Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle is a village in Dorset and the site of a ruined castle of the same name. The medieval castle, built by William the Conqueror, dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage.

Understand

The village and castle stand over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The village lies in the gap below the castle.

The village is constructed almost entirely from the local grey Purbeck limestone and comprises two main streets, East Street and West Street, linked at their north end at the Square.

In 2011, the Corfe Castle civil parish had a population of 1,355.

History

The name "Corfe" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word, ceorfan, meaning to cut or carve, referring to the gap in the Purbeck hills where Corfe Castle is situated.

Burial mounds around the common of Corfe Castle suggest that the area was occupied from 6000 BC. The common also points to a later Celtic field system worked by the Durotriges tribe. Evidence suggests that the tribe co-existed with the Romans in a trading relationship following the Roman invasion circa 50 AD.

In 1572, Elizabeth I sold Corfe Castle to Sir Christopher Hatton. Sir John Bankes bought the castle in 1635, and was the owner during the English Civil War. His wife, Lady Mary Bankes, led the defence of the castle when it was twice besieged by Parliamentarian forces. By 1645 Corfe was one of the last remaining royalist strongholds in southern England and fell to a siege ending in an assault, and then destroyed. In 1981, his descendant Henry Bankes bequeathed the castle to the National Trust.

In the 18th century, clay quarrying developed as an industry in the village. Clay extraction continued to provide major employment for the local population until the 20th century.

Get in

By car

On the A351 4 mi (6.4 km) south-east of Wareham and 4 mi (6.4 km) north-northwest of Swanage.

By train

See
  • 🌍 Corfe Castle, The Square, Corfe Castle, ☏ +44 1929 481294, . A National Trust site, an impressive ruined Norman castle. The castle stands above the village and dates back in some form to the 10th century. It was the site of the murder of Edward the Martyr in 978. During the English Civil War it was a Royalist stronghold and was besieged twice, in 1643 and again in 1646. It is open to the public. Adults £11.00 Child £5.50. 
  • 🌍 Model Village Gardens & Cafe, The Square, ☏ +44 1929 481234. A ​1⁄20 scale model that shows what the castle and village would have looked like in 1646 before the castle was slighted. (updated Mar 2016)
  • Church of St. Edward. The church has an alabaster reredos inset with carvings in white marble, designed by the famous Victorian architect George Edmund Street R.A., which was presented by Lord Eldon in 1876. (updated May 2020)
  • A cross in the square commemorates Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee of 1897. Next to the cross is a defunct village pump, bearing the village's arms.

Buy

There is a small convenience store in the centre of the village.

Eat

Drink

Sleep

There are a number of holiday cottage rentals available in the area.

Cope

Go next
  • To the east Swanage 6 mi (9.7 km)
  • To the west Lulworth 8 mi (13 km)
  • To the north west Wareham 5 mi (8.0 km)
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