Lulworth Castle
Encyclopedia
East Lulworth
East Lulworth is a hamlet nine miles east of Dorchester, near Lulworth Cove, in the Purbeck district of Dorset, South West England. It consists of 17th century thatched cottages...
, 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...
, situated south of Wool
Wool, Dorset
Wool is a village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The village has a population of 4,118 , though the population has fluctuated over the past 15 years, due to the proximity of military institutions, reaching a high of 4,300 in 1992. The village lies at a historic bridging point on the...
, is an early 17th century mock castle. The stone building has now been re-built as a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
In 1610 Lulworth Castle was built as a hunting lodge by Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon
Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon
Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon was an English peer and politician. He was a Knight of the Garter, Lord Lieutenant of Dorset 25 April 1601 – 1 March 1611, Custos Rotulorum of Dorset bef. 1605–1611, and Vice-Admiral of Dorset 1603–1611. He was the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount...
, a grandson of the 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...
. In 1641, Humphrey Weld
Humphrey Weld
Humphrey Weld was an English merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1608.Weld was a city of London merchant and a member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers. On 9 May 1598, he was elected an alderman of the City of London for Farringdon Within ward. He was Sheriff of London from 1599 to 1600....
purchased it from Howard's heir, James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk
James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk
James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk, Earl Marshal , was grandson of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, and was himself 3rd Earl of Suffolk and 3rd Baron Howard de Walden.-Family:...
. A Roman Catholic Chapel was built in the grounds in 1786. Following the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the surviving members of the French Royal Family were allowed to use Lulworth as one of their residences-in-exile. Charles X of France
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
also stayed there briefly following the Revolution of July 1830.
The castle was gutted by fire on 29 August 1929 and was left as a roofless ruin, the family building a new residence for themselves nearby. In the 1970s, restoration work begun with the help of the English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The restoration, finished in 1998, includes a new roof and restored surviving walls in the interior, but no new internal walls or replacements for the destroyed upper floors have been constructed.
The castle is no longer owned by the Weld Family and is a tourist attraction, holding medieval-themed events. The grounds are in use as an MoD firing range as well as a wildlife conservation area. This family has owned a number of other properties, including Stonyhurst Hall
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
(donated to the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
in 1793 by Thomas Weld, father of the cardinal of the same name
Thomas Weld (cardinal)
Thomas Weld was a member of the Weld-Blundell family and an English Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.-Life:...
).
Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Weld Perkins , mostly known as Isabel Anderson or Mrs. Larz Anderson after her marriage, was a Boston-area heiress and author who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. She is interred in the St...
believed her American Weld family
Weld family
The Weld family is an extended family of Boston Brahmins most remembered for the philanthropy of its members. The Welds have many connections to Harvard University, the Golden Age of Sail, the Far East , the history of Massachusetts, and American history in general.William Weld, former Governor of...
and the Weld family of Lulworth Castle
Weld-Blundell family
The Weld family, which became in its main branch the Weld-Blundell family, is an old English family that claims descent from Eadric the Wild and has branches in several parts of England and America. The main branch are descended from Humphrey Weld, Lord Mayor of London, whose grandson of the same...
to be one and the same. Accordingly, she and her husband Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....
remodelled their palatial Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
home to resemble it.
Since July 2008 the grounds have played host to the annual music and arts festival Camp Bestival
Camp Bestival
Camp Bestival is a British music festival, the "little sister" of Bestival, both organised by BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank. It is held annually, in July, at Lulworth Castle in Dorset and is targeted at families with small children. It has a capacity of 10,000 adults and 5,000 children...
, a 10-15,000 capacity event aimed at a family audience. The festival is run by Sunday Best
Sunday Best (music company)
Sunday Best is the British music company founded and run by BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank. Its primary business is as a record label, but it also stages regular club nights and is the flagship organisation behind the UK music festival Bestival, which takes place on the Isle of Wight each...
and curated by Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ Rob Da Bank
Rob da Bank
Robert John Gorham, known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is a British disc jockey. He presents a Friday-night/Saturday-morning show, Rob da Bank, on BBC Radio 1 from 5am-7am, focused on promoting new left field music...
.