History of Dorset
Encyclopedia
Dorset
is a rural
county in south west England
. Its archaeology
documents much of the history of southern England.
hunters, who returned to Britain at a time when it was still attached to Europe by a land-bridge, around 12,500 BC. The population was very small, maybe only a few thousand across the whole of Britain, and concentrated along the coast: in Dorset, such places as the Isle of Purbeck
, Weymouth, Chesil Beach
and Hengistbury Head
, and along the Stour valley
. These populations used stone tools and fire to clear some of the native oak
forest
for herding prey. Genetic experiments carried out on a Mesolithic skeleton from Cheddar Gorge (in the neighbouring county of Somerset
) have shown that a significant part of the contemporary population of Dorset is descended from these original inhabitants of the British Isles.
This suggests that when a wave of immigrant farmers arrived from the continent in the Neolithic
, the indigenous hunter-gatherers were not wiped out, but instead most likely adopted agricultural practices. Further woodland clearances took place at this stage, and also in the Bronze Age
, to make way for agriculture
and animal husbandry
, although where the soils were poor and made permanent cultivation difficult, clearance led instead to the creation of heathland. Neolithic
and Bronze Age
burial mounds
are particularly numerous throughout much of the county.
Dorset's high chalk hills have provided a location for defensive settlements for millennia, with a large number of late Bronze Age but mostly Iron Age
hill fort
s, such as Maiden Castle
, Hod Hill
, Badbury Rings
and Hambledon Hill
. The chalk downs were largely deforested during these times, making way for field and pasture. Some of the steeper slopes and hill tops are inaccessible or impractical for arable farming, and there the archaeology
is relatively well preserved; the valley floors and broader hills have usually been ploughed, and hence do not have a good record of pre-Roman
archaeology, although this does not mean that Iron Age peoples didn't settle there. Indeed, many contemporary theories postulate that hillforts may not have been the main focus of settlement, but served more as a marketplace-cum-stronghold in times of danger, and in fact most of the time, the population was concentrated in the valleys. By the Late Iron Age, the inhabitants of Dorset were minting their own coinage
and thriving on trade with Northern Gaul (Armorica
, now known as Brittany
). However, after Armorica was conquered by Julius Caesar in 56 BC, the trade dried up; the Romans re-arranged trade with Britain to the profit of their allies, the Trinovantes
, in Essex
. The next century or so until the Roman conquest saw a long drawn-out period of economic retrenchment in Dorset, in parallel with a rising population and a decline in soil quality (much of it had been in cultivation for 4,000 years). By the time of the Roman Conquest, it is likely that a combination of overpopulation and impoverishment of the soil left many people starving, to which bone analysis of skeletons from Bere Regis bears witness; several of the skeletons present ample evidence of numerous distinct episodes of severe malnourishment during childhood.
The Romans record the name of the native British tribe that lived in Dorset as the Durotriges
, who were also the tribe of much of Somerset
and possibly the New Forest
. Sometimes translated as "water dwellers", this name could mean that they were seafarers, but is more likely a reference to the marshy valley of the River Frome
which they would have farmed. However, this etymology is unsound, based on the Welsh word dwr meaning water; however the earlier form of the word was dwfr, which suggests an Ancient British ancestor-word *dubro-, not *duro- (this form of the word is preserved in the place-name Dover
). Another alternative is "fort-dwellers"; it is known that the Durotriges were still occupying their hillforts at the time of the Roman invasion in 43 AD, whereas in most other parts of Britain they had been abandoned around 100 BC. There is also a Cornish word dur meaning "land" or "earth"; hence the Durotriges might also be "land-dwellers", referring to their already important farming tradition: it is known that they were exporting grain to the Roman Empire
in large quantities already by the first century BC. The etymology of the first element is thus far from certain, although the second element definitely means "dwellers" (Cornish tre, "town", tregez "have lived"; Welsh tref "farm").
and the Fleet and moved inland, while other groups travelled west from Old Sarum
and Winchester. At Abbotsbury
on the Fleet the Romans quickly took the hill fort, Abbotsbury Castle
, bloodlessly before moving on to Maiden Castle. There is some evidence of a struggle at Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings but current opinion amongst archaeologists is that these, and Hod Hill
, also fell with ease. There is, however, a find of 130 skeletons at Spetisbury
which show that the invasion was not entirely peaceful.
