This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2008)

A 48 hour computer simulation of Typhoon Mawar using the Weather Research and Forecasting model

A computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system. Computer simulations have become a useful part of mathematical modeling of many natural systems in physics (computational physics), astrophysics, chemistry and biology, human systems in economics, psychology, social science, and engineering. Simulation of a system is represented as the running of the system's model. It can be used to explore and gain new insights into new technology, and to estimate the performance of systems too complex for analytical solutions.^[1]

Computer simulations vary from computer programs that run a few minutes, to network-based groups of computers running for hours, to ongoing simulations that run for days. The scale of events being simulated by computer simulations has far exceeded anything possible (or perhaps even imaginable) using traditional paper-and-pencil mathematical modeling. Over 10 years ago, a desert-battle simulation, of one force invading another, involved the modeling of 66,239 tanks, trucks and other vehicles on simulated terrain around Kuwait, using multiple supercomputers in the DoD High Performance Computer Modernization Program^[2] Other examples include a 1-billion-atom model of material deformation (2002); a 2.64-million-atom model of the complex maker of protein in all organisms, a ribosome, in 2005;^[3] and the Blue Brain project at EPFL (Switzerland), begun in May 2005, to create the first computer simulation of the entire human brain, right down to the molecular level.^[4]

Simulation versus modeling[link]

Traditionally, building large models of systems has been via a statistical model, which attempts to find analytical solutions to problems and thereby enable the prediction of the behavior of the system from a set of parameters and initial conditions.

The term computer simulation is broader than computer modeling; the latter implies that all aspects are being modeled in the computer representation. However, computer simulation also includes generating inputs from simulated users in order to run actual computer software or equipment, with only part of the system being modeled. An example would be a flight simulator that can run machines as well as actual flight software.

Computer simulations are used in many fields, including science, technology, entertainment, health care, and business planning and scheduling.

History[link]

Computer simulation developed hand-in-hand with the rapid growth of the computer, following its first large-scale deployment during the Manhattan Project in World War II to model the process of nuclear detonation. It was a simulation of 12 hard spheres using a Monte Carlo algorithm. Computer simulation is often used as an adjunct to, or substitute for, modeling systems for which simple closed form analytic solutions are not possible. There are many types of computer simulations; the common feature they all share is the attempt to generate a sample of representative scenarios for a model in which a complete enumeration of all possible states of the model would be prohibitive or impossible.

Data preparation[link]

The external data requirements of simulations and models vary widely. For some, the input might be just a few numbers (for example, simulation of a waveform of AC electricity on a wire), while others might require terabytes of information (such as weather and climate models).

Input sources also vary widely:

• Sensors and other physical devices connected to the model;
• Control surfaces used to direct the progress of the simulation in some way;
• Current or Historical data entered by hand;
• Values extracted as by-product from other processes;
• Values output for the purpose by other simulations, models, or processes.

Lastly, the time at which data is available varies:

• "invariant" data is often built into the model code, either because the value is truly invariant (e.g. the value of π) or because the designers consider the value to be invariant for all cases of interest;
• data can be entered into the simulation when it starts up, for example by reading one or more files, or by reading data from a preprocessor;
• data can be provided during the simulation run, for example by a sensor network;

Because of this variety, and that many common elements exist between diverse simulation systems, there are a large number of specialized simulation languages. The best-known of these may be Simula (sometimes Simula-67, after the year 1967 when it was proposed). There are now many others.

Systems that accept data from external sources must be very careful in knowing what they are receiving. While it is easy for computers to read in values from text or binary files, what is much harder is knowing what the accuracy (compared to measurement resolution and precision) of the values is. Often it is expressed as "error bars", a minimum and maximum deviation from the value seen within which the true value (is expected to) lie. Because digital computer mathematics is not perfect, rounding and truncation errors will multiply this error up, and it is therefore useful to perform an "error analysis"^[5] to check that values output by the simulation are still usefully accurate.

Even small errors in the original data can accumulate into substantial error later in the simulation. While all computer analysis is subject to the "GIGO" (garbage in, garbage out) restriction, this is especially true of digital simulation. Indeed, it was the observation of this inherent, cumulative error, for digital systems that is the origin of chaos theory.

