IT was a Sunday in January 1896 when the alarm was raised.

The Brownsea Islanders were attending evensong in church but hurried to the castle that was well alight.

They formed a human chain and awaited the arrival of the fire engine from Poole.

It arrived too late. The building was gutted, with damage estimated at £20,000 with only the outer walls saved.

Brownsea Castle was subsequently restored, but a picture showing policemen standing on duty outside the gutted castle can be found in a new booklet, by Poole Historian Andrew Hawkes called Brownsea Island: At the Opening of the 20th century.

The book covers the period of 1885-1925 and includes some previously unseen photos of island as it was a century or so ago.

Andrew Hawkes’ introduction sets the scene, with a short history of the island that over the centuries, he writes, has been given many different names from Bruno’s Isle and Bronksey to Brunksey and Brownecksey.

Between 900 and 1539, it was occupied by the occasional monk from Cerne Abbey before becoming the property of Henry VIII who “caused the people of Poole to build the blockhouse to defend the harbour”.

It eventually passed into private ownership, eventually becoming the property in 1901 of the socialite Marcus Van Raalte whose widow, Florence, eventually sold it in 1925 when it was bought by the reclusive Mrs Bonham Christy before eventually being given to the National Trust.

Andrew Hawkes’ booklet (ISBN 978-0946748-02-0) includes pictures such as the house that was used as a school for the 20 children who lived on the island, as well as the drawing room and dining room overlooking the Italian Garden where the Van Raaltes entertained “on a grand scale, with guests including such families such as the Battenbergs and Bourbons”.

There are pictures, too, of Baden Powell’s first scout camp on Brownsea.

Florence Van Raalte also introduced daffodil growing on the island to provide the opportunity of employment to the families.

Fourteen acres were planted, with the work captured on camera.

Among the most interesting images shows the Branksea Pipe Pottery at the village of Maryland on the wetter end of the island.

It employed more than 100 workers and shows an industrial scene that seems hard to believe compared with the tranquillity of Brownsea today.