About Dorset
Country: England
Region: South West
Established: Ancient
Area: 2,653 km2 (1,024 sq mi)
Population: 998,900
Largest settlement: Bournemouth
Dorset is bordered by Somerset to the north west, Wiltshire to the north and the north east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south-east, the English Channel to the south, and Devon to the west.
The name Dorset comes from the town of Dorchester. The Romans established the settlement in the 1st century and named it Durnovaria, which was a Latinised version of a Common Brittonic word meaning "place with fist-sized pebbles"
History:
Prehistoric Times:
Dorset’s history spans millions of years, transforming from a tropical Jurassic sea filled with marine reptiles into a bustling landscape of Stone Age farmers and Iron Age warriors.
Neolithic communities began clearing Dorset's dense oak forests to cultivate crops and domesticate livestock.
Communities shifted from stone tools to copper and bronze metallurgy, allowing for advanced tool making, weapons, and complex trade networks across the English Channel. Permanent field systems, known as Celtic fields, began to neatly grid the chalk downs, alongside the structured roundhouse settlements.
By the late Iron Age, Dorset was ruled by a powerful Celtic tribe known as the Durotriges, who were known for their unique pottery, coinage, and fierce independence.
To defend territory and display tribal power, hilltops were sculpted into fortified citadels using deep ditches and high ramparts.
Maiden Castle is the largest and most complex Iron Age hillfort in Europe. Spanning an area equivalent to 50 football pitches, its maze like earthen ramparts protected thousands of inhabitants until the Roman invasion in 43 AD.
Roman Times:
The Romans dismantled the local Celtic tribal network, replacing hillforts with paved roads, grid planned towns, and grand country villas.
Durnovaria (Dorchester) was built on a Roman grid system and protected by a massive stone wall and ditch. It featured a public water supply fed by an engineered aqueduct over 6 miles (10 km) long.
Rather than building from scratch, Roman engineers converted a Neolithic henge earthwork on the edge of Durnovaria into a large amphitheatre. It could hold over 4,000 spectators for gladiatorial combats, animal hunts, and public executions.
The Romans heavily exploited Dorset's natural resources. They quarried Purbeck marble to build grand monuments across Britannia and mined Kimmeridge shale to manufacture luxury jewellery, plates, and furniture.
Anglo Saxon Times:
Following the collapse of Roman rule Dorset was transformed from a Celtic speaking Brythonic landscape into a vital Saxon stronghold.
Saint Aldhelm established a new cathedral and diocese at Sherborne. This turned Dorset into a major religious and political administrative hub for the kingdom.
The Viking Age in Britain began on Dorset's coast. Three Viking ships landed at Portland. When the local royal official rode out from Dorchester to direct them to the royal estate to pay taxes, the Vikings killed him on the spot.
Norman Times:
Following William the Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings, they systematically dismantled the Anglo-Saxon elite, built imposing stone fortresses to dominate the landscape, and completely restructured local land ownership and the church. Virtually all Anglo-Saxon noblemen in Dorset were stripped of their estates.
Dorset was reliant on the wealth from agriculture, with thousands of sheep, over 200 watermills, and a lucrative salt making industry.
Tudor and Stuart Times:
Dorset was transformed into an arena of naval defence, bitter civil war, and bloody rebellion. Due to their strategic English Channel coastline, it was a prime target for foreign armadas.
Following his split with the Catholic Church, King Henry VIII feared a French or Spanish invasion. In 1539, he ordered the construction of Portland Castle and Sandsfoot Castle. These artillery forts were built using local Portland stone to guard the deep waters of Weymouth Bay.
The historic Spanish Armada was officially spotted off the Dorset coast near the island of Portland in July 1588.
William stayed at Sherborne Castle, where he printed his official royal declarations on a portable printing press, sealing the end of Stuart absolutism in England without a major battle on Dorset soil.
Industrial Revolution Times:
While northern counties built sprawling, smoky factory cities, Dorset remained rural and focused its economy on high value quarrying, advanced agriculture, maritime trade, and textile manufacturing.
Dorset's quarrymen worked in perilous conditions along the cliffs of the Isle of Portland, blasting and cutting limestone. This stone was loaded onto special barges and shipped up the River Thames to build London landmarks, including St Paul's Cathedral and early government offices.
Mine workers mined clay and shipped it to Staffordshire for industrial potteries like Josiah Wedgwood.
Because Dorset lacked large police forces but had a rugged, cave filled coastline, it became the smuggling capital of southern England. Criminal networks operated out of the coastal coves. Hundreds of locals conspired to land, hide, and transport illegal shipments of French brandy, tea, tobacco, and fine silk into the English interior.
Victorian Times:
Travelling to Dorset from London took days by horse drawn coach. In 1847 the Railway transformed Dorset's economy. Farmers could now ship perishable goods like fresh Dorset butter, cheese, and milk to London markets overnight. Perishable seafood from Weymouth and Poole was also transported rapidly to fish markets, boosting local fishing communities.
Victorian holidaymakers flocked to the Dorset coast for the health benefits of sea bathing and fresh salt air.
Swanage grew into a bustling Victorian resort town, constructing its iconic pleasure pier in 1895 to accommodate paddle steamers arriving from Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight.
Modern Times:
Dorset has transitioned into a dynamic hub for advanced defence technology, global eco tourism, and pioneering conservation. While maintaining its historic and natural charm.
In December 2001, 95 miles of the Dorset and East Devon coastline were officially designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, popularly known as the Jurassic Coast.