Venues in Dorset; hire a String Quartet
Bere Regis
The Saxon parish church was largely rebuilt by Cardinal Morton, Henry VII's Chancellor, and is noted for the painted timber roof of the nave. Its arches, supported by figures of the 12 apostles in 15th-century dress, bear the arms of the Cardinal's various offices. The church has become a place of pilgrimage for admirers of Hardy's novel Tess of the D' Urbervilles. Its heroine, Tess, was buried there, and a ijth-century window bears the lion rampant crest of the old Dorset family of Turberville on whom Hardy based his novel. On Woodbury Hill, just east of the village, stand the remains of an Iron Age fortification from which there are views across heath and river valleys stretching eastwards towards Poole.
String Quartets at Alexandra Hotel and Restaurant, Lyme Regis, Dorset
String Quartets at Athel Hampton House, Dorchester, Dorset
String Quartets at Athelhampton House, Dorchester, Dorset
String Quartets at Avonmouth Hotel, Christchurch, Dorset
String Quartets at Bishops Court, Shapwick, Blandford, Dorset
Bockhampton
Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in this picturesque hamlet, in a neatly thatched cottage backed by bluebell woods. The raftered, whitewashed rooms of his cottage maintain the simplicity that Hardy loved, and the room in which he wrote has glorious views over endless miles of the heathland that inspired his novels. Hardy was buned in Westminster Abbey, but his heart was placed in a grave in the churchyard at nearby Stinsford.
String Quartets at Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Bournemouth International Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Bournemouth Town Hall, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Bridge House Hotel, Ferndown, Dorset
String Quartets at Britannia Hotel Bournemouth, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Britannia Roundhouse Hotel, Lansdowne, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Carlton Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
Dorchester
A bustling county town and shopping centre. The lines of its main roads were laid down by the Romans, and there is an excavated Roman house in Colliton Park, near the new county hall. Dorset County Museum has a good collection of Roman and pre-Roman finds, including the remains of an early warrior who, some experts believe, was dismembered after his death in battle at Maiden Castle. The museum also has a collection of Thomas Hardy manuscripts and a reconstruction of the novelist's study at Max Gate, his former home.
Maumbury Rings, south of the town, is the site of a Stone Age circle adapted by the Romans as an amphitheatre capable of seating 10,000 people. Thesite was used as late as 1767 for Hanging Fairs, or public executions.
String Quartets at Chantmarle Manor, Frome St Quintin, Dorset
String Quartets at Coppleridge Inn, Shaftsbury, Dorset
String Quartets at Crown Hotel, Blandford Forum, Dorset
String Quartets at Durley Hall Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at East Cliff Court Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Eastbury Hotel, Sherborne, Dorset
String Quartets at Edmonsham House, Dorset, Dorset
Lulworth
A tourist spot of such renown that its real grandeur is best appreciated out of season. West Lulworth includes Lulworth Cove, where the chalk cliffs suddenly end and two arms of Portland and Purbeck stone almost encircle a lake-like body of water.
A not-too-arduous climb and walk westwards leads to the sheltered Man o' War Bay and to a huge limestone arch called Durdle Door, which juts out to sea. Walk along the beach on a wild, gusty day for a closer view of giant waves crashing through the arch.
East Lulworth, 23 miles east of West Lulworth, is an attractive village dominated by the estates of the Weld family. Their castle, set in 600 acres of rich woodland, was gutted by fire in 10.29. The adjoining Rotunda, built in 1786, was the first Roman Catholic church built by royal permission after the Reformation; George III consented on condition that it did not look like a church.
The road eastwards to Steeple along the ridge of the Purbeck Hills gives superb views towards the coast across the beautiful Tyneham Valley. But this road is on Defence Ministry land, so watch for the notices indicating whether the area is open or closed.
String Quartets at Highcliffe House, Christchurch, Dorset
String Quartets at Hooke Court, Hooke Nr Beaminster, Dorset
String Quartets at Hotel Miramar, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Langton Arms, Blandford, Dorset
String Quartets at Langtry Manor, Bournemouth, Dorset
Maiden Castle
One of the largest earthwork fortifications in Europe. It is more than 2 miles round the perimeter, and its terraced ramparts rise to more than 80 ft. Tools and pottery found beneath the ramparts indicate that the site was first occupied c. 2000 BC, then fortified in the Iron Age from 300 BC onwards, when the existing ramparts were constructed. The hill-fort was captured by the Romans under Vespasian in AD 43.
String Quartets at Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Mayor's Parlour & Council Chamber, Shaftsbury, Dorset
String Quartets at Merley House, Wimborne, Dorset
String Quartets at Milton Abbey School, Blandford Forum, Dorset
String Quartets at Parley Manor, Christchurch (nr Bournmouth), Dorset
String Quartets at Portland Castle, Portland, Dorset
String Quartets at Portland Castle, Portland, Dorset
String Quartets at Purbeck House Hotel, Swanage, Dorset
Milton Abbas
Thatched cottages line the street of this 18th-century 'model village'. The nearby Benedictine abbey church, which dates back to the I4th century, was sensitively restored by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who preserved the many-splendid abbey monuments in this miniature cathedral. Milton Abbey, now a school, was built on the old site of the property given by Henry VIII to the lawyer who arranged his divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. There is a rewarding walk from the abbey up too grassy steps to St Catherine's Chapel above. The countryside around is quite unspoilt and incredibly peaceful.
String Quartets at Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Salterns Harbourside Hotel, POOLE, Dorset
String Quartets at Sherborne Castle, Sherborne, Dorset
String Quartets at Sherborne Hotel, Sherborne, Dorset
String Quartets at Sopley Mill, Sopley, nr Christchurch, Dorset
String Quartets at St Leonard's Hotel, Ferndown, Dorset
String Quartets at Stockbridge Farm Barn, Sherborne, Dorset
Moreton
T. E. Lawrence—'Lawrence of Arabia' —was killed in a motor-cycle accident near here in 1935. His home, Clouds Hill, 2 miles north-east, was a gamekeeper's cottage when he found it. It is now owned by the National Trust and open to the public. Lawrence was buried in the churchyard of the small, cheerful church, which has chancel windows engraved by Laurence Whistler.
String Quartets at Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, Evershot, Dorset
String Quartets at Swallow Highcliff Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at The Chine, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at The East Close, Hinton, Christchurch, Dorset
String Quartets at The Orangery Suite, Wimborne, Dorset
String Quartets at The Riviera Hotel, Alum Chine, Bournemouth, Dorset
Weymouth
An ancient port and modern terminal for Channel Island steamers, as well as being a popular resort with sweeping, sandy beaches and safe bathing. Pleasant groups of Georgian and early Victorian houses, some with fine ironwork balconies, some bow-windowed, stretch in a line from the harbour to the end of the promenade. In Trinity Street, two Tudor cottages are now a museum, housing typical furnishings of an Elizabethan sea-dog's house. There are many unspoilt villages within easy reach, and a 4-mile walk eastwards to Osmington Mills can be rewarded by freshly cooked lobsters in any one of a number of little inns overlooking the sea.
String Quartets at The Springhead, Sutton Poyntz, Nr Weymouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Town Hall, Wimborne Minster, Dorset
String Quartets at Tudor Grange Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Wessex Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset
String Quartets at Yenton Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset