Continuing our look at Midsomer Murders locations, today we are in south Oxfordshire and the attractive village of Dorchester on Thames which is about 9 miles south-south-east of Oxford.
Dorchester on Thames is at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Thame. It's site has a very long history. The area has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic period. In the north of the parish there was a Neolithic sacred site, now largely destroyed by gravel pits. On one of the Sinodun Hills on the opposite side of the Thames, a ramparted settlement was inhabited during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Adjacent to the village are the Dyke Hills which are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort. The Romans built a vicus here (a small town), with a road linking the settlement to a military camp at Alchester, 16 miles (25 km) to the north.
In 634AD Pope Honorius I sent a bishop called Birinus to convert the Saxons of the Thames Valley to Christianity. King Cynegils of Wessex gave Dorchester to Birinus as the seat of a new Diocese of Dorchester under a Bishop of Dorchester; the diocese was extremely large. The settled nature of the bishopric made Dorchester in a sense the de facto capital of Wessex, which was later to become the dominant kingdom in England. Later, Winchester displaced Dorchester on Thames as the capital of Wessex. Later, in 1140, an abbey was founded here.
The collage shows Dorchester Abbey, the oldest building in the village (top right). Once again there are many thatched roof and timber framed houses (top right). The George Hotel was once a coaching inn (bottom left), hence the coach on display outside (bottom right).
There is a leaflet available locally or online which takes a walking tour of places in the village which were Midsomer Murders film loations. In addition to Midsomer Murders, episodes of Poirot and Miss Marple were also filmed in the village.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Dorchester on Thames is a lovely building, and the interior of the abbey quite spectacular. Sadly, I spent less than an hour in the village. It was on my list to revisit but so far it hasn't happened - there was always somewhere new in that area to explore!
Ian
January 23rd, 2021
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Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Dorchester on Thames is a lovely building, and the interior of the abbey quite spectacular. Sadly, I spent less than an hour in the village. It was on my list to revisit but so far it hasn't happened - there was always somewhere new in that area to explore!
Ian