DORCHESTER

Guild Anderson’s bespoke kitchen design commissions have taken us in to some interesting period homes in an around Dorchester.  The county town of Dorset, sits between Poole and Bridport on the A35, on the banks of the River Frome, to the south are the Dorset Downs and to the north the South Dorset Ridgeway.

Dorchester dates back to prehistoric times, with one of the earliest settlements being Maiden Castle, a large Iron Age hill fort that was one of the most powerful settlements until the Romans arrived in 43 AD.

In the 17th and 18th centuries Dorchester suffered several serious fires and only a few of the town’s early buildings have survived.  In 1833, the Tolpuddle Martyrs founded the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers, a popular cause for the early union and workers’ rights movements.  The Eldridge Pope Brewery opened in 1881 and was a major employer until it closed in 2003.

For many years Dorchester was inspiration of the author Thomas Hardy, whose novel The Mayor of Casterbridge uses a fictionalised version of Dorchester as its setting.

Poundbury is an urban extension to Dorchester, designed in accordance with the principles of architecture and urban planning as advocated by King Charles III, in his book ‘A Vision of Britain’. Developed over a period of 20 years, with a further 10-15 years to completion, and designed to a masterplan by Leon Krier, Poundbury has been an extraordinarily influential demonstration of King Charles III vision for new mixed-use development.

Ben Pentreath has been increasingly involved in the design and delivery of Poundbury, and the practice is now responsible for much of the new development constructed since 2009, and into the future.

Guild Anderson’s head office and bespoke kitchen design showroom is located in Tisbury and sits on a similar site to that of Poundbury, having also been deigned by Ben Pentreath, it draws on the traditional architecture of North Wiltshire and is an award winning mixed use development of workshops and 90 houses.  We are very proud to call it our home.