The river Avon upon which Salisbury stands--for there are several of
these Avon Rivers in England--flows southward between Dorsetshire and
Hampshire, and falls into the Channel. Westward from its mouth extends a
line of sandy cliffs, broken by occasional ravines or chines, past
Bournemouth to Poole Harbor, a broad estuary surrounded by low hills
which is protected by a high ridge of chalk rocks on its south-western
side running out into the sea. The sleepy town of Poole stands on the
shore, having dim recollections of its ships and commerce of centuries
ago. It was a nursery for privateersmen, and many are the exploits
recorded of them. It was also, from the intricacy of its creeks and the
roving character of its people, a notorious place for smuggling. Poole
is an old-fashioned, brick-built town, with a picturesque gateway yet
remaining as a specimen of its ancient defences. In the vale of the
Stour, which here debouches, is the ancient minster of Wimborne, founded
in the reign of King Ina by his sister, and containing the grave of the
Saxon king AEthelred. It is not remarkable excepting for its age, and for
having had for its dean Reginald Pole before he became a cardinal. The
ancient and shrunken town of Wareham is also near by, having had quite a
military history, but being almost destroyed by fire in 1762, from which
it never recovered. It has now but three churches out of the eight it
originally possessed, and of these only one is in regular use. But the
great memory of this part of the coast is connected with Corfe Castle.
[Illustration: CORFE CASTLE.]
The so-called Isle of Purbeck is near Poole Harbor, and the ruined
castle of Corfe stands in a narrow gap in the hills, guarding the
entrance to the southern part of this island, its name being derived
from _ceorfan_, meaning "to cut," so that it refers to the cut or gap in
the hills. Queen AElfrida in the tenth century had a hunting-lodge here.
According to the legend, her stepson, King Edward, was hunting in the
neighborhood and stopped at the door to ask for a drink. It was brought,
and as he raised the cup to his lips he was stabbed in the back--it is
said by the queen's own hand. He put spurs to his horse, galloped off,
fell, and was dragged along the road, the battered corpse being buried
at Wareham. The queen had committed this murder for the benefit of her
youngest son, and hearing him bewail his brother's death, she flew into
a passion, and, no cudgel being at hand, belabored him so stoutly with a
large wax candle that he could never afterwards bear the sight of one.
The king's remains were then translated to Shaftesbury, miracles were
wrought, and the queen, finding affairs becoming serious, founded two
nunneries in expiation of the murder, to one of which she retired. This
began the fame of the Isle of Purbeck, although the present Corfe Castle
was not built till the twelfth century. It was attacked by, but baffled,
Stephen, and King John used it as a royal residence, prison, and
treasure-house. Here he starved to death twenty-two French knights who
had been partisans of his nephew Arthur; and he also hanged a hermit
named Peter who had made rash prophecies of his downfall, this being
intended as a wholesome warning to other unwelcome prophets. Its
subsequent history was uneventful until the Civil War, when it was
greatly enlarged and strengthened, occupying the upper part of the hill
overlooking the village. Now it is ruined in every part: the
entrance-gateway leans over and is insecure, the walls are rent, and the
towers shattered, while the keep is but a broken shell, with one side
entirely gone. This destruction was done in the Civil War, when Corfe
was held for King Charles. In 1643, when the owner, Sir John Bankes, was
absent, the castle was attacked, and his lady hastily collected the
tenantry and some provisions and made the best defence she could. The
besiegers melted down the roof of the village church for bullets, and
approached the castle-walls under cover of two pent-houses called,
respectively, "the Boar" and "the Sow." So galling a fire, however, was
kept up by the defenders that they were driven off, and their commander
with difficulty rallied them for another attack, being well fortified
with "Dutch courage." This time the brave little garrison, even the
women and children taking part, hurled down upon them hot embers,
paving-stones, and whatever else came handiest, and again drove them off
when the effect of the liquor was spent; then, the king's forces coming
to the rescue, they decamped. But the fortunes of Charles waned: he was
defeated at Naseby, Sir John Bankes died, and Corfe was the only
stronghold left him between London and Exeter. Again it was attacked,
and, through treachery, captured. It was afterwards dismantled and blown
up by gunpowder, while its heroic defender, Lady Bankes, was deprived of
her dowry as penalty for her "malignity." She received it again,
however, and had the satisfaction of living until after the Restoration.
[Illustration: 1. STUDLAND CHURCH. 2. RUINS OF OLD CROSS IN THE
CHURCHYARD.]
Beyond the range of chalk-cliffs that here cross Dorsetshire the coast
runs several miles southward from Poole Harbor, the promontory of the
Foreland protruding into the sea and dividing the shore into two bays.
The northern one is Studland Bay, alongside which is the singular rock
of the Agglestone. The devil, we are told, was sitting one day upon one
of the Needles off the neighboring coast of the Isle of Wight, looking
about him to see what the world was doing, when he espied the towers of
Corfe Castle just rising towards completion; he seized a huge rock and
hurled it at the castle, but it fell short, and remains to this day upon
the moor. Nestling under the slopes of this moor, in a ravine leading
down to the shore, is Studland village, with its little Norman church
embosomed in foliage and surrounded by ancient gravestones and memorial
crosses. South of the Foreland, and protected by the chalk range from
the northern blasts, is Swanage Bay, bordered by its little town, which
in past times has been variously called Swanwich, Sandwich, and Swanage.
It is a quiet watering-place at the east end of Purbeck Isle, landlocked
from every rough wind, a pleasant spot for summer sea-bathing, with
huge elms growing on its beach and garden-flowers basking in the
sunshine. The Purbeck marble, which was so extensively used for
church-building a few centuries ago, and which may be seen in
Westminster Abbey, Canterbury, Salisbury, Ely, and other cathedrals, was
quarried here, though other quarries of it exist in Britain. It is an
aggregate of freshwater shells, which polishes handsomely, but is liable
to crumble, and has in later years been generally superseded by other
building-stone. The coast southward is lined with quarries, and the
lofty promontory of St. Aldhelm's Head projects into the sea, a
conspicuous headland seen from afar. It was named for the first Bishop
of Sherborne, and its summit rises nearly five hundred feet, being
crowned by an ancient chapel, where in former days a priest trimmed the
beacon-light and prayed for the mariners' safety. This cliff exhibits
sections of Portland stone, and the view is unusually fine, the entire
coast displaying vast walls of cream-colored limestone. These rocks
extend westward past Encombe, where Chancellor Eldon closed his life,
and the Vale of Kimmeridge, where they dig a dark blue clay, and
Worbarrow Bay, with its amphitheatre of crags composed of Portland stone
and breached here and there to form the gateways into interior coves.
Here are the Barndoor Cove, entered through a natural archway; the
Man-of-War Cove, its guardian rock representing a vessel; and Lulworth
Cove, with its castle-ruins, most of which have been worked into the
modern structure near by where the exiled French king, Charles X., once
lived.
[Illustration: ST. ALDHELM'S HEAD.]