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Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle near Swanage in Dorset has been a site of royal fortification probably since Roman times. When William the Conqueror invaded in 1066 he soon ordered the building of a castle on the site of Corfe Castle to defend the road leading to the port at Swanage. In the eleventh century the Norman castle was rebuilt in stone, and over the following centuries additions were made, particularly by King John and Henry the Third in the thirteenth century. In 1572 Elizabeth the First sold Corfe Castle to Sir Christopher Hatton. In 1635 Sir John Bankes, the Lord Chief Justice acquired the castle, as a kind of dream second home. It was at Corfe Castle, in 1643, during the Civil War that the royalist Bankes survived a six week siege by Parliamentarian forces. Bankes died the following year, and further attempts were made to take the castle. These failed, but in 1645 following treachery from within the castle, Corfe fell to the Parliamentarians. Parliamentarian engineers then proceeded in a systematic demolition of the castle, digging into the foundations and then using explosives to try and bring down the walls. Their work has left the castle as it looks today.

Corfe Castle from the outer bailey

The revolutionaries of the seventeenth century thought that they were the future. They looked upon the past as a benighted time which was best swept away. It was only a single vote in parliament that saved Windsor Castle from suffering the same fate as Corfe Castle. And yet in time Cromwell's revolutionaries were themselves swept away, Charles the Second being brought back to the throne in 1660. The revolutionaries were not the future, because history doesn't seem to work like that. History tends to go in circles as it rolls into the future, yesterday's revolutionaries becoming today's despots, or at least today's establishment figures stuck in their ways. Sweeping away the past is never desirable or even possible, and I am glad of the one vote that saved Windsor Castle, and wish that Corfe Castle had also been saved. It must have looked incredible in its day. Even now as a ruin it has huge presence.

Parking is provided just outside the village of Corfe Castle. There is then an attractive walk around the base of the castle mound to the entrance of the castle. The walk takes five to ten minutes. A National Trust teashop is available at the castle entrance. The village of Corfe Castle, which is beautiful in itself, also has a number of places to eat.

There is a gift shop and activities are arranged for children. A visitors' centre at the car park has a comprehensive display on the history of the castle.

Dogs are permitted on leads.

Opening Times: The castle is open all the year round except for 25th and 26th December. Opening hours for March are 10am to 5pm daily, April to September 10am to 6pm daily, October 10am to 5pm daily, November to March 10am to 4pm daily. Last admission is 30 minutes prior to closing. Please note that the tearoom will close for two weeks in January 2008 for repairs and redecoration.

Directions: Corfe Castle is on the A351 near Wareham in Dorset. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on Corfe Castle.

Access: the castle is built on a steeply sloping site, with rough,uneven paths. Access for wheelchair users is only possible to the outer bailey. Baby back pack carriers are available at the castle gate.

Contact:

phone: 01929 481294

www.nationaltrust.org.uk