Her Majesty The Queen's visits Dorchester, 3rd July 1952

Описание: Today we celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service.

We look back 70 years with images from our photographic archive of when Her Majesty The Queen visited the county town of Dorchester five months after she ascended the throne.

A report from the time stated:

'Her Majesty The Queen, on July 3rd 1952, after she visited the Royal Show at Newton Abbot on the previous day, called on the tenants of Duchy of Cornwall farms, first visiting Dorchester. From there she drove through gaily beflagged streets to Maumbury Rings, just south of the town, a Roman amphitheatre considered one of the finest of its kind in England. It is an oval earthwork covered by grass, the enclosing rampart rises 30ft. There her Majesty received an address by the Mayor of Dorchester and, in a graceful reply, referred to the happy coincidence that her visit occurred in the 250th anniversary year of the raising of the Dorsetshire Regiment; and also spoke of her familiarity with the West Country through the Thomas Hardy novels. Her Majesty then proceeded to Middle Farm and Maiden Castle Farm, and was driven in a Land Rover to the top of the Maiden Castle remains, and inspected the excavations of the remarkable Celtic construction.'

Audio of the Mayor of Dorchester’s loyal address courtesy of the Dorset History Centre