Dorset has many notable Roman artefacts, particularly around the Roman town Dorchester, where Maiden Castle was taken early in the Roman occupation. In the grounds of the County Council offices is a Roman house with well preserved mosaic
floors and an aqueduct
fed by waters of a tributary of the Frome
empounded behind an earthen dam, with a covered timber-lined channel of some nine km; the dam gave way and the aqueduct was abandoned unexpectedly early, in the mid-2nd century. Roman roads radiated from Dorchester, following the tops of the chalk ridges north west to Ilchester
near Yeovil
, and east to Badbury Rings where it forked to Winchester, Bath and a particularly well-preserved route running north east to Old Sarum
near Salisbury, as well as tracks to the many small Roman villages around the county. In the Roman era settlements moved from the hill tops to the valleys, with Roman finds, such as the famous Hinton St Mary
mosaic, being found in the vale
s. In the Isle of Purbeck a long-settled Iron Age site at Worth Matravers was reorganised late in the Roman period to grow grain for the legion, with a grain-parching granary floor heated with a hypocaust
. By the 4th century the hilltops had been abandoned.
from about 400 AD to 650 AD, the future Dorset was an independent British kingdom. Although there were Jutish and later Saxon people in the Southampton area from the 5th century, the Britons seem to have successfully resisted their expansion into future Dorset for a long period. One of the key battles (Mount Badon) between the Britons and Saxons may have been fought at Badbury Rings, though this is disputed. The only historical record of the period, Gildas
's De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
, may have been written in Dorset. There may have been a Saxon raid at Bindon
in 614, though the location is not certain.
There is a group of Romano-British inscriptions at Wareham
.
in the north east of the county, Bokerley Dyke
, dated to 367, delayed the Saxon
conquest of Dorset, with the Romano-British remaining in Dorset for 200 years after the withdrawal of the Roman legions. The inhospitable coast
line prevented an invasion from the sea. When the Roman road
across Cranborne Chase was rebuilt in the 6th century the Saxons advanced into Dorset. The Romano-British retreated, constructing another defence, Combs Ditch, which also fell within a century. It is thought that the Saxons captured east Dorset in the mid-7th century and west Dorset shortly afterwards, but the details are not known.
Dorset was initially part of Saxon Wessex, with the first record of Dorset being in 841. Coenred, the sub-king of Dorset at the end of the 7th century, was father of King Ine
. St Martin's church at Wareham
is reputedly the oldest in Dorset but there were many other Saxon foundations including Shaftesbury
Abbey and Sherborne
Monastery. King Ethelred I (866-871) is buried at Wimborne, while St Cuthberga, abbess of Wimborne, died in 725. Gillingham
is first mentioned in a 10th century charter.
Aldhelm was the first bishop of the Diocese of Sherborne, created in 705 AD. This covered the part of Wessex "west of Selwood".
In 876 King Alfred the Great
trapped a Danish fleet at Arne
then drove it out, 120 ships being wrecked at Studland
. Corfe Castle
in 978 saw the murder of King Edward the Martyr
, whose body was taken first to Wareham and then to Shaftesbury.
The Domesday Book
documents many Saxon settlements corresponding to modern towns and villages, mostly in the valleys, and there have been few changes to the parishes since. Over the next few centuries the settlers established the pattern of farmland which prevailed into the nineteenth century. Many monasteries were also established, which were important landowners and centres of power.
A number of military events took place in Dorset during The Anarchy
of the 12th century, and this gave rise to the defensive castles at Corfe Castle
, Powerstock
, Wareham
and Shaftesbury
. In 1348 the Black Death
came to England
, probably landing in port
s along the south coast, including Melcombe Regis
now part of Weymouth. The then busy port was one of the first towns to experience the epidemic which went on to wipe out a third of the population of the country.. In the 14th and 15th centuries the hilltop villages shrank further, and many disappeared altogether. Throughout the Medieval period, Dorset was popular amongst the nobility
, including a number of kings, for its hunting
estates, such as Gillingham
and Sherborne
. A number of deer parks
still remain in the county.
The 12th and 13th centuries saw much prosperity in Dorset and the population grew substantially as a result. In order to provide the extra food required, additional land was enclosed for farming during this time. The quarrying of Purbeck Marble
, a limestone
that can be polished, brought wealth into the county and provided employment for stonecutters and masons. Large amounts of the stone were used in the construction of Salisbury Cathedral
. The trade continues today but has declined since the 15th century when alabaster
from Derbyshire
became popular.
Another mediaeval industry, which continues today, was the manufacture of rope. Bridport
was particularly famous for its rope, so much so that the phrase 'stabbed with the Bridport dagger' was commonly used to describe someone who had died at the hands of the hangman. Bridport rope was also purchased in large quantities by the Royal Navy
. In the 15th century, Henry VII decreed that all hemp within a 5 mile radius of the town was to be reserved for the navy.
From the Tudor
to Georgian
periods farming specialised and the monastic estates broke up, leading to an increase in population and settlement size. The Dissolution of the Monasteries
closed the abbeys at Sherborne
, Shaftesbury
, Milton Abbas
, Abbotsbury
and Cerne Abbas
, though both Sherborne and Milton abbeys were saved from destruction. In 1588, eight ships from Dorset assisted in the destruction of the Spanish Armada
. The flagship San Salvador
still lies at the bottom of Studland
bay. Sir Walter Raleigh later settled in Sherborne and served as MP for Dorset.
