View allAll Photos Tagged Maisonettes
Naturally any staircase is a sort of machine to climb up or to descend, but in the best Beaux Arts interpretation it is a display, it is a dance; and it certainly enriches the conception of human surroundings and the body if architecture can bring in everyday experience a sort of ballet-like quality—semi-poetic choice—in what otherwise is a purely utilitarian conception… the purpose is not only to climb up and down—it is also to enjoy it in a sort of organic way. Lubetkin
Grade II* listed. Block of 130 flats and maisonettes. First scheme designed 1946, present design from 1949 onwards, built 1951-4, by Skinner, Bailey and Lubetkin.
Bevin Court was the last of three schemes by Skinner, Bailey and Lubetkin for Finsbury Metropolitan Borough, where they had first been commissioned to design new housing in 1937. It replaced bombed housing in Holford Square, and Lubetkin was particularly interested in the fact that it had been home in 1902-3 to Lenin with whose ideals he had strong sympathies.The final irony came with a demand to re-christen the block after Britain's first foreign secretary of the Cold War; Francis Skinner commented that they only had to redesign two letters of the sign.
The staircase is his most idiosyncratic post-war
achievement. Of all his work it best demonstrates his belief that, 'a staircase is a dance'. It betrays Lubetkin's background in Russian Constructivism, in the work of Melnikov and Leonidov, but can be seen too as a piece of Baroque geometry given the added power of concrete construction. Lubetkin was fascinated by the geometry of what he called the 'baroque' squares of the area, and this was a personal response to what was in fact Georgian town planning.
The stairs were painted this marvellous shade of red in 2014, which was the original colour, prior to that it was white.
www.architecture.com/image-library/ribapix/image-informat...
Used as a location in the opening scene of Esio Trot & The Little Drummer Girl.
Who wouldn't want to live in such a fine and cosy cottage overlooking the ocean? Unfortunately I didn't spot a 'For Sale/To Let' -sign in the front garden...
Part of the Ringland Estate in Newport, South Wales is being re-developed.
Starting with the demolition of a block of maisonettes.
9506-2
Situated on the Bay of Chaleur, the Parish of New Bandon in Gloucester County is named after the town of Bandon in Ireland. The region stretches from Teaques Brook to Maisonette and was settled in 1819 by several families from Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. The area encompasses the communities of Janeville, Clifton, Stonehaven, New Bandon, and Canobie and is approximately 30km from Caraquet.
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Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905–2004 ) 1932
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on the snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by
copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
Naturally any staircase is a sort of machine to climb up or to descend, but in the best Beaux Arts interpretation it is a display, it is a dance; and it certainly enriches the conception of human surroundings and the body if architecture can bring in everyday experience a sort of ballet-like quality—semi-poetic choice—in what otherwise is a purely utilitarian conception… the purpose is not only to climb up and down—it is also to enjoy it in a sort of organic way. Lubetkin
Grade II* listed. Block of 130 flats and maisonettes. First scheme designed 1946, present design from 1949 onwards, built 1951-4, by Skinner, Bailey and Lubetkin.
Bevin Court was the last of three schemes by Skinner, Bailey and Lubetkin for Finsbury Metropolitan Borough, where they had first been commissioned to design new housing in 1937. It replaced bombed housing in Holford Square, and Lubetkin was particularly interested in the fact that it had been home in 1902-3 to Lenin with whose ideals he had strong sympathies.The final irony came with a demand to re-christen the block after Britain's first foreign secretary of the Cold War; Francis Skinner commented that they only had to redesign two letters of the sign.
The staircase is his most idiosyncratic post-war
achievement. Of all his work it best demonstrates his belief that, 'a staircase is a dance'. It betrays Lubetkin's background in Russian Constructivism, in the work of Melnikov and Leonidov, but can be seen too as a piece of Baroque geometry given the added power of concrete construction. Lubetkin was fascinated by the geometry of what he called the 'baroque' squares of the area, and this was a personal response to what was in fact Georgian town planning.
The stairs were painted this marvellous shade of red in 2014, which was the original colour, prior to that it was white.
www.architecture.com/image-library/ribapix/image-informat...
