EDO4765 - Shire Hall, Former Crown Court, High West Street, Dorchester; field observation 1980

Shire Hall, a two-storeyed building by Thomas Hardwick in 1797, has a dignified classical façade of Portland ashlar and brick, divided into seven bays; the three central bays on the ground floor contain three round-headed doorways. The hall comprises the Council Chamber originally the Nisi Privs Court, and the Crown Court, now owned by the Trades Union Congress and preserved as a memorial to the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were tried here in 1834. There are later additions to the north. Grade 1. The site was surveyed by 'J.G.B' of the Ordnance Survey Archaeological Division on the 10 October 1980. His field notes are recorded on the OS record card as follows: No change; name confirmed by Local Authority