Scheduled MonumentsEnglandLulworth Castle

Lulworth Castle

England
List entry 1016069
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1016069
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.2 hectares
Grid reference
SY 85333 82180
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Lulworth Castle is a 17th-century fortified house built in the 1580s by Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk. The castle is a compact four-storey structure with circular corner towers and was designed as a hunting lodge rather than a military fortress, reflecting the architectural fashions of the late Tudor period. It stands prominently on the Dorset coast near West Lulworth and retains much of its original form, though it suffered significant fire damage in 1929 from which it has since been substantially restored. The castle represents an important example of Tudor domestic architecture and remains a notable landmark in the Purbeck landscape.

Lulworth Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1016069. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Lulworth Castle?

Lulworth Castle is a 17th-century fortified house built in the 1580s by Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1016069.

Who is responsible for protecting Lulworth Castle?

Lulworth Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1016069.

What other scheduled monuments are near Lulworth Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Round barrow on Boat Knoll (1.6 km), Two barrows in Halcombe Vale, 700m south west of Monastery Farm (1.7 km), Flower's Barrow: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork on Rings Hill (1.9 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Lulworth Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Lulworth Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Lulworth Castle

Lulworth Castle stands on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.