The Isle of Purbeck is the focus of the third volume of Hutchins Extra illustrated and many of the additions to this volume are pictures of the spectacular coastline. Numerous sketches and prints of Lulworth, Kimmeridge, Studland and Swanage have been included.
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There are also three castles that feature in this volume; Woodsford Castle, Corfe Castle and Lulworth Castle.
Woodsford Castle is located 5 miles East of Dorchester and may be the county’s oldest inhabited building. Originally a quadrangular building with fortifications and crenulations, only one side now remains. Most of the present building was built by Sir Guy de Bryan, who bought the manor in 1367. He fought in the 100 years war and was one of the first Knights of the Garter.
Woodsford was renovated in 1660, having fallen into a dilapidated state. This is probably when the three sides were removed, leaving the building that stands today. It is also when the large thatched roof was added. At 330 square yards it is thought to be the largest thatch on an inhabited building in the country.
By 1850 it had again become ruinous and was restored by Architect John Hicks with the help of builder Thomas Hardy. Thomas’s son was the famous novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, who worked for Hicks as an Architect before dedicating himself to his writing. It is possible this is when they first met, although Hardy would only have been ten at the time.
After 600 years of being passed down through the same family Woodsford Castle was sold to the Landmark Trust in 1977. It is now a holiday home.
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Corfe Castle was the home of the Bankes family. As well as pictures of the castle, both before and after it was ruined in the Civil War, there is a copy of a census of Corfe taken in 1790 included in this volume. This gives the names and occupations of the inhabitants as well as their estimated income, providing a fascinating insight into village life.
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Lulworth Castle is home to the Weld family and was briefly lived in by two women with royal connections.
The first was Mrs Fitzherbert, born Maria Smythe in 1756. Maria was to marry Edward Weld in 1775, but he died just 3 months after their wedding. She then married Thomas Fitzherbert, who died in 1781.
In 1784 she met Prince George, later King George IV, who became besotted with her. He wanted her to be his mistress, but she refused as it went against her Catholic beliefs. The Prince wouldn’t give up, even stabbing himself and threatening to bleed to death if she didn’t agree to marry him.
They married in secret in 1785, although the marriage was illegal because they had not got permission from the prince’s father, George III. The couple lived together in Brighton for ten years, until the Prince agreed to marry his cousin Caroline of Brunswick in return for parliament paying off some of his debts.
They were briefly reconciled in 1800, but Maria would not put up with George taking mistresses and they parted for the final time in 1811. When George died in 1830 he requested to be buried with a locket containing her portrait.
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The second royal woman connected with Lulworth Castle was Marie Therese Charlotte, daughter of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVIth of France. She visited Lulworth Castle during her exile from France following the execution of her parents. This volume contains a portrait of her and a letter written by her whilst at Lulworth.
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The final set of items that worth noting are a series of drawings of the scene of the wreck of the Halsewell. The Halsewell was an East Indiaman ship that was smashed on the cliffs near Worth Matravers on the 6th January 1786. There were over 240 people on board and only 74 survived. Included amongst those who perished was the Captain Richard Pierce and his two daughters. A note about the catastrophe can be found in the Parish Register for Worth Matravers and we hold an account by two survivors of the wreck in our reference library.
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This blog is part of our monthly series on the 12 extra-illustrated volumes of “Hutchins’ History and Antiquities of Dorset.”
Part one: An introduction to the history and antiquities of Dorset.
Part two: The Pitt family, a piano player, and a plague of caterpillars.
Thank you for the interesting reference to Woodsford Castle. Regarding the drawing of the castle, can you please confirm the artist and date?
Also does the History Centre have any other plans or drawings of the castle?
The memoirs (vol.3, I think) of the playwright John O’Keeffe give an account of his visit to Lulworth in the 1780s, He reflects on the loss of the Halsewell, before his breathless account of escaping the incoming tide at the base of the cliffs at Durdle Door.