Types[link]

Computer models can be classified according to several independent pairs of attributes, including:

• Stochastic or deterministic (and as a special case of deterministic, chaotic) - see External links below for examples of stochastic vs. deterministic simulations
• Steady-state or dynamic
• Continuous or discrete (and as an important special case of discrete, discrete event or DE models)
• Local or distributed.

Another way of categorizing models is to look at the underlying data structures. For time-stepped simulations, there are two main classes:

• Simulations which store their data in regular grids and require only next-neighbor access are called stencil codes. Many CFD applications belong to this category.
• If the underlying graph is not a regular grid, the model may belong to the meshfree method class.

Equations define the relationships between elements of the modeled system and attempt to find a state in which the system is in equilibrium. Such models are often used in simulating physical systems, as a simpler modeling case before dynamic simulation is attempted.

• Dynamic simulations model changes in a system in response to (usually changing) input signals.
• Stochastic models use random number generators to model chance or random events;
• A discrete event simulation (DES) manages events in time. Most computer, logic-test and fault-tree simulations are of this type. In this type of simulation, the simulator maintains a queue of events sorted by the simulated time they should occur. The simulator reads the queue and triggers new events as each event is processed. It is not important to execute the simulation in real time. It's often more important to be able to access the data produced by the simulation, to discover logic defects in the design, or the sequence of events.
• A continuous dynamic simulation performs numerical solution of differential-algebraic equations or differential equations (either partial or ordinary). Periodically, the simulation program solves all the equations, and uses the numbers to change the state and output of the simulation. Applications include flight simulators, construction and management simulation games, chemical process modeling, and simulations of electrical circuits. Originally, these kinds of simulations were actually implemented on analog computers, where the differential equations could be represented directly by various electrical components such as op-amps. By the late 1980s, however, most "analog" simulations were run on conventional digital computers that emulate the behavior of an analog computer.
• A special type of discrete simulation that does not rely on a model with an underlying equation, but can nonetheless be represented formally, is agent-based simulation. In agent-based simulation, the individual entities (such as molecules, cells, trees or consumers) in the model are represented directly (rather than by their density or concentration) and possess an internal state and set of behaviors or rules that determine how the agent's state is updated from one time-step to the next.
• Distributed models run on a network of interconnected computers, possibly through the Internet. Simulations dispersed across multiple host computers like this are often referred to as "distributed simulations". There are several standards for distributed simulation, including Aggregate Level Simulation Protocol (ALSP), Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS), the High Level Architecture (simulation) (HLA) and the Test and Training Enabling Architecture (TENA).

CGI computer simulation[link]

Formerly, the output data from a computer simulation was sometimes presented in a table, or a matrix, showing how data was affected by numerous changes in the simulation parameters. The use of the matrix format was related to traditional use of the matrix concept in mathematical models; however, psychologists and others noted that humans could quickly perceive trends by looking at graphs or even moving-images or motion-pictures generated from the data, as displayed by computer-generated-imagery (CGI) animation. Although observers couldn't necessarily read out numbers, or spout math formulas, from observing a moving weather chart, they might be able to predict events (and "see that rain was headed their way"), much faster than scanning tables of rain-cloud coordinates. Such intense graphical displays, which transcended the World of numbers and formulae, sometimes also led to output that lacked a coordinate grid or omitted timestamps, as if straying too far from numeric data displays. Today, weather forecasting models tend to balance the view of moving rain/snow clouds against a map that uses numeric coordinates and numeric timestamps of events.

Similarly, CGI computer simulations of CAT scans can simulate how a tumor might shrink or change, during an extended period of medical treatment, presenting the passage of time as a spinning view of the visible human head, as the tumor changes.

Other applications of CGI computer simulations are being developed to graphically display large amounts of data, in motion, as changes occur during a simulation run.

Computer simulation in science[link]

Computer simulation of the process of osmosis

Generic examples of types of computer simulations in science, which are derived from an underlying mathematical description:

• a numerical simulation of differential equations that cannot be solved analytically, theories that involve continuous systems such as phenomena in physical cosmology, fluid dynamics (e.g. climate models, roadway noise models, roadway air dispersion models), continuum mechanics and chemical kinetics fall into this category.
• a stochastic simulation, typically used for discrete systems where events occur probabilistically, and which cannot be described directly with differential equations (this is a discrete simulation in the above sense). Phenomena in this category include genetic drift, biochemical or gene regulatory networks with small numbers of molecules. (see also: Monte Carlo method).

Specific examples of computer simulations follow:

• statistical simulations based upon an agglomeration of a large number of input profiles, such as the forecasting of equilibrium temperature of receiving waters, allowing the gamut of meteorological data to be input for a specific locale. This technique was developed for thermal pollution forecasting .
• agent based simulation has been used effectively in ecology, where it is often called individual based modeling and has been used in situations for which individual variability in the agents cannot be neglected, such as population dynamics of salmon and trout (most purely mathematical models assume all trout behave identically).
• time stepped dynamic model. In hydrology there are several such hydrology transport models such as the SWMM and DSSAM Models developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for river water quality forecasting.
• computer simulations have also been used to formally model theories of human cognition and performance, e.g. ACT-R
• computer simulation using molecular modeling for drug discovery
• computer simulation for studying the selective sensitivity of bonds by mechanochemistry during grinding of organic molecules.^[6]
• Computational fluid dynamics simulations are used to simulate the behaviour of flowing air, water and other fluids. There are one-, two- and three- dimensional models used. A one dimensional model might simulate the effects of water hammer in a pipe. A two-dimensional model might be used to simulate the drag forces on the cross-section of an aeroplane wing. A three-dimensional simulation might estimate the heating and cooling requirements of a large building.
• An understanding of statistical thermodynamic molecular theory is fundamental to the appreciation of molecular solutions. Development of the Potential Distribution Theorem (PDT) allows one to simplify this complex subject to down-to-earth presentations of molecular theory.

Notable, and sometimes controversial, computer simulations used in science include: Donella Meadows' World3 used in the Limits to Growth, James Lovelock's Daisyworld and Thomas Ray's Tierra.

Simulation environments for physics and engineering[link]

Graphical environments to design simulations have been developed. Special care was taken to handle events (situations in which the simulation equations are not valid and have to be changed). The open project Open Source Physics was started to develop reusable libraries for simulations in Java, together with Easy Java Simulations, a complete graphical environment that generates code based on these libraries.

Computer simulation in practical contexts[link]

Computer simulations are used in a wide variety of practical contexts, such as:

• analysis of air pollutant dispersion using atmospheric dispersion modeling
• design of complex systems such as aircraft and also logistics systems.
• design of Noise barriers to effect roadway noise mitigation
• flight simulators to train pilots
• weather forecasting
• Simulation of other computers is emulation.
• forecasting of prices on financial markets (for example Adaptive Modeler)
• behavior of structures (such as buildings and industrial parts) under stress and other conditions
• design of industrial processes, such as chemical processing plants
• Strategic Management and Organizational Studies
• Reservoir simulation for the petroleum engineering to model the subsurface reservoir
• Process Engineering Simulation tools.
• Robot simulators for the design of robots and robot control algorithms
• Urban Simulation Models that simulate dynamic patterns of urban development and responses to urban land use and transportation policies. See a more detailed article on Urban Environment Simulation.
• Traffic engineering to plan or redesign parts of the street network from single junctions over cities to a national highway network, for transportation system planning, design and operations. See a more detailed article on Simulation in Transportation.
• modeling car crashes to test safety mechanisms in new vehicle models

The reliability and the trust people put in computer simulations depends on the validity of the simulation model, therefore verification and validation are of crucial importance in the development of computer simulations. Another important aspect of computer simulations is that of reproducibility of the results, meaning that a simulation model should not provide a different answer for each execution. Although this might seem obvious, this is a special point of attention in stochastic simulations, where random numbers should actually be semi-random numbers. An exception to reproducibility are human in the loop simulations such as flight simulations and computer games. Here a human is part of the simulation and thus influences the outcome in a way that is hard, if not impossible, to reproduce exactly.

Vehicle manufacturers make use of computer simulation to test safety features in new designs. By building a copy of the car in a physics simulation environment, they can save the hundreds of thousands of dollars that would otherwise be required to build a unique prototype and test it. Engineers can step through the simulation milliseconds at a time to determine the exact stresses being put upon each section of the prototype.^[7]

Computer graphics can be used to display the results of a computer simulation. Animations can be used to experience a simulation in real-time e.g. in training simulations. In some cases animations may also be useful in faster than real-time or even slower than real-time modes. For example, faster than real-time animations can be useful in visualizing the buildup of queues in the simulation of humans evacuating a building. Furthermore, simulation results are often aggregated into static images using various ways of scientific visualization.

In debugging, simulating a program execution under test (rather than executing natively) can detect far more errors than the hardware itself can detect and, at the same time, log useful debugging information such as instruction trace, memory alterations and instruction counts. This technique can also detect buffer overflow and similar "hard to detect" errors as well as produce performance information and tuning data.

Pitfalls[link]

Although sometimes ignored in computer simulations, it is very important to perform sensitivity analysis to ensure that the accuracy of the results are properly understood. For example, the probabilistic risk analysis of factors determining the success of an oilfield exploration program involves combining samples from a variety of statistical distributions using the Monte Carlo method. If, for instance, one of the key parameters (e.g. the net ratio of oil-bearing strata) is known to only one significant figure, then the result of the simulation might not be more precise than one significant figure, although it might (misleadingly) be presented as having four significant figures.

Model Calibration Techniques

The following three steps should be used to produce accurate simulation models: calibration, verification, and validation. Computer simulations are good at portraying and comparing theoretical scenarios but in order to accurately model actual case studies, it has to match what is actually happening today. A base model should be created and calibrated so that it matches the area being studied. The calibrated model should then be verified to ensure that the model is operating as expected based on the inputs. Once the model has been verified, the final step is to validate the model by comparing the outputs to historical data from the study area. This can be done by using statistical techniques and ensuring an adequate R-squared value. Unless these techniques are employed, the simulation model created will produce inaccurate results and not be a useful prediction tool.

Model calibration is achieved by adjusting any available parameters in order to adjust how the model operates and simulates the process. For example in traffic simulation, typical parameters include look-ahead distance, car-following sensitivity, discharge headway, and start-up lost time. These parameters influence driver behaviors such as when and how long it takes a driver to change lanes, how much distance a driver leaves between itself and the car in front of it, and how quickly it starts to accelerate through an intersection. Adjusting these parameters has a direct effect on the amount of traffic volume that can traverse through the modeled roadway network by making the drivers more or less aggressive. These are examples of calibration parameters that can be fine-tuned to match up with characteristics observed in the field at the study location. Most traffic models will have typical default values but they may need to be adjusted to better match the driver behavior at the location being studied.

Model verification is achieved by obtaining output data from the model and comparing it to what is expected from the input data. For example in traffic simulation, traffic volume can be verified to ensure that actual volume throughput in the model is reasonably close to traffic volumes input into the model. Ten percent is a typical threshold used in traffic simulation to determine if output volumes are reasonably close to input volumes. Simulation models handle model inputs in different ways so traffic that enters the network, for example, may or may not reach its desired destination. Additionally, traffic that wants to enter the network may not be able to, if any congestion exists. This is why model verification is a very important part of the modeling process.

The final step is to validate the model by comparing the results with what’s expected based on historical data from the study area. Ideally, the model should produce similar results to what has happened historically. This is typically verified by nothing more than quoting the R2 statistic from the fit. This statistic measures the fraction of variability that is accounted for by the model. A high R2 value does not necessarily mean the model fits the data well. Another tool used to validate models is graphical residual analysis. If model output values are drastically different than historical values, it probably means there’s an error in the model. This is an important step to verify before using the model as a base to produce additional models for different scenarios to ensure each one is accurate. If the outputs do not reasonably match historic values during the validation process, the model should be reviewed and updated to produce results more in line with expectations. It is an iterative process that helps to produce more realistic models.

Validating traffic simulation models requires comparing traffic estimated by the model to observed traffic on the roadway and transit systems. Initial comparisons are for trip interchanges between quadrants, sectors, or other large areas of interest. The next step is to compare traffic estimated by the models to traffic counts, including transit ridership, crossing contrived barriers in the study area. These are typically called screenlines, cutlines, and cordon lines and may be imaginary or actual physical barriers. Cordon lines surround particular areas such as the central business district or other major activity centers. Transit ridership estimates are commonly validated by comparing them to actual patronage crossing cordon lines around the central business district.

Three sources of error can cause weak correlation during calibration: input error, model error, and parameter error. In general, input error and parameter error can be adjusted easily by the user. Model error however is caused by the methodology used in the model and may not be as easy to fix. Simulation models are typically built using several different modeling theories that can produce conflicting results. Some models are more generalized while others are more detailed. If model error occurs as a result of this, in may be necessary to adjust the model methodology to make results more consistent.

