Once a small
fishing village with a river that was navigable for about a
mile beyond the church. From early times stone quarrying has
been an important industry (See display in Museum). The town grew up
around the springs from the hillside; our Wishing Well is one such
spring, the Mill Pond another. Now
tourism is the major economy.
Swanage is
mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and in the 11th C.
Domesday Book. The church tower is very thick and strong. It
was built long before the body of the present church, perhaps as a
place of refuge as there was always the danger of attack.
Until the coming
of the railway from Wareham in 1885 and the second pier
in 1896 for use by pleasure steamers, Swanage could only be reached
by tracks and poor roads. Horses, bullocks and even dogs were used
for haulage. The new forms of transport resulted in Swanage becoming
popular and the town became 'Seaside' Swanage. The first car ferry,
at South Haven Point, commenced in 1926. The railway was closed in
1972 but has since been reopened as far as Nordern by steam train
enthusiasts. Swanage now
has about 10,000 inhabitants but summer visitors perhaps double this.
Cannon
Bollards named from early
discarded cannon that were used to line London's footpaths. When no
longer needed there, some were brought, as ballast, in returning
stone ships. There are many more in Swanage and Durlston. Look for
the parish names cast at the top. (See leaflet available in the
Museum)
See also the old
paving stones with hand
carved anti-slip patterns; there
are still many in-situ by the church and in the Town. Many of these
contain small mollusc fossils.
Farm
machinery; one is a Root
Cutter for cutting vegetables such as mangel-wurzles for animal feed,
the other a Chaff Cutter for horse feed.
PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH.
Both positive and
negative footprints made by Dinosaurs
in the Purbeck lagoon mud of about 130 million years ago can be seen
on the wall and behind the tree near the Anchor.
They were discovered in Swanage at Townsend in 1981.
The unusually
large fossil Ammonite
in the Barn wall was once a marine animal related to the Octopus. It
was found in a local quarry. Both ammonites and dinosaurs had died
out by about 65 million years ago
Gallows
stone with modern post.
Judge Jefferies ordered many hangings after the rebellion by the Duke
of Monmouth in 1685.
The Tithe Barn
is likely to be as old as
the nearby Rectory of possibly 1667. The barn was used to store
tithes, or tenths, of farmers' produce as a tax in kind, rather than
money, to support the Church. It is built of Purbeck Stone. The roof
of heavy stone tiles weighs 100 tons and is supported on rough beams
and rafters. The large doorway enabled horse and cart to enter. Slits
in both gables were provided to allow barn owls to enter and prey on
rats and mice.
July
2001#2
John Mowlem and
George Burt are
important figures in the history of Swanage.
John Mowlem
(1788-1868) whose portrait hangs on the south wall - was a Swanage
quarry-boy who went to London and established a flourishing stone
contracting firm. Having made his fortune he retired to Swanage and
improved the town. He levelled the High Street, developed the present
road system and built the Mowlem Institute (now replaced by the
Mowlem Theatre). He also erected the nearby King Alfred memorial to
commemorate the so-called defeat of the Vikings in 877.
Mowlem took into
partnership his nephew, George Burt (1816 1894) who became
head of the firm that still continues as John Mowlem & Co. plc.
His portrait, and that of his wife, hang on the north wall. George
Burt retired to Swanage. He built Purbeck House in the High
Street; this is now an hotel. He brought the 17th C.
façade of Mercers Hall from the City of London to form the
front of the Town Hall he built.
He also brought many other curiosities from London, including
the Wellington Clock Tower from London Bridge as ballast, in
the returning stone boats. At
Durlston he built Durlston Castle as a restaurant and the
Great Stone Globe. Burt
also took over the Gasworks and provided the town with mains water
from a bore hole on Ballard Down, and saw in the railway.
The Map Table.
The Isle of Purbeck
is nearly an island. Sea to the south and east, Poole Harbour and the
River Frome to the north. A
stream runs north from near Warbarrow Bay into the Frome to form
Purbeck's western boundary.
Geological
formations. Several bands cross the Isle of Purbeck east-west,
each contributing to the extraordinarily varied landscape.
