116-462: Portland Harbour is beside the Isle of Portland , Dorset , on the south coast of England . Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its 520-hectare (1,300-acre) surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains one of the largest in the world today. It is naturally sheltered by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and mainland Dorset to
232-516: A floating dry dock was introduced in 1914, enabling Portland to function as a repair and refit facility, and by 1914 Portland was officially listed as a Naval Dockyard (remaining so until 1959). Onshore amenities included a range of storehouses, workshops and office buildings. Support facilities for the fleet were also added over time, including a canteen and recreation ground (opened in 1903). The nearby Royal Naval Hospital in Castletown served
348-495: A 2005 newsletter of the South Dorset Amateur Radio, former keeper John Trotter recalled memories of the lighthouse: "I was a supernumerary Assistant Keeper at Portland Breakwater Lighthouse in 1966 - I did 2 two month stints. We lived in one of the buildings, just down from the light tower. We had to climb them every two hours during the night to wind up the lens and pump oil up to the lamp. The breakwater
464-581: A biplane demonstrate the first British flight from a moving ship, and afterwards the king took the first ever royal trip in a submarine. In 1914, the Grand Fleet assembled in Portland Harbour before sailing to Scapa Flow. As a measure against submarine attack, the battleship HMS Hood was scuttled across the harbour's southern entrance in 1914. In 1917 the RNAS seaplane base at Portland
580-493: A centre for water sports and as a service facility for Channel shipping. Portland Port Ltd, formed in December 1994, took possession of the site immediately and their purchase was completed on 12 December 1996. The company aimed to develop the ship repair, leisure and tourism potential of the harbour. One of the first arrivals at the new set up was a prison ship HM Prison Weare , which remained in use until 2006. Renamed Jascon 27,
696-597: A flat or maisonette costs £110,500. Crime rates are below average—there were 5.4 burglaries per 1000 households in 2009 and 2010; which is lower than South West England (7.6 per 1000) and significantly lower than England and Wales (11.6 per 1000). Unemployment levels are very low, at 1.9 per cent in July 2011, compared to the British average of 7.7 per cent. The most common religious identity in Weymouth and Portland
812-403: A list of all the things which Portland Race has swallowed up, it would rival Orcus ". Portland Breakwater Lighthouse, Dorset The Portland Breakwater Lighthouse is a functioning lighthouse located at Portland Harbour , Isle of Portland , Dorset , England . It is situated on the southern end of the north-east breakwater. The lighthouse, a white hexagonal cast-iron structure,
928-725: A new 600-berth marina and an extension with more on-site facilities were built. Construction was scheduled between October 2007 and the end of 2008, and with its completion and formal opening on 11 June 2009, the venue became the first of the 2012 Olympic Games to be completed. Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour are used for other water sports – the reliable wind is favourable for wind and kite-surfing . Chesil Beach and Portland Harbour are used regularly for angling, scuba diving to shipwrecks, snorkelling, canoeing, and swimming. The limestone cliffs and quarries are used for rock climbing ; Portland has areas for bouldering and deep water soloing, however sport climbing with bolt protection
1044-661: A new marina and recreational boating facility. Some 250,000 tonnes of Portland stone was used in creating the 875m breakwater and associated reclaimed land. This facility was open by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in April 2009 and is situated directly adjacent to the National Sailing Academy. Apart from the usual freshwater, fuel, shore power and pump-out facilities the marina also has a bar/restaurant, 15 retail/business units and 5 larger commercial units. In addition to Hood , there are other dive wrecks around
1160-601: A northbound section through Chiswell and a southbound section through Fortuneswell , then along Chesil Beach and across a bridge to the mainland in Wyke Regis . Formerly the Portland Branch Railway also crossed to the island. The corridor is now a traffic-free walking and cycle path. Local buses are run by FirstGroup , with services to Weymouth. Weymouth is the hub for south Dorset bus routes, with services to Dorchester and local villages. Weymouth
1276-810: A parish in Jamaica . Portland has been inhabited since at least the Mesolithic period (the Middle Stone Age )—there is archaeological evidence of Mesolithic inhabitants at the Culverwell Mesolithic Site , near Portland Bill , and of habitation since then. The Romans occupied Portland, reputedly calling it Vindelis . Although the beginning of the Viking Age in England is dated to their raid in 793, when they destroyed
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#17327823237771392-735: A pier at Castletown , from where the Portland stone was shipped around the country. The Weymouth and Portland Railway was laid in 1865, and ran from a station in Melcombe Regis , across the Fleet and along the low isthmus behind Chesil Beach to a station at Victoria Square in Chiswell . At the end of the 19th century the line was extended to the top of the island as the Easton and Church Ope Railway, running through Castletown and ascending
1508-527: A rabbit was seen in a quarry, the workers would go home for the day, until the safety of the area had been assured. As of 2006, older Portland residents were said to be 'offended' (sometimes for the benefit of tourists) by the mention of rabbits; this superstition came to national attention in October 2005 when a special batch of advertisement posters were made for the Wallace and Gromit film, The Curse of
1624-478: A restricted water exchange; this in turn leads to elevated water temperatures. Thus several marine species inhabit the harbour beyond the typical northern limits of their range. The harbour is designated as EU shellfish water and supports an important shellfish fishery and a marine ecosystem of high importance for biodiversity . The harbour was sold off by the Royal Navy in 1996, allowing it to be used both as