In the 17th-century English Civil War
Dorset had a number of royalist
strongholds, such as Sherborne Castle
and Corfe Castle, which were ruined in the war. Corfe had already been successfully defended against an attack in 1643 but an act of betrayal during a second siege in 1646 led to its capture and subsequent slighting. The residents of Lyme Regis
were staunch Parliamentarians who, in 1644, repelled three attacks by a Royalist army under King Charle's nephew, Prince Maurice. Maurice lost 2,000 men in the assualts and his reputation was severely damaged as a result. The largest civil war battle in Dorset was not fought between Cavaliers and Roundheads however. The Dorset clubmen, a group of angry civilians who were annoyed by the disruption caused by the war, had no allegiance to either side. In 1645 some 5,000 of them gathered at Shaftesbury to do battle with Parliamentarian troops. Armed only with clubs and a variety of farming implements, they were easily dispersed. A smaller force of 2,000 or so regrouped on Hambledon Hill
and were again routed. Many were taken prisoner and this was effectively the end for the organisation.
In 1685, James Scott Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles II, and 150 supporters landed at Lyme Regis. After the failed Monmouth Rebellion
, the 'Bloody Assizes
' took place in Dorchester where over a five day period, Judge Jeffreys presided over 312 cases. 74 were executed; 29 were hanged, drawn and quartered
; 175 were deported and many were publicly whipped. In 1686, at Charborough Park
, a meeting took place to plot the downfall of James II of England
. This meeting was effectively the start of the Glorious Revolution
.
During the 18th century the Dorset coast saw much smuggling activity; its coves, caves and sandy beaches provided ample opportunities to slip smuggled goods ashore. In 1747 a notorious gang
of armed smugglers broke into the customs house in Poole to reclaim their captured contraband. The production of cloth was a profitable business in Dorset during the 17th and 18th centuries. Blandford became famous for its bonelace and Stalbridge for its stockings. Shaftsbury, Sturminster Marshall, Beamister, Burton Bradstock, Gillingham, Cerne Abbas and Winterbourne Stickland produced a wide variety of materials between them, including sailcloth, linen and even silk. The absence of coal however meant that during the Industrial Revolution
Dorset was unable to compete with the large mechanised mills of Lancashire and so remained largely rural. The Tolpuddle Martyrs
lived in Dorset, and the farming economy of Dorset was central in the formation of the trade union
movement.
The industrial revolution
largely by-passed Dorset, which has remained largely rural. The farming economy, however, provided the spark for the Trade Union
movement when, in the 1820s a group of farm labourers formed one of the first unions. In 1832 unions were outlawed and the six men, now known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs
, were transported
, becoming national heroes to the working class
es.
In the 19th century the railways bought increased mobility and communications to the British people. Lines through Dorset include the South Western Main Line
, from London
to Bournemouth
, Poole
, Dorchester and Weymouth; the Heart of Wessex Line
from Bristol
to Sherborne
, Dorchester and Weymouth; the West of England Main Line
from London to Exeter
, with stations at Sherborne and Gillingham
; and the now dismantled Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
from Bath to Bournemouth. There were also a number of small branchlines, closed in the Beeching axe
, such as those to Bridport
and Swanage
. The Swanage Railway
has been reopened as a heritage railway
.
During World War I
and II
Dorset, located on the English Channel
, was both a target and important to the Royal Navy
. The large Portland Harbour
, built at the end of the 19th century and protected by Nothe Fort
and the Verne Citadel
, was for many years, including during the wars, one of the largest Royal Navy bases. British
, American
and Canadian
ships gathered in the harbour and nearby in Weymouth bay before the D-Day
landings. Training for the landings also took place in Dorset, at the long sandy beach at Studland
. Portland Harbour continued to be used as a Royal Navy and NATO training base until the 1990s. It is now a civilian port and recreation area which will be used for the sailing events in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Since the early 19th century, when George III took holidays in Weymouth while ill, Dorset's tourism
industry has grown, with the seaside resorts of Bournemouth
and Weymouth, the Jurassic Coast
and the county's sparsely populated rural areas attracting millions of visitors each year. With farming declining across the country tourism now rivals agriculture as the main economy of the county.
In 1974 the political boundaries of Dorset were modified, incorporating a small area of south west Hampshire
which included the towns of Bournemouth
and Christchurch
. In 1996 Bournemouth and Poole became administratively independent from the county.
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
is a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
county in south west England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Its archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
documents much of the history of southern England.
Pre-Roman
The first known settlement of Dorset was by MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
hunters, who returned to Britain at a time when it was still attached to Europe by a land-bridge, around 12,500 BC. The population was very small, maybe only a few thousand across the whole of Britain, and concentrated along the coast: in Dorset, such places as the Isle of Purbeck
Isle of Purbeck
The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well...
