page_title: Culture of Dorset
section_title: Historic sites and museums
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of Dorset / Historic sites and museums
caption_attribution_description: English: The Hellstone - a reconstructed prehistoric burial chamber, on the chalk hills above Portesham.
context_page_description: Dorset, is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the area covered by the non-metropolitan county, which is governed by Dorset County Council, together with the unitary authorities of Poole and Bournemouth. Dorset is an average sized county with an area of 2,653 square kilometres; it borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. Around half of Dorset's population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation. The rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density.
  Dorset has a long history of human settlement and a rich culture. The county contains 1,500 scheduled ancient monuments, including the Iron Age hillfort, Maiden Castle; and more than 12,000 listed buildings. It is famed in literature as the birthplace of Thomas Hardy and has been an inspiration to several authors including Enid Blyton who used the local landscape in many of her books. The local people have their own regional dialect which is still spoken in parts; and their own peculiar food, like the Dorset Knob, a hard biscuit, and Dorset Blue Vinney cheese.
context_section_description: Dorset's history is celebrated in more than 30 general and specialist museums throughout the county. There are museums dedicated to fashion, plastic design, mineral extraction, water supply and electricity. In addition there is the internationally important Tank Museum at Bovington, and The Keep Military Museum, one of the top provincial military museums in the country. The Dorset County Museum in Dorchester was founded in 1846 and contains an extensive collection of exhibits covering, amongst other things: the Jurassic Coast, local writers, archaeology, wildlife, geology and local history.
  Dorset contains 190 conservation areas, over 30 listed parks and gardens, more than 1,500 Scheduled Ancient Monuments and 12,850 listed buildings; many of which—over 6,000—are in the west of the county. Of the 229 that are Grade I listed, 174 are churches or places of worship, from the longest church in England, Christchurch Priory, to one of the smallest, St Edwold's. Nine castles are listed: some were constructed as defensive fortresses such as Corfe, Portland and Christchurch Castle, others are mock castles such as Highcliffe and Lulworth.
  The county has a long history of human settlement and some notable archaeology, such as the hill forts of Maiden Castle, Badbury Rings and Hod Hill. A large defensive ditch, Bokerley Dyke, delayed the Saxon conquest of Dorset for up to 150 years. There are numerous ancient burial sites and standing stones. Some of the more impressive include the stone circles at Kingston Russell, Hampton Hill, Rempstone and Nine Stones near Winterbourne Abbas. Just north of Portesham is a huge Neolithic dolmen known as the Hell Stone consisting of nine upright stones and a capstone.
caption: The Hellstone, near Portesham.
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