Shire Hall
- Event Date : Saturday, 30 November 2024
- Start Time : 8pm
- End Time : 2am
- Address : Dorchester County Court Dorchester DT1 1UY
- This event is now sold out.
- If you would like to register your interest in this event, please send an email to admin@southernghostsociety.co.uk and we will be in touch if any places open up
- This does not guarentee you a place, but gives us a shortlist to contact should a place open up, before we release these tickets to the public
About this location
Shire Hall is a Grade I listed building in the heart of Dorchester which boasts a court room which has played a part in 100's of trials both with national and international importance.
The Old Crown Court most famously played host to the trial of the Tolpuddles Martyrs in 1834, arguably one of the most significant moments of the trade union movement. The six farm labourers dubbed The "Tolpuddle Martyrs" had formed a "Friendly Society" were brought into the court charged not with forming a union, but with swearing an illegal, secret oath. Their charges caused national outrage they were not only found guilty but transported to Australia.
Evidence of the first Shire Hall can be traced back to 1638 when the building were renovated to the costings of £60 which back then would have been a huge sum of money. At this time the court would have only convened a few weeks a year so the building had other uses such as storing gun powder during the Civil War. The Hall was also used as a workplace and in 1650 where the poor used to beat hemp in the jail room for a meagre six pence a day.
In 1769 the court moved to the Antelope Hotel as the building had fallen into complete disrepair. By 1797 architect Thomas Hardwick re-built Shire Hall to the magnificent building you see before you today which makes this amazing location an idea place to host a Paranormal Investigation.
With 100's of cases heard over the year and prisoners imprisoned until they learnt their fate, there is no surprise that Shire Hall reports countless sighting and unexplained occurrences over its long history. With ghostly apparitions seen walking between the cells, unexplained sounds and things moving on their own, the team can not wait for this Paranormal Ghost Investigation!
Join Us
Included on this event
- Use of Equipment
- Refreshments
- PLEASE NOTE - There is no parking at this site, I will post free parking instructions when requested