1740-555: A runway and landing area, and the old canteen building having been adapted to serve as a combined headquarters and control tower . It went on to become the largest naval helicopter airfield in Europe. The Ministry of Defence continued to invest in HMNB Portland until the late 1980s; however in 1991 the closure was announced of both the naval base and the research establishments on Portland as part of defence spending cuts following
1856-478: A shallow tidal flat, The Mere, was infilled, and sports fields taken to form a heliport. The station was formally commissioned as HMS Osprey, which then became the largest and busiest military helicopter station in Europe. The base was gradually improved with additional landing areas and one of England's shortest runways, at 229 metres (751 ft). The naval base closed after the end of the Cold War in 1995, and
1972-544: A shellfish specialist. The Portland Harbour Revision Order 2010 provides for the creation of new berths and hardstand areas at the port in order to allow increased commercial activities over the next 50 years. These new facilities have been identified as part of a master plan and business strategy developed by Portland Port. The development is designed to increase berthing opportunities and provide more operational land. The four identified areas for development are: The port also sees various cruise ship calls bringing visitors to
2088-472: A sports centre. With the advent of the helicopter and its importance as an anti-submarine weapon, an airfield was formed following World War II. In 1946, Hoverfly R-4Bs began operating from the base's playing fields, which were transformed into a landing ground. In 1959, RNAS Portland was officially established as part of HMS Osprey , further land having been reclaimed from the Mere the previous year to serve as
2204-524: A sub-Depot of HMS Victory in Portsmouth.) The 'Upper Osprey' site at East Weare was substantially rebuilt in the 1960s; subsequently much of it was given over to provide barracks accommodation for the base and its personnel. HM A/S Experimental Establishment also returned to Portland in 1946. Over the next few years its headquarters on Balaclava Bay were rebuilt and extended, and it was again renamed as HM Underwater Detection Establishment (HMUDE). At
2320-598: Is Christianity, at 61.0 per cent, which is slightly above the England and Wales average of 59.3 per cent. The next-largest sector is those with no religion, at 29.3 per cent, also slightly above the average of 25.1 per cent. The A354 road is the only land access to Portland, via Ferry Bridge, connecting to Weymouth and to the wider road network at the A35 trunk road in Dorchester . It runs from Easton , splitting into
2436-471: Is a tied island , 6 kilometres (4 mi) long by 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) wide, in the English Channel . The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the resort of Weymouth , forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset , England. A barrier beach called Chesil Beach joins Portland with mainland England . The A354 road passes down the Portland end of
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#17327823237772552-597: Is adjoined by the Weymouth Lowlands to the north. Geologically, Portland is separated into two areas; the steeply sloping land at its north end called Underhill , and the larger, gently sloping land to the south, called Tophill . Portland stone lies under Tophill; the strata decline at a shallow angle of around 1.5 degrees, from a height of 151 metres (495 ft) near the Verne in the north, to just above sea level at Portland Bill . The geology of Underhill
2668-517: Is also Grade II Listed. East Weare Battery was built in the 1860s to protect the harbour. In addition to this, The 'E' section of the battery is Grade II Listed and has become a scheduled monument too. East Weare Camp is Grade II Listed. One of the most dominant of the defence structures is the Portland Breakwater Fort , located on one of the outer breakwaters. It is Grade II Listed. Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland
2784-545: Is connected to towns and villages along the Jurassic Coast by the Jurassic Coast Bus service, which runs for 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Exeter to Poole , through Sidford , Beer , Seaton , Lyme Regis , Charmouth , Bridport , Abbotsbury , Weymouth, Wool , and Wareham . Trains run from Weymouth to London, Southampton , Bristol and Gloucester but ferries no longer transport passengers to
2900-399: Is different to Tophill; Underhill lies on a steep escarpment composed of Portland Sand, lying above a thicker layer of Kimmeridge Clay , which extends to Chesil Beach and Portland Harbour. This Kimmeridge Clay has resulted in a series of landslides, forming West Weares and East Weares. 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) underneath south Dorset lies a layer of Triassic rock salt , and Portland
3016-612: Is one of four locations in the United Kingdom where the salt is thick enough to create stable cavities. Portland Gas applied to excavate 14 caverns to store 1,000,000,000 cubic metres (3.5 × 10 cu ft) of natural gas, which is one per cent of the UK's total annual demand. It was proposed that the caverns should be connected to the National gas grid at Mappowder via a 37-kilometre (23 mi) pipeline. Plans had it that
3132-475: Is one of the United Kingdom's rarest plants. The wild flowers and plants make an excellent habitat for butterflies; over half of the British Isles' 57 butterfly species can be seen on Portland, including varieties that migrate from mainland Europe. Species live on Portland that are rare in the United Kingdom, including the limestone race of the silver-studded blue . The mild seas which almost surround
3248-469: Is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. The harbour was made by the building of stone breakwaters between 1848 and 1905. From its inception it was a Royal Navy base, and played prominent roles during the First and Second World Wars ; ships of the Royal Navy and NATO countries worked up and exercised in its waters until 1995. The harbour is now a civilian port and popular recreation area, and
3364-555: Is situated approximately halfway along the UNESCO Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site ; the site includes 153 kilometres (95 mi) of the Dorset and east Devon coast that is important for its geology and landforms. The South West Coast Path runs around the coast; it is the United Kingdom's longest national trail at 1,014 kilometres (630 mi). Portland is unusual as it is connected to
3480-703: Is the most common style. Since June 2003 the South West Coast Path National Trail has included 21.3 kilometres (13.2 mi) of coastal walking around the Isle of Portland, including following the A354 Portland Beach Road twice. Isle of Portland has a Non-League football club Portland United F.C. who play at Grove Corner. They also have a youth set up called Portland United youth football Club. Rabbits have long been associated with bad luck on Portland. Use of
3596-852: Is the nearest further education college, which has around 7,500 students from south west England and overseas, about 1500 studying A-Level courses. In 2000, the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy was built in Osprey Quay in Underhill as a centre for sailing in the United Kingdom. Weymouth and Portland's waters were credited by the Royal Yachting Association as the best in Northern Europe. Weymouth and Portland regularly host local, national and international sailing events in their waters; these include
Portland Harbour - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-519: The 2012 Olympic Games , is located on the south-western shore of the harbour. The Royal Yachting Association had expressed interest in securing a suitable site locally for a number of decades, in order to make use of the harbour's natural advantages. However the opportunity did not develop until the end of the 20th century, with the withdrawal of the Royal Navy. The academy was established as a not-for-profit company in 1999, and originally operated from various disused military buildings and facilities. In 2003
3828-453: The 2019 structural changes to local government , Portland is in the Dorset unitary authority , administered by Dorset Council . The whole island forms Portland ward which is one of the 52 wards and elects three members to the council. Portland is an ancient royal manor , and until the 19th century was a separate liberty , with certain judicial functions for the isle held separately from
3944-457: The English Channel , the Royal Navy established a base at Portland in 1845; a scheme for the harbour to be transformed into a refuge had been granted parliamentary approval the year before. Portland was the first naval anchorage specifically designed for the new steam navy. Similar harbours of refuge would be built at Alderney , Dover , Holyhead , and later (in response to the increased naval threat from Germany) at Peterhead . Construction of
4060-670: The First Lord of the Admiralty that Portland Dockyard was to close the following year (though the naval base would be retained). At the time, the Dockyard employed 'some 1,600 industrial and non-industrial staff'. Within the same statement Sheerness Dockyard and a number of other naval establishments were also slated for closure. As planned, Portland's Royal Dockyard closed in 1959, but the Naval Base remained open 'in support of
4176-527: The Reserve Fleet , and it also served as a depot for submarines. In the early years of the 20th century it served as base for the Navy's first Torpedo Boat Destroyers . In the 1850s it had been proposed that a full Royal Navy Dockyard be established, with three dry docks , three shipbuilding slips , a fitting-out basin and associated factory facilities. These plans were not carried through, however
4292-520: The Western Front . Portland cement has nothing to do with Portland; it was so named due to its similar colour to Portland stone when mixed with lime and sand. There have been railways in Portland since the early 19th century. The Merchant's Railway was the earliest—it opened in 1826 (one year after the Stockton and Darlington railway ) and ran from the quarries at the north of Tophill to
4408-618: The abbey on Lindisfarne , their first documented landing occurred in Portland four years earlier, in 789, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . Three lost Viking ships from Hordaland (the district around Hardanger fjord in west Norway ) landed at Portland Bill. The king's reeve tried to collect taxes from them, but they killed him and sailed on. A castle on the site of the present Rufus Castle , standing over Church Ope Cove , may have been built for William II of England (also known as William Rufus) soon after
4524-457: The 1970s. In 2011 there were 6,312 dwellings in an area of 11.5 square kilometres (2,840 acres), with a population density of 1112 people per km . The population is almost entirely native to the United Kingdom and 93.9 per cent of residents are of white British ethnicity, well above the England and Wales average of 80.5 per cent. The average price of a detached house on Portland in 2010 was £ 194,200; terraced houses are cheaper, at £149,727, and
4640-470: The Admiralty, but managed by Trinity House (who, until the light was automated in the late 1960s, provided three resident keepers accommodated in a nearby dwelling on the breakwater). The lighthouse was restored and repainted in 1995, prior to the closure of Portland Naval Base ; subsequently, ownership of the lighthouse (along with the harbour as a whole) was vested in Portland Port Ltd, and
4756-501: The Britannia Passenger Terminal was opened by HRH Prince Philip on 14 July 1999. In April 2000 the contract was signed for a new bunkering jetty and berth, which came into service in 2005. However, despite published reports in 1996 revealing that Portland Port Ltd were interested in the renovation of historic coastal fortifications in the area, no restoration of any kind has taken place. Commercial activities on
Portland Harbour - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-424: The Dorset area. The Britannia Cruise Terminal, which was opened in July 1999 and again refurbished in 2005, has seen the likes of Royal Caribbean, Azamara, Club Cruises, Saga and Crystal Cruises use it as a start point for excursions in the wider Dorset region and beyond. In recent years the number of cruise ship calls at the port have increased. In September 2022, a project costing £26m for a deep-water berth upgrade
4988-459: The East Weares part of the island to control scrub in 2007. The comparatively warm and sunny climate allows species of plants to thrive which do not on the mainland. The limestone soil has low nutrient levels; hence smaller species of wild flowers and grasses are able to grow in the absence of larger species. Portland sea lavender can be found on the higher sea cliffs; unique to Portland, it
