Norden Tunnel 1 is a Grade II listed building in the Dorset local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 February 1998. Tunnel.

Norden Tunnel 1

WRENN ID
over-step-curlew
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Dorset
Constituency
South Dorset MP: Lloyd Hatton (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
4 February 1998
Type
Tunnel
Address
Norden Tunnel 1, Corfe Castle
OS grid reference
SY 947 832
Coordinates
50.64881, -2.07562
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Norden Tunnel is a plateway tunnel dated 1807, constructed from coursed stone rubble with dressed stone arch rings. It features a round arch and is approximately 23 metres long. The keystone of the west portal is inscribed with "B.F. 1807." The tunnel was built for Benjamin Fayle, a shipping agent and insurance broker from London, who leased the Norden clay pits from William Morton Pitt in 1804. By 1806, Fayle had created a plateway connecting the clay pits to Middlebere Quay on Poole Harbour, allowing clay to be transported by horse-drawn train. This plateway was one of the earliest railways in southern England and remained in use as a horse-drawn tramway until around 1905, when a new line was constructed. Currently, the tunnel carries a watercourse.

Local climate

Norden Tunnel 1 receives an average of 770 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 64% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 75% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 9 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 91% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Middlebere Tramway Tunnel Portal Grade II 2 m
  2. Norden Tunnel 2 Grade II 37 m
  3. Milestone Grade II 204 m
  4. Cats Eye Cottage Grade II 287 m
  5. Saint Edward's Cottage Grade II 450 m
  6. Isolation Hospital Grade II 1.2 km
  7. Cottage at the Isolation Hospital Grade II 1.3 km
  8. The Halfway Inn Grade II 1.3 km
  9. Boundary Wall, Gate Piers and Gates to Churchyard of Parish Church of Saint Peter Grade II 1.4 km
  10. Parish Church of Saint Peter Grade II* 1.5 km