About Us

Dorchester Festival was started in 2005 following a major restoration of Dorchester Abbey.
It was initially a way of encouraging new people into the building and showing the potential of the Abbey as a venue for booking a variety of events.
Over the years it has become a major community event, offering opportunities to members of the community to perform and create and also to experience big professional arts events that would not normally be available on their doorstep in rural South Oxfordshire
It is entirely run by volunteers who take roles organising events, taking tickets or simply pouring tea!
We now also raise money across the Festival as a whole, and share our profits equally between Dorchester Abbey and a different local charity every time.

COVID

We expect the Festival to go ahead as in previous years, perhaps with some of the precautions that have become day to day life in Dorchester Abbey.  If we have to cancel events we will give customers the choice of carrying over their tickets to a future year, making a donation or having a refund.  Unfortunately booking fees cannot be refunded

Booking

Ticket sales are handled by TicketSource. They can be bought on the internet 24 hours a day with a small booking fee if you print an eTicket at home. For an additional 50p you can choose to receive a mobile ticket or postal tickets for an additional £1.80.
TicketSource offers a Telephone Box Office Service on 0333 666 3366. Telephone bookings through TicketSource carry a £1.80 telephone service fee
The telephone Box Office Service is open Monday to Saturday 9am – 5pm
Tickets can be sent out up until 3 days prior to an event. After this time, you can choose to receive your tickets by e-ticket or mobile phone text message. Online booking is available until midnight the day before the event start time. After this time any remaining tickets will be available on the door.
Disabled parking and accessible seating can be booked either with your ticket or using the forms here on the website.
General enquiries can be made direct to the Festival office at festival@dorchester-abbey.org.uk

Tickets are not refundable unless the event sells out. If you find that you can’t use your tickets contact the Festival direct (festival@dorchester-abbey.org.uk) and we will try to re-sell them online or on the door (at your risk) once the event has sold out and then send you the value of your tickets less the booking fee and postage
We will exchange tickets for other events of the same or higher value if it is over 48hrs before both events and it is possible to do so.
Ticketsource offer refund protection – you can find out more about it here

Occasionally, events are cancelled or postponed due to circumstances beyond our control.  If an event is cancelled we’ll make every effort to ensure you receive a prompt refund of the ticket price. Where the event is moved or rescheduled, the tickets will be honoured for the rescheduled date.  Booking fees & postal charges are not refundable.

Tickets can be collected before the performance, typically 30 minutes prior when the doors open. Please remember to bring a printed copy of your receipt (which was emailed to you at time of booking) when picking up tickets from the Box Office.

Ticketsource accepts most major credit cards through the online booking facility.  We also accept payment by cheque payable to Dorchester Festival, which you must post to us in order to confirm your booking.  All transactions must be in Pounds Sterling
If you wish to contact us please write to us at
73 High St
Dorchester on Thames
Oxon
OX10 7HN