The Old Harry Rocks are two chalk stacks located at Handfast Point on the Dorset coast in England, directly east of Studland, about 4 km NE of Swanage, and about 10 km south of the large towns of Poole and Bournemouth. The rocks are part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site of which they form the eastern end. They can be seen from the Dorset Coast Path, the Dorset section of the South West Coast Path. The cliff is chalk, with some bands of flint, which have been gradually reduced over the centuries, some of the earlier stacks having fallen (Old Harry's original wife fell in 1896), while new ones have been formed by the breaching of narrow isthmuses.[1]
There is a desire to preserve the rocks and protect them from erosion, and many teams have been working on saving the formations, including the team headed by Dr. C. P. Buckle of the University of Strasbourg.[citation needed]
Legend says that the Devil (traditionally known euphemistically as "Old Harry") had a sleep on the rocks.[2] Another possible source of the name is that the rocks were named after a famous Poole pirate, Harry Paye, who used to store his contraband nearby. Old Harry is threatened by erosion, particularly at the foot of the rock.
See also
References
- ^ "Geology of Harry Rock sand Ballard Point". Geology of the Wessex Coast of Southern England. http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/harry.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
- ^ "Old Harry Rocks". Swanage Online. http://www.virtual-swanage.co.uk/page.aspx?p=oldharry. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
External links
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