The knee-high flint walls and beautifully preserved mosaics here powerfully conjure up the Roman occupation of Dorchester (then Durnovaria). Peek into the summer dining room to see the underfloor heating system (hypocaust), where charcoal-warmed air circulated around pillars to produce a toasty room temperature of 18°C (64°F).
Roman Town House
Dorset
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
17.7 MILES
The massive, shattered ruins of Corfe Castle loom so dramatically from the landscape it's like blundering into a film set. The defensive fragments tower…
9.82 MILES
Durdle Door is the poster child of Dorset's Jurassic Coast. This immense, sea-fringed, 150-million-year-old Portland stone arch was created by a…
19.08 MILES
Dorset's must-see stately home looks every inch the setting for a period drama. It overflows with rich decor, most famously in the Spanish Room, which is…
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29.59 MILES
Beer's creamy chalk cliffs hint at the presence of a seam of high-quality masonry material called Beer stone. It's been used in countless famous buildings…
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27.31 MILES
Overflowing with vistas, temples and follies, Stourhead is landscape gardening at its finest. The Palladian house has some fine Chippendale furniture and…
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8.32 MILES
The tiny cottage that was home to TE Lawrence (1888–1935) provides a compelling insight into a complex man. The British soldier became legendary after…
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1.82 MILES
Occupying a massive slab of horizon on the southern fringes of Dorchester, Maiden Castle is the largest and most complex Iron Age hill fort in Britain…
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11.57 MILES
Portland's white limestone has been quarried for centuries and has been used in some of the world's finest buildings, such as the British Museum and St…
Nearby Dorset attractions
0.2 MILES
The Thomas Hardy collection here is the world's largest, offering extraordinary insights into his creative process. You can see from text in Hardy's…
0.25 MILES
Some say this grand Georgian house with ornate doorposts was an inspiration for Thomas Hardy as he imagined the home of the character Lucetta Templeman in…
3. Mayor Of Casterbridge's House
0.32 MILES
A red-brick, mid-18th-century building (now a bank) that's named as the inspiration for the home of Thomas Hardy's mayor of Casterbridge, in his book of…
1.13 MILES
Novelist Thomas Hardy was a trained architect and designed this attractive house, where he lived from 1885 until his death in 1928. Tess of the D…
1.82 MILES
Occupying a massive slab of horizon on the southern fringes of Dorchester, Maiden Castle is the largest and most complex Iron Age hill fort in Britain…
2.41 MILES
This picturesque cob-and-thatch house is the birthplace of writer Thomas Hardy. It features evocative, sparsely furnished rooms and a lush garden. It's in…
6.29 MILES
Highlights include sharks, penguins and seahorses, and talks and feeding demonstrations are held throughout the day. Tickets fall to £14 for adults and …
6.82 MILES
Rarely do you find such a nudge-nudge, wink-wink tourist attraction. Nude, full frontal and notoriously well endowed, this hillside chalk figure is…