Lulworth Castle was completed in 1609. Entrance is via the courtyard pictured above. It was built for Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon. After his death, it was purchased by Humphrey Weld in 1641. It has been in the Weld family ever since, and remains so today. The family now live in a “house”, secluded from, but in the grounds of the estate. This is largely due to a serious fire, that effectively turned it from country pile, into romantic ruin. Country Life magazine had photographed the interior for their publication so quality photo’s are available to help show what the interior was like before the fire on 29th August 1929.
In the 1780’s Catholic architect John Tasker remodelled the castle for Thomas Weld. He also built the Roman Catholic chapel in the grounds. My understanding is that this chapel is the first “free standing” catholic chapel built in England after the reformation. Photography is not permitted inside. I did make some photo’s but will keep them for my own use and not share them here. Below is a photo of the outside.
Photographically all of these images were made on Foma 200, developed in BTTB, 5 minutes in part a, and 5 in part b. I’m liking the results that this developer is giving me. The contrast is such that I have to make very few “corrections” to the scans. They were all made with the Rollei 35SE and it’s 50mm. It’s a lovely lens and renders detail well. It’s also a bit of an odd fitting these days and finding a matching 35mm lens has proved to be a challenge, especially at a sensible price! The coating on these lenses was co-developed with Zeiss, and is either the same as or very close to their T* coatings. It certainly has a “look”. The aperture priority – (set it to F8 and shoot) mode is also ideal for a lazy day out!
