![Stairhole](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Stairhole.png)
Stair Hole is a small
cove
A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...
located just west of
Lulworth Cove
Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a World Heritage Site and tourist location with approximately ...
in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, southern England. The
folded limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
strata known as the ''Lulworth crumple'' are particularly visible at Stair Hole. There are several caves visible from the seaward side of Stair Hole; Cathedral Cavern is supported by pillars of rock rising out of the water.
[Hammond, R. J. W., ''Dorset Coast'', Ward Lock Ltd, 1979, p149] The rock structure was created during the
Alpine orogeny and exposed by subsequent erosion.
Stair Hole featured in ''
Nuts in May'', a
Play for Today directed by
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...
, and in
''Five on a Treasure Island'', a 1957
film serial
A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...
by the
Children's Film Foundation
The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) was a non-profit organisation which made films for children in the United Kingdom originally to be shown as part of childrens' Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. The films typically were about 55 ...
and was the background for the climactic sword fight between
George Baker and
Peter Arne
Peter Arne (born Peter Randolph Michael Albrecht; 29 September 19241 August 1983) was a British character actor. He made more than 50 film appearances including roles in ''Ice Cold in Alex'', ''The Moonraker'', '' Conspiracy of Hearts'' and ''V ...
in ''
The Moonraker
''The Moonraker'' is a British swashbuckler film made in 1957 and released in 1958 and set in the English Civil War. It was directed by David MacDonald and starred George Baker, Sylvia Syms, Marius Goring, Gary Raymond, Peter Arne, John Le M ...
'' (1957).
Gallery
File:E end of Stair Hole, Lulworth, England arp.jpg, East end of the Lulworth Crumple at Stair Hole
File:Stair Hole-7172.jpg, West end of the Lulworth Crumple at Stair Hole
See also
*
Durdle Door
Durdle Door (sometimes written Durdle Dor) is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset, England.West, I.W., 2003.Durdle Door; Geology of the Dorset Coast. Southampton University, UK. Version H.07.09.03. It is priva ...
References
External links
Geology of the Dorset Coast– University of Southampton information
Lulworth Online– Information on the villages
Coves of Dorset
Geology of Dorset
Jurassic Coast
{{Dorset-geo-stub