In order to produce good models that can be used to produce realistic results, these are the necessary steps that need to be taken in order to ensure that simulation models are functioning properly. Simulation models can be used as a tool to verify engineering theories but are only valid, if calibrated properly. Once satisfactory estimates of the parameters for all models have been obtained, the models must be checked to assure that they adequately perform the functions for which they are intended. The validation process establishes the credibility of the model by demonstrating its ability to replicate actual traffic patterns. The importance of model validation underscores the need for careful planning, thoroughness and accuracy of the input data collection program that has this purpose. Efforts should be made to ensure collected data is consistent with expected values. For example in traffic analysis, it is typically common for a traffic engineer to perform a site visit to verify traffic counts and become familiar with traffic patterns in the area. The resulting models and forecasts will be no better than the data used for model estimation and validation.

See also[link]

• Virtual prototyping
• Stencil codes
• Meshfree methods
• Web-based simulation
• Emulator
• Procedural animation
• In silico

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2008)

Notes[link]

Coordinates: 50°42′00″N 2°26′00″W / 50.7°N 2.433333°W / 50.7; -2.433333

Dorchester
Dorchester  Dorchester shown within Dorset
Population	20,101
OS grid reference	SY690906
District	West Dorset
Shire county	Dorset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DORCHESTER
Postcode district	DT1
Dialling code	01305
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	West Dorset
Website	http://www.dorchester-tc.gov.uk
List of places: UK • England • Dorset

Dorchester ( /ˈdɔrtʃɛstər/ DOR-ches-tər) is the county town of Dorset, England. A historic market town, Dorchester lies on the banks of the River Frome, in the Frome Valley, just south of the Dorset Downs and north of the South Dorset Ridgeway, that separates the area from Weymouth, 8 miles (13 km) south.

Dorchester is noted as being home and inspiration to the author Thomas Hardy, whose novels Tess of the d'Urbervilles and The Mayor of Casterbridge were both based on the town.

In the 2001 Census the official population of Dorchester was 16,171, although by 2010 this was estimated to have risen to 18,280.^[1]

History[link]

Prehistory and Romano-British[link]

Dorchester's roots stem back to prehistoric times. Settlements were first based around Maiden Castle, a large Iron Age hill fort that was one of the most powerful settlements in pre-Roman Britain, with varying tribes having existed there since 4000 BC. The Durotriges were likely to have been there at the arrival of the Romans in 43 AD.

The Romans defeated the local tribes by 70 AD. After possibly being converted from a garrison to a town, the Romans named the settlement Durnovaria. This was a Brythonic name meaning 'place with fist-sized pebbles' and appears to have taken part of its name from the local Durotriges tribe who inhabited the area. Durnovaria was first recorded in the 4th century Antonine Itinerary and became a market centre for the surrounding countryside, and an important road junction and staging post,^[2] and eventually one of the twin capitals of the Celtic Durotriges tribe.^[3]

The Romans walled the town and the remains can still be seen today. The walls were largely replaced with walks that form a square inside modern Dorchester. Known as 'The Walks' a small segment of the original Roman wall still exists today near the Top 'o Town roundabout.

Roman town house ruins in Dorchester

The town still has some Roman features, including part of the town walls and the foundations of a Roman town house, which are freely accessible near the County Hall. There are many Roman finds in the County Museum. The Romans built an 8-mile (13 km) aqueduct to supply the town with water, lengths of the terrace on which it was constructed still remain in parts. Near the town centre is Maumbury Rings, an ancient British henge earthwork converted by the Romans for use as an amphitheatre, and to the north west is Poundbury Hill, another pre-Roman fortification.

Little evidence exists to suggest continued occupation after the withdrawal of the Roman administration from Britain. Historians have suggested that the town became known as Caer Durnac, mistakenly recorded by Nennius as Caer Urnac.^[4][5] The area remained in British hands until the mid-7th century and there was certainly continuity of use of the Roman cemetery at nearby Poundbury. Dorchester has therefore been suggested as the centre of a sub-kingdom of Dumnonia or other regional power base.^[6]

Anglo-Saxon[link]

