Panorama of Swanage Bay looking west

Swanage is one of the most popular sea-side towns in the county and is also my favourite, as many a good Sunday School outing back in the early fifties brought me here, as well as day trips out in my fathers new Austin car! It has been the centre of the stone industry for years before the Romans ever thought of coming here and it soon became a quarry town due to its natural bay. The marble was quarried on the nearby Purbeck Hills and was used to build many of the country's great buildings and cathedrals and the Crown Jewels are kept in a new building that has a floor made of the stone.

Swanage lies 10 miles southeast of Wareham and Swanage Bay was the scene of a huge naval battle when a Danish fleet that consisted of more than 100 vessels were destroyed by Alfred the Great in 877AD.

The 19th century saw the town grow into a seaside resort and with the arrival of the railway soon expanded.

During the second half of the 19th century Herston had grown considerably to warrant a new church being built and so St Mark's was b uilt 1869-1872.

A well known building company, Mowlem, was started here by John Mowlem (1788-1868) when he  went to seek his fortune in London. It was here that he founded the company and when he retired he became a benefactor of the seaside town. The Mill Pond that is set on the side of a hill with tiny cottages around it build of Purbeck Stone is the most photographed place in Swanage and it was given by John

The town has 'scavengings' which were collected by Mowlem and his nephew John Burt his successor. And first erected at the end of London Bridge in 1854 was the Wellington Clock  Tower which was built in commemoration of the Duke of Wellington and there are more relics of the capital in front of the town hall, which was built as a facade of the Mercer's Hall in Cheapside, the cast iron lamps on the parade and Beach Road were from Hanover Square but the most remarkable of these 'scavengings'  is Purbeck House which was the home of George Burts in the High Street, this was built from chippings tht came from the Albert Memorial and there is also a bollard that  was in Millbank Prison, an archway from Hyde Park corner floor tiles from the Palace of Westminster and cast iron columns from Billingsgate Market!

Swanage 1897		Shopping in Swanage
Church House
The parish church is dedicated to St Mary and with the exception of the tower was completely rebuilt in Early English Style in 1859-60. The tower which is plain and unbuttressed is  thought to be from the Saxon period and its massive walls rise in four stages to 80ft, the three lower parts built around 14th century while the top stage around 1629, and there is an octagonal turret 3ith a stone spire adjoining the north transept.		A large Portland stone globe that weighs 40 tons can be found at Durlston Country park and this was built by George Burt an eccentric. Around the globe are slabs with passages from the Bible and Shakespeare  inscribed on them. It was Burt and G, Crickmay an architect from Weymouth who built the 'castle' nearby in 1889-9 as a restaurant, and  benches and plaques that are inscribed with quotations or information can be found dotted throughout the park.
Swanage Bay looking East