Dear Readers, when I first started visiting Dorchester (from about 2001 when Mum and Dad moved nearby) I often passed the King’s Arms with a sense of real sadness. This is the hostelry where Thomas Hardy set some of the scenes from The Mayor of Casterbridge ‘ (anyone who’s ever visited ‘Dorch’ will know that it’s Hardy Central), but the King’s Arms stayed decrepit and unloved for years. Then, about seven years ago there were signs that something exciting was happening – scaffolding went up, plaster was repaired, there were builder’s vans outside more or less constantly, and a great sense of excitement was in the air. And then, of course, the pandemic struck, just after the new King’s Arms had opened. I feared for the worst, but how splendid it looked!

PHoto from 2020 (https://www.dorchesterdorset.com/blog/news/kings-arms-dorchester-reopening/)

Parts of the King’s Arms date back to the 16th Century but most of it was rebuilt in the early 19th Century, giving it an elegant Georgian charm (true of so much of Dorchester). In the 20th Century it was owned by a series of breweries and private entrepreneurs, before finally going into receivership in 2015. It was bought by the Stay Original company  who specialise in refurbishing and preserving historic pubs and hotels. A lot of the restoration involved removing what the new owners describe as ’20th Century Tat”, including false ceilings and carpet covering a Victorian encaustic floor. The public areas really are lovely, as you can see.

This is the Casterbridge Room, said to be where Hardy wrote ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ (from King’s Arms website)

As regular readers know, I’ve been staying at Westwood House, a Bed and Breakfast opposite the King’s Arms, but it was closed for this visit so I decided to try out the King’s Arms. It really is a delightful place. I was a bit worried about noise, what with it being a busy restaurant and pub, but I asked for a quiet room and got one towards the back and side of the building, so not only was there no noise of people enjoying themselves (yes, my middle name is clearly Scrooge) but there wasn’t any traffic noise either. And as the temperature didn’t get above zero, it was lovely to just pile downstairs in the evening for my dinner, which was excellent. It’s rare that I want to eat all of the main course options, but I wished I was staying for a week to eat my way through the lot. Portobello Mushroom suet pudding, anybody? I can’t remember the last time I saw a suet pudding on a menu (and this was vegetarian too). Plus they had a Winter Kir cocktail, with prosecco, Cointreau and orange. Just as well I didn’t have far to stagger.

It made my heart a little bit sad that I never had the chance to bring Mum and Dad to the King’s Arms, they would have loved it, especially the sticky toffee pudding with date ice cream. But I ate it for them, and remembered how Dad would rub his hands together with joy when he really liked what he was eating, and how Mum would always make sure she put a little bit of everything on her plate onto her fork so she got the full range of tastes with every bite. And I realised that I do both of those things. The things we inherit from our parents don’t just live on in our DNA, they live on in our expressions and our tastes, the ways that we do the smallest of things. It’s not just through the obvious things that they live on.

Not sticky toffee pudding but it will have to do!

So that’s two excellent places to stay in Dorchester – Westwood House is about half the price but doesn’t have the extra facilities, so it’s a bit of a balancing act. I’m sure I’ll be back to both.

The website for the King’s Arms is here.