Defences through time
We have always needed defences. There is the 1540s stone fort, built for Henry VIII, which still lies at the core of Brownsea Castle. One of Lord Palmerson’s follies, the 1870s gun battery at Brean Down, is an example of a chain of forts built to ward of a French invasion that never materialised. All along the coast and inland are the 1940s pill boxes and gun emplacements like those along Studland Beach and across the heath in Purbeck. These concrete and brick structures have often survived remarkably intact, complete with fixtures and fittings (and sometimes graffiti). The narrow machine gun slits face towards an enemy that never reached them.
Castles
The natural chalk mound of Corfe in Purbeck has long been a strategic position; the Normans knew that and created a castle motte there. Montacute (meaning steep hill in Norman) and Dunster both date from this time too. These strongholds were first built during the reign of William the Conqueror: later, each developed differently through time.
Evolution
Montacute was unsuccessfully stormed by the Saxons in the 11th century and once peace was established, in the 12th century, its Norman lord gave the land to Montacute Priory. The monks had no need for the castle and used the hill top as a chapel. Only an 18th century prospect tower remains on the summit now.
Corfe in the 12th century was the scene of a siege by King Stephen’s men against supporters of the Empress Matilda. They built a ring and bailey siege-works on the west side of the castle which can still be visited. Corfe Castle proved impregnable on that occasion, but Corfe’s capture during the English Civil War was its death knell as a stronghold. The parliamentary soldiers undermined the walls and turrets, set gunpowder charges and blew it to bits, creating the picturesque ruin we see today.