Note - although these pictures are reduced in size for web use, download or use 'view image' to get a full size picture.
This is a random collection of
photographs from Swanage, from the early days of the town up until more
recent years.
Unlike Corfe Castle which formerly had town status and importance due
to the authority of the Castle, Swanage as a town is a comparatively
recent development. Even at the time of the arrival of the railway,
Swanage was little more than a small collection of rustic dwellings
surrounded by farm land, with the sea front given over to the storage
and shipment of stone.
The history of Swanage makes fascinating reading and I would recommend
the book "Swanage Past" by David Lewer and Dennis Smale (ISBN 0 85033
949 9) for those who would like to learn more about it. The facts are
there, but the book is also full of entertaining detail - much more so
than a dry historical work.
I would add a couple of 'tongue in cheek' facts for which Swanage is
also noted for. Firstly it is the birthplace of this writer and
secondly it was also the birthplace of Brian Donald Hume, a psychopath
who murdered one Stanley Setty and disposed of his body in bits from an
aircraft. He was actually cleared of the murder but went on to proudly
admit it later, being protected from further prosecution for the same
crime!
Dressed stone awaiting shipment. At centre-left of the picture the original Mowlem Institute may be seen.
The old pier.
