Lulworth Castle – Key Facts
- Lulworth Castle was built between 1606 and 1610
- It was intended to be used primarily as a hunting lodge and not for defensive purposes
- Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon who commissioned it, sadly died in 1611
- King James I visited the Castle in 1615 for a hunting expedition
- In 1641 Sir Humphrey Weld purchased Lulworth Castle and its estate for £30,000
- King Charles II came to the Castle in 1665 to escape the Great Plague in London
- King George III visited on at least four occasions
- On 29 August 1929 a fire started which raged for three days leaving Lulworth Castle as a shell with no roof
- The Castle remained as a ruin for many decades.
- English Heritage began restoration work in 1983 to return the Castle exterior to its original state
- On 31 March 1998 Lulworth Castle was formally re-opened
as illustrated by Margaret his wife
Information for Visitors
Lulworth Castle is open from Sunday to Thursday each week from 10.30am to 5pm (4pm in November & December).
The Castle closes for the winter on Thursday 22 December 2022 at 4pm. It will reopen on Sunday 26 March 2023 at 10am.
Lulworth Castle, Chapel and grounds are CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC on SATURDAYS
The Castle Tearoom is open for light refreshments and souvenirs.
Pay & Display parking (£3 per vehicle all day) allows access to the Park & woodland walks, children’s playground and picnic areas.
There is a separate admission price for entry to Lulworth Castle, the Castle Lawns and the Chapel:
- Adults £7
- Children (4-15 years) £5
- Under 4’s Free
November 26th 2010
Lulworth Castle & Park
Lulworth Castle & Park were opened to the public in 1998 after significant investment by both English Heritage and the Lulworth Estate. The initiatives adopted by the Estate to attract visitors, such as summer jousting and other historical events, have seen numbers grow steadily to a peak of 80,000 in 2008, but it has proven to be extremely testing to hold on to that market share in an increasingly competitive industry.
Without further and considerable investment, in a particularly difficult economic climate, in an endeavour to attract greater visitor numbers, the Lulworth Estate has reluctantly decided to scale down its current activities in Lulworth Castle Park, which has, regrettably, lead to a number of redundancies.
James Weld said “The family are very disappointed to have to take the decision to reduce our activities at Lulworth Castle and the direct effect that this will have on those people who are being made redundant at a difficult time.”
He continues “We have continued to support this part of our business for the last 12 years, but the economic prospects over the next few years, make it impossible to justify further investment.
Everyone involved in Lulworth Castle & Park has worked extremely hard, but it has become increasingly clear that we are not going to achieve the visitor numbers necessary to continue the business in its current form.”
Lulworth Castle, its Park and walks will remain open to the public, but ancillary services such as the animal farm, the Stable Café and the Courtyard Shop will close at the end of December.
There will remain an admission charge to the Castle and charges for the Park and walks will be on the basis of a Pay & Display Car Park. Weddings, charity and other private events will continue to take place at Lulworth Castle and visitor numbers are expected to reduce to approximately 20,000 a year, which, itself, will have a positive impact on the Park and its landscape, reducing the pressure on the natural environment.
It will, however, continue to be a pleasant destination for visitors to experience the beautiful and peaceful landscape of an 17th Century Castle, an historical Chapel and the Parkland.
Page last updated: 17 October 2022