Community Assembly of Dorset

The Community Assembly of Dorset is located in the county of Dorset in the south west of England. Dorset has a varied landscape of chalk downs, steep limestone ridges and low-lying clay valleys. The majority of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site due to its geological and palaeontological significance featuring notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door.

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'. Today, the largest settlement is Bournemouth, and the county town is Dorchester.

There is evidence of Neolithic, Celtic, and Roman settlement in Dorset, and during the Early Middle Ages the region was settled by the Saxons; the county developed in the 7th century. The first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the eighth century, and the Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348.