, Weymouth, Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach, sometimes called Chesil Bank, in Dorset, southern England is one of three major shingle structures in Britain. Its toponym is derived from the Old English ceosel or cisel, meaning "gravel" or "shingle"....
and Hengistbury Head
Hengistbury Head
Hengistbury Head is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Milford on Sea in the English county of Dorset.At the end is a spit which creates the narrow entrance to Christchurch Harbour.-Location:...
, and along the Stour valley
River Stour, Dorset
The River Stour is a 60.5 mile long river which flows through Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England, and drains into the English Channel. It is sometimes called the Dorset Stour to distinguish it from rivers of the same name...
. These populations used stone tools and fire to clear some of the native oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
for herding prey. Genetic experiments carried out on a Mesolithic skeleton from Cheddar Gorge (in the neighbouring county of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
) have shown that a significant part of the contemporary population of Dorset is descended from these original inhabitants of the British Isles.
This suggests that when a wave of immigrant farmers arrived from the continent in the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
, the indigenous hunter-gatherers were not wiped out, but instead most likely adopted agricultural practices. Further woodland clearances took place at this stage, and also in the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, to make way for agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
, although where the soils were poor and made permanent cultivation difficult, clearance led instead to the creation of heathland. Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
burial mounds
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
are particularly numerous throughout much of the county.
Dorset's high chalk hills have provided a location for defensive settlements for millennia, with a large number of late Bronze Age but mostly Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
s, such as Maiden Castle
Maiden Castle, Dorset
Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hill fort south west of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age...
, Hod Hill
Hod Hill
Hod Hill is a large hill fort in the Blackmore Vale, north-west of Blandford Forum, Dorset, England. The fort sits on a chalk hill that is detached from the Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase. The hill fort at Hambledon Hill is just to the north.The fort is roughly rectangular , with an enclosed...
, Badbury Rings
Badbury Rings
Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort in east Dorset, England, dating from 800 BC and in use until the Roman occupation of 43 AD.-Iron Age:...
and Hambledon Hill
Hambledon Hill
Hambledon Hill is a prehistoric hill fort in Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale five miles north of Blandford Forum. The hill is a Chalk outcrop, on the south western corner of Cranborne Chase, separated from the Dorset Downs by the River Stour....
. The chalk downs were largely deforested during these times, making way for field and pasture. Some of the steeper slopes and hill tops are inaccessible or impractical for arable farming, and there the archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
is relatively well preserved; the valley floors and broader hills have usually been ploughed, and hence do not have a good record of pre-Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
archaeology, although this does not mean that Iron Age peoples didn't settle there. Indeed, many contemporary theories postulate that hillforts may not have been the main focus of settlement, but served more as a marketplace-cum-stronghold in times of danger, and in fact most of the time, the population was concentrated in the valleys. By the Late Iron Age, the inhabitants of Dorset were minting their own coinage
Coinage
Coinage may refer to:* coins, standardized as currency* neologism, coinage of a new word* COINage, numismatics magazine* Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin* ancestry* Coinage, a board game...
and thriving on trade with Northern Gaul (Armorica
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
, now known as Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
). However, after Armorica was conquered by Julius Caesar in 56 BC, the trade dried up; the Romans re-arranged trade with Britain to the profit of their allies, the Trinovantes
Trinovantes
The Trinovantes or Trinobantes were one of the tribes of pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex and Suffolk, and included lands now located in Greater London. They were bordered to the north by the Iceni, and to the west by the Catuvellauni...
, in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The next century or so until the Roman conquest saw a long drawn-out period of economic retrenchment in Dorset, in parallel with a rising population and a decline in soil quality (much of it had been in cultivation for 4,000 years). By the time of the Roman Conquest, it is likely that a combination of overpopulation and impoverishment of the soil left many people starving, to which bone analysis of skeletons from Bere Regis bears witness; several of the skeletons present ample evidence of numerous distinct episodes of severe malnourishment during childhood.
The Romans record the name of the native British tribe that lived in Dorset as the Durotriges
Durotriges
The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain prior to the Roman invasion. The tribe lived in modern Dorset, south Wiltshire and south Somerset...
, who were also the tribe of much of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and possibly the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
. Sometimes translated as "water dwellers", this name could mean that they were seafarers, but is more likely a reference to the marshy valley of the River Frome
River Frome, Dorset
The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham.-Geography:...
which they would have farmed. However, this etymology is unsound, based on the Welsh word dwr meaning water; however the earlier form of the word was dwfr, which suggests an Ancient British ancestor-word *dubro-, not *duro- (this form of the word is preserved in the place-name Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
). Another alternative is "fort-dwellers"; it is known that the Durotriges were still occupying their hillforts at the time of the Roman invasion in 43 AD, whereas in most other parts of Britain they had been abandoned around 100 BC. There is also a Cornish word dur meaning "land" or "earth"; hence the Durotriges might also be "land-dwellers", referring to their already important farming tradition: it is known that they were exporting grain to the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in large quantities already by the first century BC. The etymology of the first element is thus far from certain, although the second element definitely means "dwellers" (Cornish tre, "town", tregez "have lived"; Welsh tref "farm").
