Conservation project opens up a tower made for a King!
For the first time since 1646 when the Castle was destroyed in the English Civil War, the public have access to the King’s Tower at Corfe Castle, built for King Henry I five-hundred years earlier.
History of the King's Tower at Corfe Castle
Originally built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, Corfe Castle was once one of the most formidable castles in the country and an architectural masterpiece. The Keep, (or King’s Tower), was built around 1107 for William’s son King Henry I, from gleaming white Purbeck limestone. It stood at 23 metres tall, positioned atop a 55-metre-high hill, and could be seen from miles around.
Balcony like Buckingham Palace!
Before its destruction by Parliamentarian troops in the Civil War, the King’s Tower at corfe Castle had been used to provide Henry I with luxurious personal quarters and included the addition of a ‘garderobe’ – an early ensuite – and an ‘appearance door’ from which the monarch and his family could appear to his subjects, much as the balcony at Buckingham Palace is used today.
Climb the tower for stunning views!
Now, visitors to Corfe Castle will be able to climb a special viewing platform built by the National Trust’s conservation team and see the Purbeck countryside from this royal viewpoint as well as a chance to get up close to the ‘appearance door’.
A major £2m conservation project began in 2023 to protect Corfe Castle from the impact of climate change. Whilst the project is taking place rare permission has been granted by Historic England to the National Trust to erect the viewing platform and provide a once-in-a-lifetime chance for visitors to experience royal history from this unique tower location.
A tower for a King!
Henry I’s appearances on his balcony enabled him to be seen by a wider audience than could be admitted to the Great Hall. His subjects could gather in the Outer Bailey, and he could also be seen from outside of the castle walls.
Several kings who followed Henry I enjoyed the use of Corfe Castle, but it was King John who spent more time there than at any other castle, lavishing money on improving it to his tastes. However, his own luxurious use of the castle contrasted sharply with his cruelty to others there, using it as a convenient place to lock up, and starve to death, political prisoners.
'Most splendid of Royal Palaces'
James Gould, Operations Manager at Corfe Castle said: “Henry I wanted Corfe Castle to be one of his most splendid royal palaces and fitted it out with the latest decoration and fashionable facilities. His exclusive penthouse-style royal living quarters at the top of the Keep really was cutting-edge for its time.
“There is so much history to explore at Corfe through the eyes of kings both famous and infamous, and visitors will have a unique chance to experience it from this special vantage point. I’m personally excited to witness the changing seasons high above the landscape just as the kings of old would have.”
Access to King's Tower at Corfe Castle
The viewing platform is built to stand alone without any impact on the castle and is anticipated to be in place for a year – or until the completion of works. Ticket sales from the platform will help with fundraising for the extensive conservation project.
James continued: “We are extremely grateful to Historic England for allowing the platform to be erected to aid fundraising and secure the castle’s future. The platform is something we have never built here before and might never repeat again, so we hope as many people as possible will take the opportunity to come and experience a window into the world of kings.”
Tours of the King's Tower
There are two types of tours available a 90 minute guided tour and Kings’ view experience for £15 or the 30 minute The Kings’ View experience for £5. They can be booked in person, on the day. The usual admission applies in addition to the tours. For more details about tours of the King’s View Tower see the National Trust Website.
A £2 million conservation project...
From cannon balls to climate change – the romantic ruins of Corfe castle may have survived the centuries but is now threatened by climate change.
A £2 million conservation project at the National Trust’s Corfe Castle in Dorset is the biggest project the castle has seen since the 1950s and aims to tackle problems across nearly all of the castle, caused by climate change.
Over the next three years specialist rope access teams are conserving the walls to remove vegetation and prevent future damage, often while hanging high above the ground. The work, which will see repairs on the nine towers, the keep and the eight-metre-high (26 feet) curtain wall is made even more precarious as the castle is perched on a steep-sided hill rising 55 metres above the valley.
Corfe Castle has regular structural condition surveys and although it is structurally stable there is concern about the impact of climate change, particularly accelerating growth of vegetation such as valerian which grows its roots deep into the core of the walls.
Project manager Christina Newnham explained that climate change affects the castle at two different extremes of weather: “The real impact we saw was the drought in 2022 when the walls dried out and stones were regularly falling. The hot weather and heat dries out the mortar but it also kills off vegetation. Where plants have roots deep in the walls, as they die and shrink, the stones loosen, putting them at risk of falling.
“Lime mortar needs moisture to be stable, as do the plants, and it was obvious after the first rain following the drought that the stones immediately stopped falling from the walls.”
The other impact of climate change is from warmer and wetter winters which encourage more plant growth, in turn damaging more areas of the walls.
“The advantage of a major project such as this is that we can make the castle more resilient by bringing it into a stable state of repair.”
A challenge for the conservation team
The castle was built in different phases and repairs at different times have brought challenges for the project team. Several different types of mortar are used and the conservation teams have developed recipe books for their own mortar mixes so they can mimic the originals.
Christina explained: “We are using traditional techniques raking out the loose mortar and digging out deep tap roots from the invasive plants, re-pinning loose stones and repointing with fresh lime mortar as it would have been done hundreds of years ago. By sourcing aggregates from across Purbeck as the original castle builders did, we can create different colour mixes which allows the new mortar to blend in.”
As well as replacing mortar, the exposed wall tops are protected with a technique called ‘soft capping’ by covering exposed wall tops and tumbles with grass as a natural but incredibly effective way to protect against extreme weather. The grass prevents too much water from getting into the rubble core of the wall where it washes out material and attracts unwanted plants to grow into the walls.
Protecting resident wildlife at Corfe
While problematic vegetation is removed, the National Trust builders work with ecologists to ensure other nature living on the castle doesn’t have their homes disturbed. The stones are not cleaned to protect important lichens which are carefully left alone, as are nesting birds including ravens and the Peregrine falcons which build homes high in the ruins of the castle. The conservation teams even have to be mindful of adders and lizards found living among the vegetation and stonework of the ancient walls.
Funding for the project
The project is being supported with a generous grant of £150,000 from the Wolfson Foundation as well as a commitment from the National Trust’s own funds, but there is still a need to raise £100,000 to ensure the project can be completed. A local fund-raising appeal has been launched for the final money to complete the work. Find out more about the appeal at:- https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/corfe-castle/caring-for-corfe-castle
