Casterbridge Rotary Club, Dorchester, Dorset

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Casterbridge Rotary Club, Dorchester, Dorset

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Its programme includes a mix of social events and local & international projects. To get in touch, please visit our website via the link on this page.

The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge in Dorchester, Dorset is a friendly club of men and women Rotarians who enjoy helping people, both locally and in other countries. We are always keen to hear from anyone who would like to find out more about becoming a Rotarian and joining our club. We will look forward to hearing from you.

01/11/2026

🌺 DORCHESTER CENOTAPH 🌺

Next Sunday, 8th November, Dorchester will come together for its annual Act of Remembrance.

As we prepare for next Sunday’s Parade, we thought we would share a little of the history of Dorchester’s Cenotaph — including a rather special connection with The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge.

After the First World War, the local community felt that there should be some permanent record of the sacrifice made by local soldiers. It was agreed in 1920 that a monument should be built on its present site at the corner of South Street and South Walks.

The council sought estimates from local firms for the design, carving and er****on of the monument. The successful tender was submitted by Algernon Grassby, a monumental mason of Maumbury Road, Dorchester, at a cost of £400.

The cenotaph was unveiled on 24 May 1921. Made from Portland Whitbed stone, it stands 15 feet high and weighs 17 tons. Both the front and rear are decorated with relief panels featuring a carved laurel leaf and a crusader’s sword, with the dates 1914–1918 on a scroll. Bronze plaques attached to the front of the memorial bear the names of the fallen.

Local legend has it that the trowel used by Algernon Grassby to complete the work is buried within the stonework.

There is also a personal connection between the cenotaph and The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge. Algernon Grassby was an ancestor of Peter Grassby, a founder member of the Club and one of its former Presidents.

The Remembrance Sunday Parade will leave North Square, by the Town Hall, at approximately 10.40am, making its way through the town to the Cenotaph.

Members of Poundbury Rotary Club and The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge will be taking part, with Poundbury Rotary Club laying this year’s wreath on behalf of Rotary in Dorchester.

If you would like to learn more about what we do, please contact:
[email protected]

26/10/2026

Crocus corm planting on Sunday October 25th

Current and Honorary members of Casterbridge Rotary Club were out in Dorchester yesterday, planting crocus corms. Despite the drizzle they did a great job and will plant more next weekend. Rotary clubs across Great Britain and Ireland plant up 1.5 million purple crocuses, in order to raise awareness of the Rotary fight for a polio free world. As you can see from our previous posts, the Rotary aim is to END POLIO NOW. This year's variety was Crocus tommasinianus – Ruby Giant (deep purple). We look forward to seeing them in the Spring.

23/10/2026

🌍 On World Polio Day 🌏

For more than 45 years, Rotary has been working to eradicate polio. Since becoming a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, worldwide cases have fallen by an incredible 99.9%.

Today, polio remains endemic in just two countries — Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are closer than ever to a polio-free world, but the job isn’t finished. Rotary remains committed to protecting children everywhere and making polio only the second human disease in history to be eradicated.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18m8gZtRqR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

19/10/2026

Dorchester Prepares to Remember…
🌺🌺🌺

Members of The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge and The Rotary Club of Dorchester Poundbury have been out and about in the town, putting up the large red poppies which were funded by Rotary in Dorchester, in preparation for Dorchester’s Remembrance Day commemorations.

It’s a small but very visible way of helping our town mark this important occasion and remember all those who served and sacrificed.

This year it is the turn of The Rotary Club of Dorchester Poundbury to lay the wreath on behalf of Rotary in Dorchester.

🌺 On Remembrance Sunday, 8th November 2026, the parade will leave North Square, by the Town Hall, at approximately 10.40am, before making its way to the Cenotaph for the Act of Remembrance.

We hope to see people from across Dorchester coming together to pay their respects.

🌺Lest we forget🌺

If you would like to learn more about what we do at The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge, please email us at:
[email protected]

24/09/2026

UPDATE- Following the club’s recent collection for the disaster in Nepal, we received a number of additional donations. These have now been included in our calculations, and with Gift aid, we are able to give Shelterbox the amazing total of £2250. Well done everyone involved and many many thanks to the generous people of Casterbridge/Dorchester.

24/09/2026

On Tuesday evening the Casterbridge Rotary Club enjoyed a very special evening.
We were delighted to welcome a new member to the club, and our president presented her with her badge and Rotary introduction. Welcome Flo.
We also had the opportunity to listen and learn about the work of a wonderful group of local ladies who are part of Project Linus UK.
They provide all sorts of quilts aiming to provide a sense of comfort and security to children in need.
projectlinusuk.org.uk
We were pleased to be able to give them a small grant from the club last year.
An excellent evening, good food, company and an inspirational presentation.

12/09/2026

💙 DORCHESTER DIGS DEEP FOR NEPAL 💙

Today, members of The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge were out in South Street, Dorchester, collecting to help provide ShelterBoxes for people affected by the devastating floods in Nepal. A member of Poundbury Rotary Club was also kind enough to join us. Our thanks to Florence for supporting our collection.

Rotary International and ShelterBox have worked together for more than 20 years, helping to provide emergency shelter and essential supplies to communities around the world when disaster strikes. See the image for content, although this may vary depending on local conditions.

The people of Dorchester and the surrounding area have generously supported this amazing work right from the beginning — and today was certainly no exception.

An incredible £960 was donated during today’s collection! 👏💙

And there is even better news: The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge intends to match this wonderful amount, potentially bringing the total raised to £1,920 for the Nepal flood appeal.

