Kittric: Swanage, <a href="BAAAGBYS.php">Dorset</a>

Swanage, Dorset, England OS Map Grid Ref: SZ026786
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Swanage in its small bay lined with yellow sands and flanked by cliffs is large enough a place to provide the visitor with a range of facilites yet, at the same time, not too big as a resort giving a comfortable feeling of human scale. The White cliffs and downlands remind the visitor that Swanage is not just a destination but makes an excellent base for exploring the Isle of Purbeck. It is about the only place between Poole in the east and Weymouth in the west where a good sandy beach is accessible by car.

The most attractive part of the town is the oldest portion which lies off the High Street, about a quarter of a mile inland; the area around Mill Pond and St Mary's Parish Church (the Church is mostly Victorian but its tower may have began its existence as an Anglo-Saxon fortification). There are also several other buildings of interest.

Swanage became established as a port in Saxon times and was frequently raided by the Danes.

Alfred the Great routed the Danish fleet on the bay in 877 and many of the Danish ships were wrecked on Peveril Point, just beyond the modern pier. Although Alfred was king of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex (of which Swanage was part), the Battle of Swanage is regarded by many as the first british naval victory. The battle is commemorated by a curious monument on the sea-front consisting of a column topped by cannon balls.

Later the town became a center for the quarrying and shipping of the local Purbeck 'marble' from the hills immediately to the south and west of the town. These quarries, known as the Tilly Whim Caves are a favourite haunt of modern visitors (see also: nearby Winspit near Worth Matravers).

The arrival of the railways in the latter part of the 19th century paved the way for Swanage to become a seaside resort. Railways

The contracting business in London gave the Burt and Mowlem families many opportunities to bring back all manner of gifts to the town including the facade of the Town Hall by Wren, the Clock Tower and the Great Globe.

new Brief History of Swanage, Dorset new

Tithe Barn Museum and Art Centre

This historic museum shows reconstructions of a period grocers shop, stone quarrying, Lloyds Dispensing Chemist and also has displays of maritime models. There is also a local studies centre which provides source material for local or family research. There are special exhibitions throughout the year.

Open from May-September, daily 10.30-12.30 & 2.30-4.30
Saturday-Sunday 2.30-4.30 only.
Evenings 7.30-9.30 (August only)
Admission free
School parties welcomed by appointment (special rates)

see also: WEST-COUNTRY MUSEUMS

St MARY's PARISH CHURCH
The Church is mostly Victorian but its tower may have began its existence as an Anglo-Saxon fortification.

THE TOWN HALL The facade of the Town Hall was designed by Sir Christopher Wren for the predecessor to the present Mercers' Hall in London. It came to Swanage in the 19th century as one of the gifts of the Burt and Mowlem families. They built Purbeck House (now a convent).

The arrival of the railways in the latter part of the 19th century paved the way for Swanage to become a seaside resort and the town has a great deal of experience in catering for it's seasonal visitors. It is about the only place between Poole in the east and Weymouth in the west where a good sandy beach is accessible by car.

About a mile to the south of the town are the Tilly Whim Caves at Durlston Head - not caves at all but a former cliff quarry from which the famous Portland marble was extracted. Not only did the old quarry serve as a smugglers' hide in the 17th and 18th centuries when smuggling was rife along the Dorset coast, but it has also yielded some remarkable fossils (see also: nearby Winspit near Worth Matravers). The nearby Great Globe - a forty-ton model of the world carved from the local Portland stone - is also very popular with visitors. The nearby Anvil Point lighthouse is also frequently open to visitors.

The cliffs of this part of the Dorset coast are particularly grand and near the town is the strange rock platform which is known as the Dancing Ledge.

From the north end of the town, the walk to the stacks of of the Old Harry Rocks (two miles from the nearest roads to either side) is well-worth making. The path runs past Whitecliffe Farm which dates from the Elizabethan era and rises over Ballard Down.

Havenhurst Hotel
3 Cranborne Rd, Swanage, Dorset BH19 1EA tel: 01929 424224