Roman
The Romans landed in Dorset at Poole HarbourPoole Harbour
Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement...
and the Fleet and moved inland, while other groups travelled west from Old Sarum
Old Sarum
Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC. Old Sarum is mentioned in some of the earliest records in the country...
and Winchester. At Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a large village and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England; situated north-west of Weymouth. It is located from Upwey railway station and from Bournemouth International Airport. The main road running through the village is the B3157, connecting Abbotsbury to...
on the Fleet the Romans quickly took the hill fort, Abbotsbury Castle
Abbotsbury Castle
Abbotsbury Castle is an Iron Age hill fort in south west Dorset, England, situated on Wears Hill above the village of Abbotsbury, seven miles west of Dorchester and the famous hill fort at Maiden Castle. The fort was occupied by the Celtic Durotriges tribe and was situated on a high chalk hill...
, bloodlessly before moving on to Maiden Castle. There is some evidence of a struggle at Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings but current opinion amongst archaeologists is that these, and Hod Hill
Hod Hill
Hod Hill is a large hill fort in the Blackmore Vale, north-west of Blandford Forum, Dorset, England. The fort sits on a chalk hill that is detached from the Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase. The hill fort at Hambledon Hill is just to the north.The fort is roughly rectangular , with an enclosed...
, also fell with ease. There is, however, a find of 130 skeletons at Spetisbury
Spetisbury
Spetisbury is a village in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour and the A350 road, four miles south east of Blandford Forum. The village has a population of 542 . It is notable for being a very linear settlement, with mostly only one line of buildings adjacent to the A350 road...
which show that the invasion was not entirely peaceful.
Dorset has many notable Roman artefacts, particularly around the Roman town Dorchester, where Maiden Castle was taken early in the Roman occupation. In the grounds of the County Council offices is a Roman house with well preserved mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
floors and an aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
fed by waters of a tributary of the Frome
Frome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
empounded behind an earthen dam, with a covered timber-lined channel of some nine km; the dam gave way and the aqueduct was abandoned unexpectedly early, in the mid-2nd century. Roman roads radiated from Dorchester, following the tops of the chalk ridges north west to Ilchester
Ilchester
Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. The parish, which includes the village of Sock Dennis and the old parish of Northover, has a population of 2,021...
near Yeovil
Yeovil
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...
, and east to Badbury Rings where it forked to Winchester, Bath and a particularly well-preserved route running north east to Old Sarum
Old Sarum
Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC. Old Sarum is mentioned in some of the earliest records in the country...
near Salisbury, as well as tracks to the many small Roman villages around the county. In the Roman era settlements moved from the hill tops to the valleys, with Roman finds, such as the famous Hinton St Mary
Hinton St Mary
Hinton St Mary is a village in north Dorset, England, situated on a low limestone ridge beside the River Stour, one mile north of the market town Sturminster Newton. The village has a population of 221...
mosaic, being found in the vale
River Valley
River Valley is the name of an urban planning area within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.The River Valley Planning Area is defined by the region bounded by Orchard Boulevard, Devonshire Road and Eber Road to the north, Oxley Rise and Mohamed Sultan Road to the east, Martin...
s. In the Isle of Purbeck a long-settled Iron Age site at Worth Matravers was reorganised late in the Roman period to grow grain for the legion, with a grain-parching granary floor heated with a hypocaust
Hypocaust
A hypocaust was an ancient Roman system of underfloor heating, used to heat houses with hot air. The word derives from the Ancient Greek hypo meaning "under" and caust-, meaning "burnt"...
. By the 4th century the hilltops had been abandoned.
Post Roman
In the post Roman periodSub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...
from about 400 AD to 650 AD, the future Dorset was an independent British kingdom. Although there were Jutish and later Saxon people in the Southampton area from the 5th century, the Britons seem to have successfully resisted their expansion into future Dorset for a long period. One of the key battles (Mount Badon) between the Britons and Saxons may have been fought at Badbury Rings, though this is disputed. The only historical record of the period, Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
's De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae is a work by the 6th-century British cleric Gildas. It is a sermon in three parts condemning the acts of Gildas' contemporaries, both secular and religious, whom he blames for the dire state of affairs in sub-Roman Britain...
, may have been written in Dorset. There may have been a Saxon raid at Bindon
Bindon
- Places :in England*Bindon, Somerset*Bindon Abbey, Dorset*Bindon Hill, Dorset*Bindon Manor, Axmouth, Devon*Bindon Liberty, a liberty in Dorset, England- People :*Francis Bindon , Irish architect and painter*James J...
in 614, though the location is not certain.
