Dark Darzet

Join Ross, David and Henry as they delve into the fascinating history of Madien Castle, near Dorchester, (known as Durnovaria in Roman times), a town with a mysterious past.

Derived from the Celtic word "durnov", meaning "fist", Durnovaria was founded by the Romans in 60 AD. The name aptly reflects the landscape of the area, with fist-sized pebbles found in abundance.

The Romans established Durnovaria as their administrative center for the Durotriges tribe, a Celtic group that inhabited southwestern England. Conquered by the Romans in 43 AD, the Durotriges adapted to Roman rule, adopting their customs and practices, and continuing to reside in the region after the Romans left.

Maiden Castle, an Iron Age hillfort, stands as a testament to the Durotriges' ingenuity. Built for both defense and ceremonial purposes, it stands as one of the few surviving Roman temples in Britain.

West Dorset boasts numerous hill forts, each serving as a stronghold against invaders and a hub for trade.

Intriguingly, some locals claim to have witnessed UFO sightings in the skies above Dorchester. Additionally, a nuclear bunker lies beneath Poundbury, adding to the town's aura of mystery.

Join Ross David and Henry as they unravel the secrets of Durnovaria, a town steeped in history and intrigue.

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In this episode of the Dark Dorzet Podcast, Ross and David, along with their long-suffering partners, head to the infamous Dorchester Prison for a night of ghost hunting.

Dorchester Prison was a Category B men's prison located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was built in 1855 and closed in 2013. The prison was originally designed to house 200 inmates, but by the time it closed it was holding over 500.

The team used a variety of methods to try to contact the spirits of the prison's former inmates, including table tipping, Ouija boards, and processed robots.

Also, we hear more about Nigel's friend's ghost encounter.

Music and SFX provided by https://slip.stream and Audio jungle

https://www.mosthauntedexperience.com/dorchester-prison

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Ross and David visited Brownsea Island, a place with a rich and mysterious history. They learned about Mary Bonham-Christie, the eccentric woman who bought the island in 1927 and ordered the residents to leave. They also visited Maryland, a deserted village that was once home to hundreds of people.

Ross and David explored the island's hidden corners, searching for clues to its past. They discovered a dark side to Brownsea Island, a place where strange things have happened and secrets have been buried.

What mysteries does Brownsea Island hold? What happened to Mary Bonham-Christie? What secrets lie hidden in Maryland? Ross and David's visit to Brownsea Island is a journey into the unknown, where the past is still alive and the mysteries are waiting to be solved.

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The so-called "pirate graveyard" in Portland, Dorset, England is actually the graveyard of St Andrew's Church, which was destroyed by fire in 1665. The churchyard is located on the edge of Church Ope Cove, and it is said that some of the headstones and table tombs have skulls and crossbones carved on them, which has led to the legend that it is the final resting place of pirates. However, there is no evidence to support this claim, and it is more likely that the skull and crossbones were simply a common symbol of death at the time.

The graveyard is a popular tourist destination, and it is said to be haunted by the ghosts of pirates. There are also a number of other legends associated with the graveyard, including the story of a pirate who was buried alive, and the story of a young woman who was killed by a pirate.

Beer featured in this episode:

Hattie Browns - Crow Black

http://www.hattiebrownsbrewery.co.uk/craft-beers-hattie-browns-brewery-swanage/

Hawkstone

https://hawkstone.co/

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David, Ross and their friends went on a pub crawl around Old Poole in Dorset visiting a number of haunted locations

The Blue Boar

The Blue Boar is a pub in Poole, Dorset, England. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a young woman who was murdered in the tunnels beneath the pub in the 18th century. The tunnels are no longer accessible to the public, if they exist at all?

The Angel

The Angel is another pub in Poole, Dorset, England. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of two children who were killed in a fire in the 19th century. The children's ghosts are said to play in the window of the pub, and their laughter can sometimes be heard at night.

The Crown Hotel

The Crown Hotel is a hotel in Poole, Dorset, England. It is said to be the most haunted building in Poole. Guests and staff have reported seeing a variety of ghosts, including a headless horseman, a woman in a white dress, and a group of soldiers.

The Old Harbour Office

The Old Harbour Office is a former office building in Poole, Dorset, England. It is now a museum. The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of the mayor of Poole, who was murdered in the building in the 18th century. The mayor's ghost is said to walk the corridors of the building at night.

The King Charles Inn

The King Charles Inn is a pub in Poole, Dorset, England. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of two people who committed suicide in the pub in the 19th century. The ghosts are said to be seen sitting at a table in the pub, and their voices can sometimes be heard.

The Quay Front

The Quay Front is a waterfront area in Poole, Dorset, England. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who was whipped to death by her husband in the 18th century. The woman's ghost is said to walk along the quayside at night, crying and begging for help.

The Portsmouth Hoy

The ghostly galleons of Poole are a series of phantom ships that are said to haunt the waters around Poole Harbour in Dorset, England. The ships are said to be the spirits of ships that were lost at sea, and they are often seen sailing through the harbour at night.

The Lord Nelson

The Lord Nelson is a pub in Poole, Dorset, England. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of an artist who committed suicide in the pub in the 19th century. The artist's ghost is said to be seen sitting at a table in the pub, painting.

