Durdle Door
Encyclopedia
Durdle Door is a natural limestone
arch
on the Jurassic Coast
near Lulworth
in Dorset
, England
. It is privately owned by the Welds, a family who own 12000 acres (48.6 km²) in Dorset in the name of the Lulworth Estate
. It is open to the public. The name Durdle is derived from an Old English word 'thirl' meaning bore or drill.
The arch
has formed on a concordant coastline
where bands of rock
run parallel to the shoreline. Here the rock strata are nearly vertical, and the bands of rock are quite narrow.
Originally a band of resistant Portland limestone
ran along the shore, the same band which can be seen one mile down the coast forming the narrow entrance to Lulworth Cove
. Behind this is a 400 feet (121.9 m) band of weaker rocks which are easily eroded
, and behind this is a stronger and much thicker band of chalk
, which forms the Purbeck Hills
.
The limestone and chalk are much closer together here than at Swanage
, 10 miles (16 km) to the east, where the distance between them is over 2 miles (3 km). There are at least three reasons for this. First, the beds are highly inclined here, and more gently angled at Swanage. Secondly, some of the beds have been cut out by faulting at Durdle Door; and thirdly, the area around Durdle Door appears to have been unusually shallow, so a much thinner sequence of sediments were deposited here.
At Durdle Bay all except a short stretch of the limestone has been completely eroded away by the sea and the remainder forms a small headland where it has protected the clay behind. At the western end this band of limestone has been eroded through, creating the natural arch.
Some teams at UNESCO
have been working on saving both the arch and the beach which resides by it.
The 400 feet (121.9 m) isthmus which joins the limestone to the chalk is made of a 50 metres (164 ft) band of Portland limestone
, which is less resistant than the Purbeck beds, a narrow and compressed band of Cretaceous clay
s — Wealden Clay, sand
s and chert
beds — and then narrow bands of Greensand
and sandstone
.
In Man of War Bay
, the small bay immediately east of Durdle Door the Portland stone
has not been entirely eroded away, and at low tide the band of Portland stone is partially revealed.
' Shout
, Cliff Richard
's 1990 Christmas number one Saviour's Day, Billy Ocean
's Loverboy
and Bruce Dickinson
's Tears of the Dragon.
The third story in Ron Dawson
's Amazing Adventures of Scary Bones the Skeleton series creates a magical myth of how Durdle Door came to be. In Scary Bones meets the Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Coast, the story's heroes meet an as yet undiscovered dinosaur called Durdle Doorus. At the end of the story Durdle Doorus is transformed into Durdle Door with the validity of the transformation demonstrated by an illustration and photograph.
The artwork inside the lyric booklet for Pink Floyd
's The Division Bell
includes a scene photographed at Durdle Door.
In Nanny McPhee
, the children go for a picnic on the beach at Durdle Door.
Scenes from the film Wilde
(1997) starring Stephen Fry
were shot here.
Scenes from the film Far From The Madding Crowd
(1967) were shot here, including at Scratchy Bottom.
The album 'Sweet Tableax' by Oxford
band Les Clochards features a track with the title 'Durdle Door'.
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
arch
Natural arch
A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...
on the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
near Lulworth
West Lulworth
West Lulworth is a village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England, situated on the English Channel coast beside Lulworth Cove. The village has a population of 766 , 9.3% of dwellings are second homes...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is privately owned by the Welds, a family who own 12000 acres (48.6 km²) in Dorset in the name of the Lulworth Estate
Lulworth Estate
The Lulworth Estate is located in central south Dorset, England. Its most notable landscape feature include a five mile stretch of coastline on the Jurassic coast...
. It is open to the public. The name Durdle is derived from an Old English word 'thirl' meaning bore or drill.
Geology
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
has formed on a concordant coastline
Concordant coastline
A concordant, longitudinal, or Pacific type coastline occurs where beds, or layers, of differing rock types are folded into ridges that run parallel to the coast. The outer hard rock provides a protective barrier to erosion of the softer rocks further inland...
where bands of rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
run parallel to the shoreline. Here the rock strata are nearly vertical, and the bands of rock are quite narrow.
Originally a band of resistant Portland limestone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
ran along the shore, the same band which can be seen one mile down the coast forming the narrow entrance to Lulworth Cove
Lulworth Cove
Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a tourist location with over 1 million visitors a year...
. Behind this is a 400 feet (121.9 m) band of weaker rocks which are easily eroded
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
, and behind this is a stronger and much thicker band of chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
, which forms the Purbeck Hills
Purbeck Hills
The Purbeck Hills and South Dorset Downs are a ridge of chalk downs in Dorset, England. The hills extend from the Dorset Downs west of Dorchester, where the River Frome begins to form a valley dividing them from the larger area of downland to the north. The ridge then runs east through the Isle...
.
The limestone and chalk are much closer together here than at Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
, 10 miles (16 km) to the east, where the distance between them is over 2 miles (3 km). There are at least three reasons for this. First, the beds are highly inclined here, and more gently angled at Swanage. Secondly, some of the beds have been cut out by faulting at Durdle Door; and thirdly, the area around Durdle Door appears to have been unusually shallow, so a much thinner sequence of sediments were deposited here.
At Durdle Bay all except a short stretch of the limestone has been completely eroded away by the sea and the remainder forms a small headland where it has protected the clay behind. At the western end this band of limestone has been eroded through, creating the natural arch.