Used as a location for The Little Drummer Girl
The infamous Park Hill Estate, Sheffield - built between 1957 and 1961 as a Utopian "City in the Sky" - now Grade II listed. A collection of 1970s-80s cars in the foreground. Note the old church dwarfed by the modern blocks.
Sheffield Park Hill Estate history
"Park Hill is one of the seven hills on which Sheffield is built. It is south of the River Don, and to the east of the River Sheaf. The estate is on steeply rising land the lower slopes, it is upwind of the former heavily polluting industrial areas of the Don valley.
The concept of the flats was described as streets in the sky. There were four street decks, wide enough for milk floats, with large numbers of front doors opening onto them. This was a key concept of the design. Each deck of the structure, except the top one, has direct access to ground level at some point on the sloping site.
The 995 Park Hill flats and maisonettes, 4 pubs and 31 shops were built in 4 ranges linked by bridges across the upper decks. The ranges were canted at obtuse angles to maximise the panoramic views across the city and the southern Pennines.
Construction of the flats was of an exposed concrete frame with a progression of purple, terracotta, light red and cream brick curtain walling. However, as a result of weathering and soot-staining from passing trains, few people realised this and assumed the building to be constructed entirely from concrete."
More information here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Hill,_Sheffield
Taken using a Soviet made Zenith TTL SLR camera.
You can see a random selection of my photos here at Flickriver: www.flickriver.com/photos/9815422@N06/random/
And I'm gradually posting a chosen selection to my Instagram account: www.instagram.com/street.watcher/?hl=en
Architects: John Partridge and Roy Stout of the LCC, c.1961. Built where the West Alton Estate meets the East Alton Estate, flats and maisonettes over ground-level retail. Now boarded-up pending a regeneration scheme that, I believe, is now on-hold. Roehampton, London Borough of Wandsworth.
(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)
Across much of Europe, even holiday cottages can be classed as a maisonette. However, here in the UK, a maisonette is a self-contained two-floor flat, within a larger building, with its own staircase and entrance.
When I took this photo in early 1970, these maisonettes were part of an Army married quarters estate in Marchwood on the west side of the Solent. They provided housing for the families of NCOs and other ranks working at the nearby Marchwood Military Port. We lived in one of the upper-floor flats but were soon to leave for the first house my parents owned.
Today all the properties on the estate appear to be privately-owned. The wall on the left of the image was on the end of a line of garages. Today, they've all been been replaced with a line of houses; the maisonettes remain.
I'll let someone else try to identify the makes/marques of the cars! (See Mike.Dales below).
Scanned from a slide.
Trellick Tower comprises 217 flats, six shops, an office, youth and women's centres. 1968-72 by Erno Goldfinger. Bush-hammered in-situ reinforced concrete with some pre-cast pebble-finished panels, and timber cladding to balconies. L-shaped block linked by 35 storey service tower semi-freestanding at corner, the main range of 31 storeys and the lower of seven linked to core every third floor. The service core incorporates lifts, stairs and refuse shutes, with a projecting boiler house on the 32nd and 33rd floors. Each third, corridor, floor contains six one-bedroom flats in each wing, with a storey of two-bedroom flats above and below reached off the same level. The 23rd and 24th floors contain five two-storey maisonettes and two flats.
The first of three projects for Camden Council by Benson & Forsyth the estate consisted of a series of maisonettes along with the 9 family houses on Lamble Street. Similar in style to Neave Brown’s Winscombe street houses, they featured a split level design with skylights, roof terraces and gardens.
This shows an interesting additional house built to the same floorplan ( it seems ) but of different materials.
My Photo Zines on Etsy: Etsy: 100 Real People
Original Postcard art on Etsy: Etsy: 100 Real People
Nikon D750 | Nikkor 18-35 f3.5/4.5
Doll - Repainted, Hair restyled - Vincent Anthony Repaints
Fashions - Hilda Westervelt - Bellissima Couture
Trunk apartment design and furnishings - Maryann Roy -Welcome Home
Architects: John Partridge, Roy Stout et al of the LCC, 1961. Roehampton Lane Estate, London Borough of Wandsworth.
