Corfe Castle

“ The views ahead, which include the striking conical peak called "Creech Barrow," are of increasing beauty, and when we approach the break between the long range of Knowle Hill and Branscombe Hill, the strikingly fine picture of Corfe Castle filling the gap makes an unforgettable scene. Just before reaching the hillock upon which the castle stands, and three and a half miles from Wareham, a road turns left, crossing the railway, and winds by the northern face of Nine Barrows Down to Studland. ”

“ Now Corfe was like that other castle at Wherwell, where Earl Athelwold had kept her like a caged bird for his pleasure when he visited her; only worse, since she was eight years younger then, her beauty fresher, her heart burning with secret hopes and ambitions, and the great world where there were towns and a king, and many noble men and women gathered round him yet to be known. And all these things had come to her and were now lost—now nothing was left but bitterest regrets and hatred of all those who had failed her at the last. ”

“ Corfe Castle first returned two representatives to parliament in 1572, but was disfranchised in 1832. A market for each Saturday was granted to Corfe in 1214, and in 1248 the town obtained a fair and a market on each Thursday, while Elizabeth granted fairs on the feasts of St Philip and St James and of St Luke; both of these still survive. As early as the 14th century the quarrying and export of marble gave employment to the men of Corfe, and during the 18th century the knitting of stockings was a flourishing industry. ”

“ Everywhere, light is let into dungeons and battlements abased; floors abolished and great empty stone fireplaces on what were second, third and fourth floors turned to mouthpieces for the winds. And yet, although such havoc has been wrought, and although it is almost p. 113impossible to identify the greater part of its chambers, Corfe Castle is still a fine and an impressive ruin. It is grand when seen from afar, and not less grand when viewed near at hand, from the ravine in which runs the road to Wareham. ”

“ Ordinary folk would have gone by the ordinary road; but then, you see, Ethelberta was a poetess, and “unconventionality—almost eccentricity—was de rigueur” for such an one. Hence also that unconventional, and uncomfortable, seat on the donkey’s back.
From this point Corfe Castle is exquisitely seen, down below the ridge, but situated on the course of the minor, but still mighty, backbone that bisects the Isle. From hence, too, the country may be seen spread out like a map, “domains behind domains, parishes by the score, harbours, fir-woods and little inland seas mixing curiously together.” ”

“ A pleasant route out of Corfe is to take a path between cottages on the left of the lane leading to West Orchard, and, crossing several meadows, to pass over the breezy Corfe common to the Kingston road. This gives the traveller a series of beautiful views and an especially fine retrospect of Corfe Castle. In a short two miles Kingston, climbing up its steep hill, is reached. The church, a landmark for many miles, was built by Lord Eldon in 1880. It was designed by Street in Early English. With its severe and lofty tower the exterior has a coldly conventional aspect not altogether pleasing. ”

“ The remains of its cyclopean walls and towers now lie in mighty masses over its slopes, and tell eloquently of a day when destruction only seemed to occupy the minds of men, and all that was great and beautiful from the foregoing ages was marked out for desolation and ruin. Perhaps no castle in England has suffered so much as that of Corfe. ”

“ On that day it was the custom of the gentlemen of Corfe Castle to hunt a stag on the island, and any one who liked to do so might participate in the sport. The Roundheads decided to attend the hunt, seize the men from the castle, and then capture the castle itself. But the arrival of an exceptionally large number of people to attend the hunt aroused the suspicions of the few Royalists, who quickly withdrew to the castle and gave instructions that the gates were to be kept shut against anyone seeking admission. ”

“ The term “Gloriette” is not of frequent occurrence, and its meaning has not been precisely defined. [1] It was first brought under notice in the ancient miscellanea of the Exchequer relating to Corfe Castle, amongst which Mr. Bond cites a document dated 8 Edward I., that mentions “Camera que vocatur Gloriette.” [2] It was probably like “Butavant” and “Cocaygne,” one of the towers of the enceinte of the castle, and may have been of somewhat greater elevation. Scarcely any vestiges remain. The name seems sometimes to denote the whole of the buildings near the Queen’s Tower and Hall ”

