Swanage, a seaside town in The Isle of
Purbeck, Dorset
is 10 miles S.E. of Wareham. Since Roman times Swanage
has been the centre of the local stone industry becoming
a quarry town and harbour from which
Purbeck marble was shipped. The Bay of Swanage was the
place of the naval
victory of King Alfred who destroyed
the Danish fleet of more than 100 vessels in 877.
In the 19th century Swanage slowly grew into a seaside resort, expanding greatly with the arrival of the railway in 1885.
The parish church is St Mary's which with
exception of the tower, was
entirely rebuilt in 1859/60
in Early English style. The plain
unbuttressed
tower is very ancient and supposedly
of Saxon origin. Its massive walls
rise in four stages to
a height of 80 ft. - the 3 lower stages of the tower are
of
the 14th century and the top stage built about 1620. An
octagonal turret
with stone spire adjoins the north
transept.
Photo displayed with kind permission of John Haysom
