It’s been several months since our last postcard blog. So far, we’ve covered the tourist hotspots of Weymouth and Bournemouth. This month, we’re focusing on some of the older postcards from one of Dorset’s smaller settlements: West Lulworth. As the gateway to the famous geological sites of Lulworth Cove, Stair Hole and Durdle Door, it’s of no surprise that this wonderful village attracted visitors from all around the country in the 20th century and continues to see hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
—
D-DPC/WLU/27 – This view of an empty Lulworth Cove, with not even a boat in sight, might seem strange to anyone who has visited the area in recent years, when it is almost always teaming with people! The message on the reverse was written in the summer of 1913. It reads:
“We have just come to Lulworth for the day. Had a very nice trip over without being sick. Think I shall be alright for the Isle of Man next year. I am getting quite a good sailor now”. It ends with a plea for the recipient to “forward me on some more cash”!
—
D-DPC/WLU/29 and 51 – Offering two very similar views of the Cove from either end of the 20th century, these postcards show how visitor numbers to the area have boomed over the last hundred years. In the left-hand image, animals graze in the same fields that are filled with coaches in the right-hand one!
—
D-DPC/WLU/24 – Even today, it is possible to catch a glimpse of a paddle steamer at Lulworth Cove, although visits are by no means as frequent as they once were! This postcard, sent in 1909, shows passengers in fabulous Edwardian dresses and hats disembarking from a steamer for a day out in Lulworth. The sender writes that the weather during their visit to Dorset has been generally lovely, but the wind “rather cold”. Until 1962, Cosens & Co of Weymouth were the principal operators of the paddle steamers that visited Lulworth.
—
D-DPC/WLU/55 – As well as being a tourist destination, Lulworth has long been associated with the military. Well before the establishment of Lulworth Camp, seaside summer camps for Militia and Yeomanry volunteers were held in what later became the car park for Lulworth Cove. In this postcard, we can see one of members of the 1st Wiltshire Volunteer Regiment presumably at one of these camps in 1907.
—
D-DPC/WLU/10 – Moving up from the Cove and into the village, this postcard, sent in 1905, shows another strange sight for visitors to Lulworth today, a farmyard surrounded by small lanes and thatched cottages – not a car in sight!
—
D-DPC/WLU/63 – Built in the late eighteenth century, when sea-bathing was becoming a fashionable activity, the Castle Inn still stands on the north side of Main Road, opposite the junction with School Lane. This postcard shows the inn in 1949.
—
D-DPC/WLU/8 – Staying on Main Road, this postcard, sent in August 1932, shows some of the thatched cottages on the street, looking up towards Hambury Tout. Written on a beautiful afternoon in Studland, the message on the reverse mentions a “very pretty drive through the woods and lanes” to Lulworth Cove.
—
D-DPC/WLU/11 – Cove Cottage, seen here on the right with its picturesque lattice windows, was built in the village around 1760. The message on this final postcard, written in 1928, asks the recipient to “look in my box and take out a bottle of scent (Lily of the Valley)” and also thanks them for the shoes! As we’ve seen in the previous postcard blogs, this goes to show that postcards were often used simply as a cheap means of communication for everyday things and were not just reserved for people on the summer holidays!
—
We hope you’ve enjoyed a look at some of the fun and fascinating postcards from West Lulworth! Stay tuned to the blog for some snapshots from other parts of the county, coming soon!