Remains of Corfe Castle, Medieval Royal Castle, Corfe Castle

Summary

Corfe Castle, of strategic and military importance was built on a large natural mound overlooking the gap in the Purbeck Hills.

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Monument Types

Description

Corfe Castle of strategic and military importance was built on a large natural mound overlooking the gap in the Purbeck Hills. The foundations of a possible pre-conquest building were revealed in the West Bailey, 1950-52 ( RCHM 1960) and possibly either represent either a "hospitium" belonging to Shaftesbury Abbey or a royal residence associated with King Edward, who was murdered at "Corfegeat" in 978AD ( Penn, 1980). The earliest visible features of the castle, however, comprise late 11th century fragments of a hall in the West Bailey and the wall surounding the Inner Ward. The ashlar built keep is dated to circa 1105 AD and the "Gloriette" is an early 13th century courtyard mansion, with 15th century addition, which was built to suppliment or replace accomodation in the keep. The West Bailey towers and curtain wall were built in the early 13th century and the Outer Bailey defences are later 13th century. During the Civil War the castle was besieged and slighted following its capture by Parlimentarian forces.
Since 1986 a program of excavation and survey work has been carried out in advance of footpath enhancement and consolidation. The castle has over 160,000 visitors a year and much erosion has taken place, particularly on the steep slopes of the mound leading to the Inner Ward. Since its ruination in 1646, the structure has been exposed to the elements and frost fracturing and water seepage through the masonry has leeched the mortar through ashlar joints and caused parts of the ruin to collapse. In the late 17th and 18th centuries parts of the ruin were robbed for building stone. Consolidation work on the castle began in the 19th century and piecemeal repairs took place in the early 20th century but the major work was carried out in the 1960's by the Ministry of Works. They adopted a cement capping of the ruin which has proved durable to weather and visitor pressure. A further programme of consolidation was begun by the National Trust in 1986. There were also moles and rabbits within the castle which cause damage to the archaeology by burrowing and disturbing stratigraphy. Parts of the castle are overgrown with scrub, and ivy has also caused instability by penetrating the mortar between joints.

In 2007/8 during repair and conservation of the castle stonework, fragments of wall painting were discovered. A report (SNA62507, Jan 2008, McNeilage) was commissioned to assess the condition of the fragments and to make recommendations for their conservation.

In January 2017, the tumbled lower half of the Outer Bailey First Tower was cleared of vegetation to reveal details of the stonework before pointing and capping of the structure. Both parts of the first tower were the subject of a laser scan which enabled a video to be created that reunited the two halves of the structure. Traces of the NW facing arrow-loop embrasure could be seen and also a rough ashlar return visible on the NW end of the tumble could be matched with that for a latrine shown on Treswell's survey of the castle in 1586. An overhang of masonry before the latrine return suggests two phases of construction here.

The sleighting & demolition of 1646 caused great blocks of curtain wall, keep and other parts of the Castle to tumble downslope and settle on the Castle Hill slopes and in the river bed. In March 2018 a cable trench in the SE edge of North Castle Field on the NW side of the Castle hit a block of Castle tumble buried within the field and previously unknown (SY95833 82424)

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