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| Date |
Information |
| 877 |
The ancient Mill House and Pond, in the heart of Swanage, was first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in this year. |
| 1200 |
Original parish church built |
| 1338 |
Swanage was burned and plundered by French raiders |
| 1701 |
The Manor of Swanage, later the Royal Victoria Hotel was built by Thomas Chapman |
| 1705 |
Congregational chapel built, rebuilt in 1837 |
| 1744 |
John Wesley preached at Swanage. He stayed at a house in the High Street, The house was later named Wesley Cottage. It was destroyed by a German bomb in world war 2 |
| 1754 |
The old mill was rebuilt |
| 1788 |
John Mowlem was born in an ancient cottage in what is now Court Hill. He was the founder of the well known London contractors. He was a poor quarry boy until he made his way to London to seek his fortune. Guernsey granite rather than Purbeck stone borough him wealth and he retired to Swanage in 1844. He is responsible for the building of the monument on the sea front, the Albert the Good monument at the top of Court Hill (no longer there) and the Mowlem Institute. He bought land from the area which is now Kings Road to Ulwell. |
| 1793 |
The cottages in Church Hill built |
| 1803 |
The first Policeman in Swanage started work here. |
| 1807 |
The old Wesleyan chapel was built |
| 1816 |
George Burt was born. He was the nephew of John Mowlem. He brought two items from London, the Wellington clock tower at Peveril and the 17th century facade from the Mercers Hall in Cheapside which he used for his new town hall in 1864. He bought land from Sentry Fields (at the top of Seymore Road) to Durlston. George Burt provided Swanage with a pure water supply, gas, drainage and the railway. |
| 1823 |
The road along the seafront was built. |
| 1833 |
Princess Victoria, later Queen Victoria, spent a night at the Manor House Hotel. It was later renamed the Royal Victoria Hotel |
| 1843 |
George Burt built the town hall |
| 1855 |
St Marks school at Herston was built |
| 1856 |
Northbrook cemetery built at a cost of £1000 |
| 1859 |
Swanage old pier built |
| 1863 |
Mowlem Institute built by John Mowlem. He built it as a reading room "for the benefit and mutual improvement of the working class" |
| 1863 |
Population of Swanage was 1173 |
| 1869 |
Herston (saint Marks) church built |
| 1869 |
Swanage gasworks built |
| 1874 |
Swanage Combined School (now Mount Scar first school) opened. |
| 1875 |
The first lifeboat, the Charlotte Mary came to Swanage |
| 1875 |
Purbeck House built |
| 1881 |
The light house was built |
| 1882 |
The light house was opened |
| 1885 |
Swanage railway opened |
| 1887 |
Durlston Castle was built by George Burt |
| 1889 |
Grand Hotel built |
| 1890 |
Swanage Cottage Hospital was built |
| 1896 |
Swanage pier was built at the cost of £10,000. |
| 1899 |
The police station was built |
| 1904 |
The sea wall was built |
| 1912 |
Edgar Evans left the house he was living in at 82 High Street to travel with Captain Robert Scott and three other companions on there ill fated Antartic Expedition to the south pole. |
| 1954 |
The first Punch and Judy show came here |
| 1972 |
Swanage railway closed |
| 1979 |
Swanage steam railway re-opened. It was run by volunteers and still is. |
| 1980 |
30 dinosaur footprints were discovered in Townsend Road |
| 1990 |
Swanage was flooded, an area covering most of the lower part of Northbrook road, Kings Road, Victoria Av was under water and the car park and King Georges field was under more than 7 feet of water. The town had to bee closed to traffic and many people were evacuated from their homes by boat. |
| 1993 |
Flood scheme jetty built at the end of Victoria Avenue to stop flooding in the future. |
| 1995 |
Virtual Swanage launched |
| 1996 |
The Embassy, the last paddle steamer to make regular trips to and from Swanage made its final visit here. |
| 1997 |
First stage of the flood scheme finished |
| 1999 |
The top section of the main pier reopened after being completely rebuilt. |
| 2000 |
Swanage Flood alleviation scheme finished, it is supposed to stop the town from flooding ever again |
| 2001 |
Major flooding in the town after a days rain !!! |
| 2002 |
Swanage is flooded again after heavy rain. Flood water averaging eight inches in depth flooded a number of homes, shops and businesses in the town. |
| 2002 |
Major fire in the town centre on 31st May. The chip shop in the square is completely gutted with the top 2 floors having smoke damage. |
| 2005 |
Swanage Beach recharge scheme adds new sand back to the beach |
| 2006 |
Durlston Country Park win £3.2m from a lottery grant |
| 2007 |
Major repairs started on Corfe Castle |