There is a group of Romano-British inscriptions at Wareham
Wareham, Dorset
Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...
.
Saxon
A large defensive ditch on Cranborne ChaseCranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase is a Chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The plateau is part of the English Chalk Formation and is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, the Dorset Downs to the south west and the...
in the north east of the county, Bokerley Dyke
Bokerley Dyke
Bokerley Dyke is a Romano-British defensive ditch in north east Dorset, England, near the villages of Woodyates and Pentridge. The ditch ran for several miles, cutting across the Roman Road between Old Sarum and Badbury Rings on the Cranborne Chase ridgeway. Dated to 367 CE, it was constructed to...
, dated to 367, delayed the Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
conquest of Dorset, with the Romano-British remaining in Dorset for 200 years after the withdrawal of the Roman legions. The inhospitable coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
line prevented an invasion from the sea. When the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
across Cranborne Chase was rebuilt in the 6th century the Saxons advanced into Dorset. The Romano-British retreated, constructing another defence, Combs Ditch, which also fell within a century. It is thought that the Saxons captured east Dorset in the mid-7th century and west Dorset shortly afterwards, but the details are not known.
Dorset was initially part of Saxon Wessex, with the first record of Dorset being in 841. Coenred, the sub-king of Dorset at the end of the 7th century, was father of King Ine
Ine of Wessex
Ine was King of Wessex from 688 to 726. He was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla, who had brought much of southern England under his control and expanded West Saxon territory substantially...
. St Martin's church at Wareham
Wareham, Dorset
Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...
is reputedly the oldest in Dorset but there were many other Saxon foundations including Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
Abbey and Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
Monastery. King Ethelred I (866-871) is buried at Wimborne, while St Cuthberga, abbess of Wimborne, died in 725. Gillingham
Gillingham, Dorset
Gillingham is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is the most northerly in the county. It is 3 miles south of the A303 lying on the B3092 and B3081. It is near to the town of Shaftesbury which lies 7 miles to the south east. Neighbouring hamlets included Peacemarsh, Bay...
is first mentioned in a 10th century charter.
Aldhelm was the first bishop of the Diocese of Sherborne, created in 705 AD. This covered the part of Wessex "west of Selwood".
In 876 King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
trapped a Danish fleet at Arne
Arne, Dorset
Arne is a large village and civil parish in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England; situated east of Wareham. The local travel links are located from the village to Holton Heath railway station and to Bournemouth International Airport. The main road through the village is Arne Road connecting...
then drove it out, 120 ships being wrecked at Studland
Studland
Studland is a small village on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It is famous for its beaches and nature reserve. In 2001 Studland had a population of 480, the lowest in 50 years...
. Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It is the site of a ruined castle of the same name. The village and castle stand over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The village lies in the gap below the castle, and is some eight...
in 978 saw the murder of King Edward the Martyr
Edward the Martyr
Edward the Martyr was king of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but not his father's acknowledged heir...
, whose body was taken first to Wareham and then to Shaftesbury.
Middle Ages
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
documents many Saxon settlements corresponding to modern towns and villages, mostly in the valleys, and there have been few changes to the parishes since. Over the next few centuries the settlers established the pattern of farmland which prevailed into the nineteenth century. Many monasteries were also established, which were important landowners and centres of power.
A number of military events took place in Dorset during The Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
of the 12th century, and this gave rise to the defensive castles at Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It is the site of a ruined castle of the same name. The village and castle stand over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The village lies in the gap below the castle, and is some eight...
, Powerstock
Powerstock
Powerstock is a village in south west Dorset, England, situated in a steep valley on the edge of the Dorset Downs, five miles north east of the market town of Bridport. The village contains many cottages and 2 inns: The Three Horseshoes near the church and The Marquis of Lorne Inn on the other...
, Wareham
Wareham, Dorset
Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...
and Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
. In 1348 the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
came to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, probably landing in port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
s along the south coast, including Melcombe Regis
Melcombe Regis
Melcombe Regis is an area of Weymouth in Dorset, England.Situated on the north shore of Weymouth Harbour and originally part of the waste of Radipole, it seems only to have developed as a significant settlement and seaport in the 13th century...
now part of Weymouth. The then busy port was one of the first towns to experience the epidemic which went on to wipe out a third of the population of the country.. In the 14th and 15th centuries the hilltop villages shrank further, and many disappeared altogether. Throughout the Medieval period, Dorset was popular amongst the nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
, including a number of kings, for its hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
estates, such as Gillingham
Gillingham, Dorset
Gillingham is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is the most northerly in the county. It is 3 miles south of the A303 lying on the B3092 and B3081. It is near to the town of Shaftesbury which lies 7 miles to the south east. Neighbouring hamlets included Peacemarsh, Bay...
and Sherborne
Sherborne Castle
Sherborne Castle is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne in Dorset, England. The park formed only a small part of the Digby estate.-Old castle:Sherborne Old Castle is the ruin of a 12th-century castle in the grounds of the mansion...
