IT'S time to return to our stroll of the High Street in Dorchester.

Last week we shared some of the stories behind various shops and businesses in the thriving thoroughfare.

Since then Derek Pride, who has provided the research, has been in touch with a well-known photograph showing bullocks being driven out of Dyer's Stores in High East Street back in the 1950s when animals were driven up the street to the cattle market. As you can see, the bullock emerging from the shop is rather an unusual sight!

Mr Pride said: "This photo was taken in 1954 - it could well have been when the Saturday cattle market was held in Charles Street!"

Thanks also to Richard Baker of Dorchester, who very kindly sent in a copy of the photo pointing out that it was included in the popular book Jo Draper's Dorchester Past. And thanks to Mr Baker for letting us know how much he enjoys Looking Back every week.

Our first stop this week is 14 High East Street, home to J.C. Hodders butcher's shop. The building is clearly built with No 13 but has a complete brilliant coloured glazed terracotta shop front continued below dado level around the front of No 15. There is a projected canopy with “Hodder” in bold Egyptian gold lettering on facia and medallion cornices. The eaves are dentilled with decorations below sash windows. J.C.Hodder Butchers who in their 1934 advert claim 100 years of “quality and service”, closed around 1970 and after being empty for several years, opened again but closed in January 1975. The premises were empty again until ‘Masala Indian Cuisine’ opened in March 2003 and still trades.

Moving on to number 15 High East Street. It was home to Virgin's Restaurant for which we have an advert here, then Legg’s Antique shop and the one-time home of the Dorchester Guardian, a newspaper publisher.

Number 16 was once home to the Phoenix Hotel - the hotel even had its own brewery round the back! The site was acquired by Groves of Weymouth in 1898. The Phoenix had a large area of stabling etc through the entrance at the side of the pub and was very popular with soldiers when the Dorset Regiment was in existence and also with farmers who used this hostelry on Wednesdays when the Wednesday Market was held in Charles Street.

At 20A, now home to Myras Kaiseki restaurant, there used to be an antiques shop called Tyme After Tyme. In 1996 it became a dress shop and in 2016 a Japanese restaurant named Sushi,

We now move on to the now redundant church, All Saints, now used as an archaeological store for Dorset County Museum. The original church was destroyed or damaged by a fire in 1613.

The church receives a mention in Thomas Hardy’s novel The Trumpet Major. In the book Robert Loveday listens to the service taking place here while waiting for the arrival of the coach bringing Matilda Johnson.

Sarah Eldridge, founder of Eldridge Pope Brewery is buried outside the west entrance.

*THANKS to Keith Hooper for getting in touch after reading our story on the history of the high street.

Mr Hooper has come up with an interesting snippet about garage owner Ernest Channon. Apparently he built a plane in the carriage works that he tried to fly at Maiden Castle!

He wanted to point out that Mr. John Rosindell did not occupy part of Channon's garage - his shop was nearer the corner of High East Street and Fordington High Street.

Hr Hooper writes: "I forget the number, but I remember delivering potatoes to his shop in the very cold 1963 winter and for several years subsequently. I used to farm at Maiden Castle Farm. I am told that Mr. Ernest Channon built an aeroplane in the carriage works which he tried to fly on the slopes of Maiden Castle in the very early days of flying, but I don't think there are any records of it."

If anyone does have any record of Mr Channon's flying exploits we'd certainly love to hear from them!