5104-824: The French port of St Malo and the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey . St George's Community Primary School is located in Easton . The only other school on Portland is the Atlantic Academy , an all-through school for pupils aged 3 to 19 based at two different sites. Formerly known as the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy, it formed in 2012 by merging four primary schools and one secondary school. Some students commute to Weymouth or Dorchester to study A-Levels , or to attend other secondary schools nearby. Weymouth College in Melcombe Regis
5220-403: The Isle of Portland has an extensive range of flora and fauna ; the coastline and disused quarries are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest . The Isle of Portland SSSI encompasses 352 hectares (870 acres), and includes 17 monitored features ranging from Jurassic fossils, calcareous grassland, rock sea-lavender and nationally scarce butterflies. Sea and migratory birds occupy
5336-917: The J/24 World Championships in 2005, trials for the 2004 Athens Olympics, the ISAF World Championship 2006, the BUSA Fleet Racing Championships, and the RYA Youth National Championships. In 2005, the WPNSA was selected to host sailing events at the 2012 Olympic Games —mainly because the academy had recently been built, so no new venue would have to be provided. However, as part of the South West of England Regional Development Agency 's plans to redevelop Osprey Quay,
5452-540: The North , with reference to its similarities with Gibraltar ; its physical geography, isolation, comparatively mild climate, and Underhill 's winding streets. A. E. Housman wrote of the place in his poem, "The Isle of Portland", from A Shropshire Lad . Hilaire Belloc 's book The Cruise of the " Nona " is about sailing near Portland, and the reflections it occasions. He describes Portland Race as "the master terror of our world", and says "... if you were to make
5568-609: The Portland Breakwaters from 1848. For a few years until 2005 Britain's only prison ship , HMP The Weare , was berthed in the harbour. There are two tiers of local government covering Portland, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Portland Town Council and Dorset Council . The town council is based at the Portland Community Venue, a converted school in Fortuneswell. Since
5684-579: The Portland Harbour Authority took over its management. The lighthouse underwent restoration again in 2016. The lighthouse's current use continues to aid navigation of boats in the area, warning mariners of the breakwaters by giving a white flash every 10 seconds. Surrounding the lighthouse are various defensive buildings such as pillboxes. The former optic from the lighthouse has been placed in Weymouth Museum . In
5800-510: The Portland area dealt with almost 1000 incidents in 2005. Portland lends its name to one of the BBC 's Shipping Forecast regions. There are still two prisons on Portland: HMP The Verne , which until 1949 was a Victorian military fortress, and a Young Offenders' Institution ( HMYOI ) on the Grove clifftop. This was the original prison ( HM Prison Portland ) built for convicts who quarried stone for
5916-626: The Royal Naval Air Station closed in 1999, although the runway remained in use for Her Majesty's Coastguard Search and Rescue flights as MRCC Portland until 2014. MRCC Portland's area of responsibility extended midway across the English Channel , and from Start Point in Devon to the Dorset/ Hampshire border, covering an area of around 10,400 square kilometres (4,000 sq mi). The 12 Search and Rescue teams in
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#17327823237776032-532: The UK involved in researching and developing underwater weapons and detection systems (including HMUDE, which nevertheless remained in its Balaclava Bay premises). The latter was renamed AUWE (North), to distinguish it from the new building, AUWE (South), at Southwell. The AUWE later became infamous for espionage infiltration, known as the Portland spy ring . In February 1958 it was announced in Parliament by
6148-732: The US 1st Division who embarked for Omaha Beach in June 1944. The King, Prime Minister Churchill and Free French leader General de Gaulle came to see the great D-Day preparations at Portland; activity in the harbour was continuous. After the war, Portland's role in the liberation of Europe was marked by a ceremony in August 1945, when the American Ambassador John G. Winant unveiled a stone in Victoria Gardens commemorating
6264-470: The United Kingdom average, and monthly rainfall totals throughout the year are less than the UK average, particularly in summer; this summer minimum of rainfall is not experienced away from the south coast of England. The average annual rainfall of 672.3 millimetres (26.5 in) is well below the UK average of 1,163.0 millimetres (45.8 in). The population of Portland in 2021 was 13,417; this figure has remained around twelve to thirteen thousand since
6380-536: The United Kingdom. Portland averaged 1822.6 hours of sunshine annually between 1991 and 2020, which is 42% of the maximum possible, and 36% above the United Kingdom average of 1402.7 hours. December is the cloudiest month (62.2 hours of sunshine), November the wettest (82.6 millimetres (3.3 in) of rain) and July is the sunniest and driest month (237.4 hours of sunshine, 36.9 millimetres (1.5 in) of rain). Sunshine totals in all months are well above
6496-514: The Were-Rabbit . Out of respect for local beliefs the adverts omitted the word 'rabbit' and replaced the film's title with the phrase "Something bunny is going on" . Thomas Hardy described Portland as "the peninsula carved by Time out of a single stone", and named it the Isle of Slingers and Isle of the Race in his Wessex novels; it was the main setting of The Well-Beloved (1897), and
6612-458: The academy was able to start redevelopment of the site. In 2005 WPNSA was selected to host the sailing events at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Additionally Osprey Quay became an 80 acres regeneration project commissioned by South West Regional Development Agency in 2001. By 2012 Osprey Quay had been transformed with huge investment, offering over 11 hectares, a total of 60,000 square metres of business space. In October 2007 work commenced on
