Swanage Hotels
Swanage is often a place that people visit and need a hotel to stay at. Some want stay at large hotels and small hotels. Many tourists and other visitors like to stay at hotels that have a good reputation and access to good scenery. Some tourists want hotels that are well known. Many visitors like to stay at a hotel that is large or small. Some like to stay at hotels that have access to entertainment.
Hotels in the region are often needed by tourists that are required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to stay at large or small hotels. Some may want to stay at luxury or cheap hotels. Some tourists may want to stay hotels that have good access to entertainment. Some may want to stay at hotel that is in the town or near the town.
Swanage is a small coastal town 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. Nearby are Ballard Down, Old Harry Rocks, with Studland Bay to the north and Durlston Country Park to the south.
The town, originally a small port and fishing village flourished in the Victorian era, when it first became a significant quarrying port and later a seaside resort for the rich of the day. Today the town remains a popular tourist resort, this being the town's primary industry, with many thousands of visitors coming to the town during the peak summer season, drawn by the bay's sandy beaches and other attractions.
During the peak summer season many people are drawn by the town's beautiful setting, the beach and other attractions. The town has a large number of hotels and guest rooms.
Swanage is located in Swanage Bay in Dorset on the south coast of England. The bay is east facing and is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The northern headland is formed of chalk, the southern of Purbeck Limestone, with softer primarily Wealdon clays forming the bay and valley in which the town is sited. As noted, the Purbeck limestone was extensively quarried with several sites to the south west showing evidence of former quarries, particularly Tilly Whim Caves and Dancing Ledge, a man made rock shelf used for loading ships. Natural erosion has formed stacks along and at the end of the northern headland, in particular the notable Old Harry Rocks.
While fishing is likely the town's oldest industry, quarrying has been important to the town and the local area since at least the 1st century AD. During the time of the Roman occupation this industry grew, with the distinctive Purbeck marble being used for decorative purposes in buildings as far away as London. When the Romans left Britain, quarrying largely ceased until the 12th century.
The town is first mentioned in historical texts in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 877AD. It is stated as being the scene of a great naval victory by King Alfred over the Danes: "This year came the Danish army into Exeter from Wareham; whilst the navy sailed west about, until they met with a great mist at sea, and there perished one hundred and twenty ships at Swanwich." A hundred Danish ships which had survived the battle were driven by a storm onto Peveril Point, a shallow rocky reef outcropping from the southern end of Swanage bay. A monument topped (historically incorrectly) by cannon balls was built in 1882 by John Mowlem to celebrate this event and is situated at the southern end of the seafront promenade.
In the 12th century demand for Purbeck marble grew once again. While Purbeck marble is not suited to external use, as it does not weather well, it is however strong and suitably decorative for use as internal collumns. As such the stone was used in the construction of many large churches and cathedrals being built as the time.
In contrast to the decorative Purbeck marble, Purbeck limestone, or more commonly 'Purbeck stone', has been used in construction locally since the early days of quarrying in Purbeck. Its use is less well documented as it was taken for granted as the default construction materials in the area. However, the arrival of more modern quarrying techniques in the 17th century resulted in an increase in production. The Great Fire of London in 1666 led to a period of large scale reconstruction in the city, and Purbeck stone was extensively used for paving. It was in this time that stone first started being loaded upon ships directly from the Swanage seafront; before this time quarried stone had been first transported to Poole for shipping.
The idea that Swanage could become a tourist destination was first encouraged by a local MP William Morton Pitt in the early 19th century, who converted a mansion in the town into a luxury hotel. The hotel is noted for having been visited in 1833 by the (then) Princess Victoria, later to become queen. The building was later renamed the Royal Victoria Hotel, now the building has been converted into flats and a bar and nightclub in the left and right wings respectively.
[edit] Mowlem and Burt - The
Victorian era
The town's greatest prominence came during the Victorian period.
John Mowlem (1788-1868), a Swanage man, became a successful builder in London,
creating the Mowlem construction company, which still existed as recently as 2006,
when it was acquired by another company.
Globe at Durlston Country Park
John Mowlem made his business in London by importing stone into the city from around the country, including Purbeck limestone. Through this process, many relics and monuments were brought from London to Swanage in the nineteenth century by Mowlem and his nephew George Burt (1816-1894) who took over the business when Mowlem retired. It is said that these items brought from London were used as ballast for the empty vessels which transported the Purbeck stone to London.
These include a big clock tower commemorating the [[Arthur Wellesley, of the town's infrastructure, including the town's first pier, the Mowlem Institute (a reading room), the first gas and water works, and the development of the Durlston estate and Country Park, at the southern end of the town.
Railway was introduced to the town in 1885 with the encouragement of George Burt by the London and South Western Railway Company. By this time the town was becoming a popular resort destination for the wealthy, noted for its fine weather and clean air. The town previously had been fairly cut off due to its valley location, but the introduction of the railway made the town much more accessible to visitors, with direct services running from London. However the greatest increase in visitors came with the building of the second 'new' pier in 1895, built primarily for use by pleasure steamers.
[edit] The Wars Years To Today
The town enjoyed several decades quietly being successful as a seaside resort. The First Word War left few physical marks on the town, however during the Second gun emplacements and pillboxes were built at spots along the shoreline at the southern end of the bay. The town also received bomb damage during the Second World War, with 20 people killed. The town and other nearby villages are noted for playing a part in the development of radar.
After the Second World War the town like many other seaside resorts and indeed the country at large, suffered a recession with few people able to spare the money for holidaying. In 1972 the Swanage branch line of the railway was closed by British rail as part of larger network-wide cutbacks. Fortunately a group of local enthusiasts formed a charitable organisation with the purpose of restoring and preserving the branch line and steam and diesel locomotives to run along it, forming the Swanage Railway.
During its history the bay was listed variously as Swanawic, Swanwich, Sandwich, and only in more recent history as Swanage.
Swanage has a number of teams representing the town in several sports. There is a dedicated football pitch with limited covered seating and associated social club. There is also a joint Swanage & Wareham rugby club, a mens and women's hockey team and a cricket team. Also there is a recently formed, but very popular men, women's and junior sea gig rowing club. Swanage has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V.
The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well defined, with some medieval sources placing it at Flowers Barrow above Worbarrow Bay. The most southerly point is St Aldhelm's or St Alban's Head. It is suffering erosion problems along the coast. The whole of the Isle of Purbeck lies within the local government district of Purbeck, which is named after it. However the district extends significantly further north and west than the traditional boundary of the Isle of Purbeck along the River Frome.
Dorset is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast.
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