In Dorchester's High Street, you will find the lodging house of Judge Jeffreys, one of the most infamous characters in history. He presided over the legendary Bloody Assize that followed Monmouths defeat at Sedgemoor.
Dorchester is deep in the heart of Thomas Hardys Wessex. Hardy based many of his novels on Dorset and Casterbridge is based on Hardys home town of Dorchester. On the outskirts of Dorchester you will find Hardys birthplace and family home in Higher Bockhampton and Max gate, the home that he later designed himself and lived in until he died, lies on the outskirts of Dorchester.