“ During the “Invincible Armada” scare, Corfe Castle once more became a fortress. Cannons were for the first time mounted on its walls, and Queen Elizabeth for encouragement gave a charter to the inhabitants of the Castle and borough, which conferred upon them all the same rights and privileges as those enjoyed by the inhabitants of the Cinque Ports, including the right of returning two members to Parliament. The Spanish fleet [Pg 206] did, in fact, pass within a short distance of the Dorset coast; but, as the so-called Invincible Armada came utterly to grief, it gave no further trouble. ”

“ The king's displeasure soon passed away, and Sir John gave ample proofs of his devotion to the king by his liberal contributions to the royal treasury, and still more by the stubborn resistance offered by his castle long after all the neighbouring strongholds had fallen into the hands of parliament. The heroic defence of Corfe Castle by Lady Mary Bankes [q. v.] during nearly three years, against great odds, to which she yielded only when betrayed, is one of the brightest spots in that gloomy period. ”

“ This tract of land is better inhabited than the sea-coast of this west end of Dorsetshire generally is, and the manufacture of stockings is carried on there also; it is called the Isle of Purbeck, and has in the middle of it a large market-town, called Corfe, and from the famous castle there the whole town is now called Corfe Castle; it is a corporation, sending members to Parliament. ”

“ The Bankes family, who still own Corfe, must be proud of that Lady Bankes, their ancestress, who held the castle. And isn't it nice, the Bankes still have the old keys, where they live, at Kingston Lacy?
You like Thomas Hardy's "Hand of Ethelberta" next to "Far from the Madding Crowd." Well, Coomb Castle in that book is really Corfe Castle. I told you we were in Hardy country. After Wareham, and not very far away, at Wool, is an old, old manor-house of the Turbervilles, turned into a farmhouse now. You don't need to be reminded of what Hardy made of that, I know. ”

“ So ruinous are the walls that it is difficult to identify the different apartments, and even the antiquarians have trouble in restoring the original plan of the castle. The keep itself, generally intact, is shattered, one fragment, almost the entire height of the structure, standing curiously like a huge chimney. Clearly enough, an explosive was the agent of destruction here—Corfe Castle was [Pg 281] razed with gunpowder by express order of Cromwell’s Parliament.
CORFE VILLAGE AND CASTLE.
From the wall on the highest point of the mound, one has a wide prospect. ”

“ Colonel Bingham was a descendant of a family long known and highly respected in the county of Dorset, and naturally could not but admire the courage of the lady who was his foe, and he at once set about preserving the lives of the 140 persons then within the Castle.
This last siege is said, in Sprigg’s Table of Battles and Sieges, to have lasted forty-eight days, during which eleven [Pg 217] men were slain and five cannons taken. The exact date of the fall of Corfe Castle is uncertain, but it was probably in the last week of the month of February, 1646. ”

“ Return 37s. 0d. 23s. 3d. 21s. 2d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.= "The Banke's Arms Hotel."
=Alternative Route.=—Via Bournemouth and steamer to Swanage.
Corfe Castle on its great hill, with the little hamlet which goes by the same name which clusters at its foot, is one of the most spectacular of the ruined fortresses to be found in Southern England. At the periods of the year when there are no strangers in the village, the ruins and the village leave an impression on the mind which is not so palpable when there are the distractions caused by other visitors. ”

“ The central and front tower is the dungeon tower, attached to the great hall. On the left are seen the two lines of the town wall, abutting upon the castle, and between them the western platform with its bastions, and in the rear the main gate with the line of machicolations above it. One of the seaward towers shows how the rampart walk is carried round it upon a corbelled or bracketed projection.
461 CORFE CASTLE, DORSET. CORFE Castle is one of the most noteworthy remains in Britain.
The natural position is very striking, and not less so the manner in which it has been fortified by art. ”

