Corfe Castle
We're starting our tour of Dorset with a look at Corfe Castle! Corfe Castle is the name of both the castle itself, and of the village the castle is in. If we say we're going to Corfe Castle, we might not be going into the castle, we might just be going to the village for a cream tea! Locals also shorten the village name to Corfe. There's another Corfe in Somerset so don't get them mixed up!
The castle dominates the view around the village, and the drive to and from it. It is built on a hill created by two streams that have eroded the Purbeck Chalk Ridge. The ridge extends from Lulworth Cove to Old Harry Rocks, and this this the main route through the ridge, so it was a prominent place to build a castle:
This photo is taken from a different angle. The photographer is standing on the west part of the ridge, and you can see the east part of the ridge extending off into the distance, on it's way to Old Harry Rocks:
The castle itself was built in the 11th Century by William The Conqueror, and lasted until the parliamentarians led sieges on the royalist castle in 1646. It was defended by Lady Mary Bankes for a 48 day siege, until she was betrayed from within her own ranks. The parliamentarians took control of the castle and then 'slighted' it through a series of gunpowder explosions, which turned the castle into the ruin it was today. Lady Mary was allowed to leave the castle, and survived to see the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
The castle is owned by the National Trust, and you can see more about it here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/corfe-castle
There's a national trust car park at the bottom of the east hill, and there's a pleasant walk up from the car park to the village and the castle, walking alongside a stream. There's information boards on the way up, a play-trail of a small obstacle course for kids to enjoy, and a little bridge over the stream where you can play pooh-sticks if the water is high enough:
The village itself is mostly built from grey Purbeck limestone, and the houses have small doorways and low eaves giving it a historical charm:
You can find out more about the village here: https://corfe-castle.co.uk/about-corfe-castle/
The Swanage railway runs from Corfe Castle to Swanage, with steam trains running a lot of the time. You can see the train pass from some spots of the castle grounds!
Enid Blyton spent some time in the area and it's believed the castle on Kirrin Island in her Famous Five books is based on Corfe Castle. The Castle certainly has lots of insteresting nooks and crannys to explore! Here's a video that team member Jennifer made of a visit to Corfe Castle on a day (29/5/17) when there was a fete in the Castle grounds (there are often events held there):
You do have to pay admission to get into the castle, and for the NT car park, unless you are a National Trust member. There is another car park in the village if the National Trust car park is full.
I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse at Corfe Castle! If you have any questions let us know. Also let us know if you have any favourite spots in Dorset that you'd like us to feature one month!
We'll be back next Wednesday with the next instalment of our Social Special topic.
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