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Shire Hall, Dorchester

1797 establishments in EnglandBuildings and structures in Dorchester, DorsetCounty halls in EnglandFormer courthouses in EnglandGovernment buildings completed in 1797
Grade I listed buildings in DorsetUse British English from April 2022
Shire Hall, High West St, Dorchester geograph.org.uk 680103
Shire Hall, High West St, Dorchester geograph.org.uk 680103

Shire Hall is an 18th-century courthouse in Dorchester, Dorset. The building was the centre of law, order and government, and served as the county hall for Dorset until 1955. It has been Grade I listed since 1950. In 2018, the hall opened as the Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Shire Hall, Dorchester (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Shire Hall, Dorchester
High West Street,

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Wikipedia: Shire Hall, DorchesterContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 50.71537 ° E -2.439067 °
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Address

Old Crown Court and Cells

High West Street
DT1 1UY
England, United Kingdom
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Phone number

call+441305267992

Website
visit-dorset.com

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Shire Hall, High West St, Dorchester geograph.org.uk 680103
Shire Hall, High West St, Dorchester geograph.org.uk 680103
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Nearby Places

Dorchester, Dorset
Dorchester, Dorset

Dorchester ( DOR-ches-tər) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. An historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs and north of the South Dorset Ridgeway that separates the area from Weymouth, 7 miles (11 km) to the south. The civil parish includes the experimental community of Poundbury and the suburb of Fordington. The area around the town was first settled in prehistoric times. The Romans established a garrison there after defeating the Durotriges tribe, calling the settlement that grew up nearby Durnovaria; they built an aqueduct to supply water and an amphitheatre on an ancient British earthwork. After the departure of the Romans, the town diminished in significance, but during the medieval period became an important commercial and political centre. It was the site of the "Bloody Assizes" presided over by Judge Jeffreys after the Monmouth Rebellion, and later the trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. In the 2011 census, the population of Dorchester was 19,060, with further people coming from surrounding areas to work in the town which has six industrial estates. The Brewery Square redevelopment project is taking place in phases, with other development projects planned. The town has a land-based college, Kingston Maurward College, The Thomas Hardye School, three middle schools and thirteen first schools. The Dorset County Hospital offers an accident and emergency service, and the town is served by two railway stations. Through vehicular traffic is routed round the town by means of a bypass. The town has a football club and a rugby union club, several museums and the biannual Dorchester Festival. It is twinned with three towns in Europe. As well as having many listed buildings, a number of notable people have been associated with the town. It was for many years the home and inspiration of the author Thomas Hardy, whose novel The Mayor of Casterbridge uses a fictionalised version of Dorchester as its setting.