While fishing is likely the town's oldest industry, quarrying has been important to the town and the local area since at least the first 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 877. It is stated as being the scene of a
Danish naval disaster:
"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." The Danish ships 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 cannonballs was built in 1862 by
John Mowlem at the southern end of the seafront promenade to mark this event - interpreted as great naval victory by
King Alfred. 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 columns. As such the stone was used in the construction of many large churches and cathedrals being built at 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 on 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.
Mowlem and Burt – the Victorian era The town's greatest prominence came during the Victorian period.
John Mowlem (1788–1868), a Swanage resident, 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,
Carillion. 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 19th 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. in Swanage, relocated from
London Bridge These include the big clock tower near
Peveril Point. The clock tower, commemorating the
Duke of Wellington, designed by
Arthur Ashpitel, was built in 1854 at the southern approach to the old
London Bridge. Within 10 years it became an obstruction to traffic on the busy bridge and had to be removed. It was re-erected 1867–68 on its present site at the southern end of the bay on the sea front. A further item transported from London to Swanage is the 1860 façade of the
Mercers' Hall, that was used as the façade of the
Swanage Town Hall, which was designed by G. R. Crickmay (1830–1907) of
Weymouth, and built during the early 1880s. Immediately behind the town hall, but pre-dating it, is the Swanage lock-up. Dating from 1803, it is a scheduled monument. Mowlem and Burt were highly influential in the development of the town, taking an active interest in their town of birth into retirement. Between them they were responsible for the building of much 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. The
Great Globe which can be found slightly south of
Durlston Castle, both also designed by Crickmay, in the Durlston Country Park was completed by George Burt in 1887. It is made up of 15 sections of stone and joined with granite dowels. The Great Globe weighs and is in diameter. Burt was responsible for the erection of the first civic memorial to
Prince Albert, the
Prince Albert Memorial, in 1862. Newton Manor House on the High Street was a 17th-century farmhouse, remodelled in the 18th and 19th centuries. For some centuries the house and estate belonged to the Cockram family. In c1876 it was bought by Sir
John Charles Robinson, Director of the
Victoria and Albert Museum. Swanage Lighthouse was built in 1880, on the clifftop at
Anvil Point, not far away from Durlston Castle. The railways were introduced to the town in 1885 with the encouragement of 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.
The Great War to the present The town enjoyed several decades quietly being successful as a seaside resort. The
First World War left few physical marks on the town; however, during the
Second World War 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. 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. This in itself created a new problem, disturbing the natural northward drift of sand up the bay, with a buildup on the southern side and reduction of sand on the northern. This reduction of sand levels exposed the foundations of parts of the seawall threatening to damage it. As a result, the beach was improved in 2005–06 by construction of new
greenheart timber
groynes and the placement of of sand as
beach nourishment. == Governance ==