Corfe Castle, Dorset

Corfe Castle is a beautiful castle located in southern Dorset, in a village of the same name. The site was originally thought to have been a Saxon hall, as shown by evidence of post-holes; Roman and Saxon pottery has also been found in the vacinity. The stone castle was not initially constructed until the 11th century by William the Conqueror - later completed by Henry I - of which the ruins stand out substantially in the landscape today. During the period  1066 and 1087, William the Conqueror built Corfe Castle and although the castle itself is not that well known in the Medieval world, the area was thought to have been where Edward the Martyr was murdered under the orders of his stepmother in 978AD. 

The location of the castle is perfect as a symbol of power and as a defensive structure; Anne Yarrow described it as being a "12th century skyscraper" (2005:8). I visited the castle in December 2012, and noticed that even driving towards Corfe Castle from several miles away, it still stuck out like a sore thumb. Even as you approach the castle, and walk along the bridge, the archway greets you in some sort of majestic way; when you are through the archway, you are at the bottom of the hill and stare up at the castle and view it all in its glory. It's rather intimidating, but this was done on purpose. The castle was built in this way on purpose, as there would have been many people working at the castle - especially at the bottom of this hill - and if they were intimidated by the size of this castle, it would perhaps put them in their place; again, this is showing off Corfe as a symbol of power.

(c) Megan Seehra, 2012.

For a relatively unknown castle, Corfe had a long and fairly eventful history; mainly to improve its defences. The following summary should suffice:

-978AD: Edward the Martyr murdered at the site; was possibly still a Saxon hall at this point
-1066AD:  The castle is founded
-1100-1130AD: The Keep was constructed sometime during this period
-1105AD: Henry I completes the construction of the stone keep
-1139AD: King Stephen beseiges Corfe; the castle still stands
-1201-1204AD: Defences rebuilt; construction begins on the Gloriette
-1212-1214AD: Defences improved on Outer Bailey

-1244AD: The Keep is whitewashed 
-c.1250 - c.1280AD: The Outer Bridge is constructed
-1460AD: Edmund Beaufort marches his forces from Corfe to the Battle of Wakefield
-1572AD: The castle is sold to Elizabeth I's Lord Chancellor,  Sir Christopher Hatton
-1635AD: Sir John Bankes buys the castle
-1642-43AD: The English Civil War breaks out; the majority of Dorset is under the control of the Parliametarians
-1645AD: The Parliamentarians manage to partly demolish the castle to its current state

-1883AD: Archaeological excavations are carried out on the castle
-1986-1997AD: More excavation carried out on the castle
-2008AD: Corfe is reopened to the public

(c) Megan Seehra, 2012.

Before its part-demolition in the 17th century, Corfe stood as a hunting lodge, a stronghold, and a mansion; all of which count as contributing towards the definition of a castle. Despite it being located on the top of a hill, Corfe should not be thought of a typical castle - not all castles were built on top of a hill to stand out. Castles such as Caernarvon was built on flat land by the sea; it may seem that this castle therefore did not stand out as a symbol of power, but being right by the edge of the sea, its reflection in the water made it appear bigger, therefore showing power.  

After his Conquest, William built many other castles similar to Corfe, with its inside layout being most similar to Pevensey; its location in the landscape most like Dover or Hastings; and reuse of a Saxon or Roman site is most like all of the following castles built by William:

Colchester Castle, built 1069AD.
(c) Colchester and Ipswich Museums.

Dover Castle, built 1179AD.
(c) BBC.

Durham Castle, built 1172AD.
(c) Wikipedia.

Hastings Castle, built 1066AD.
(c) great-castles.com

Pevensey Castle, built 1066AD.
(c) English Heritage.

Warwick Castle, built 1068AD.
(c) Wikipedia.

Windsor Castle, built 1066AD
(c) Wikipedia.

Arguably, the reuse of previous sites shows the Norman dominance William had over the people of Britian after his conquest. This is exactly what Edward I did with his group of castles he built in North Wales; at Caernarvon Castle, it was discovered that Magnus Maximus was buried on the site where the castle was meant to be built. 
He was later reburied at a local church. But this still showed Edward's English dominance over the Welsh; if this great big stone structure didn't show power enough, it was the fact that Edward could build castles wherever he liked; removing bodies and previous structures at his will.



If you're in the Dorset area, I recommend you visit Corfe Castle - the village is wonderful, the people are lovely and the ruins are fantastic. You get a stunning view of the surrounding landscape too!

(c) Megan Seehra, 2012.

(c) Megan Seehra, 2012.

If this was at all interesting, or indeed made sense, I wrote a 4,500 word essay at University of Wales Trinity St David on this castle, which focuses more on the physical and social side of Corfe Castle, with quite a bit on the woman's role specifically within this castle. 


Please contact me, or comment in the box below if you would like to read this essay!
Please note that the essay is my own work, belongs to University of Wales Trinity St David should not be be reproduced without my written consent - the same goes for the pictures on this post too.



References and further reading:

-Bankes, G., 1853. The story of Corfe Castle, and many who lived there. London: J. Murray. 

-Cathcart King, D.J., 1988. The Castle in England and Wales: An Interpretive History. Kent: Croom Helm Ltd.

-Creighton, O.H., 2005. Castles and Landscapes: power, community and fortification in medieval England. London: Oakville.

   

-National Trust, 2010. Corfe Castle, Dorset. Swindon: National Trust Ltd.

-Pounds, N.J.G., 1993. The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: A Political and Social History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

-RCHME, 1952. Excavations in the West Bailey at Corfe Castle. Medieval Archaeology. 4:29-55.

-Thackray, D., 1991. Corfe Castle, Dorset: an illustrated souvenir. London: National Trust.

 

-Yarrow, A., 2005. Corfe Castle. Swindon: The National Trust (2^nd edition).

M