6728-489: The annual mean is 11.8 °C (53.2 °F). The mild seas that surround Portland act to keep night-time temperatures above freezing, making air frost rare: on average 6.3 days per year — this is far below the United Kingdom's average annual total of 55.6 days of frost. Days with snow lying are equally rare: on average zero to five days per year; almost all winters have no more than one day with snow lying. It may snow or sleet in winter, yet it almost never settles on
6844-509: The beach and then over the Fleet Lagoon by bridge to the mainland. The population of Portland is 13,417. Portland is a central part of the Jurassic Coast , a World Heritage Site on the Dorset and east Devon coast, important for its geology and landforms. Portland stone , a limestone famous for its use in British and world architecture, including St Paul's Cathedral and the United Nations Headquarters , continues to be quarried here. Portland Harbour , in between Portland and Weymouth,
6960-444: The breakwaters and the harbour defences. Known as the Admiralty Quarries, they provided 10,000 tons of stone per week. The breakwaters were declared complete by HRH Edward the Prince of Wales on 10 August 1872. A major government project, the construction work had become Dorset's greatest tourist attraction of its time. The initial southern breakwaters were built between 1849 and 1872; meanwhile, various defences were created to defend
7076-469: The capital after the Great Fire of London of 1666. Well-known buildings in the capital, including St Paul's Cathedral and the eastern front of Buckingham Palace feature the stone. After the First World War, a quarry was opened by The Crown Estate to provide stone for the Cenotaph in Whitehall and half a million gravestones for war cemeteries, and after the Second World War hundreds of thousands of gravestones were hewn for soldiers who had fallen on
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#17327823237777192-439: The cliffs at East Weares, to loop back north to a station in Easton . The line closed to passengers in 1952, and the final goods train (and two passenger 'specials') ran in April 1965. The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck stationed a lifeboat at Portland in 1826, which was withdrawn in 1851. Coastal flooding has affected Portland's residents and transport for centuries—the only way off
7308-406: The cliffs in different seasons, sometimes these include rare species which draw ornithologists from around the country. Rare visitors to the surrounding seas include dolphins, seals and basking sharks. Chesil Beach is one of only two sites in Britain where the scaly cricket can be found; unlike any other cricket it is wingless and does not sing or hop. Ten British Primitive goats were introduced to
7424-410: The conquest of England by his father William the Conqueror . None of that castle remains; the existing castle probably dates from the 15th century. In 1539 King Henry VIII ordered the construction of Portland Castle for defence against attacks by the French; the castle cost £4,964 (equivalent to £4.21 million in 2024 ). It is one of the best preserved castles from this period, and is opened to
7540-499: The cruiser HMS Gibraltar , which became lead ship of a small anti-submarine flotilla, made up of R-class destroyers and P-class patrol boats, fitted with ASDIC for training and for experimental testing. In 1924, however, Portland's Anti-Submarine School (having been consolidated with similar units from HMS Vernon and HM Signal School , Portsmouth) was itself commissioned as HMS Osprey , becoming an independent shore command. ( HMS Icewhale initially served as
7656-635: The current MP is Lloyd Hatton ( Labour ). Weymouth and Portland have been twinned with the town of Holzwickede in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany since 1986, and the French town of Louviers , in the department of Eure in Normandy, since 1959. The borough and nearby Chickerell have been a Fairtrade Zone since 2007. The Isle of Portland lies in the English Channel , 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of Wyke Regis , and 200 km (120 mi) west-southwest of London, at 50°33′0″N 2°26′24″W / 50.55000°N 2.44000°W / 50.55000; -2.44000 (50.55, −2.44). Portland
7772-420: The depot ship, and was duly renamed Osprey ; but in 1928 she was sold out of service and the name was transferred ashore). Its facilities included laboratories and workshops, a large water tank for conducting experiments and an inshore testing site for trials of ASDIC on the inner breakwater (by the late 1930s over 200 civilians were employed in Osprey' s ASDIC Research and Development Unit (ARDU)). From 1940,
7888-437: The design of the inner breakwater. A new coaling pier was built between 1890 and 1896, and expanded coaling facilities were still being added in 1906. During the 20th century the harbour increasingly became an naval oiling depot and, beginning in the early 1900s, the tidal creek the Mere began to be filled in for a vast tank farm. Over time, Portland was successively the base for the Channel and Home Fleets, as well as part of
8004-438: The dykes in 1953. The remaining two units now act as a wind-break, helping ships berth at Queen's Pier in the harbour. In 1946, the anti-submarine school returned to Portland, and re-established itself at East Weare. In 1948 the administrative command of HMS Osprey was extended to cover the Naval Base as a whole. (The depot had been designated HMS Boscawen from 1932 up until that point; previously Portland had been designated
8120-446: The end of the Cold War . There was opposition against the closure from the local economy, as well as all ranks of naval personnel, who felt Portland's surrounding coast was perfect for exercising ships. Royal Navy operations ceased on 21 July 1995 and the harbour was sold on 29 March 1996. FOST was relocated to Devonport . Following this, RNAS Portland also closed in October 1999. The combined closure of all Portland-based establishments
8236-405: The feature; at 10 metres (about 5 fathoms) deep and 2.4 kilometres (1.3 nmi) long, it causes a tidal race to the south of Portland Bill, the so-called Portland Race. The current only stops for brief periods during the 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour tidal cycle and can reach 4 metres per second (9 mph) at the spring tide of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). Due to its isolated coastal location,