(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)
Naturally any staircase is a sort of machine to climb up or to descend, but in the best Beaux Arts interpretation it is a display, it is a dance; and it certainly enriches the conception of human surroundings and the body if architecture can bring in everyday experience a sort of ballet-like quality—semi-poetic choice—in what otherwise is a purely utilitarian conception… the purpose is not only to climb up and down—it is also to enjoy it in a sort of organic way. Lubetkin
Grade II* listed. Block of 130 flats and maisonettes. First scheme designed 1946, present design from 1949 onwards, built 1951-4, by Skinner, Bailey and Lubetkin.
Bevin Court was the last of three schemes by Skinner, Bailey and Lubetkin for Finsbury Metropolitan Borough, where they had first been commissioned to design new housing in 1937. It replaced bombed housing in Holford Square, and Lubetkin was particularly interested in the fact that it had been home in 1902-3 to Lenin with whose ideals he had strong sympathies.The final irony came with a demand to re-christen the block after Britain's first foreign secretary of the Cold War; Francis Skinner commented that they only had to redesign two letters of the sign.
The staircase is his most idiosyncratic post-war achievement. Of all his work it best demonstrates his belief that, 'a staircase is a dance'. It betrays Lubetkin's background in Russian Constructivism, in the work of Melnikov and Leonidov, but can be seen too as a piece of Baroque geometry given the added power of concrete construction. Lubetkin was fascinated by the geometry of what he called the 'baroque' squares of the area, and this was a personal response to what was in fact Georgian town planning.
The stairs were painted this marvellous shade of red in 2014, which was the original colour, prior to that it was white.
Designed by Edward Hollamby, LCC Architect's Department, 1961. As well as six 18-storey point-blocks there were 40 low-rise blocks with shops, library and GP surgery. London Borough of Southwark.
(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)
© Ben Heine || Facebook || Twitter || www.benheine.com
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This is a scenery I captured in Kenya, Africa...
Capitalism is everywhere, is it good or bad?
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For more information about my art: info@benheine.com
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View from Junior suite of Hotel Sezz, Avenue Frémiet, Paris, France, Friday 16 May 2008. This one also makes an excellent greetings card, if you print it in such a way that the two halves of the building (with the drainpipe in the exact middle) open outwards!
C.F. Møller Architects, 2017
The town houses are a part of a large urban development project to transform a former industrial area on the harbour of Stockholm into the city's new high-profile environmental area called Norra Djurgaardsstaden.
The houses, 18 in total, stand right on the edge between the city and a nature reserve, neighbouring a former gasworks turned into a cultural centre and the Husarviken stream. The architecture is inspired by the gasworks’ red bricks and simple geometry as well as by the area's green qualities, expressed in the warm tones of weathering steel facades combined with lighter wooden facades.
The aim of the housing district is to adapt to global climate changes, so that in 2030 the district will no longer make use of fossil fuels. In addition to minimizing energy consumption, the Zenhusen (the Zenhouses) development features quality materials that add a Nordic feel and age with beauty - in terms of facade, interior and landscape. Inside, the homes are bright and transparent, featuring double height living rooms and views to sea and nature. Furthermore, residents have access to private patios, roof terraces, balconies and a more intimate, planted courtyard.
The energy consumption will be minimized by means of the massing of the buildings, for example, the town houses are staggered in order to maximize views and daylight. Also contributing are solutions such as intelligent lighting, solar panels for heating, and heat recovery.
The town houses will feature green roofs, which - along with a landscaped pond in the common yard - collects rainwater, convert CO2, and provide a fertile ground for biodiversity. The sustainable approach is continuous throughout the building life cycle - from construction phase to operational phase and a possible later decomposition phase, i.e. Cradle to Cradle Design.
www.cfmoller.com/p/-en/Zenhouses-high-profile-environment...
Keeling House
Denys Lasdun
Hackney, London
Built 1957
Grade II* Listed
Nikon D750 | Nikkor 18/35 f3.5/4.5
It is hard to credit this is a path in the middle of a housing estate in Berlin. Ziedlung Lindenhof was set up 100 years ago as a settlement to provide a garden city on a co operative basis. It is hard to understate the success considering Germany was going through hyper inflation post WWI but today it is a shing example of what can be done.
1925/2025.