That means today’s generosity could potentially provide enough funding for THREE ShelterBoxes, bringing emergency shelter and essential supplies to families affected by the disaster. 💚📦📦📦

Our photographs capture just a few of the lovely people who stopped to support us today: Annabelle, making her donation via her phone to Rotarian Peter; 94-year-old Margaret, giving her cash donation to Gavin; and Tricia and Tony, adding their contribution to Jayne’s collection bucket.

From our youngest supporters to those with rather a few more years behind them, every donation mattered. ❤️

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped, chatted, donated and helped us make today such a success. Your generosity really can make a difference to people who have lost so much.

If you would like to add to this donation or would like to become involved in supporting worthy causes such as this, or if you’re interested to learn more about what we do, please contact us at:
[email protected]

11/09/2026

🍰 A LOVELY FOLLOW-UP TO OUR AFTERNOON TEA 💙

You may remember our recent post about an Afternoon Tea organised by Janet Hewitt, a member of The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge, for residents of Weld Court and the neighbouring residential home, Whetstones.

As everyone enjoyed the tea, a collection was held for Dorset County Hospital Charity’s Children’s Diabetes Clinic — and the residents attending generously contributed a wonderful £80.

We’re delighted to report that their £80 donation has now been presented to Dorset County Hospital Charity, where it will help support young people living with diabetes.

A very big thank you to all the residents who contributed so generously, and to Janet, who organised the Afternoon Tea and the collection. Janet also thanked her fellow Rotarians who helped on the day, saying how lovely it was to see everyone mixing, chatting with the residents and helping to make the afternoon such a success.

It seems particularly lovely that an afternoon bringing people together for tea, friendship and conversation should also result in one generation helping another. 💙

Our photographs show the Afternoon Tea itself and the presentation of the residents’ £80 donation by Janet.

If you would like to learn more about what The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge achieves in the community and abroad, please email us at:-
[email protected]

10/09/2026

Sam and Jake’s Special Olympics Summer Games Adventure 🏊‍♂️🏅

We were absolutely delighted to hear how brilliantly Sam and Jake did at the Special Olympics Summer Games in Birmingham, representing Dorchester and Dorset with the Wild Shark Swim Club of Shaftesbury.

It was a very special weekend for both young men and their families. Sam and Jake were particularly proud to be representing Dorchester and Dorset, while family and friends cheered them on from the gallery, proudly waving the Dorset flag and a “GO JAKE & SAM” banner.

And what an achievement! Sam came home with four medals, including gold in the 25m freestyle relay and bronze in the 50m breaststroke plus two participation medals in the 100m individual medley and 50m freestyle, while Jake won a gold medal in 25m butterfly and a silver in 25m freestyle, as well as another gold medal for his part in the 25m relay plus a participation medal in the 25m backstroke!🥇🥇🥈🥉

But the weekend was about so much more than medals — it was about friendship, confidence, achievement and the sheer joy of taking part in something very special.

The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge was delighted to support the campaign financially, helping Sam and Jake on their way to the Special Olympics. Seeing these photographs and hearing about their achievements makes us enormously proud to have played a small part in their adventure.

Here, in her own words, is the account Sam’s mum, Annette, wrote especially for us:

“Being at the Special Olympics Summer Games for Sam and Jake and their families and supporters was a very special and memorable few days. Sam loves competing and attending galas, and for Jake this was a dream come true having missed the last Special Olympics. Without the support of their club, The Wild Shark Swim Club of Shaftesbury (Thewildco) this would not have been possible as they became affiliated to Special Olympics GB in time for them to register. The atmosphere at the Games was one of celebration, not only of swimming but of gymnastics, boccia, football, athletics and other SO sports going on throughout the whole summer, enabling young people with disabilities to show everyone their talent, and be celebrated for that. There are plans for a World Special Olympics Games in 2031 to be held in the UK, so were keeping our fingers crossed for that. Sam and Jake are very appreciative for the many local organisations, friends and family in Dorchester and Shaftesbury who supported their fund raising efforts between May and August to help raise the funds to enable them to experience these Games.” - Annette Craddock

Getting Sam and Jake to the Special Olympics was very much a community effort, and a great many people and organisations helped to make their adventure possible.

Alongside the support from The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge, grateful thanks go to BBC Radio Solent, BBC South Today, KeeP 106 Radio, the Mayor and Mayoress of Dorchester, Hidden Needs Trust, Dorchester & District Lions Club, Dorchester Rock Choir at Facebook link: Rock Choir Weymouth, 1610 Dorchester Sports Centre, stABILITY Dorset, The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation, The Poet Laureatein Poundbury, Poundbury Garden Centre from The Gardens Group Abbotsbury Swannery, The Hair Depot and Sandworld Weymouth.

A huge thank you also goes to everyone who sponsored Sam and Jake in their July swim, everyone who supported the raffles at the sponsored swim and Masters gala, and all those who gave so generously at the Dorchester Lions Fayre and Dorchester Kite Festival.

Congratulations, Sam and Jake — what a wonderful achievement! 👏🏊‍♂️🏅

02/09/2026

🧤 The Rotary Club of Dorchester Casterbridge helping to keep our town tidy! 🗑️

Members were out in force last night for a litter pick around Brewery Square, the Market Car Park and Dorchester West Station.

As you can see, we collected quite a haul — including some rather larger items than we were expecting! 😄

It was a great team effort and another small way in which our members can help look after our local community.

With the job done and several bags of rubbish collected, we rounded off the evening together at The Junction Hotel.

People of Action — making a difference, one litter picker at a time! 💙💛

If you’re interested in helping make our community better for all, or just curious about what we do, please contact:
[email protected]

Address

Dorchester
DT13RT

Website

http://www.casterbridgerotary.org.uk/

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