Dorchester is the very historical county town of Dorset. In fact Dorchester's impressive history predates to prehistoric times, the area was settled by various tribe's, around 400 BC. The first Settlements were based around Maiden Castle, ( Mai Dun ) a large Iron Age hill fort that was one of the most powerful settlements in early British history.It is believed at the time of the Roman invasion 43 A. D. ) that a tribe by the name of  Durotriges were likely to have settled the area. The strange thing is althought Maiden Castle is the largest hill fort in the Country; the Durrotige's were not a particulary large or dominant tribe?  After many battles the Romans finally defeated the local Saxon tribes. The Roman's renamed the settlement which by this time had become a town, Durnovaria. ( this was a Brythonic name meaning 'place with fist-sized pebbles' and almost certainly took part of its name from the local Durotriges tribe who inhabited the area. We find  Durnovaria was first recorded in the 4th century Antonine Itinerary ( The Antonine Itinerary was very similar to the Domesday Book ) it is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another. Dorchester or Durnovaria became a market center for the surrounding countryside, The Romans walled the town and the remains can still be seen today. The walls were largely replaced with walks that form a square inside modern Dorchester. Known as 'The Walks' a small segment of the original Roman wall still exists today near the Top 'o Town roundabout. It became a very important road junction, and staging post and it's central position enabled the Romans the ease of access for their legion's to all of Dorset,

In 410 when the Romans withdrew from Britain, the Emperor Honorious: told the people of Britain that they no longer had a connection to Rome and that they were now alone and should defend themselves. The power vacuum was filled by the Angle's, and Saxon's who originated from what is modern day Germany. The Saxon's, were very warlike tribes and were originally hired as mercenaries by the Romano- Britons to defend the country from opportunist Danish raiders who were regularly sacking their town's and village's. On arriving in England the Saxon's promptly decided they rather liked England and claimed the country for themselves. And thus began the Saxon period. The Saxon's or Dorsaetas as they referred to themselves, in their own language, referred to the town as Dornwaraceaster/Dornwaracester, combining the original name 'Dor/Dorn' from the Latin/Celtic languages with the word 'cester', which was an Anglo-Saxon word used for 'Roman Fort'. The survival of the name as Dornwaraceaster, would certainly suggest some Romano-British occupants remained. The name would further change to Dorncester/Dornceaster until modern Dorchester emerged some time later. It continued as a thriving commercial and political center for south-central Dorset with a textile trading and manufacturing industry continuing until the 17th century, a particularly nasty happening occurred just prior to the start of the English Civil War in 1642, Hugh Green, a Catholic chaplain was executed here. After his execution, Puritans then had a game of football with his head. Also in the 17th century Dorchester was at the center of the Puritan emigration to the "New World", and the local Rector, John White, was a main player in the organized movement, that enabled the puritans to flee persecution to the settlement of Dorchester, Massachusetts. .

In 1613 and 1725 two great fires, destroyed a lot of the old building, some medieval dwelling how-ever did survived, including the house where Judge Jeffries  (of the bloody assizes infamy ) lodged when on court business in the town. The result of these fires was that Dorchester both lost, some medieval historic buildings, and gained some fine Georgian one's.
One can not talk of Dorset, or Dorchester, without mentioning that great literary son of Dorset, the famous author, Thomas Hard. Dorchester is : immortalized as Casterbridge by Hardy in arguably his most famous novel 'The Mayor of Casterbridge.'and he also penned many of his other classical novels, Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) which was Hardy's first successful novel,Tess of the d'Urbervilles, (1874)Far from the Madding Crowd (1891) and The Woodlanders (1887) here in Dorchester.  In all his novels Hardy used the town's, and village's, of the county he loved as his setting. Thomas Hardy was born at Higher Bockhampton: a hamlet in the parish of Stinsford to the east of Dorchester. Hardy fell ill with pleurisy in December 1927 and died in January 1928. Hardy's Dorset homes a cottage, in woodland east of Dorchester, and Max Gate, his house in Dorchester are now owned and run by the National Trust.

Today Dorchester is still a very busy market town with vibrant shops ,restaraunts, pubs, the Dinosaur Museum is a must for adults and children alike. The wonderfully laid out gardens of near-by Athelhampton House are a great place to relax amid all the beautiful plants and flowers. One can visit Hardys home on the outskirts of Dorchester, and the popular seaside resort of Weymouth is within easy traveling distance. Dorchester is surrounded by the beautiful, tranquil, Dorsetshire countryside, dotted with quaint historic villages, such as Piddlehinton, and Piddletrenthide . Yes Dorchester has an awful lot to offer the visitor.!

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