Reclaiming the Community Voice

We are on a cultural mission to help our community reclaim its collective voice, spark creativity, and ensure local stories are heard rather than forgotten.

The Jawbone Café

More Than Coffee. More Than Words. Being on the Green.

“A retreat for the imagination, a gently held creative space, and a nourishing home for expression—where every word is welcome.”

Our Story: From Borrowed Spaces to a Home of Our Own

For years, The Jawbone Collective brought people together through poetry, storytelling, spoken word, and honest conversation. But those spaces were always borrowed—pub corners, community halls, libraries, and festival tents.

When the opportunity arose to take on the café on Fordington Green, we knew it was time to write our next chapter: giving words, creativity, and community a permanent hearth in the heart of Dorchester.

The Words in the Walls

We haven’t simply re-opened a café; we are continuing a lineage.

Our building once served as Fordington’s Post Office and General Store—a spot frequented in times past by local figures including Thomas Hardy, and closely tied to May O’Rourke, Hardy’s final secretary, who lived just across at St George’s vicarage. With the historic postbox still embedded in the exterior wall, words have literally moved through this building for generations. Letters were penned, sorted, read, and sent; stories travelled, and neighbours stayed connected.

Today, those words are still in the walls—now spoken, shared, and celebrated aloud.

What We Stand For

1. Coffee, Cake & Kindred Spirits

Good coffee and tea matter, but what matters most is the conversation that unfolds while you drink it. We offer a calm, comfortable neighbourhood refuge serving nourishing whole-food, plant-based, and gluten-free food. Whether you are popping in for five minutes, curling up with a book, writing your next chapter, or staying all afternoon, you are warmly welcomed.

2. By Day a Sanctuary, By Night a Stage

Creativity doesn't wait for an evening event to begin. By day, the café is a space to work, pause, read, and contemplate. When dusk settles, the room transforms: tables shift, the microphone comes out, and the space comes alive with poetry readings, open mics, workshops, and spontaneous performances.

3. Community First, Always

At a time when true connection can feel increasingly hard to find, we exist to bridge divides. The Jawbone Café is a place for everyone from seasoned writers and visiting poets to someone who has never thought of themselves as creative, but happens to strike up a conversation over tea and finds their voice.

We are proud to serve as a supportive home for local literacy initiatives, creative circles, and everyday neighbourhood fellowship.

3a. Wellbeing, Belonging & Community Connection

At the heart of our remit is a commitment to fostering genuine wellbeing and social cohesion across our wider neighbourhood. The café serves as an accessible bridge where diverse community initiatives converge, creating a safe, supported meeting place for all walks of life. Whether offering a quiet haven and steady routine for older residents, a welcoming for new migrants finding their feet, or a nurturing space for gentle voice and creative circles that ease isolation, we are dedicated to ensuring nobody is left unseen. By bringing grassroots projects together under one roof, we actively cultivate health, dignity, and shared belonging through the simple, restorative act of being together.

Come Pull Up a Chair

Whether you come for the coffee, the food, the spoken word, or simply a warm corner to catch your breath, there is a seat saved for you.

Warmest Wishes
From all the team here at Jawbone at Bean on the Green