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