The best known part of Dorset must obviously be the Isle of Portland with its sheer cliffs that jut out into the English channel, for here is where the famous Portland stone is quarried and can be seen in many of the worlds greatest buildings. The island is linked to the mainland by the famous Chesil Beach,

Isle of Portland and Chesil Bank Photo courtesy of Richard Hine, Louisa, Virginia USA

Portland has been described by Thomas Hardy as the Gibraltar of Wessex and his novel "The Well Beloved" featured Avices Cottage which is now a museum.

Portland may be partially isolated from the mainland but it has a tremendous community spirit all of its own and the islanders seem to marry other island folks more and sons seem to follow fathers into working in the stone quarries and the only non islanders are usually at high levels of employment such as in managerial or financial employment.

It was Inigo Jones who first used the famous stone and he used it to construct the banqueting hall at the Palace of Whitehall and from then on  it became popular, being quarried by the Portland men using more or less their bare hands but with a few chisels. And some of the most famous buildings in the world are built of it, such as Buckingham Palace and the UN Building in New York.

Fortuneswell, the largest of the villages,  stands on the slopes facing the mainland, its  church looks over West Bay.

Chiswell has more or less lived on the edge of disaster for hundreds of years resting on the constantly moving stones of the Chesil Bank the homes were frequently flooded by the strong gales that used to lash the coast here. In the 1800s it was the largest settlement on Portland but a hurricane hit the coast in 1824 and 36 houses were completely destroyed and another 100 made uninhabitable, twenty six people lost their live and a complete community was practically destroyed in one night.

Another storm in the 1970s caused the villages to flee but since that date new flood defences have been built in the Cove and the main street hosts one of Dorsets leading fun fairs every November. The Cove was renowned for its shipwrecks and the 20,000 ton Winchester Castle which was owned by the Union Castle line and which sailed out of Southampton was grounded here in a calm sea.

This is the old fishing centre where men sailed out to catch the famous Weymouth mackerel. There is also a Young Offenders institution on Portland and this was once a proper convict prison and prison ships have been bought from the United States to be anchored here to hold prisoners which has caused a lot of controversy on both the island and the mainland.

Wakeham, is according to local people is the oldest village on the island and is where the road bends on its way to the Bill. Opposite the entrance to Church Ope Cove and Rufus Castle there is a piece of overgrown land, which was once the quarry  where the Cenotaph in Whitehall was dug.

St Georges church, Portland
(Photo kindly contributed by Mark Housby, Allbrook, Hampshire)

THE PORTLAND IMAGES KINDLY SUPPLIED BY
Richard Hinde, Louisa, Virginia USA

The Royal Navy cemetery with the prison ship centre in front of the red ship		Looking along Chesil Bank
The dramatic coastline with Portland Bill lighthouse on the left
Fleet Lagoon		Fortuneswell
Fortuneswell Church		Main street through Fortuneswell
The George		Chesil bank
The Spirit of Portland		Portland Bill Lighthouse
Nicodemus Knob		The Pulpit Rocks

The Quarrying of Portland Stone (Bowers Quarry)
Richard Hinde, Louisa, Virginia USA