Corfe Castle (location)

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Corfe Castle
Castle and Greyhound Inn
Castle and Greyhound Inn
Coordinates 50 ° 38 ′  N , 2 ° 4 ′  W Coordinates: 50 ° 38 ′  N , 2 ° 4 ′  W
Corfe Castle (England)
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle
Residents 1355
administration
Post town Wareham
ZIP code section BH20
prefix 01929
Part of the country England
region South West England
Ceremonial county Dorset
Unitary authority Dorset
Website: www.corfe-castle.co.uk

Corfe Castle is a village in the county of Dorset in England . It lies on the River Corfe by the ruins of the historic Corfe Castle .

The place is located in a valley in the Purbeck Hills , in the middle of the Isle of Purbeck , seven kilometers southeast of Wareham and eight kilometers west of Swanage . It is approximately 12 km southwest of the major cities of Poole and Bournemouth . The main A351 road from Lytchett Minster via Wareham to Swanage and the Swanage Railway meander through the gap in the hills and the center of the village. Near Corfe Castle is Poole Harbor to the north, Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks to the east, and it stretches to the English Channel to the south. The village has 1355 inhabitants (as of 2011), of which 36% are retired .

Surname

The name Corfe is derived from the (Angel) Saxon word for valley or gorge . Corfe Castle can thus be translated as valley castle or castle in the valley . The name is probably first mentioned around 875 when Alfred the Great built a fortification at Corffe's Gate .

history

Early settlement

Corfe Castle was probably settled 8000 years ago by Europeans who immigrated from the mainland. Later, around 1300 BC. BC, the Durotriges , a Celtic tribe , probably also settled in the area of ​​Corfe Castle. Around 50 AD, the Romans then settled near Corfe Castle, and it is very likely that they initially lived peacefully with the Celts. Even so, the Romans later defeated and drove the Celts out in the Battle of Maiden Castle .

Saxon settlement

After the Romans withdrew from Great Britain at the beginning of the 5th century , the country was attacked by the Vikings and the Saxons . The Saxons then settled at Corfe Castle, but were plundered again and again by Danish Viking tribes over the centuries . In 875, the Saxon King Alfred the Great obtained an armistice with Ubba Ragnarsson , which was broken two years later by Halfdan Ragnarsson . In a resulting naval battle , the Danes lost about 120 ships and withdrew for the time being. To be safe from the Danes, Alfred had a fortification built in Corfe Castle, from which Corfe Castle developed. King Edward the Martyr was murdered here on March 18, 978 , which made the castle and town widely known.

In the 13th century a large church was built in the village. It was named St. Edward's Church in memory of Edward the Martyr.

In 1646 the castle was destroyed with explosives by sappers during the English Civil War, which led to the appearance of the castle complex today. The local population took advantage of this and recycled the stones, door frames, etc. from the castle for their nearby houses. St. Edward's Church was also damaged in the fighting .

In 1831 there were 1712 inhabitants in the village. The old St. Edward's Church had to be demolished because of its poor condition, with the exception of the tower. In the years 1859 to 1860 it was replaced by a new church in neo-Gothic style, which was built by TH Wyatt.

Map of the village center of Corfe Castle

The castle ruins were sold by the last owner Henry John Ralph Bankes in 1982 to the National Trust , which still manages them today and also operates a souvenir shop on the market square. In 2002 the castle, which is open to tourists all year round, counted 167,582 visitors.

The village was built mostly of gray limestone from Purbeck and has two main streets, East and West Streets, which intersect at the market square. Around the market square, on which there is a cross to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (1897), there is a collection of several small shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs and the post office. There is also a library in Corfe Castle on East Street and the Bankes Hotel, which takes its name from the Bankes family.

The railroad continued to Swanage in 1885. Corfe Castle also received a train station. In January 1972 the Swanage branch line of the British Railways was closed. A group of local enthusiasts formed a non-profit organization to maintain the railway line, with steam and diesel locomotives. In May 1972 the company Swanage Railway was formed. Corfe Castle Railway Station is also included in this project and is still in service today.

At the market place of Corfe Castle is also the Corfe Model Village with a replica of the castle and the village before the destruction on a scale of 1:20. It was created by Eddie Holland from 1964 to 1966. In the town hall located on the market square, you can also visit a museum that deals with the history of the area (including finds on topics related to geological history ). Another attraction is St. Edward's Church , which is built from the stones of the castle and contains six bells .

The main entry road to Corfe Castle is East Street, which is accessible from Wareham to the north and Swanage to the south. The area between the two major roads is called "the Halves".

In 2001 the village of Corfe Castle had 1,429 residents, 36% of whom were retired.

The village was the residence of the composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (* 1892, † 1988) for a long time .

Attractions

The Church of Saint Edward

In addition to the eponymous castle ruin Corfe Castle , Corfe Castle also has the parish church of the village, which is dedicated to King and Saint Edward the Martyr . It is located in the center of Corfes. Its tower comes from the original church building from the 13th century, the rest of the structure was rebuilt from 1859 to 1860 after being demolished. According to tradition, the body of Edward was brought to a property after his murder, which was on the site of today's church.

education

On East Street is Corfe Castle Mixed Elementary School , built in 1895 . It was expanded in 1964 and two classrooms were added. In 1995 the school celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Between 60 and 85 new students join each year. Each year is divided into three classes. At around nine years of age, the children leave school and attend secondary schools further away, for example in Swanage .

Notes and sources

  1. ^ Area: Corfe Castle (Parish). Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics . In: Neighborhood Statistics . Office for National Statistics. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  2. ↑ The source for this figure is the National Trust Annual Report 2004/05
  3. ^ Corfe Castle, Parish Profile ( Memento of January 4, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), as of March 6, 2009.

literature

  • J. Hutchins: The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset , 3rd ed., Edited by W. Shipp and JW Hodson, Westminster: JB Nichols, 1861–1873, Vol. 1, 1861, pp. 539-541.
  • A. Mee (Editor): Dorset: Thomas Hardy's country. The King's England , London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939, pp. 71-76.
  • J. Newman and N. Pevsner: The buildings of England: Dorset , Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972, p. 166-167.
  • FP Pitfield: Dorset parish churches AD , Milborne Port: Dorset Publishing Company, 1981, pp. 203-206.
  • FP Pitfield: Purbeck parish churches , Milborne Port: Dorset Publishing Company, 1985, pp. 18-24.
  • Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 2, South-East Dorset , London: HMSO, 1970, pt. 1, pp. 53-54.
  • T. Sackett and E. Sackett: Francis Frith 's Dorset Churches , Salisbury: Frith Book Co., 2000, p. 83.

Web links

Commons : Corfe Castle  - collection of images, videos and audio files