Martyrs

On this spot just outside the town walls stood the Dorchester gallows. During the religious troubkles of the 16th century many people were executed here for their religious beliefs. According to the plaque, on 4 July 1594 John Cornelius, Thomas Bosgrave, John Carey and Patrick Salmon were all hanged, drawn and quartered at this place.

Three statues (there's another one to the left of the shot) were made by Dame Elisabeth Frink in the 1980s to commemorate religious martyrs of all persuasions. I must have walked past the group a hundred times and not taken a lot of notice. The way to appreciate them, I've discovered, is to stand in the middle of them at night. They look down on you with a grim determination, almost sneering at the onlooker who lacks their conviction.