County Hall, 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 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.

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

Thomas Hardy Statue is a statue of Thomas Hardy, located at Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was funded by public subscription to commemorate Hardy's life and works, three years after his death. Designed by Eric Kennington, the statue was unveiled on 2 September 1931 by Sir James Matthew Barrie. It has been a Grade II listed monument since 1950.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

HM Prison Dorchester was a local men's prison, located in Dorchester in Dorset, England. The prison was operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and closed in January 2014.

The Dorset County Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building was designed specifically to house the museum's collection and is in the neo-Gothic style. The museum includes information and over 2 million artifacts associated with archaeology (e.g., Maiden Castle), geology (e.g., the Jurassic Coast), history, local writers (e.g. Thomas Hardy) and natural science. There are video displays, activity carts for children, and an audio guide. The collections include fossilised dinosaur footprints, Roman mosaics and original Thomas Hardy manuscripts.