150 years of courtroom drama

Speaker: Anne Brown

Shire Hall, Dorchester, was the centre of justice and local government from 1797 to 1955. The courtroom was the scene of many famous and infamous trials throughout this period from the internationally significant Tolpuddle Martyrs to Martha Brown, said to be the inspiration for Hardy’s Tess of the D’Ubervilles. Particularly fascinating, are the stories of the ordinary Dorset men, women and children who found themselves in the dock during the 19th century. Meet young arsonists, resourceful smugglers and inept engine drivers, encounter an alleged witch, and enter the crime hotspots of Dorset! Anne is Learning Manager at Shire Hall Museum in Dorchester.