By 864, the area around Durnovaria/Caer Durnac was dominated by the newly established Saxons, who came to refer to themselves as Dorsaetas ('People of the Dor' - Durnovaria). In their own language, they referred to the town as Dornwaraceaster or Dornwaracester, combining the original name 'Dor/Dorn' from the Latin and Celtic languages with the word 'cester', which was an Anglo-Saxon word used for 'walled town'.^[7] The name would further change to Dorncester/Dornceaster until modern Dorchester emerged some time later. It continued as a thriving commercial and political centre for south Dorset with a textile trading and manufacturing industry continuing until the 17th century.^[8]

Early modern history[link]

"The town is populous, tho' not large, the streets broad, but the buildings old, and low; however, there is good company and a good deal of it; and a man that coveted a retreat in this world might as agreeably spend his time, and as well in Dorchester, as in any town I know in England". -- Daniel Defoe, in his A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724-1726).^[9]

In 1613 and 1725 great fires destroyed large parts of the town, but some of the mediaeval buildings, including Judge Jeffreys' lodgings, and the Tudor almshouse survive in the town centre, amongst the replacement Georgian buildings, many of which are built in Portland limestone.

In the 17th century the town was at the centre of the Puritan emigration to America, and the local rector, John White, organised the settlement of Dorchester, Massachusetts. For his efforts on behalf of Puritan dissenters, White has been called the unheralded founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Some observers have attributed the oversight to the fact that White, unlike John Winthrop, never came to America.)^[10]

In 1642, just prior to the English Civil War, Hugh Green, a Catholic chaplain was executed here. After his execution, Puritans played football with his head.^[11] The town was heavily defended against the Royalists in the Civil War.

In 1685 the Duke of Monmouth failed in his invasion attempt, the Monmouth Rebellion, and almost 300 of his men were condemned to death or transportation in the "Bloody Assizes", held in the Oak Room of the Antelope Hotel, Dorchester and presided over by Judge Jeffreys.

Modern history[link]

In 1833, the Tolpuddle Martyrs formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. Trade unions were legal, but due to them swearing an oath of allegiance, they were arrested and tried in the Shire Hall in Dorchester. This building still remains and is preserved as it was at the time. Under the court are the cells where the prisoners were held while waiting for their court appearance. Dorchester Prison was constructed in the town during the 19th century and the prison is still in use today, holding convicted and remanded inmates from the local courts.

Dorchester remained a compact town within the boundaries of the old town walls until the latter part of the 19th century due to the ownership of all land immediately adjacent to the west, south and east by the Duchy of Cornwall. This land composed the Manor of Fordington, and a select few developments had encroached onto it:

• The Marabout Barracks, to the north of Bridport Road, in 1794
• The Dorchester Union Workhouse, to the north of Damer's Road, in 1835
• The Southampton and Dorchester Railway and its station east of Weymouth Avenue, in 1847
• The Great Western Railway and its station to the south of Damer's Road, in 1857
• The Waterworks, to the north of Bridport Road, in 1854
• A new cemetery, to the west of the new railway and east of Weymouth Avenue, in 1856
• The Dorset County Constabulary police station in 1860, west of the Southampton railway, east of Weymouth Avenue and north of Maumbury Rings.

A map of Dorchester in 1937

This remaining Duchy land was farmed under the open field system until 1874 when the land was enclosed - or consolidated - into three large farms by the landowners and residents.^[12] Soon afterwards followed a series of key developments for the town: the enclosing of Poundbury hillfort for public enjoyment in 1876, the 'Fair Field' (new site for the market, off Weymouth Avenue) in 1877, the Recreation Ground (also off Weymouth Avenue) opening in 1880, and the imposing Eldridge Pope Brewery of 1881, adjacent to the railway line to Southampton. Salisbury Field was retained for public use in 1892, with land being purchased in 1895 for the formal Borough Gardens, between West Walks and Cornwall Road.^[12] The clock and bandstand were added in 1898.^[13]

Meanwhile, land had begun to be developed for housing outside the walls. This included the Cornwall Estate, between the Borough Gardens and the Great Western Railway, from 1876 and the Prince of Wales Estate, centred on Prince of Wales Road, from 1880. Land for the Victoria Park Estate was bought in 1896 and building began in 1897, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. The lime trees in Queen's Avenue were planted in February 1897.^[12]

Recent developments[link]

Dorchester High West Street

Poundbury is the well-known western extension of the town, constructed on Duchy of Cornwall land (owned by Charles, Prince of Wales) according to urban village principles since 1993. Being developed over 25 years, it will eventually be composed of four phases with a total of 2,500 dwellings and a population of about 6,000. Since 2008, Poundbury is now home to Dorset Fire and Rescue Service headquarters and Dorchester fire station. Prince Charles designed the estate (as well as the local Tesco supermarket) and makes several visits throughout the year.

