Isle of Purbeck - Corfe & Castle

I s l e o f P u r b e c k - i n d e t a i l

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Reverend William Joseph de Kilpeck / Kelpeck / Kalpeck / Kalpack / Kilpack / Killpack, b.c.1848 d.1939, m.Katharine / Katherine d.1914

- C o r f e C a s t l e -
NB: m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n t o b e a d d e d

Corfe, both as a village and a castle, is located on the A351 halfway between Wareham and Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck, in Dorset.

In terms of access locally, visitors, for some part of the year, can also enjoy a steam train ride on The Swanage Railway which presently runs from the Norden Park & Ride just outside Corfe Castle to Swanage without the hassle of finding parking in Swanage itself. There is also a station at Corfe Castle.

For a map location see: MultiMap

Details such as opening times, cost of admission, functions and facilities may be obtained from the National Trust Corfe Castle site

The medieval castle, commanding a gap in the Purbeck Hills as demonstrated in the picture below, is now an imposing ruin and a popular tourist centre drawing on it's many years of history.
To the left of the castle is what is known as West Hill, and to the right, East Hill. In front of the castle the village, and in the distance a small part of Poole Harbour is apparent.

We have talked about West Hill and East Hill, with the Castle in between. The Castle surmounts a chalk hill which we call Castle Hill. Each side of Castle Hill has a stream, these streams would thousands of years ago have actually been rivers, and there would not have been West, Castle, or East Hills. Those rivers would, again over thousands of years, have carved the land out to leave us with what you see today. A similar occurrence would have formed Godlingston Gap on the outskirts of Swanage.
What might be a sidestep on that, is the possibility that it may have actually been one river that got divided by harder ground above what is now Castle Hill.

	Poole	Harbour
West Hill		Corfe Castle Castle Hill		East Hill

			Corfe Village
From the SW		Corfe Common

There is belief that Corfe may have been a Roman defensive site, but the castle we see the ruins of today was a rebuild in the 11th century of what was a wooden building/hall/castle back into the 9th century.

The village and its famous castle are built mainly from the local Purbeck stone which is probably the finest limestone available for building and polishing in England, and is used throughout the world.

The adjacent picture centres on St.Edward's Church and the Square, with the castle up and off to the right.

In the 13th century King John went to great lengths improving his accommodation and the defences. He built a fine hall and chapel together with domestic buildings. Henry III constructed additional walls, towers and gatehouses.
Monarchs had come and gone until 1572 when Queen Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton, her dancing master and some suppose a suitor.
In 1635 the Castle was sold to Sir John Bankes, the then Lord Chief Justice, more as a holiday home rather than as a first home.

By 1643 the Parliamentarians occupied most of Dorset, the castle survived a six-week siege. Sir John Bankes died in 1644 and the castle endured a number of half-baked blockades. Later in 1645 a second siege was started by Colonel Bingham, Governor of Poole, and courtesy of an insider the Roundheads took over in February 1646.
The Castle was systematically destroyed by the Parliamentary forces, but the fact that some remains is surely testimony to strength of construction.

If you have looked at these pictures, visited the castle itself, or just heard about what went on, perhaps you might wonder what the castle actually looked like in the early 17th century. Could it have been like the picture on the right ? This is just part of the Corfe Model Village which can be found on the Square in Corfe, and well worth a visit.

Corfe Castle is widely acknowledged as the inspiration for Kirren Castle in Enid Blytons Famous Five books. See Enid Blyton.

For those interested in the royal line of succession encompassing the story of Corfe see Kings & Queens.

Ownership remained with the Bankes Family until 1982 when it was bequeathed to the National Trust.

Details such as opening times, cost of admission, functions and facilities may be obtained from the National Trust Corfe Castle site

Booking and further information:-	Walks	01929-480609
	Education Enquiries	01929-480609
	Castle Events	01929-481294
	Shop	01929-480921
	Tea Room	01929-481332

For the increasing number of quiz oriented folk out there:
Q: Where are the keys to Corfe Castle ?
A: On the wall in the library at Kingston Lacy House, Wimborne Minster, Dorset BH21 4EA.

Corfe Census 1841 - 1911 including Corfe village, Blashenwell/Wellwood, Barbary, Lynch, Scoles, Afflington, Kingston, West Hill/Renscombe, Encombe, Norden, Scotland, Arfleet, Newry, Thrashers, Bushey, Wytch, Fitzworth, Ower, Rempstone, Foxground, Brenscombe, Rollington, Ailwood, Westwood, Talbots Hill, Woolgarston, Sandy Hill & Challow.
Corfe Census 1841	Corfe Census 1851	Corfe Census 1861 pending	Corfe Census 1871 pending
Corfe Census 1881 pending	Corfe Census 1891 pending	Corfe Census 1901	Corfe Census 1911

The Rector of Corfe Castle from 1899 - 1937 was The Reverend William Joseph de Kilpeck
or Kelpeck / Kalpeck / Kalpack / Kilpack / Killpack, b.c.1848 d.1939,
who married 1875 (we think) Katharine / Katherine, who died 1914.
He remarried in 1915 a Gwendaline Mayhew
If you have any knowledge of this gentleman or his earlier life please contact us.

NB: Regarding the information on this site, one must stress that it is a very small part of the history and related interest of Corfe Castle. There is to our knowledge no all encompassing history book on the subject.
If anyone is in a position to provide large pieces of history they would be most welcome, particularly in the earlier years when there was a Roman presence.
Any such information can be sent as part of an e-mail, but if it is a large piece of text it may be sent as an attachment in txt, doc, or similar format.

A rudimentary Street Map of Corfe is available on a separate page.

Corfe Castle & Village from West Hill looking east.

	Click for image 11,520 x 1,888 3.0MB	Click for image 5,760 x 944 990KB	Click for image 2,880 x 472 270KB

Corfe Castle & Village from East Hill looking west.

	Click for image 13,264 x 2,224 4.1MB	Click for image 6,632 x 1,112 1.3MB	Click for image 3,316 x 556 372KB

Details such as opening times, cost of admission, functions
and facilities may be obtained from the National Trust Corfe Castle site

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Rev:20100130

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