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In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Swanage like this:
SWANAGE, or Swanwich, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Wareham district, Dorset. The village stands on S. bay, 9 miles SE of Wareham r. station; was known, at Domesday, as Swanawic or Sonwic; is a sub-port to Poole, and a pleasant watering-place; consists chiefly of one street, nearly a mile long; commands a fine view of the Hants coast and the Isle of Wight; enjoys very fine environs, with many interesting natural features; and has a post-office‡ under Wareham, a banking office, two chief inns, an ancient cruciform church restored in 1860, two dissenting chapels, and a coastguard station. ...
S. bay is proximately semi-circular, on a chord of 1¾ mile; has a depth of from 5 to 8 fathoms; and affords good shelter in westerly winds. The parish includes Herston and Ulwell hamlets; and comprises 2,953 acres of land, and 240 of water. Real property, £4,819. Pop., 2,004. Houses, 445. The property is subdivided. Building stone is quarried. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury. Value, £555.* Patron, J. H. Calcraft, Esq.—The sub-district contains four parishes. Acres, 15,872. Pop., 3,682. Houses, 798.
Swanage is now part of DORSET Unitary Authority. Click here for graphs and data of how DORSET has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Swanage itself, go to Statistics.
How to reference this page:
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Swanage in Dorset | Map and description, A Vision of Ireland through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofireland.org/place/692
Date accessed: 10th February 2026
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Ireland through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Swanage".