From south to north:-
1.
From Durlston and Peveril Point, the Purbeck limestone cliffs
and plateau. (fresh-water deposit). To the west Portland limestone
(marine deposit). Both were quarried.
2.
To the west of the limestone, Kimmeridge beds with oil bearing
shale.
3.
A narrow band of Purbeck Marble from Peveril Point to
Worbarrow Bay, now largely worked out.
Much of this stone contains fossils of marine creatures.
4.
Next a wide band of clays mostly Wealden and Bagshot -
supporting a string of farms from North Swanage and westwards.
Swanage Brickworks is still active.
5. Then the chalk
ridge of the Purbeck Hills, with almost vertical strata in the centre
as a result of geological pressure. To the east, Old Harry Rocks were
once part of a continuous ridge of chalk to the Needles (Isle of
Wight) that was broken through by the sea a few thousand years ago.
This band of chalk continues westward as Ballard Down, then Nine
Barrow Down with prehistoric burial mounds, and further west a
natural hillock, formed by two streams, on which sits Corfe Castle.
6. A narrow band
of ball clay dug for various purposes, including clay pipes and
household ceramics (examples in the Museum).
7. Heath on the
extensive sands stretching from Studland Bay to Wareham.
The heath is a unique area for many plants and wildlife.
Orchids, adders, smooth snakes, sand lizards, dartford warblers. Also
Agglestone Rock, which legend says was thrown by the Devil from the
Isle of Wight towards Corfe Castle but fell short. Oil lies deep
below the heath and is extracted from the Wytch Farm oil wells on the
edge of Poole Harbour.
Smuggling.
A good landscape for smuggling in the 18th and early
19th centuries. Hiding places, such as Tilly Whim quarry,
caves along the chalk cliffs, the heaths and even the roofs of
churches. (See bottle with boat models). In the 18th c
'The Gentle Smuggler' Isaac Gulliver had a large team of men dressed
alike with hair powdered white. He had many properties, including one
called Lilliput Farm, with hidden doors, secret places and miles of
tunnels. He became rich and respectable and claimed he had never
caused a death. Local men could earn more in a night helping
smugglers than in a week for a farmer or quarry owner. The Customs
men were hopelessly outclassed. The Preventative Station was built at
Peveril for Customs in 1826.
July 2001#2
To the right a Quarry Exhibit, with quarry man, capstan, stone cart and donkey, There are also tools and worked stone. Note the small model of a Quarr (quarry) at the back.
Purbeck Stone,
Purbeck Marble and Portland Stone have been quarried locally from
ancient times. The Swanage hills are honeycombed and scarred with old
workings. From these, Romans, Saxons, Normans and others up to the
present day, have extracted stone for a variety of purposes; both
locally and further afield, including some of our great cathedrals
(for which Purbeck marble was much prized).
Quarrying was
dangerous work but men had to purchase the right to dig and defended
that right. Gunpowder might be used to blast stone from the cliffs in
such places as Tilly Whim where huge caverns extended further
underground. The stone was hauled to the sea edge and lowered by a
derrick crane and whim (windlass) into the unsteady boats waiting to
take it around to Swanage and the Bankers. Inland quarries were
worked by men and boys who dug down into and along seams of rock,
creating dark, dank, tunnels into which they worked their way by
candle-light, using pick axes. From
these quarries stone was usually hauled to the surface on little
carts, pulled by donkey, horse or men and women who worked capstans
above. The stone was then rough worked in a choice of sheds according
to the wind direction, placed into horse drawn carts and taken to the
sea front where it was stacked in the stone Bankers.
Next, high-wheeled horse drawn carts took the stone into the
water, where it was manhandled into small boats and finally loaded
further out in the bay into the larger boats which would take the
stone to other parts, such as London. (See the near-by copy of a
picture by William Craft 1863, also the display of boat models). Hard
won stone was easily lost in bad weather.
In 1859 a pier tramway for stone wagons was built so that
stone could go direct from Bankers to the ships at the Pier.
Twenty-six years later the first trains ran from Swanage to Wareham
and with them went much of the stone.
