Beyond the Abbey

There’s much more to Dorchester than the Abbey – a group of pupils can sketch a variety of houses including typical Tudor, Georgian and Victorian styles of architecture –  three Coaching Inns may be found just on the High St.  There is evidence of continuous occupation from the Iron Age, with an oppidum of considerable importance, a Roman town, a Saxon cathedral and a medieval monastery.  Oxford Archaeology have based a Summer dig here for the last 5 years and found a Roman street under our allotments.

Visits can be organised to include the Museum in the Old School Room in the monastic Guest House, and the Hurst Water Meadow, an island lying between the River Thames and the Overy mill stream, probably in use since Saxon times and now being managed in accordance with the DEFRA Environmental Stewardship Scheme.  The meadow has an outside classroom and is a wonderful picnic spot, a haven of wildlife and an excellent place to let off a bit of steam!!

A walk towards the River Thames brings you to the ancient and mysterious Dyke Hills – a massive double rampart and ditch stretching between the Tame and the Thames which protects the Iron Age village behind it.

There are opportunities to witness and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of 21st century living in an old village, or to compare “Then” and “Now”.