I
Former town, now a ward of Boston , Mass.
, U.S. It extended nearly to the Rhode Island border and included Dorchester Heights, whose fortification by American Revolution .
II
ancient Durnovaria
Town (pop., 1995 est.: 16,000) and county seat of Dorset , England.
On the River Frome, the ancient town was a sizable Roman British centre, and many remains of the period have been found. By 1086 it was a royal borough, and a castle had been built by the 12th century; the Franciscan priory, founded before 1331, is thought to have been constructed from its ruins. The town is now a marketplace serving an extensive rural area. {{link=Hardy, Thomas">Thomas Hardy was born near Dorchester, the "Casterbridge" of his Wessex novels.