Corfe Castle

	Corfe Castle lies in the parish of Corfe Castle, 5 miles south-east of Wareham and 20 miles from Dorchester. The first part of the name 'Corfe' derives from the Old English 'Corf' meaning a cutting or pass, describing the gap in the Purbeck Hills where the castle stands. Corfe is famous for its ruined castle which was built in the 11th century. The castle replaced a wooden Saxon building. During the Civil War, the castle was held siege by Parliamentary forces who were kept at bay for many months by Lady Bankes & the royalist occupants. The castle was finally taken in 1643. The parliamentary army then spent many months reducing it to rubble with gunpowder. The first historical record of Corfe is in connection with the murder of King Edward the Martyr in AD 978. In the 13th century, King John was a royal resident at the castle, as he hunted on Purbeck, and it was used as a prison. By 1635, the castle had been purchased by the then Attorney General, Sir John Bankes.
The parish church (St Edward King & Martyr) was renovated in 1860. It was originally built in the 13th century. The oldest part of the church is the tower. It has a peal of 6 bells and a fine stained glass east window in memory of Lady Charlotte Bankes. The parish records were damaged during the Civil War. A charity was founded over 400 years ago by several benefactors and supported an Almshouse and the poor of the town. The main trade was in quarrying the local stone known as ‘Purbeck marble’, a fossiliferous limestone. This was used all over England for tombs, lecterns, altars and fonts in cathedrals such as Westminster, Exeter, Lincoln & Salisbury and even in the Tower of London. It is still quarried on the Isle of Purbeck today. In the 18th century, another trade emerged as ball clay was exported to Josiah Wedgewood at Stoke-on-Trent. This is no longer extracted.
The OPC for Corfe Castle is Louise Haywood You can contact Louise by clicking on the link above to generate an email Many thanks to Rachel Kent for all of her contributions and help in the past
Census	1790 Census by Kim Parker 1811 Census of Borough of Corfe Castle 1821 Census 1831 Census 1841 Census 1851 Census District 1a District 1b District 1c
Parish Registers	Baptisms 1653-1699, 1700-1739, 1740-1779, 1780-1804, 1805-1819, 1820-1841 by Barry Chinchen 1840-1859, 1860-1879, 1880-1889 Marriages 1602-1841 by Barry Chichen 1763-1836, 1837-1900 (with witnesses) by Rachel Kent Burials 1668-1744, 1745-1794, 1795-1841 by Barry Chichen 1841-1900
Bishop's Transcripts	Corfe Castle Baptisms 1840-1848 by Alison Preston
Other Records	Tudor Subsidy Rolls 1525, 1544 & 1594 Protestation Returns 1641 Hearth Taxes 1662-1664 Return of the names of inhabitants capable of service in case of invasion, 20th October 1803 Extract from: Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72) Apprenticeship Papers 1797-1837 Bastardy Bonds Peculiar Court Records Named Wills #1, #2 Wills at the Dorset History Centre Will Extracts Extract from Slater's Directory 1852-3
Photographs	Photographs of the village and castle including a 1925 view & Old Sketches by A Mudle and Cyndi Marks
Maps	The 1891 Ordnance Survey maps of the parish can be seen at the old-maps site, just enter 'Corfe Castle' under place search.
	For modern location maps visit:- www.multimap.com

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