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Dorset Leasing

Did You Know?

Dorset is the home to the oldest post box in England. Commissioned many years ago in 1853, this famous post box is actually still in use today and can be found in the quaint village of Holwell. You’ll also find that it still bears the initials of Queen Victoria inscribed in its casing!

A 1.5km stretch at Cann Common has often been called Britain’s bendiest road. Although the claim is unsubstantiated, the road is certainly one of the bendiest we’ve ever seen! Named Zig Zag Hill, this road near the Dorset / Wiltshire border is so twisty it feels like a rollercoaster. Drivers be warned!

Palaeontologist Mary Anning founded the shop in Lyme Regis in Dorset, and her findings contributed to significant changes in the field of science and earth history. Sadly, she was never admitted into the Geological Society of London for her work because she was a woman.

The first ever reported sighting of an Unidentified Flying Object in Britain was in Fleet; a village in West Dorset. On 8th December 1733, Mr Cracker reported seeing a silvery disc fly overhead in broad daylight.

The word ‘rabbit’ is considered unlucky on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Portlanders refrain from using the R-word as they consider the creatures to be bad omens. Instead, they call them bunnies, “long-eared furry things”, or even “underground mutton”.

Weymouth in Dorset was a famous holiday spot of King George III. The royal suffered from a “madness” which historians now suspect may have been Bipolar Disorder. His doctors recommended sea swimming, which was believed to be extremely curative, so King George began holidaying in Weymouth. 

The Jurassic Coast in Dorset was the first natural site in England to make it onto UNESCO's World Heritage list, while Poole Harbour is the largest natural harbour in Britain (and second in the world only to Sydney in Australia) and was formed during the Ice Age.

Dorset is probably most famous for its soaring limestone arch, Durdle Door, which is featured on many a postcard of the area. Nearby is the picture perfect horseshoe bay of Lulworth Cove which attracts visitors all year round

CELEBRITY chef Leslie Waters lives in Evershot, Dorset in a sixteenth century manor house which has become the base for her Waters' Cookery School. She moved to the county due to her love of Thomas Hardy novels and bought their home from punk singer and actress Toyah Willcox.

Bournemouth is the largest town in Dorset with a population of 187,000 with Poole being the next largest at 154,000.

Dorset derives its name from the county town of Dorchester. The Romans established the settlement in the 1st century and named it Durnovaria which was a Latinised version of a Common Brittonic word possibly meaning "place with fist-sized pebbles".

Film crews have taken to a Dorset town for what is widely believed to be Netflix comedy-drama Heartstopper. Production crews have been spotted along the seafront at Lyme Regis. 

Dorchester is the county town of Dorset and has nearly 20,000 residents. The majority of the larger towns are in the south of the county.