Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle stands on a steep chalk hill in the gap between the Purbeck Hills on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror after 1066, it was one of England’s earliest stone castles while most were still timber and earth. The inner ward was surrounded by a stone wall, with timber palisades forming the outer baileys. A stone keep was added early in the 12th century by Henry I, rising 21 metres above the 55-metre hill. The castle controlled the route between Wareham and Swanage and served as a royal fortress and prison. During the English Civil War it became a royalist stronghold defended by Lady Mary Bankes while her husband Sir John Bankes fought elsewhere. Parliament besieged the castle twice, finally capturing it in 1645 after a fierce assault. The victorious forces slighted the castle on orders from Parliament, leaving the dramatic ruins seen today. Owned by the National Trust, it remains one of the most complete medieval fortresses in southern England. Visitors walk through the inner ward with its tall keep and crumbling walls, then follow paths around the outer baileys. The site offers wide views across the Purbeck Hills and down to the village below. Remains of the Gloriette, a small royal chamber, stand in the inner bailey. The castle’s chalk foundations and Purbeck limestone walls show how it was built to last. The nearby settlement grew from a workers’ camp into a market town granted its first fair in the 13th century.