User:Huligan0/Great Globe

The Great Globe at Swanage is one of the largest stone spheres in the world. The Great Globe is constructed of Portland stone. It weighs 40 tons and is 10 feet in diameter.

Location
The Great Globe stands within the Durlston Country Park, a 1.13 square kilometre (280-acre) country park and nature reserve stretching along the coast line south of Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck, in Dorset, southern England. The Park is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The Jurassic Coast stretches over a distance of 153 km, from Orcombe Point near Exmouth, in the west, to Old Harry Rocks, in the east.

Preamble
John Mowlem (1788-1868), a Swanage stonemason, builder and founder of the quarrying and construction company "Mowlem’’. Mowlem, together with his Nephew and business partner Burt, wanted to give something back to their home town, which was the source of their Portland and Purbeck limestone, a popular building stone. Mowlem built the Mowlem Institute (1861-62), a reading room and pubic library.

In 1862 George Burt (1816-1894), purchased an undulating tract of land covering Durlston Head, (which included quarries that supplied their firm with the limestone) which Burt developed as tourist attraction.

Venue
Upon the crest of the hill Burt established the Durlston Estate and built his Folly Durlston Castle. The castle was designed by Crickmore, and built by W.M. Hardy in 1886-87. It is built entirely of local stone. The 'castle' was never a real castle, it was purpose-built by Burt as a restaurant for visitors to his estate.

South of Durlston Castle the most impressive object within the Estate grounds is the creation of the Great Globe. The Great Globe is made of Portland stone. It was constructed in Mowlem's stone-yard in Greenwich during 1887 and was brought to Swanage by sea. The Globe was erected by W.M. Hardy upon a platform chopped into the solid rock of the hill in the course of the same year. The Great Globe measures 10 feet in diameter, it weighs 40 tons and is accomplished out of 15 segments of stone, connected by granite dowels. Its position upon the cliff is 136 feet above sea level. Around the Globe is a set of stone plaques carved with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible and facts about the natural world. The surrounds were placed up to 1891.

Durlston Country Park has been owned by Dorset County Council since the early 1970s and is open to the public. Today the castle is the home of the Jurassic Coast Visitor Centre. Durlston Castle and the Great Globe are both being restored during 2010 by the Council. Also within the Durlston Country Park and within walking distance of the Globe are Durlston Bay, Tilly Whim Caves and the Anvil Point Lighthouse.