Dorset Historical Facts

At 625ft above sea level, the village of Evershot is the second highest village in Dorset.

In 1501, Catherine of Aragon stayed at The Queen’s Arms in Charmouth, Dorset. It is also where King Charles stayed on Septemeber 22 1651. The king was trying to escape Oliver Cromwell's soldiers, and was given refuge by the landlady at the time, Margret Ward. The building is now known as The Abbots house and is the oldest building in Charmouth.

The county of Dorset has no motorways, with agriculture and tourism its main industry. It does however have an international airport near Bournemouth, railway links to London, and 3 coastal ports in Poole, Weymouth, and Portland.

Dorset has a long history of smuggling, which was particularly common during the 18th century.

Dorset is the birthplace of the Trade Union Movement, started by the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' - a group of 6 labourers who formed a trade union to protest against falling wages. They were sentenced to transportation to Australia but they were pardoned following massive protests by the working classes.

The county name of Dorset is derived from the town of Dorchester

The Monmouth Rebellion began at Lyme Regis, Dorset, and was a failed attempt by the Duke of Monmouth to overthrow James II. It ended in the Bloody Azzises - a series of trials that took place in the county town of Dorchester, which saw 74 of the accused executed, 175 transported, and 9 publically whipped.

In the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell's troops crushed an uprising of vigilantes in a battle near Shaftesbury, Dorset.

The Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis (now part of Weymouth), Dorset, in the summer of 1348, possibly carried in by infected soldiers or sailors returning from the Hundred Years' War.

The first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the eighth century.