Wyke Castle
Wyke Castle
Wyke Castle is located in Dorset
Wyke Castle
Location within Dorset
General information
Town or cityWyke Regis
CountryEngland
Coordinates50°35′41″N 2°28′53″W / 50.5946°N 2.4813°W / 50.5946; -2.4813
Completedc. 1855
ClientAndrew Chadwick Fenoulhet

Wyke Castle is a residence at the top of Pirates Lane, in Wyke Regis, near Weymouth, Dorset, England. It was built around 1855 and has been a Grade II listed building since 1974. It now forms three separate dwellings.[1]

History

Wyke Castle was built around 1855 as a residence for Dr. Andrew Chadwick Fenoulhet, a local surgeon who came to Weymouth in 1842.[2] In 1855, he was elected by the Weymouth Union as the medical officer for the Wyke Regis district.[3] He had previously served as the medical attendant for the Weymouth district from 1845 and as medical officer for a newly-established district covering part of Weymouth east of the town bridge from 1853.[4][5]

After Fenoulhet's death in 1862,[6] the castle remained in the ownership of his wife until her death in 1879. The castle was then sold to Mr. J. W. Davis.[7] It was advertised as a "unique, pleasant, and very healthy Gentleman's Residence, standing in its own Grounds, with Gardens, Conservatories, &c."[8]

In 1899, the castle was under the occupation of Mr. P. Cruttwell of Frome, who used it as a holiday resort.[9] In the 1920s, the castle was occupied by Edmund Selous and his wife Fanny Margaret Maxwell.[10] Selous, a naturalist, author and traveler, decorated the inside of the castle's tower with his collection of butterflies. During their time at the castle, Maxwell founded the local branch of the Women's Institute in 1923 and was its first president.[11]

Castle design

Wyke Castle is built of Portland stone rubble and ashlar, with slate and lead roofs. It is made up of a two-storey circular tower at its centre, with projecting low ranges leading to their own rectangular towers. The towers are ornamented with stone parapets, and the circular tower has a domed interior.[12][1] The design of the castle was influenced by the Martello Tower.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Historic England (14 June 1974). "WYKE CASTLE, Dorset (1147995)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Wyke Castle History". Wykecastle.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  3. ^ "The Correspondent". The Southern Times. 27 November 1858. Retrieved 13 May 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Weymouth, March 29". The Salisbury and Winchester Journal. 29 March 1845. Retrieved 13 May 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Weymouth Local Board of Health". The Southern Times. 1 October 1853. Retrieved 13 May 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Wyke Regis Parish Burial Registers 1851-1865". Opcdorset.org. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Wyke Castle, Wyke Regis, near Weymouth". The Southern Times. 14 June 1879. Retrieved 21 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Notices". Dorset County Chronicle and Somersetshire Gazette. 7 August 1879. Retrieved 21 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Burglary at Wyke Castle". The Western Daily Press. 21 January 1899. Retrieved 21 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ Selous, Edmund (1929). "Sexual Behaviour in Birds". Nature. 124 (3133): 761. Bibcode:1929Natur.124..761S. doi:10.1038/124761a0.
  11. ^ "Fanny Margaret Maxwell". Sensationpress.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Weymouth; British History Online". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
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