Durlston Castle
Encyclopedia
Durlston Castle stands within Durlston Country Park
, a 1.13 square-kilometre (280-acre
) country park
and nature reserve
stretching along the coastline south of Swanage
, on the Isle of Purbeck
in Dorset
.
(1788-1868), a Swanage-born man, was a stonemason and builder. He was the founder of the quarry
ing and construction
company Mowlem
. John Mowlem and his nephew and business partner George Burt wanted to give something back to their home town, which was the source of their Portland and Purbeck limestone, popular for building at the time. John Mowlem built the Mowlem Institute, a reading room and public library, in 1862.
George Burt
(1816-1894) purchased an undulating tract of land covering Durlston Head during the same year. This estate included quarries that supplied their firm with limestone. Burt developed this estate as a tourist attraction.
Durlston Castle. The castle was designed by the Weymouth architect G.R. Crickmay (1830-1907) and built by W.M. Hardy in 1886-87 entirely of local stone. The 'castle' was never a real castle: it was purpose-built by Burt as a restaurant for the visitors to his estate.
Refurbishment of the Castle was completed in November 2011, and the Castle now houses a new Visitor Centre to Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve, and stands as a stunning gateway to the Jurassic Coast.
The side wall of the castle features a sundial and two stone tablets inscribed with various statistics such as clock times and tides around the world. South of the castle is perhaps the most impressive object within the Estate grounds, the Great Globe
, built by Burt in 1887. The footpaths around the Castle and Great Globe are lined with cast iron
bollards that were brought from London. All around the estate there are further stone plaques carved with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible
, maps showing the English Channel
and the United Kingdom
, and further facts about the natural world. These surrounds were placed during the period 1887 to 1891.
The castle played a part in the evolution of radio and telecommunications. A team of Marconi's engineers used the roof of the castle in the 1890s for some of their early wireless experiments to transmit to the Isle of Wight.
The castle passed through the hands of many owners until in 1973 it was bought by Dorset County Council
. Durlston Castle and the Great Globe were both being restored over 2010 and 2011 by the Council. Also within the Durlston Country Park and within walking distance of the Globe are Durlston Bay
, the Tilly Whim Caves
and the Anvil Point
Lighthouse. The Park is part of the Jurassic Coast
World Heritage Site
. The Jurassic Coast stretches over a distance of 153 kilometres (95 mi), from Orcombe Point
, near Exmouth
, in the west to the Old Harry Rocks
in the east.
Durlston Country Park
Durlston Country Park is a 1.13 square kilometre country park and nature reserve stretching along the coast of the Isle of Purbeck near Swanage in Dorset, England...
, a 1.13 square-kilometre (280-acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
) country park
Country park
A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
and nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
stretching along the coastline south of Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
, on the Isle of Purbeck
Isle of Purbeck
The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
.
Preamble
John MowlemJohn Mowlem
John Mowlem was an English stonemason, builder and founder of the quarrying and construction company "Mowlem, Burt and Freeman".-Career:Mowlem was born in Swanage, Dorset, the son of a quarryman...
(1788-1868), a Swanage-born man, was a stonemason and builder. He was the founder of the quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
ing and construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
company Mowlem
Mowlem
Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006.-History:Founded by John Mowlem in 1822, the company was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902 and went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1924. It acquired SGB Group in...
. John Mowlem and his nephew and business partner George Burt wanted to give something back to their home town, which was the source of their Portland and Purbeck limestone, popular for building at the time. John Mowlem built the Mowlem Institute, a reading room and public library, in 1862.
George Burt
George Burt (Britain)
George Burt was a public-works contractor and businessman from Swanage, England, who managed the construction company Mowlem, founded by his uncle John Mowlem....
(1816-1894) purchased an undulating tract of land covering Durlston Head during the same year. This estate included quarries that supplied their firm with limestone. Burt developed this estate as a tourist attraction.
Venue
Burt established the Durlston Estate upon the crest of the hill and here he built his follyFolly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
Durlston Castle. The castle was designed by the Weymouth architect G.R. Crickmay (1830-1907) and built by W.M. Hardy in 1886-87 entirely of local stone. The 'castle' was never a real castle: it was purpose-built by Burt as a restaurant for the visitors to his estate.
Refurbishment of the Castle was completed in November 2011, and the Castle now houses a new Visitor Centre to Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve, and stands as a stunning gateway to the Jurassic Coast.
The side wall of the castle features a sundial and two stone tablets inscribed with various statistics such as clock times and tides around the world. South of the castle is perhaps the most impressive object within the Estate grounds, the Great Globe
Great Globe
The Great Globe at Swanage is one of the largest stone spheres in the world. The Great Globe is constructed of Portland stone. It weighs 40 tons and is in diameter.-Location:...
, built by Burt in 1887. The footpaths around the Castle and Great Globe are lined with cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
bollards that were brought from London. All around the estate there are further stone plaques carved with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, maps showing the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and further facts about the natural world. These surrounds were placed during the period 1887 to 1891.
The castle played a part in the evolution of radio and telecommunications. A team of Marconi's engineers used the roof of the castle in the 1890s for some of their early wireless experiments to transmit to the Isle of Wight.
The castle passed through the hands of many owners until in 1973 it was bought by Dorset County Council
Dorset County Council
Dorset County Council is the county council of the Dorset in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils...
. Durlston Castle and the Great Globe were both being restored over 2010 and 2011 by the Council. Also within the Durlston Country Park and within walking distance of the Globe are Durlston Bay
Durlston Bay
Durlston Bay is a small bay next to a country park of the same name, just south of the resort of Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England...
, the Tilly Whim Caves
Tilly Whim Caves
Tilly Whim Caves consists of three stone quarries in Durlston Country Park, 1 mile south of Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck, in Dorset, southern England....
and the Anvil Point
Anvil Point
Anvil Point is part of the Jurassic Coast near Swanage on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The Jurassic Coast stretches over a distance of , from Orcombe Point near Exmouth, in the west, to Old Harry Rocks, in the east.-Geography:...
Lighthouse. The Park is part of the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. The Jurassic Coast stretches over a distance of 153 kilometres (95 mi), from Orcombe Point
Orcombe Point
Orcombe Point is a coastal feature near Exmouth, Devon, on the south coast of England. It lies about south of the city of Exeter, southeast of Exmouth town centre and about southwest of Sidmouth....
, near Exmouth
Exmouth, Devon
Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort in East Devon, England, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe. In 2001, it had a population of 32,972.-History:...
, in the west to the Old Harry Rocks
Old Harry Rocks
The Old Harry Rocks are two chalk sea stacks located at Handfast Point, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, southern England.- Location :Old Harry Rocks lie directly east of Studland, about 4 kilometres northeast of Swanage, and about 10 kilometres south of the large towns of Poole and...
in the east.