8352-582: The ground—coastal areas in South West England such as Portland generally experience the mildest winters in the UK. Portland is less affected by the Atlantic storms that Devon and Cornwall experience. The growing season lasts for more than 310 days per year, and the borough is in Hardiness zone 9. Weymouth and Portland, and the rest of the south coast, has the sunniest climate in
8468-428: The harbour came under fierce German air attack, with Portland suffering 48 air attacks, in which 532 bombs were dropped, over the course of the war. In July 1940, the anti-aircraft ship HMS Foylebank was attacked by Stuka dive-bombers and sank in the harbour. The second of only two Victoria Crosses awarded for action in the United Kingdom was posthumously bestowed on Jack Foreman Mantle , who died at his post on
8584-628: The harbour's two northern breakwaters were built between 1893 and 1906. In 1902, additional defences were constructed, including Upton Fort at Osmington and Blacknor Fort on the western side of Portland. By 1903, the East Weares Rifle Range served the navy and other military on the eastern side of the island. In 1905, the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse was erected on the southern end of northeast breakwater, where it continues to operate today. The harbour
8700-460: The harbour. The Verne Citadel , designed by Captain Crosman R.E., was built at Verne Hill between 1860 and 1881: the 56 acre (23 ha) fortress was designed for 1000 troops and had gun emplacements facing seawards on three sides. Below the eastern side of the citadel, East Weare Battery was built during the 1860s, along with the detention barracks East Weare Camp . On the end of the inner breakwater
8816-483: The harbour: The harbour and dockyard has various buildings and structures on the National Heritage List. The inner breakwater, with its jetty, former victualling store and Inner Pierhead Fort, are Grade II Listed. The victualling store was built around 1850. At the south-west end of Prince Consort Walk is a carved commemorative stone for the completion of the breakwaters in 1872. The outer breakwater
8932-466: The headland and its tidal race . The current lighthouse was refurbished in 1996 and became remotely controlled. It now contains a visitors' centre giving information and guided tours of the lighthouse. Portland Ledge is an underwater extension of Portland Stone into the English Channel at a place where the depth of Channel is 20 to 40 metres (about 10 to 20 fathoms). Tidal flow is disrupted by
9048-701: The highest in the British Isles, and by far warmer than the United Kingdom average. However, due to the island's proximity to the sea, summers are cooler than the national average, with temperatures rarely climbing to the extremes seen in in-land areas further north. As a result of its coastal extremity and mild winter minimum temperatures, Portland is suitable for plants with the Royal Horticultural Society 's hardiness rating H2. Mean sea surface temperatures range from 7.0 °C (44.6 °F) in February to 17.2 °C (63.0 °F) in August;
9164-535: The island by land is along the causeway in the lee of Chesil Beach. At times of extreme floods (about every 10 years) this road link is cut by floods. The low-lying village of Chiswell used to flood on average every 5 years. Chesil Beach occasionally faces severe storms and massive waves, which have a fetch across the Atlantic Ocean. Following two severe flood events in the 1970s, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and Wessex Water decided to investigate
9280-594: The island of Portland. The Bill has three lighthouse towers. The Higher Lighthouse is now a dwelling and holiday apartments whilst the Lower Lighthouse is now a bird observatory and field centre providing records of bird migration and accommodation for visitors, which opened in 1961. The white and red lighthouse on Bill Point replaced the Higher and Lower Lighthouses in 1906. It is a prominent and much photographed feature; an important landmark for ships passing
9396-682: The local establishments and H.M. ships using the harbour'. From 1958, the base's main occupation was Flag Officer Sea Training , which was a major success, and the harbour soon became the world's premier work-up and training base. Aside from the training of Royal Navy ships, many ships of NATO countries also trained and frequented at the harbour. Part of the Falklands War task force sailed from Portland in 1982. In 1984, two large accommodation blocks, totalling £25-30 million, were built in Castletown as barracks for Royal Navy personnel, along with
9512-432: The mainland at Abbotsbury by Chesil Beach , a tombolo which runs 29 kilometres (18 mi) north-west to West Bay . Portland is sometimes defined incorrectly as a tombolo—in fact Portland is a tied island, and Chesil Beach is the tombolo (a spit joined to land at both ends). There are eight settlements on Portland, the largest being Fortuneswell in Underhill and Easton on Tophill. Castletown and Chiswell are
9628-438: The name is still taboo—the creatures are often referred to as "underground mutton", "long-eared furry things" or just "bunnies". The origin of this superstition is obscure (there is no record of it before the 1920s) but it is believed to derive from quarry workers. They would see rabbits emerging from their burrows immediately before a rock fall and blame them for increasing the risk of dangerous, sometimes deadly, landslides . If
9744-454: The naval base from 1904 (replacing an earlier Sick Quarters), until 1957 when it was handed over to the NHS. The development of both the torpedo and the submarine led to Portland Harbour becoming a centre for research into underwater warfare, beginning with the establishment of Robert Whitehead 's Torpedo Works at Wyke Regis in 1891. A purpose-built pier projecting into the harbour from the factory
9860-525: The north of Chiswell, an extended sea wall in Chesil Cove , and a culvert running from inside the beach, underneath the beach road and into Portland Harbour , to divert flood water away from low-lying areas. At the start of the First World War, HMS Hood was sunk in the passage between the southern breakwaters to protect the harbour from torpedo and submarine attack. Portland Harbour
9976-609: The north. It consists of four breakwaters : two southern and two northern. These have a total length of 4.57 km (2.84 mi) and enclose approximately 1,000 ha (2,500 acres) of water. Portland Harbour was built by the Admiralty as a facility for the Royal Navy (though access was also available to merchant ships); on 11 December 1923 it was formally designated HM Naval Base ( HMNB ) Portland , and continued to serve as such until closure in 1995. The original harbour
