: 1 hour
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The route takes you along footpaths around the town centre and is accessible by wheelchair and buggies. Be careful of traffic while crossing roads. Care should also be taken by the riverside.

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Points of interest:
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Visit a Roman amphitheatre, find the last part of the Roman Walls, meet the ‘hanging judge’ and some of Dorset’s literary greats.

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Start at the underground Waitrose car park
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You may not think it would be the best place to start a historical walk, but it is actually the site of a giant ‘henge’ monument – red dots mark the site of massive three metre high oak posts – showing that 4,500 years ago, people gathered in the area that is now Dorchester.

Maumbury Rings is a Roman amphitheatre – it was previously also a henge monument but the Romans built it up as a display site for drilling and entertainment.

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Maumbury Rings
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Since then it has been used as a gun-emplacement during the Civil War and even for public executions.

You’ll pass the Eldridge-Pope brewery. Although beer is no longer brewed in this famous Dorset institution, there are plans to use the Victorian buildings for a retail, arts and housing redevelopment.

On your left is Dorchester’s market place – originally where farmers would bring their produce and where workers would sell their labour. There is still a busy market every Wednesday.

At the Junction Pub, turn left and walk along the ‘Walks’

Although the Roman Town of ‘Durnovaria’s original walls no longer exist, these tree-lined ‘Walks’ trace their route around the town.

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The Walks
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Turn right and walk through the Borough Gardens

The Victorian Borough Gardens are the perfect place to escape from the office for a lunch hour (or two!). The bandstand and clock are colourful examples of Victorian design.

Leave the Gardens and walk towards Princes Street
You will see the only remaining fragment of Dorchester’s Roman walls which once stood three metres high. Walk down Princes Street and you’ll pass an artistic sculpture commemorating the Roman aquaduct which brought water to the town, and the old hospital building. The BBC Dorset office is also further down Princes Street.

Directly opposite Antelope Walk, turn left and join the High Street.
Cross the street and visit St Peter’s Church. You’ll see the statue of William Barnes’, one of Dorchester’s most famous residents.

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Dorchester Water sculpture
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A self-taught genius, he was rector at Whitcombe near Dorchester and also ran a school. His poems are seen as a valuable record of the old dialect and working people’s lives in the 19th Century.

The Church is the burial place of Rev John White who helped restore Dorchester after a fire destroyed the town in 1613. He also inspired many local people to go to America where they founded ‘Dorchester’ – a suburb of Boston.

Walk down to ‘The Bow’ and turn left past the Corn Exchange and down Friary Hill. Join the River Frome and turn left along the riverside path

You can see the walls of Dorchester prison and it was here where people would gather to watch public executions.

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The Roman Townhouse
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Continue walking along the riverside

You will come to the thatched ‘Hangman’s Cottage’. Beside it is ‘Johns’ Pond’ – an old irrigation well where the only prisoner ever to escape from the prison drowned on a dark night.

Turn right past Hangman’s Cottage and walk up the hill

You can now see Dorchester’s Roman Townhouse behind County Hall. It was discovered in the 1930s and is one of the best examples of Roman remains in the country.

Walk behind the Roman Townhouse towards the crossroads

Here you’ll see the statue of Thomas Hardy – Dorchester’s most famous literary son. Thomas Hardy actually trained as an architect in Dorchester. He lived at Max Gate outside Dorchester, and based the fictional ‘Casterbridge’ on his home town.

Turn left and head back down the High Street

One of the finest high street’s in the country – on a clear day you can see the house and gardens of Kingston Maurward in the distance. You’ll pass the old courthouse (now Shire Hall Museum) where the Tolpuddle Martyrs were tried. Opposite you’ll see Justice Jeffreys restaurant. He was the ‘hanging judge’ who was sent to punish those who supported James Duke of Monmouth’s ill-fated rebellion, at his court on the High Street. The ‘bloody assizes’ in 1685 saw more than 70 rebels hanged, drawn and quartered.

You can finish your walk here by visiting Dorset County Museum to learn more about Dorchester’s 4,000 years of history.