. A number of deer parks
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
still remain in the county.
The 12th and 13th centuries saw much prosperity in Dorset and the population grew substantially as a result. In order to provide the extra food required, additional land was enclosed for farming during this time. The quarrying of Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
, a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
that can be polished, brought wealth into the county and provided employment for stonecutters and masons. Large amounts of the stone were used in the construction of Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
. The trade continues today but has declined since the 15th century when alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
from Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
became popular.
Another mediaeval industry, which continues today, was the manufacture of rope. Bridport
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...
was particularly famous for its rope, so much so that the phrase 'stabbed with the Bridport dagger' was commonly used to describe someone who had died at the hands of the hangman. Bridport rope was also purchased in large quantities by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. In the 15th century, Henry VII decreed that all hemp within a 5 mile radius of the town was to be reserved for the navy.
Early Modern
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
to Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
periods farming specialised and the monastic estates broke up, leading to an increase in population and settlement size. The Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
closed the abbeys at Sherborne
Sherborne Abbey
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin at Sherborne in the English county of Dorset, is usually called Sherborne Abbey. It has been a Saxon cathedral , a Benedictine abbey and is now a parish church.- Cathedral :...
, Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury Abbey
Shaftesbury Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset. Founded in the year 888, the abbey was the wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England, a major pilgrimage site, and the town's central focus...
, Milton Abbas
Milton Abbey
Milton Abbey School is a British independent school in the Dorset countryside. It has 227 pupils in six boarding Houses, called Athelstan, Bancks, Damer, Hambro, Middleton and Tregonwell. Founded in 1954, it welcomes boys from 13 to 16 years and is coeducational in the sixth form.The school has a...
, Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury Abbey
The Abbey of St Peter was a Benedictine monastery in the village of Abbotsbury in Dorset, England. The abbey was founded in the eleventh century by King Cnut's thegn Orc and his wife Tola, who handsomely endowed the monastery with lands in the area. The abbey prospered and became a local centre of...
and Cerne Abbas
Cerne Abbas
Cerne Abbas is a village located in the valley of the River Cerne, between steep chalk downland in central Dorset, England. The village is located just to the east of the A352 road north of Dorchester. There was a population of 732 at the 2001 census, a figure which has fallen from 780 in 1998.In...
, though both Sherborne and Milton abbeys were saved from destruction. In 1588, eight ships from Dorset assisted in the destruction of the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
. The flagship San Salvador
San Salvador (Guipúzcoan squadron)
The San Salvador was a Spanish galleon of the Spanish Armada as part of the Guipúzcoan squadron.It was damaged and captured as a result of the first encounter of the Armada with the Royal Navy in 1588...
still lies at the bottom of Studland
Studland
Studland is a small village on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It is famous for its beaches and nature reserve. In 2001 Studland had a population of 480, the lowest in 50 years...
bay. Sir Walter Raleigh later settled in Sherborne and served as MP for Dorset.
In the 17th-century English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
Dorset had a number of royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
strongholds, such as Sherborne Castle
Sherborne Castle
Sherborne Castle is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne in Dorset, England. The park formed only a small part of the Digby estate.-Old castle:Sherborne Old Castle is the ruin of a 12th-century castle in the grounds of the mansion...
and Corfe Castle, which were ruined in the war. Corfe had already been successfully defended against an attack in 1643 but an act of betrayal during a second siege in 1646 led to its capture and subsequent slighting. The residents of Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset-Devon border...
were staunch Parliamentarians who, in 1644, repelled three attacks by a Royalist army under King Charle's nephew, Prince Maurice. Maurice lost 2,000 men in the assualts and his reputation was severely damaged as a result. The largest civil war battle in Dorset was not fought between Cavaliers and Roundheads however. The Dorset clubmen, a group of angry civilians who were annoyed by the disruption caused by the war, had no allegiance to either side. In 1645 some 5,000 of them gathered at Shaftesbury to do battle with Parliamentarian troops. Armed only with clubs and a variety of farming implements, they were easily dispersed. A smaller force of 2,000 or so regrouped on Hambledon Hill
Hambledon Hill
Hambledon Hill is a prehistoric hill fort in Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale five miles north of Blandford Forum. The hill is a Chalk outcrop, on the south western corner of Cranborne Chase, separated from the Dorset Downs by the River Stour....
and were again routed. Many were taken prisoner and this was effectively the end for the organisation.
In 1685, James Scott Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles II, and 150 supporters landed at Lyme Regis. After the failed Monmouth Rebellion
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
, the 'Bloody Assizes
Bloody Assizes
The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials started at Winchester on 25 August 1685 in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England....
