Durnford School

The Old Malthouse School (The OMH) was a preparatory school in the village of Langton Matravers near Swanage in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, United Kingdom. The school was founded in 1906 by Rex Corbett, an ex-England football player, and started with ten pupils in a building that was formerly a brewery. Tom Pellatt, his brother-in-law who ran Durnford School at Durnford Court in the same village had blasted out a swimming bath in the rocks at Dancing Ledge, a mile and a half away on the coast and the pupils of both schools used this daily in the summer term. Durnford's most famous former pupil is Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In 1939, the school was sold by Corbett to Victor Haggard (H) and Evan Hope-Gill (Hopper) who inherited 37 boys. Durnford was requisitioned by the army later that year and the Durnford boys transferred to the Old Malthouse. Durnford was acquired by the owners of the Old Malthouse when the army gave it up in 1948. The main buildings were variously pulled down or sold, leaving the OMH with the grounds, which were levelled for playing fields. A third joint headmaster Peter Mattinson joined after World War II and the triumvirate ruled until 1974 when the school, then with about 80 boys, was sold to a Trust under the headmastership of Quintin Ambler. Ill-health led to Ambler's early departure to be replaced as headmaster by Patrick Jordan in 1975 who expanded the school by adding a pre-prep department in the early 1980s. In 1988, Jon Phillips took over as Headmaster, remaining for 15 years. During this time the school became fully co-educational. Richard Keeble became Headmaster in January 2004 and left the school in July 2006 handing over the reins to longtime deputy Moira Laffey. Through the 1970s and early 80s the school expanded to about 100 pupils but declining enrollment and increasing losses led to the decision to close the school in 2007. In April 2007, the local press reported that the school would close at the end of the 2007 summer term and the school subsequently closed its doors at the end of the summer.

Langton Matravers () is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck, in the county of Dorset in the south of England. It is situated about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Swanage town centre and 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Corfe Castle. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had 381 households and a population of 853.

Leeson House is a field studies centre in the village of Langton Matravers in the heart of the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England. The Isle of Purbeck forms part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, designated in 2001. Run as a day and residential centre by Dorset County Council Outdoor Education Service it has been providing environmental education since 1966.

Acton is a hamlet in the parish of Langton Matravers, on the Isle of Purbeck, in the county of Dorset in the south of England. The hamlet of Acton was built as living quarters for the quarrymen working at the local quarries. The name “Acton” is derived from the Old English for “farm for young sheep”, the first element of which is *tacca. The hamlet was documented in the Domesday Book as Tacatone.

The Priest's Way is the historical route taken by clergy from St Nicholas's, Worth Matravers to St Mary's Church, Swanage in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. The track arose as a result of St Mary's being a chapel of ease to St Nicholas's, and followed the route priests took to say mass in Swanage. A modern footpath and bridleway follows much of the route.

Dancing Ledge is part of the Jurassic Coast near Langton Matravers in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. Dancing Ledge is a flat area of rock at the base of a small cliff. A little scrambling is required for access. It is signposted on the South West Coast Path a few kilometres west of Swanage. Dancing Ledge is so called because at certain stages of the tide when the waves wash over the horizontal surface, the surface undulations cause the water to bob about making the ledge appear to dance.

Spyway is an isolated property in the parish of Worth Matravers in Dorset and is owned by the National Trust. It is located on the route of the Priest's Way. It is notable for having 140 million-year old dinosaur footprints.

Woolgarston is a village in Dorset, England.

The Swanage Railway is a railway branch line from near Wareham, Dorset to Swanage, Dorset, England, opened in 1885 and now operated as a heritage railway. The independent company which built it was amalgamated with the larger London and South Western Railway in 1886. The passenger service was withdrawn in 1972, leaving a residual freight service over part of the line handling mineral traffic. After the passenger closure, a heritage railway group revived part of the line; it too used the name Swanage Railway and now operates a 9.5-mile (15.3 km) line which follows the route of the former line from Wareham to Swanage with stops at Norden, Corfe Castle, Harman's Cross and Herston Halt. It provides a regular park-and-ride service, normally steam-hauled, from Norden to the sea at Swanage including Corfe Castle village and ruins of Corfe Castle. In 2023, regular trains ran through from Wareham (with National Rail connections) to Swanage.

Belle Vue Quarry (grid reference SZ014782) is a 3.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset, notified in 1977. It is used as a roosting site by Greater Horseshoe bats.

Herston Halt railway station is a railway station located at Herston near Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It is an intermediate station on the Swanage Railway, a heritage railway that currently operates from Swanage to Norden (and on special occasions to Wareham ).

Nine Barrow Down is an elongated hill forming the northern ridge of the Purbeck Hills on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The chalk down is part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation. The eastern end of the ridge, which carries the highest point, is also sometimes known as Godlingston Hill. The col of the railway cutting at Harman's Cross means that it has sufficient relative height that it qualifies as a Marilyn. The hill has views to the north across Poole Harbour. On a clear day it is possible to see as far as the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. To the south is the other ridge of the Purbeck Hills including Swyre Head. To the south-east Swanage and its Bay can be seen. Until recently the hill was topped with a trig point, but this has been removed by the farmer with the permission of Ordnance Survey: the trig point and its concrete base can be seen on its side just to the south of the bridleway. The highest point is within a field marked "No public access". It is also the site for the 2 kW Heart South Coast Transmitter on 102.3 and for the NOW Digital Multiplexes.