Monday, September 10, 2012

Corfe Castle.......

I had been to Corfe Castle several times prior to this visit but its outstanding views of the village below are always worth the climb. This climb was nothing compared to what lay ahead of us. 100_1076 100_1105 Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of Corfe Castle and is in Dorset. 100_1106 100_1064 Built by William the Conqueror, the castle commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The first phase was one of the earliest castles in England to be built using stone when the majority were built with earth and timber. In 1572, Corfe Castle left the Crown's control when Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton. Sir John Bankes bought the castle in 1635, and was the owner during the English Civil War. His wife, Lady Mary Bankes, led the defence of the castle when it was twice besieged by Parliamentarian forces. The first siege, in 1643, was unsuccessful, but by 1645 Corfe was one of the last remaining royalist strongholds in southern England and fell to a siege ending in an assault. In March that year Corfe Castle was demolished on Parliament's orders. It is now Owned by the National Trust. (edited from Wikipedia) 100_1082 Even in ruins its stark beauty takes the breath away..........one can see how formidable it once was. 100_1058 Sad that it had to be ruined 100_1057 Took me forever to get Jason in the stocks.............. 100_1104 On one side, lovely country views 100_1066 Imagine who may have sat at this window with arrows in hand 100_1060 It really is amazing that it was ever taken back then. I could see it happen when there was cannon balls and all that but well..........it would have looked invincible at one time. Here is Jason once more......... 100_1072 Years ago I took some pictures in the evening when thay beautiful glow was on the village below but those pictures are not on here. These pictures look washed out by the sun. It was a beautiful day, look at the blue sky.

1 comment:

NanaDiana said...

My gosh- What a glorious old place. What a shame that it is in ruins but still wonderful nonetheless. I love the view from there- xo Diana