Corfe Castle - Frances Hodgkins

Towards the end of her life Frances Hodgkins New Zealand's most famous ex-patriate painter moved from London to Corfe Castle. She was here during the second World War.
Corfe Castle is a village in Dorset dominated by an ancient castle whose outline appears in many of Frances’s gouaches.

It may seem an idyllic place and remains popular with artists but the Dunedin Art Gallery website tells us " In fact staying in Corfe was often a nightmare as tanks and artillery trundled through the village on their way to the south coast and the vibrations eventually caused her studio roof to collapse." The Dunedin Art Gallery has an extensive collection of her work. She also has several hundred works in the Te Papa collection.

From the station at Corfe Castle, which was opened in 1885, there is a steam train to Swanage.

Corfe Castle is included in a tour of Dorset's UNESCO World Heritage Site:

JURASSIC PARK COAST PRIVATE TOUR FROM DORSET INCLUDING LULWORTH COVE, DURDLE DOOR AND CORFE CASTLE

FIND A PLACE TO STAY NEAR CORFE CASTLE