Quarrymen worked
long hours, usually for little reward.
Pubs allowed the men to pay for well-earned beer with lumps of
stone; 12 pounders were called 'stone pennies'. The publican would
store and later sell the stone. (The cabinet opposite continues the
stone trade exhibit and there are examples of worked stone and tools
by the Map Table).
Cinema
memorabilia. Swanage's first dedicated cinema was in Kings Road
from about 1912. It was in Station Road from 1916 until replaced by a
Supermarket in 1959.
The nearby cabinet
contains old glass and stoneware bottles and domestic debris
dating from around 1900 which were recently dug up in an old quarry
at Herston.
The 1930s shop
front with
typical products in a village shop in our Grandparents time.
Swanage
Dairy was located in Lower High Street. The robust wooden cow,
which had stood to boldly advertise the Dairy for so long, was blown
to bits in a bombing raid.
The central
area is used for changing exhibitions. As you go around the
Museum look up for
various pictures and photographs. Look also for paper
memorabilia in and alongside some cabinets. Copies of old
Swanage Town Guides are often on display.
The
cabinet to the left contains Mowlem and Burt memorabilia, including
a bedroom wash set made for Mr George Burt with a Swanage
scene on each item, also a tithe map of 1840.
Below is some Mowlem related correspondence.
Around
the corner, there are examples of the straw plaiting work done
by Swanage women. This 'industry' was set up by The Rev. Dr Bell,
rector of Swanage and Worth 1801-8 in order to improve the lot of
poor women. A straw bonnet was presented to Princess Victoria when
she came to Swanage in 1833. Other
items include a clay pipe. Clay pipe fragments can be found on
Swanage beach; some of those on sale at the counter could be as old
as the Tithe Barn. (Generally, the bigger the hole the older the
fragment). Other exhibits include wooden measures and a
glass bug trap.
.Below, various
items, including hand made nails, an ungainly Victorian kitchen
gadget, and medals awarded to a
child for continual school attendance from 1910 to 1917.
In the next
cabinet, an example of fine lettering.
Exhibits below include ceremonial memorabilia
of Swanage Urban District Council presented to John
Mowlem. The Urban District Council was dissolved in 1974 at the time
of the Local Government Reorganisation. Swanage now has a Town
Council headed by a Mayor.
The Chemist
Shop interior was formerly in a shop in the High Street. Henry
Lloyd established it in
1932. After his death in 1933 Mrs Lloyd ran the shop, later helped by
her daughter, until her death in 1994. Her services including making
up special creams for her customers, some of whom still phone the old
shop (now a florist) asking for them.
Note the pill making board, beautiful old bottles and drawers
and, under the counter, bewilderingly labelled packets of potions.
The photograph of the RAF Officer stood on the counter in the
old shop. It is of Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Lloyd, brother of
Henry. The
weighing machine was in the Lloyd shop; YOU MAY TRY IT.
In the light green
cabinets a collection of souvenir china miniatures of Swanage
by Goss and others. Below is a selection of old toys. The
other six shelves contain part of the Bernard Calkin
Collection of archaeological finds, from the Stone Age to Roman
times, also some fossils. (More information about this collection is
in the booklet 'Ancient Purbeck' by B. Calkin, for sale at the
counter at 50 pence).
The collection of
boat models, including 'stone boats' was made by Len Hardy of
Swanage; alongside is a compass from the stone boat 'Purveyor' and a
smuggler's rum bottle. By the door, ships bell from Burt's
paddle steamer used to bring visitors from Bournemouth between 1871
and 1879.
Radar
information board. (The full display is at 'The Courtyard', Worth
Matravers). Swanage and nearby Langton Matravers played an important
part in the development of radar during the 1939-1945 war. During its
history, Swanage has often been under the threat of invasion or
attack. There are still pill boxes around for the Second World War
but Swanage could not defend itself properly against frequent air
attacks during which the town was heavily bombed and suffered loss of
life. During this conflict Swanage had 964 air-raid alerts, more than
London's 900. But at last, with radar, attacking aircraft could be
detected and hopefully dealt with.
March2002#1