Corfe Castle
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Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11
Ruins of Corfe Castle from the outer bailey
A model of Corfe Castle before its destruction
View of Corfe Castle from West Hill
The south-west gatehouse, which allowed access from the outer bailey to the west bailey, dates from the mid 13th century. The masonry is of high quality.
Slighting
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Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents
Corfe Castle in Dorset was slighted in 1646 during the English Civil War. Parliament slighted or proposed to slight more than 100 buildings, including castles, town walls, abbeys, and houses.
Slighting could extend beyond the building, and when Kenilworth Castle was slighted in 1649 the moat was drained.
A depiction of slighting from the Tschachtlanchronik, a 15th-century chronicle (Tschachtlanchronik Ms A 120, 127)
Each method of destruction leaves a distinctive trace. At Newark Castle in Nottinghamshire the use of gunpowder left a crater damage pattern.