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Ross and David Visit The Nine Stones, also known as the Devil's Nine Stones, the Nine Ladies, or Lady Williams and her Dog, is a stone circle located near to the village of Winterbourne Abbas in the southwestern English county of Dorset. 

The Nine Stones is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread through much of Great Britain, Ireland, and Brittany between 3,300 and 900 BCE, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

The purpose of such rings is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that the stones represented supernatural entities for the circle's builders.

At least nine of these stone circles are known to have been constructed near modern Dorset. They are smaller than those found elsewhere in Great Britain and are typically built from sarsen stone.

The word "sarsen" is a shortening of "Saracen stone" which arose in the Wiltshire dialect. In the Middle Ages, "Saracen" was a common name for Muslims, and came by extension to be used for anything regarded as non-Christian, whether Muslim or pagan in contrast to Christianity.

Located in the bottom of a narrow valley, the Nine Stones circle has a diameter of 9.1 by 7.8 metres (29 feet 10 inches by 25 feet 7 inches). It consists of nine irregularly spaced sarsen megaliths, with a small opening on its northern side.

Two of the stones on the northwestern side of the monument are considerably larger than the other seven. This architectural feature has parallels with various stone circles in southwestern Scotland, and was potentially a deliberate choice of the circle's builders, to whom it may have had symbolic meaning.

Local folklore has grown up around the circle, associating it with the Devil and with children petrified into rock.

We also discuss David’s pub adventures, going to see Enys Men and Ross drinks 

Freedom Hiker from gyle59

https://gyle59.co.uk/beershop/p/freedom-hiker-500ml

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We went to Knowlton Church, a ruined church in Dorset, UK, which is said to be one of the most haunted places in Dorset. The church is located in a beautiful countryside setting, and the surrounding area is said to be home to many ghosts and spirits. We visited the church on a Sunday morning, and the sun was shining brightly. We felt a sense of peace and tranquillity at the church, and we did not experience any negative vibes. The bells of Knowlton Church were stolen, and the third bell was either thrown into the river or cursed by a witch.

Watch the video where we visited the site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDazGx2TAk0&list=PL7hdqQ7VjXDqDZLUuiVPzdV5VuonOPWFV&index=6

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The Ghost of the Toll Gate 

A witch, who had taken the form of a black cat, was killed while sitting on the toll gate in Ulwell near Swanage. Since then, the gate is said to open for those who travel late at night...

The Sheela Na Gig of Studland

St Nicolas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, and students.

After raiding Lindisfarne Priory in Northumbria in AD793, the Vikings occupied, harassed, and sacked parts of England until the Norman Conquest. Studland's own church was destroyed in C9, and Wareham was sacked at least three times.

Studland's St Nicola church is unmistakably Norman and probably dates from the end of the 11th century. Oral tradition tells us that it was used by smugglers to store contraband between the 16th and 19th centuries. One of its most notable features is its corbels.

An ornamental bracket that juts from a wall to support a superincumbent weight is called a corbel. A corbel is an integral piece of the wall, while a console is attached to the structure. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger" in England.

The corbels in Studland include a copulating couple, one (maybe two) shela na gigs and a couple of men who have had their knobs knocked off.

Sheela na gigs are figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on cathedrals, castles, and other buildings. The greatest concentrations can be found in Ireland, Great Britain, France and Spain, sometimes together with male figures. Ireland has the greatest number of surviving sheela na gig carvings; Joanne McMahon and Jack Roberts cite 101 examples in Ireland and 45 examples in Britain

Most of all the surviving in situ sheela na gigs are found in areas of Anglo-Norman conquest (12th century). The areas that remained "native Irish" have few sheela na gigs. It is argued that their location on churches and the grotesque features of the figures, by medieval standards, suggest that they represented female lust as hideous and sinfully corrupting.

Another theory is that the carvings are remnants of a pre-Christian fertility or mother goddess religion. They note what they claim are differences of materials and styles of some sheela na gigs from their surrounding structures, and noting that some are turned on their side, to support the idea that they were incorporated from previous structures into early Christian buildings.

Jørgen Andersen writes that the name is an Irish phrase, originally "Sighle na gCíoch", meaning "the old hag of the breasts"

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A Roman road runs through Thorncombe Wood at Higher Bockhampton (near Dorchester) with legends of a ghostly centurion who roams upon it!

Thorncombe Wood has been a wonderful feature of the Dorset countryside as far back as the time of famous novelist Thomas Hardy in the 1800s.

David and Ross went to explore the site of the haunting, beautifully described in the book Mysterious Dorset by Rodney Legg, kindly donated to the podcast by friend of the show Gareth

Watch the videos we made visiting these sites here:

https://tr.ee/te6j3DEKxS

Find the places we visited on our Dark Darzet map here:

https://tr.ee/dtg8GstU2i

Buy a badge and sticker here:

https://tr.ee/Y0m3vWrIXc

Buy a Tshirt here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

Tweet at us here:

https://tr.ee/xS47fz4rDC

Listen to Ross on his other podcast here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.