10092-465: The other villages in Underhill, and Weston , Southwell , Wakeham and the Grove are on the Tophill plateau. Many old buildings are built out of Portland Stone; several parts have been designated Conservation Areas to preserve the unique character the older settlements which date back hundreds of years. The Isle of Portland has been designated by Natural England as National Character Area 137. It
10208-545: The passing by the spot of 418,585 troops and 144,093 vehicles the previous June. During both World Wars I and II, the bay was filled with neutral ships at anchor waiting to be searched for materials that might be useful to the enemy. After the war, in 1946, ten Phoenix caissons of the Mulberry Harbour were towed back to Portland, eight of which were later given to the Netherlands to repair storm breaches in
10324-536: The public by the custodians English Heritage . In the 17th century, chief architect and Surveyor-General to James I, Inigo Jones , surveyed the area and introduced the local Portland stone to London, using it in his Banqueting House, Whitehall , and for repairs on Old St Paul's Cathedral . His successor, Sir Christopher Wren , an architect and the Member of Parliament for nearby Weymouth, used six million tons of white Portland limestone to rebuild destroyed parts of
10440-399: The rest of Dorset. The whole isle was also an ancient parish ; the original parish church was St Andrew's at Church Ope Cove on the east side of the island, which was replaced by St George's Church in the eighteenth century after St Andrew's was damaged by landslips. The isle was gradually divided into smaller ecclesiastical parishes , but remained a single civil parish . The parish
10556-610: The same time, a new headquarters for the Admiralty Gunnery Establishment (AGE), which had transferred to Portland from Teddington , was built at Southwell between 1949 and 1952; it, however, transferred again in 1959 (to Portsdown Hill ), allowing the building to be taken over by the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE), formed from an amalgamation of different establishments from different parts of
10672-651: The ship left Portland under tow in 2010, bound for Nigeria, to be refurbished for use as an oil industry accommodation vessel. Portland Port Group became Statutory Harbour Authority for Portland Harbour on 1 January 1998, replacing the Queen's Harbour Master . In 2004 changes led to Portland Harbour Authority Ltd becoming the Statutory and Competent Harbour Authority and Portland Port Ltd the Port Operator. The commercial port has expanded since its initial establishment;
10788-501: The ship. Although mortally wounded he continued to fire his gun against the attackers until he died. Mantle is buried in Portland's Royal Naval Cemetery , which overlooks the harbour. In 1940–41, the Portland Naval Communication Headquarters was constructed, built into the hillside at the rear of the dockyard. In January 1941 Osprey moved out of Portland to the relative safety of Dunoon on
10904-408: The structure of the beach, and coastal management schemes that could be built to protect Chiswell and the beach road. In the 1980s it was agreed that a scheme to provide storm protection with a 20% annual exceedance probability to reduce flood depth and duration in more severe storms. Hard engineering techniques were employed in the scheme, including a gabion running 550 metres (600 yd) to
11020-456: The surface facilities should be complete to store the first gas in 2011, and the entire cavern space available for storage in winter 2013. As part of the £350 million scheme, the Grade II listed former Old Engine Shed would be converted into a £1.5 million educational centre with a café and an exhibition space about the geology of Portland. Portland Bill is the southern tip of
11136-479: The tied island produce a temperate climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfb ) with a small variation in daily and annual temperatures. The average annual mean temperature from 1991 to 2020 was 11.5 °C (52.7 °F). The warmest month is August, which has an average temperature range of 14.8 to 19.5 °C (58.6 to 67.1 °F), and the coolest is February, which has a range of 4.7 to 8.4 °C (40.5 to 47.1 °F). Mean winter temperatures are amongst
11252-426: The two breakwaters began in 1849 when HRH Prince Albert laid the foundation stone on 25 July. Designed by engineer James Meadows Rendel , the work was carried out under civil engineer John Towlerton Leather , with Rendel as engineer in chief (until his death in 1856), and John Coode as resident engineer. During 1848, HM Prison Portland was established to provide convict labour to quarry the stone needed to construct
11368-444: The water include specialist diving services for vessels and repairs and maintenance, as well as a bunkering (fuelling) station. The port is used by all kinds of vessels, from commercial ships such as bulkers, tankers, container carriers car carriers, survey and reefers etc. to British and foreign naval vessels. Commercial activities on the land of the dock estate include fuel storage, natural gas storage, several engineering facilities and
11484-535: The west coast of Scotland; the experimental section operated as a sub-division of Osprey , known as HM Anti-Submarine Experimental Establishment, in Fairlie, North Ayrshire . In the meantime the Portland was redesignated to serve as a Coastal Forces base, commissioned under the name HMS Attack . On 1 May 1944, the harbour was commissioned as USNAAB Portland-Weymouth. Both Portland and Weymouth were major embarkation points for American troops during D-Day, particularly
11600-733: Was believed to have cost the area 4,500 jobs, along with a loss of £40 million in the area's economy, according to a study carried out for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council in 1995. Langham Industries bought the site from the Ministry of Defence in 1996. As of 2016, the harbour is the fourth largest human-made port in the world, after the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, Ras Laffan Harbour in Qatar and Cherbourg Harbour in France. The breakwaters lead to
11716-480: Was carried out within the dockyard itself: namely in a pair of sheds on the inner breakwater and in what had been the Admiralty Slaughter Houses (just to the south, at Balaclava Bay ), which were swiftly converted into workshops. The dockyard swimming pool was also put to use, as a testing tank. Sarepta was decommissioned in December 1919, but the anti-submarine work continued, overseen from