“ The building is certainly [Pg 137] an ancient one, and may possibly have been contemporary with the first Norman castle; its details are unmistakably Norman. But very likely it was the only Norman masonry of the 11th century at Corfe Castle. [387] It is clear that the stone wall which at present surrounds the western bailey did not exist when the hall (or chapel) was built, as it blocks up its southern windows. Probably there was a palisade at first on the edge of the scarp. Palisades still formed part of the defences of the castle in the time of Henry III., when 62l. ”

“ I should be glad to be informed by your correspondent, James Silvester, Sen., on what authority he grounds his assertion (contained in No. 484.) that it was in the fortress of Corfe Castle that the unfortunate Edward II. was so inhumanly murdered. I have always, considered it an undisputed fact that the scene of this atrocity was at Berkeley Castle, in Gloucestershire. Hume states, that while in the custody of Lord Berkeley, the murderers, Mautravers and Gournay, “taking advantage of Berkeley’s sickness, in whose custody he then was, came to Berkeley Castle, threw him on a bed,” &c. &c. ”

“ At the same time they set on fire four houses in the town of Corfe, and then summoned the Castle to surrender; but, receiving a refusal, for that time they left it—but only for a time, as Sir Walter Erle, accompanied by Captain Sydenham, Captain Henry Jervis, and Captain Skuts, of Poole, with a body of between five and six hundred men, came and took possession of the town of Corfe, taking advantage of a misty morning, so as to find no resistance from the Castle. With a small cannon, a culverin, and their muskets, they played on the fortress. ”

“ For ten miles from Newport we wend our way over a dusty, ill-kept byroad with sharp turns and [Pg 108] steep grades, and before we come to the village we see from some distance the broken towers and battlements of Caerphilly Castle. We pass through the gateway in the straggling walls and the scene of desolation and massive ruin that lies before us is hardly paralleled in impressiveness among British castles, unless it be by Corfe in Dorset. A great round tower, perhaps fifty feet in diameter, with walls ten feet thick, split as by a thunder stroke, greets our eyes. ”

“ The castle is naturally strong. It occupies the slope and summit of a hill, the base of which covers about 15 acres, and which is placed in a gap or cutting in the ridge already described, of which position its name is said to be descriptive.
South of the ridge, and close behind and covered by the castle, is the town of Corfe, from which the castle hill rises steeply, to descend almost vertically upon its east, west, and north sides. The northern, or highest point, is occupied by the keep and principal buildings of the castle. ”

“ The Tower and Colchester keep both have wells, which are seldom wanting in any keep. There was no appearance of a well at Langeais, but excavation might possibly reveal one.
[1156] The first castle at Corfe was built by William’s half-brother, Robert, Count of Mortain. The keep of Corfe is sometimes attributed to him, but when we compare its masonry with that of the early hall or chapel in the middle bailey, we shall see that this date is most unlikely. Norwich was always a royal castle. ”

“ That there existed in England, at the Conquest, no castles in masonry of English work it may be too much to assert;37 but it may safely be said that, save a fragment of wall at Corfe, no military masonry decidedly older than that event has as yet been discovered. In 1052, when the Confessor and Earl Godwin came to terms, and the attack on London was set aside, it is stated that Archbishop Robert and his Frenchmen fled, some westward to Pentecost Castle and some northwards to Robert’s Castle ”

“ The temperance interest need by no means be shocked when it is said that the most interesting feature of Corfe, next to the castle, is its inn. The church does not count; for the body of it has been uninterestingly rebuilt, and only the fine tower, of Perpendicular date, remains. The inns, however, combine picturesqueness with the solid British comforts of old times and the less substantial amenities of the new. ”

“ The castle, through which the town is famous, guarded a gap in the line of considerable hills which rise in the centre of Purbeck. It is strongly placed on an eminence falling almost sheer on three sides. ”