Some teams at UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
have been working on saving both the arch and the beach which resides by it.
The 400 feet (121.9 m) isthmus which joins the limestone to the chalk is made of a 50 metres (164 ft) band of Portland limestone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
, which is less resistant than the Purbeck beds, a narrow and compressed band of Cretaceous clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
s — Wealden Clay, sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
s and chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
beds — and then narrow bands of Greensand
Greensand
Greensand or Green sand is either a sand or sandstone, which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment, that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called glauconies and consist of a mixture of mixed-layer clay...
and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
.
In Man of War Bay
Man of War Bay
Man of War Bay encloses Man O'War Cove on the Dorset coast in southern England, between the headlands of Durdle Door to the west and Man O War Head to the east....
, the small bay immediately east of Durdle Door the Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
has not been entirely eroded away, and at low tide the band of Portland stone is partially revealed.
In literature and popular culture
Music videos have been filmed at Durdle Door, including parts of Tears for FearsTears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
' Shout
Shout (Tears for Fears song)
"Shout" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears.Written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley and sung by Orzabal , it was the band's eighth single release and sixth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at #4 in January 1985...
, Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
's 1990 Christmas number one Saviour's Day, Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean is a Trinidad-born English Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the early to mid-1980s...
's Loverboy
Loverboy (Billy Ocean song)
"Loverboy" was Billy Ocean's second single from his 1984 album, Suddenly. It was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and reached a chart high of number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1985. It also reached the top spot of the Hot Dance Music/Club...
and Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
's Tears of the Dragon.
The third story in Ron Dawson
Ron Dawson
Dr. Ronald Leslie Dawson, . Special Educational Needs educator, psychologist, researcher and author. Author and co-author of numerous books and articles concerning the education of pupils with SEN...
's Amazing Adventures of Scary Bones the Skeleton series creates a magical myth of how Durdle Door came to be. In Scary Bones meets the Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Coast, the story's heroes meet an as yet undiscovered dinosaur called Durdle Doorus. At the end of the story Durdle Doorus is transformed into Durdle Door with the validity of the transformation demonstrated by an illustration and photograph.
The artwork inside the lyric booklet for Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's The Division Bell
The Division Bell
The Division Bell is the fourteenth and last studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom by EMI Records on 28 March 1994, and in the United States by Columbia Records on 4 April....
includes a scene photographed at Durdle Door.
In Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee is a 2005 fantasy film starring Emma Thompson and Colin Firth. Thompson also wrote the screenplay, which is adapted from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books.-Plot:...
, the children go for a picnic on the beach at Durdle Door.
Scenes from the film Wilde
Wilde (film)
Wilde is a 1997 British biographical film directed by Brian Gilbert with Stephen Fry in the title role. The screenplay by Julian Mitchell is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1987 biography of Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann.-Plot:...
(1997) starring Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
were shot here.
Scenes from the film Far From The Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)
Far from the Madding Crowd is a 1967 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted from the book of the same name by Thomas Hardy. It was Schlesinger's fourth film and marked a stylistic shift away from his earlier works which explored contemporary urban mores. The cinematography was by...
(1967) were shot here, including at Scratchy Bottom.
The album 'Sweet Tableax' by Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
band Les Clochards features a track with the title 'Durdle Door'.
The Bull
The Bull (50.6210°N 2.2801°W) is a rock that lies out to sea close to Durdle Door. It is a continuation of the rock strata that form Durdle Door itself.See also
- Swyre HeadSwyre Head, LulworthSwyre Head, Lulworth lies on the Jurassic Coast between Bat's Head to the west and Durdle Door to the east, close to Lulworth in Dorset, England...
and Bat's HeadBat's HeadBat's Head is a chalk headland on the Dorset coast in southern England, located between Swyre Head and Durdle Door to the east, and White Nothe to the west.There is a small but very visible cave at the base of the headland known as Bat's Cave...
, to the west - Stair HoleStair HoleStair Hole is a cove that is forming just to the west of Lulworth Cove in Dorset, southern England. In a few hundred thousand years it may be as large as nearby Lulworth Cove. The folded limestone strata known as the Lulworth crumple are particularly visible at Stair Hole. Stair hole featured in...
- List of Dorset beaches
- List of places on the Jurassic CoastJurassic CoastThe Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
- Delicate ArchDelicate ArchDelicate Arch is a tall freestanding natural arch located in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.It is the most widely-recognized landmark in Arches National Park and is depicted on Utah license plates and on a postage stamp commemorating Utah's centennial anniversary of statehood in 1996...
and Landscape ArchLandscape ArchLandscape Arch is the longest of the many natural rock arches located in the Arches National Park in Utah, USA. The arch is among many in the area known as Devil's Garden in the north area of the park...
in the USA - Durdle Pier, Isle of PortlandIsle of PortlandThe Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
Further reading
- Arkell, W.J., 1978. The Geology of the Country around Weymouth, Swanage, Corfe and Lulworth, 4th pr.. London: Geological Survey of Great Britain, HMSO.
- Davies, G.M., 1956. A Geological Guide to the Dorset Coast, 2nd ed.. London: Adam & Charles Black.
- Dawson,R, 2010. Scary Bones the Skeleton meets the Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Coast . Mulberry Tree Books.
- Perkins, J.W., 1977. Geology Explained in Dorset. London: David & Charles.