' took place in Dorchester where over a five day period, Judge Jeffreys presided over 312 cases. 74 were executed; 29 were hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
; 175 were deported and many were publicly whipped. In 1686, at Charborough Park
Charborough House
Charborough House is located between Sturminster Marshall and Bere Regis in Dorset, England. The Deer Park and estate adjoins the villages of Winterborne Zelston, Newton Peveril and Lytchett Matravers...
, a meeting took place to plot the downfall of James II of England
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. This meeting was effectively the start of the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
.
During the 18th century the Dorset coast saw much smuggling activity; its coves, caves and sandy beaches provided ample opportunities to slip smuggled goods ashore. In 1747 a notorious gang
Hawkhurst Gang
The Hawkhurst Gang was a notorious criminal organisation involved in smuggling throughout southeast England from 1735 until 1749. One of the more infamous gangs of the early 18th century, they extended their influence from Dorset, where they successfully raided the customs house at Poole, to the...
of armed smugglers broke into the customs house in Poole to reclaim their captured contraband. The production of cloth was a profitable business in Dorset during the 17th and 18th centuries. Blandford became famous for its bonelace and Stalbridge for its stockings. Shaftsbury, Sturminster Marshall, Beamister, Burton Bradstock, Gillingham, Cerne Abbas and Winterbourne Stickland produced a wide variety of materials between them, including sailcloth, linen and even silk. The absence of coal however meant that during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
Dorset was unable to compete with the large mechanised mills of Lancashire and so remained largely rural. The Tolpuddle Martyrs
Tolpuddle Martyrs
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of 19th century Dorset agricultural labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. The rules of the society show it was clearly structured as a friendly society and operated as...
lived in Dorset, and the farming economy of Dorset was central in the formation of the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement.
Modern
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
largely by-passed Dorset, which has remained largely rural. The farming economy, however, provided the spark for the Trade Union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement when, in the 1820s a group of farm labourers formed one of the first unions. In 1832 unions were outlawed and the six men, now known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Tolpuddle Martyrs
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of 19th century Dorset agricultural labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. The rules of the society show it was clearly structured as a friendly society and operated as...
, were transported
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
, becoming national heroes to the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
es.
In the 19th century the railways bought increased mobility and communications to the British people. Lines through Dorset include the South Western Main Line
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...
, from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, Dorchester and Weymouth; the Heart of Wessex Line
Heart of Wessex Line
The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth line, is a United Kingdom railway line that runs from Bristol to Westbury to Weymouth...
from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
to Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
, Dorchester and Weymouth; the West of England Main Line
West of England Main Line
The West of England Main Line is a British railway line that runs from , Hampshire to Exeter St Davids in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter...
from London to Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, with stations at Sherborne and Gillingham
Gillingham, Dorset
Gillingham is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is the most northerly in the county. It is 3 miles south of the A303 lying on the B3092 and B3081. It is near to the town of Shaftesbury which lies 7 miles to the south east. Neighbouring hamlets included Peacemarsh, Bay...
; and the now dismantled Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...
from Bath to Bournemouth. There were also a number of small branchlines, closed in the Beeching axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
, such as those to Bridport
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...
and Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
. The Swanage Railway
Swanage Railway
The Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...
has been reopened as a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Dorset, located on the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, was both a target and important to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. The large Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
, built at the end of the 19th century and protected by Nothe Fort
Nothe Fort
Nothe Fort is a fort in Weymouth, Dorset, England. The fort is situated on the shore beside the northern breakwater of the ex-military Portland Harbour, and at the mouth of civilian Weymouth Harbour. The fort was built in 1872 to protect Portland's harbour, which was then becoming an important...
and the Verne Citadel
Verne Citadel
Verne Citadel is a citadel on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The citadel was started in 1847 at a camp for prisoners building Portland harbour's breakwaters, and was extended during the 1860s as a result of the Royal Commission, ending up with 8 RML guns with calibres up to 12". It is now...
, was for many years, including during the wars, one of the largest Royal Navy bases. British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
ships gathered in the harbour and nearby in Weymouth bay before the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
landings. Training for the landings also took place in Dorset, at the long sandy beach at Studland
Studland
Studland is a small village on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It is famous for its beaches and nature reserve. In 2001 Studland had a population of 480, the lowest in 50 years...
. Portland Harbour continued to be used as a Royal Navy and NATO training base until the 1990s. It is now a civilian port and recreation area which will be used for the sailing events in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Since the early 19th century, when George III took holidays in Weymouth while ill, Dorset's tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
industry has grown, with the seaside resorts of Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
and Weymouth, the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
and the county's sparsely populated rural areas attracting millions of visitors each year. With farming declining across the country tourism now rivals agriculture as the main economy of the county.
In 1974 the political boundaries of Dorset were modified, incorporating a small area of south west Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
which included the towns of Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
and Christchurch
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
. In 1996 Bournemouth and Poole became administratively independent from the county.