Heritage Open Day
Dorchester Heritage Open Day
18 September 2022
Each year, places across the country throw open their doors and give people the chance to see hidden places and try new experiences for free.
This year’s theme is ‘Astounding Inventions’. This provides a great opportunity to explore the many innovations inspired by local people.
The event coincides with the 400th anniversary of the Dorchester Brewhouse set up in September 1622 to provide a welfare system via a tax on beer and Dorchester’s 21st-century Brewhouse & Kitchen has created a special “Heritage” beer to mark the occasion.
Visit St Peter’s church to find out about Rev John White, the “Patriarch of Dorchester”, who set up the Brewhouse and the Massachusetts Bay Company to settle America, and William Barnes, local polymath and dialect poet. Visit the Shire Hall Museum to hear about the Tolpuddle Martyrs who inspired the trade union movement and Keep Military Museum to explore innovation through military history and enjoy displays from Nothe Fort Garrison.
Demonstrations of flint knapping, pottery, tin casting, and jewellery-making can be seen at the Roman Town House, where the Portable Antiquities Scheme will be encouraging people to bring in their finds and artefacts.
Visit the Corn Exchange to see “Galpin’s Folly” and find out about Martha Brown at Dorchester Prison.
Where did Sir Frederick Treves, developer of the appendectomy live? Who invented the first composting toilet? Answers can be found at Dorset Museum, on the guided tours of the town, or from the living history displays in Nappers Mite. Visit KeeP 106 at the town pump to send morse code messages, pick up an activity sheet and decipher the naval flags on display around the town.
FREE EVENT – Something for all the family
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Opening hours:
Daily: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Bank Holidays: 10.00am - 4.00pm -
Admissions:
10% discount for Annual Pass or Day Entry booked online using discount code DM01
Book now -
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Heritage Open Day
18 February - 22 June 2023
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ARTIST ROOMS Louise Bourgeois
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Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
Find out more17 June 2023, 10:00am - 12:00noon
Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
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Collections Discovery Centre Tour
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Find out more22 June 2023, 5:00pm - 6:30pm
FREE | Museum After Hours
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Find out more22 June 2023, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
ORIGINS: How the Earth Shaped Human History | Professor Lewis Dartnell
By taking us through millennia of human history, and billions of years into our planet’s past, Professor Lewis Dartnell tells us the ultimate origin story.
Find out more24 June 2023, 10:00am - 12:00noon
Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
Find out more