11832-411: Was commissioned as HMS Sarepta . Under its command, a 'listening school' was established to help develop hydrophone underwater listening devices and other anti-submarine measures, and to train personnel in their use. The school initially operated from temporary accommodation in Weymouth , before moving in 1918 to a site at East Weare, just south of the Dockyard. Meanwhile, the experimental work
11948-549: Was created for the former urban district, with its council taking the name Portland Town Council. The town council continued to be based at the old urban district council's building at Fortuneswell until 2016. In 2019, the borough of Weymouth and Portland was abolished when Dorset moved to a unitary authority structure of local government. Portland forms part of the South Dorset parliamentary constituency , created in 1885. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament;
12064-561: Was due to begin, intended to be completed by May 2023. In April 2023, the Government of the United Kingdom announced highly controversial plans to moor the Bibby Stockholm , on charter from Bibby Marine, at the port to accommodate 500 asylum seekers. The harbour is a popular location for Kiteboarding , wind surfing , wreck diving and sailing . Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy which hosted sailing events in
12180-478: Was envisaged primarily as a coaling station for the Royal Navy, being conveniently equidistant from the Royal Navy's two principal bases at Portsmouth and Devonport ; however it was also where the Channel Squadron was based, newly re-formed in 1858. In the 20th century, Portland became increasingly renowned for its training and research facilities. Coaling facilities were initially integrated into
12296-406: Was established in 1905. Built by Chance Brothers , initially it displayed a white flash every five seconds and had a visible range of 14 nmi (26 km; 16 mi). It was also provided with a fog bell , sounding once every ten seconds in foggy weather. The light was originally lit by oil, later changed to gas and is today lit electrically with a modern LED lamp. The light was owned by
12412-653: Was featured in The Trumpet-Major (1880). The cottage that now houses Portland Museum was the inspiration for the heroine's house in The Well-Beloved . Portlanders were expert stone-throwers in the defence of their land, and Hardy's Isle of Slingers is heavily based on Portland; the Street of Wells representing Fortuneswell and The Beal Portland Bill. Hardy also called Portland the Gibraltar of
12528-532: Was formed (1848–1905) by the construction of breakwaters, but before that the natural anchorage had hosted ships of the Royal Navy for more than 500 years. It was "the home of the Asdics," a centre for Admiralty research into asdic submarine detection and underwater weapons from 1917 to 1998; the shore base HMS Serepta was renamed HMS Osprey in 1927. During the Second World War Portland
12644-509: Was herself replaced in 1873 by HMS Trafalgar , which took on the same name. In 1882 an onshore training complex was built, above the dockyard on Portland Bill. As the Royal Navy grew in size towards the end of the 19th century, additional accommodation was required for boys' training, which saw the arrival of HMS Minotaur in 1898 and Agincourt in 1904; they were named Boscawen II and Boscawen III respectively. The training establishment closed in 1906; while Boscawen (ex- Trafalgar )
12760-480: Was made a local government district in 1867, governed by an elected local board. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts in 1894. In 1933/1934, Portland Urban District Council built itself a new headquarters at 3 Fortuneswell. Portland Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 to become part of the borough of Weymouth and Portland . A successor parish
12876-424: Was naturally sheltered by the south coast of England, Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland , providing refuge for ships against weather in all directions except east. The harbour had already been used by ships for centuries when, in the 16th century, King Henry VIII built Portland Castle and Sandsfoot Castle to defend the anchorage. Prompted by the expansion of the French naval port of Cherbourg , just across
12992-577: Was sold, Boscawen II and Boscawen III were transferred to Harwich and subsequently attached to HMS Ganges . The increasing threat of conflict with Germany before the Great War erupted saw the arrival of the Dreadnoughts in Portland, while seaplanes began to operate in Portland's skies. King George V watched aerial displays from the royal yacht in the harbour in May 1912. This occasion saw
13108-743: Was the Inner Pierhead Fort , and on the outer breakwater the circular Breakwater Fort . On Weymouth 's side of the harbour, the Nothe Fort was built at the end of the Nothe Peninsula, and completed in 1872. In 1892, the Verne High Angle Battery was built in a disused quarry near the Verne Citadel, but was decommissioned in 1906. As part of further defence works against the threat of torpedo attack,
13224-456: Was the target of 48 air raids and a total of 532 bombs, although most warships had moved north as Portland was within enemy striking range across the Channel. Mulberry Harbour Phoenix Units can be seen at Black Barge beach, near Portland Castle . Portland was a major embarkation point for Allied forces on D-Day in 1944. Early helicopters were stationed at Portland in 1946–1948, and in 1959
13340-579: Was used for the 2012 Olympic Games . The name Portland is used for one of the British Sea Areas , and has been exported as the name of several North American and Australian towns, such as Portland, Victoria , and Portland, Oregon ; the latter of which was named after the city in Maine , which named itself after the isle. The name is also used for a popular street in Kowloon, Hong Kong , and
13456-443: Was used for torpedo testing and practice firing. The factory closed in 1997 and was cleared to make way for a housing development named Whitehead Drive, which includes a memorial stone and plaque to commemorate the factory. In 1862 HMS Britannia was moored at Portland to serve as a training ship for naval cadets. She was replaced by HMS Boscawen in 1866 (following Britannia ' s relocation to Dartmouth). Boscawen
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