Thomas Hardy Statue

Durnovaria is a suggested spelling for the Latin form of the name of the Roman town of Dorchester in the modern English county of Dorset, amended from the actually observed Durnonovaria. Upon the assumption that the name was originally Brythonic, it is suggested that the first element in the name, *durno- may mean "fist" like (Welsh dwrn ‘fist, knob’) and the second may be related to Old Irish fáir ~ fóir denoting a confined area or den. A simpler amendment (one letter instead of two) would lead to *Duronovaria, making this place one of up to 18 ancient British names that contain Duro- and mostly occur at river crossings, while -novaria has two possible ancient parallels in Britain associated with river junctions. That analysis would perfectly fit the geographical situation of Dorchester.

Dorset County Council (DCC) was the county council for the county of Dorset in England. It provided the upper tier of local government, below which were district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council had 46 elected councillors and was based at County Hall in Dorchester. The council was abolished on 31 March 2019 as part of structural changes to local government in Dorset.

The County Hall is a municipal facility at Colliton Park in Dorchester, Dorset, England.

Christ Church was a Church of England church in West Fordington, Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was built in 1845–46 and demolished in 1933.

The Keep, Dorchester is part of the former county barracks of the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot and the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot. The barracks were built in about 1880 and housed various regiments as units were amalgamated. It ceased to be used in 1958 and most of the site was redeveloped in the 1960s, but the keep remained in Ministry of Defence hands and is now used as a regimental museum. It is a Grade II listed building.

The High West Street drill hall is a former military installation in Dorchester, Dorset. It is a Grade II listed building.

The Borough Gardens is a public open space in Dorchester, in Dorset, England, It was opened in 1896, and is listed Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. The gardens are owned and maintained by Dorchester Town Council.

The Roman Town House in Dorchester is a Roman ruin within Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset. Dorset County Council acquired Colliton Park in 1933 as the site for the construction of County Hall. The Town House was discovered in 1937/38 during an archaeological investigation carried out by the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society prior to the construction of the new building. Plans for County Hall were modified so that the Town House could be retained on site. The Town House is a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building. It is bounded on the north and west sides by North Walk and West Walk which are also scheduled monuments having the remains of the Roman ramparts of the town just below surface level. Built around 307 AD and extended in 341 AD, the Town House has two principal ranges of rooms. The South Range comprising rooms 1–7 survives in the plan form of flint and stone walls on the grass covered site. The West Range comprising rooms 8–18 was mosaic floored. This range was re-excavated and provided with a steel and glass cover building with a stone tiled roof all perched on the original foundations between 1996 and 1999.

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.

The Dorchester Hospital was a hospital in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It served the local area for many years before being replaced by the newer Dorset County Hospital in 1998. It was managed by the West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Town Walks are a series of public walks in Dorchester, Dorset, England, along the former Roman defences of the town.

Holy Trinity Church is a Roman Catholic and former Church of England church in Dorchester, Dorset, England. Built in 1875–76 to the designs of Benjamin Ferrey, it was declared redundant by the Church of England in 1975 and reopened the following year as a Roman Catholic church. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1975.