Monument record MDO45938 - Medieval stone working, West Street, Corfe Castle

The centre of the medieval Purbeck marble industry was centred on the area of modern West Street, Corfe Castle (SY 959817) from the 12th century onwards although gradual decline in the industry began in the mid 14th century. A local school of sculptors evidently produced highly polished marble products and partially carved marble blocks which were sent to all parts of England and also Europe.

West Street, for the greatest part of its length, was occupied on one side by the marblers' 'bankers' where a large number of men must have been employed. In evidence of this, Hutchins mentions deep layers of marble debris, 10-12ft thick, containing fragments of mouldings and foliations from the workshops, these layers were again exposed in 1924 when water mains were laid and several broken-off angles of slabs with dressed upper surfaces and the roughed-out fragment of a 13th century circular column were discovered. <1-2>

<1> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1861, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 1, 466 (Monograph). SWX4496.

<2> Drury, G D, 1948 , The Use of Purbeck Marble in Mediaeval Times; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SWX7462.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456806 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 16 2023 7:07PM