Lester Cowling
Dorchester
is likely to have come into existence as a wooden frontier fort guarding the
fringe of the Roman Empire. A town evolved around it, and all trace of the
original fort has now disappeared. The town itself was originally conceived and
originated by Romans.
In The Mayor of Casterbridge Hardy only slightly
exaggerated when he wrote of his fictionalised Dorchester -
“Casterbridge announced old Rome in
every street, alley, and precinct…”
Maybe Roman heritage
was more apparent before there was so much tarmac and concrete.
