Corfe Castle

Matthew Antrobus

Corfe Castle, The Square, Corfe Castle, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5EZ.

Corfe Castle stand on a natural outcrop guarding the principal route through the Purbeck Hills. The Castle guards the gap between the south of Purbeck, where Purbeck marble was once quarried, and the rest of England.

It is thought that there would have been a fortification on the site from Roman times.

The first castle buildings would have been built of wood. In the latter half of the 11th Century the Castle was rebuilt in stone by William the Conqueror and for the next six hundred years it was a royal fortress used by the monarchs of England.

By 1572 warfare had changed and Corfe Castle was sold by Queen Elizabeth I to Sir Christopher Hatton, her dancing master and favourite. In 1635 the Castle was bought by Sir John Bankes, who was Lord Chief Justice, as an occasional private residence.

As trouble brewed for Charles I, the Bankes family took up permanent residence. By 1643 most of Dorset was occupied by the Parliamentarians, and Lady Bankes and her supporters successfully withstood a six week long siege. Sir John Bankes died in 1644 and the family endured a series of half-hearted blockades by Parliamentary forces. Late in 1645 Colonel Bingham Governor of Poole started a second siege, and treachery by one of the garrison allowed a Parliamentary force into the castle in February 1646. The Roundheads allowed the family to leave the Castle and then it was systematically destroyed by Parliamentary sappers.

Sir Ralph Bankes, son of Sir John, built a new home, Kingston Lacy House, to the west of Wimborne and managed to gather together many of the plundered possessions to furnish the new house.

Opening Times:

1st Mar-31st Mar	10:00-17:00	Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
1st Apr-30th Sep	10:00-17:30	Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
1st Oct-31st Oct	10:00-17:00	Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
1st Nov-28th Feb	10:00-16:00	Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
25th Dec-26th Dec	Closed	Christmas holidays