Dorchester became Dorset's first Official Transition Initiative in 2008 as part of the Transition Towns concept.^[14] Transition Town Dorchester is a Dorchester community response to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change.^[15]

The town's Woolworths shop closed in January 2009 after the high-street retail chain entered administration. The store manager, however, secured investment to re-open the store in March 2009, under the name Wellworths,^[16] although due to legal reasons it was later renamed Wellchester. In May 2009, a skatepark was opened in Dorchester after 12 years of planning and construction.^[17]

The catchment population for major food retail outlets in Dorchester is 38,500 (2001 estimate). The catchment area extends eight miles west, north and east of the town, and two miles south.^[1] Brewery Square is a new development in the heart of the town, and is planned to include a multitude of retail outlets, residential units, bars, restaurants and various cultural facilities, plus the regeneration of Dorchester South station to make it the UK's first solar powered rail station.^[18] The Charles Street development, being built on the site of the former Charles Street car park, is the newest project in Dorchester, and will include 23 new shops, a 485-space underground car park, an hotel, affordable housing, new public toilets, a public library and adult education centre provided and paid for by Dorset County Council, and offices and separate parking occupied and paid for by West Dorset District Council. The Charles Street development is predicted to create 660 new jobs (not including jobs within the council).^[19]

There is a new leisure centre being built on Coburg Road to replace the old Thomas Hardye School Leisure Centre, costing over £8 million, and will consist of a new swimming pool and sports equipment.^[20]

Government[link]

Dorchester is represented by three tiers of government. Dorchester town council, West Dorset District Council and Dorset County Council, all of whom are based within the town. The Member of Parliament for West Dorset is Oliver Letwin.

The town's coat of arms depicts the old castle that used to stand where the prison now does. The royal purple background signifies Dorchester's status as part of the private estates of the king since before Domesday. The shield within the castle depicts lions, copied from the shields of Dorset men who fought at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415, and fleur-de-lys. The fleur-de-lys on the shield are scattered (or "semée") rather than the more traditional triangular arrangement. Doing so, shows that the town had the right to bear the arms of France before 1405, when they were altered by King Henry VI. Dorchester's seal is the only one in the UK to use the fleur-de-lys in this way. The inscription 'Sigillum Bailivorum Dorcestre' means 'The Seal of the Bailiffs of Dorchester'.

In 2011 Dorchester was one of more than 20 towns across the country to apply for city status to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee,^[21] although in March 2012 it was revealed that Dorchester's bid was unsuccessful.

Media[link]

Dorchester is served by two local radio stations: Wessex FM and BBC Radio Solent (BBC Dorset). The county hospital has its own station named 'Ridgeway Radio'. Local television news coverage is by South Today or Spotlight (BBC News). Dorchester's regular print media comprise Dorset Echo and a free weekly periodical.

Transport[link]

Dorchester South railway station

The town has two railway stations. Dorchester South railway station on the South Western Main Line to Bournemouth, Southampton and London is operated by South West Trains. Dorchester West railway station on the Heart of Wessex Line is operated by First Great Western and serves Yeovil, Bath and Bristol The building at Dorchester West railway station is the original building designed and built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. As part of the regeneration project taking place at the Brewery Site in the town centre, Dorchester South railway station will become the first solar powered railway station in the UK.

A bypass road was completed in 1988 by construction company Mowlem to the south and west of the town, diverting through traffic using the A35 and A37 from the town.^[22]

Education[link]

Dorchester has one private school, several first schools, two middle schools and one upper school. The upper school, The Thomas Hardye School, can trace its origins back to 1569, when it was founded by a merchant of that name, not the writer Thomas Hardy as commonly believed. Nineteen schools in the Dorchester area form the Dorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP).

Kingston Maurward College is a land-based studies college based on the outskirts of the town.

