Dorchester is the County Town of Dorset. Since Roman times (as Durnovaria) Dorchester has been a major centre for the surrounding County. Dorchester has featured twice in legal history. First, as the town where Judge Jeffreys sentenced 292 men to be hung, drawn and quartered after the Duke of Monmouth's 1685 rebellion against King James II. Later in 1834, farm labourers from nearby Tolpuddle were sentenced to transportation to Australia for forming a trade union. Their sentences were later remitted as public opinion in England grew in favour of these 'Tolpuddle Martyrs'. Made famous also as Thomas Hardy's 'Casterbridge', today Dorchester is a major market town, and commercial centre, and has a brewery. The Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, owns much land around Dorchester and is building a 'model' village of Poundbury on its western outskirts. There are several museums in Dorchester, including Dorset's County Museum, a Military Museum, an exhibition of Tutankhamen, and a Dinosaur museum. One of the most noted local landmarks is Maiden Castle, a vast complex of earthworks started in Neolithic times, and occupied until the Roman period. Market on Wednesdays
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