Portland

The Isle of Portland in Dorset, England is south of the resort of Weymouth and has a population of 13,000. It is a huge block of limestone measuring 4.5 miles by 1.75 miles rising to a height of 400 feet above sea level in the north and is reached over a narrow causeway from Chesil Beach.

The famous Portland Stone is quarried on the island and has been used for many well-known buildings including St Paul's Cathedral and the United Nations Building in New York. As Portland is a Royal Manor, many of the quarries are owned by the crown. The English designer and architect Sir Christopher Wren, who at one time was MP for nearby Weymouth, used Portland Stone to rebuild London after the Great Fire. It took over six million tons to rebuild many of the buildings and was transported by barges along the coast to the River Thames. As well as the hundreds of thousands of gravestones produced for those who fell on the Western Front during the Second World War, there were also half a million headstones for the Commonwealth war cemeteries in the same area. Even the Whitehall Cenotaph itself is Portland Stone.

The history of Portland Castle is diverse and fascinating. Overlooking Portland Harbour, it was built by Henry VIII to defend the anchorage against possible French and Spanish invasion. Squat in appearance, it is typical of artillery forts built in the 1540's. Although the exterior of fortress remains relatively unchanged, the interior has undergone much in the way of alteration. Portland Castle first witnessed serious fighting during the Civil War, when it was seized by both Parliamentarians and Royalists. During WW1 it became a Seaplane Station and later on the forefront of the D-Day preparations which helped to end World War II.

Portland has always had strong links with the sea, in fact the Spanish Armada was fought in the sea off of Portland, however, in the end it was the stormy conditions of the English Channel that eventually defeated the Spanish. The treacherous waters around the Island have led to many shipwrecks, but despite their infamous reputation for smuggling and plundering, local fishermen often risked their lives rescuing passengers and crew from stricken vessels. A series of light houses have been built in the last 300 years, each designed to assist the safe passage of ships navigating the English Channel. The present Lighthouse was built in 1905 and is 120 feet high. It was fully automated during the 1990's and a red sector light warns mariners of the hazardous Shambles Bank that lies three miles offshore.

Portland is a regular stop-over for migratory birds with over 300 species recorded. The island is also home to 30 species of butterfly and 720 species of moth. The disused quarries contain unique niche environments which have become colonized by many nationally rare plants and animals. The thin calcareous soils are favoured by many orchids such as the pyramidal orchid which grow here in their hundreds.