Dorset - Handfast Point in 1988 - a photo on Flickriver

Dorset - Handfast Point in 1988

            The Postcard

A postally unused postcard that was produced and photographed by S. Sieger. The card was printed by Dolphin Printers of Poole, Dorset.

On the divided back of the card is printed:

'Handfast Point, Dorset,
and the chalk stacks of Old Harry,
The Haystack, & The Pinnacle,
separated from the cliffs by erosion.
(Properties of the National Trust)
1988.'

Old Harry Rocks

Old Harry Rocks are three chalk formations, including a stack and a stump, located at Handfast Point, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, southern England. They mark the most eastern point of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

-- Location of Old Harry Rocks

Old Harry Rocks lie directly east of Studland, about 2.5 miles (4 km) north east of Swanage, and about 5 miles (8 km) south of the large towns of Poole and Bournemouth. 

To the south are the chalk cliffs of Ballard Down, much of which is owned by the National Trust. The rocks can be viewed from the Dorset section of the South West Coast Path.

-- Formation of Old Harry Rocks

The chalk of Old Harry Rocks used to be part of a long stretch of chalk between Purbeck and the Isle of Wight, but remained as a headland after large parts of this seam were eroded away. 

The headland suffered hydraulic action (a process in which air and water are forced into small cracks by the force of the sea, resulting in enlarging cracks). 

This caused first caves, then arches to be formed. The tops of the arches collapsed after being weakened by rainfall and wind, leaving disconnected stacks. One of these stacks is known as Old Harry. 

Old Harry's Wife was another stack which was eroded through corrosion and abrasion, until the bottom was so weak the top fell away in 1509, leaving a stump.

Across the water to the east, The Needles on the Isle of Wight are usually visible. These are also part of the same chalk band, and only a few thousand years ago were connected to Ballard Down.

Old Harry is formed by erosion processes, which will eventually remove the stack, whilst new stacks develop. Some people desire to preserve the rocks and protect them from the erosive processes that formed Old Harry. 

However the National Trust, which owns the stacks in perpetuity, have experience in looking after the coast, and have found that:

"Working with natural processes is 
the most sustainable approach".

-- Legends Associated With the Rocks

There are various stories about the naming of the rocks. One legend says that the Devil (traditionally known euphemistically as "Old Harry") slept on the rocks. 

Another local legend says that the rocks were named after Harry Paye, the infamous Poole pirate, whose ship hid behind the rocks awaiting passing merchantmen. 

Yet another tale has it that a ninth-century Viking raid was thwarted by a storm and that one of the drowned, Earl Harold, was turned into a pillar of chalk.

Taken on: June 7, 2024

Tags:

postcard

old

nostalgia

nostalgic

Dorset

Handfast

Point

Sieger

Dolphin

Printers

Poole

Harry

Haystack

Pinnacle

cliffs

erosion

National

Trust

24DHP25

1988

Studland

Swanage

Bournemouth

Ballard

Down

chalk

Paye

pirate

Earl

Harold « less

Sets appears in: • Aerial Photographs • UK

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