Architecture by Martin Wagner, Bruno Taut and Leberecht Migge
Idea of the garden city
Groundbreaking for the historic settlement took place in December 1918 at the end of the First World War. It was developed under the direction of the then Schöneberg city architect Martin Wagner (1885–1957) and was based on the concept of a garden city. Due to its location and architecture, the settlement appears self-contained, as evidenced by the gate-like entrances on Reglinstrasse and Röblingstrasse. As a former garden city, Lindenhof is characterized today by its park-like open spaces with mature trees and its own pond, which emerged from a glacial pool. At the time of its construction, the area surrounding Lindenhof had a more rural character.
Light, air and greenery
The Lindenhof – a pioneering housing project with exemplary character – was distinguished above all by its good housing at affordable prices, numerous communal facilities, and the possibility of self-sufficiency in home gardens. Despite the use of two standard houses, a coherent residential area emerged as an alternative to the airless and dark living conditions of the Berlin tenement blocks of the time. 127 four-family and 75 single-family homes were built. The architectural demands of creating decent living space with light, air, and greenery were realized here.
Lindenhof is GeWoSüd's largest residential complex. Approximately 1,500 members and their families live in Lindenhof, the cooperative's oldest location. Lindenhof comprises 232 buildings with a total of 1,262 apartments, including 163 multi-family homes and 69 single-family homes.
Extensive renovation work has been underway throughout the Lindenhof complex since 2007. In addition to the renovation of many apartments in multi-family buildings, modern attic apartments with a maisonette style were created in the historic Lindenhof buildings.
GeWoSüd's housing options in Lindenhof range from one-room apartments of 28 square meters to six-room apartments of 180 square meters to terraced houses with private gardens.
LCC Architect's Department, Housing Division, 1955, part of the Loughborough Estate council housing development. The estate provided over 1,000 dwellings in medium and low-rise modernist blocks of flats and maisonettes. Loughborough Junction, London Borough of Lambeth.
There are two streets of maisonettes with very similar doors in de Walden Street and Wheatley Street, Marylebone. They look nineteen fifties to me.
Les maisonettes, le quai, les barques, la propriété - tout appartient à mon club touristique.
This magnificent place belongs to my tourist association, Telemark Turistforening.
Sildevika er turisthytte på et nedlagt småbruk ca 10 kilometer sør for Porsgrunn.
Skoleklasser og pensjonister drar ofte hit.
Doll - Repainted, Hair restyled - Vincent Anthony Repaints
Fashions - Hilda Westervelt - Bellissima Couture
Trunk apartment design and furnishings - Maryann Roy -Welcome Home
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When the London Flickr Group visited the Barbican back in March we had an overcast sky and as a result I limited the amount of sky in the frame in most of the shots I took.
If you'd be interested in joining us for future photowalks then I'd suggest you join the London group and keep an eye out for announcements : www.flickr.com/groups/londonflickrgroup/
Click here to see more of my London architecture shots : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72157635041185106
From Wikipedia, "The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, maisonettes, and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and densely populated by financial institutions, 1.4 miles (2.2 km) north east of Charing Cross. Originally built as rental housing for middle and upper-middle-class professionals, it remains an upmarket residential estate. It contains, or is adjacent to, the Barbican Arts Centre, the Museum of London, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Barbican public library, the City of London School for Girls and a YMCA (now closed), forming the Barbican Complex.
The Barbican Complex is a prominent example of British brutalist architecture and is Grade II listed as a whole, with the exception of the former Milton Court, which once contained a fire station, medical facilities, and some flats, but was demolished to allow the construction of a new apartment tower—named The Heron—which also provides additional facilities for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama."
© D.Godliman
This is a five-frame panoramic view of the Cromwell Tower, one of three on the Barbican Estate.
It ws completed in January 1973 by John Laing Construction Ltd., as part of the third phase of the building programme for the estate. It is 43 stories tall, consisting of a garage level, a street foyer level, 38 stories of flats and two floors of penthouses.
There are a total of 108 flats (three per floor) and three penthouse maisonettes. The living room of each flat is in the corner of the triangular structure.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, 6 kilometres (4 mi) long by 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) wide, in the English Channel. Portland is 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and Weymouth together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The population of Portland is almost 13,000.
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. Its name is used for one of the British Sea Areas, and has been exported as the name of North American and Australian towns. Portland stone, famous for its use in British and world architecture, including St Paul's Cathedral and the United Nations Headquarters, continues to be quarried.
Portland Harbour, in the bay between Portland and Weymouth, is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. The harbour was formed 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, which will be used for the 2012 Olympic Games.
