Studland

The existence of salt pans and salt workers at Studland is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. St Nicholas' Church, dedicated to the patron saint of sailors, is built on the site of an earlier Saxon building which was destroyed by the Danes in the 9th century, and had itself been constructed on an earlier, possibly pre-Christian foundation. Records from 1340 show that fishing was an important industry in Studland in the 14th century. In 1381 records show a castle existed on the cliffs at Handfast Point to the east of the village. By the 16th century this had been replaced with another castle, which existed until at least the 18th century when a blockhouse was added to it. Today nothing…

Studland is sited in the lee of Ballard Down, close to the east-facing Studland Bay, a 2.5 mi long curved sweep of sandy beaches backed by dunes and heathland. The beaches are named South Beach, Middle Beach and Knoll Beach, with another at Shell Bay to the north. Although a coastal village, the houses in Studland are mostly sited a few hundred metres inland. At the start of the twentieth century Sir Frederick Treves described the village as "a medley of country lanes, lost among trees, with a few thatch-roofed cottages dotted about in a wild garden of brambles, ferns, and gorse". He noted that Studland had "no pretence to a quay", but rather "turns its face from the sea to bury it among…