The following were historically

ancient borough The ancient boroughs were a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales. The ancient boroughs covered only important towns and were established by charters granted at different times by the monarchy. Their history is large ...

s in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

Boroughs, pre-Conquest

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and wit ...

* Dorchester *

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

* Wareham *

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poo ...

(see also ''Lapsed boroughs'' below)

Boroughs, post-Conquest

* Blandford Forum (from 1605) *

Corfe Castle Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the P ...

(from 1268 or 1576) *

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Heri ...

(from 1284 or -85) *

Melcombe Regis Melcombe Regis is an area of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Situated on the north shore of Weymouth Harbour and originally part of the waste of Radipole, it seems only to have developed as a significant settlement and seaport in the 13th centu ...

(from 1268) * Poole (from 1248; a County of itself from 1571) *

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. ...

(from 1227) * Weymouth (from 1252) :( Weymouth and Melcombe Regis were joined as a double borough in 1571)

"Lapsed" boroughs

* Castleton (in Oborne) *

Charmouth Charmouth is a village and civil parish in west Dorset, England. The village is situated on the mouth of the River Char, around north-east of Lyme Regis. Dorset County Council estimated that in 2013 the population of the civil parish was 1,31 ...

* Newton (in Studland) * Stoborough (in Wareham Holy Trinity) *

Whitchurch Canonicorum Whitchurch Canonicorum () is a village and civil parish in southwest Dorset, England, situated in the Marshwood Vale west-northwest of Bridport. In the 2011 Census the parish – which includes the settlements of Morcombelake, Ryall and Fishp ...

Sources

*Boswell, Edward, 1833: ''The Civil Division of the County of Dorset'' (published on CD by Archive CD Books Ltd, 1992) * Hutchins, John, ''History of Dorset'', vols 1-4 (3rd ed 1861-70; reprinted by EP Publishing, Wakefield, 1973) *Mills, A. D., 1977, 1980, 1989: ''Place Names of Dorset'', parts 1-3. English Place Name Society: Survey of English Place Names vols LII, LIII and 59/60 {{Administrative history of Dorset

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...