Culture[link]

Local author and poet Thomas Hardy based the fictional town of Casterbridge on Dorchester. Hardy's childhood home is to the east of the town, and his house in town, Max Gate, is owned by the National Trust and open to the public. William Barnes, the local dialect poet, was Rector of Winterborne Came, a small hamlet near Dorchester, for 24 years until his death in 1886,^[23] and ran a school in the town. Statues of both men stand in the town centre; Barnes is outside St Peter's Church and Hardy's beside the Top o' Town crossroads. Cecil Day Lewis is buried in Stinsford, one mile (1.6 km) from Dorchester. Hardy is buried in London, but his heart was removed and buried in Stinsford.

On the hills to the south west of the town, stands Hardy's Monument, a memorial to the other local Thomas Hardy, Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, who served with Lord Nelson, which overlooks the town with views of Weymouth, the Isle of Portland and Chesil Beach. Tom Roberts, Australian painter, was born in Dorchester in 1856.

Dorchester Arts, a regularly funded arts organisation based in a former school building runs a seasonal programme of music, dance and theatre events in the town as well as a range of participatory arts projects for socially excluded groups and the biannual Dorchester Festival. In 2011, Dorchester Arts became an Arts Council 'National Portfolio organisation' with enhanced funding until 2015.

Museums in Dorchester include the Roman Town House, The Dinosaur Museum, the Terracotta Warriors Museum, the Dorset Teddy Bear Museum, The Keep Military Museum, Dorset County Museum. and the Tutankhamun Exhibition. All of these museums took part in the "Museums at Night" event in May 2011 where museums across the UK opened after hours.^[24]

On 15 December 2004, Dorchester was granted Fairtrade Town status.^{[citation needed]}

Twinned towns[link]

Dorchester is twinned with three European towns:^[25]

• Bayeux in France since 1959, came about because the Dorset Regiment were the first soldiers to enter the town in 1944 as the Second World War came to an end
• Lübbecke in Germany since 1973, largely down to the special relationship between the Durnovaria Silver Band who met the Lübbecker Schutzenmusik Corps at an event in Bayeux when Bayeux was twinning with Lübbecke in 1968
• Holbæk in Denmark since 1992, resulted from a shared interest in community plays.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people[link]

• James Campbell (born 1988), cricketer
• Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), writer, was born near Dorchester and later lived at Max Gate in the town. Two of his novels were directly based on Dorchester.
• Paul Hillier (born 1949), classical singer and composer was born in Dorchester. He attended the Thomas Hardye School.

Sport[link]

Dorchester is represented by many sports teams, the most prominent of whom are Dorchester Town F.C., a football team currently playing in the Conference South.

Harry Redknapp and former England players Graham Roberts and Martin Chivers represented 'The Magpies' during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The club have historically been based along Weymouth Avenue in the south of the town. Having previously played at the old Avenue Ground since their inception, the club moved to a new purpose built 5,000 capacity Avenue Stadium in the early 1990s - designed and owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The site of the old Avenue ground is now a Tesco supermarket built at the same time as the Avenue stadium

Dorchester RFC are an amateur rugby union team who currently play in the Southern Counties South league.

Dorchester CC, are a cricket club, who play in the Dorset Premier League, being last crowned champions in 2009.

Aaron Cook, a taekwondo athlete who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games finishing in fifth place, was born in Dorchester.^[26]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Bingham, A. (1987) Dorset : Ordnance Survey landranger guidebook , Norwich: Jarrold, ISBN 0-319-00187-3
• Chandler, J. H. (1990) Wessex images, Gloucester: Alan Sutton and Wiltshire County Council Library & Museum Service, ISBN 0-86299-739-9
• Draper, J. (1992) Dorchester : An illustrated history Wimborne: Dovecote Press, ISBN 1-874336-04-0
• Morris, J. and Draper, J. (1995) "The 'Enclosure' of Foridngton Fields and the Development of Dorchester, 1874–1903", Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society proceedings, v. 117, p. 5–14, ISSN 0070-7112
• Pitt-Rivers, M. (1966) Dorset, A Shell guide, New ed., London: Faber, ISBN 0-571-06714-X
• Taylor, C. (1970) Dorset, Making of the English landscape, London: Hodder & Stoughton, p. 197–201, ISBN 0-340-10962-9
• Waymark, J, (1997) "The Duchy of Cornwall and the Expansion of Dorchester, c. 1900–1997", Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society proceedings, v. 119, p. 19–32, ISSN 0070-7112

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dorchester, Dorset

• Census data
• Dorchester, Dorset at the Open Directory Project