History
Portland has been inhabited since at least the Mesolithic period (the Middle Stone Age)—there is archaeological evidence of Mesolithic inhabitants near Portland Bill,[2] and of inhabitation in ages since. The Romans occupied Portland, reputedly calling it Vindelis.[3][4] In 1539 King Henry VIII ordered the construction of Portland Castle for defence against attacks by the French; the castle cost £4,964.[5] It is one of the best preserved castles from this period, and is open to the public by the custodians English Heritage.[6]
Sir Christopher Wren, the architect and Member of Parliament for nearby Weymouth, used six million tons of white Portland limestone to rebuild destroyed parts of London after the Great Fire of London of 1666. Well-known buildings in the capital, including St Paul's Cathedral[7] and the eastern front of Buckingham Palace feature the stone.[8] 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,[4] and after the Second World War hundreds of thousands of gravestones were hewn for the fallen soldiers on the Western Front.[4] Portland cement has nothing to do with Portland; it was named such due to its similar colour to Portland stone when mixed with lime and sand.[9]
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 a pier at Castletown, from where the Portland stone was shipped around the country.[10] 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.[11] At the end of the 19th century the line was extended to the top of the island as the Easton and Church Hope Railway, running through Castletown and ascending the cliffs at East Weares, to loop back north to a station in Easton.[10] The line closed to passengers in 1952, and the final goods train (and two passenger 'specials') ran in April 1965.[11]
The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck stationed a lifeboat at Portland in 1826, but it was withdrawn in 1851.[12] Coastal flooding has affected Portland's residents and transport for centuries—the only way off the island 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.[13] Following two severe flood events in the 1970s, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and Wessex Water decided to investigate the structure of the beach, and possible coastal management schemes that could be built to protect Chiswell and the beach road. In the 1980s it was agreed that a scheme to protect against a one-in-five year storm would be practicable; it would reduce flood depth and duration in more severe storms.[13] Hard engineering techniques were employed in the scheme, including a gabion beach crest running 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) to 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.[13]
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.[14] Portland Harbour 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 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.[15] During the Second World War Portland was the target of heavy bombing, although most warships had moved North as Portland was within enemy striking range across the Channel. 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 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).[15] There are still two prisons on Portland, HMP The Verne, which until 1949 was a huge Victorian military fortress, and a Young Offenders' Institution (HMYOI) on the Grove clifftop. This was the original prison built for convicts who quarried stone for the Portland Breakwaters from 1848. For a few years until 2005 Britain's only prison ship, HMP Weare, was berthed in the harbour.
The naval base closed after the end of the Cold War in 1995, and 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.[15] MRCC Portland's area of responsibility extends 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).[16] The 12 Search and Rescue teams in the Portland area dealt with almost 1000 incidents in 2005;
Governance
Portland is an ancient Royal Manor, and until the 19th century remained a separate liberty within Dorset for administration purposes. It was an urban district from 1894 to 1974, until the borough of Weymouth and Portland formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. This merged the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis with Portland urban district. For local elections the borough is divided into 15 wards, and three of them cover Portland.[18] Elections take place in a four-year cycle; one third of the councillors in all but three wards retire or seek re-election in years one, two and three, and county council elections are held in year four.[19]
The Mayor of Weymouth and Portland is Paul Kimber (Labour Co-operative), and Graham Winter (Liberal Democrat) is Deputy Mayor.[20] Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency, created in 1885. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament; the current MP is Richard Drax (Conservative).[21] South Dorset, the rest of the South West England, and Gibraltar are in the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.[22]
Weymouth and Portland have been twinned with the town of Holzwickede in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany since 1986,[23] and the French town of Louviers, in the department of Eure in Normandy, since 1959.[24] The borough and nearby Chickerell have been a Fairtrade Zone for three years.
Geography
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 (50.55, −2.44). Portland is situated approximately half-way 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.[26] 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 the mainland at Abbotsbury by Chesil Beach, a tombolo which runs 29 kilometres (18 mi) north-west to West Bay.[27] 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).[28]
There are eight settlements on Portland, the largest being Fortuneswell in Underhill and Easton on Tophill. Castletown and Chiswell are 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 architecture; the natural and man-made environment and the proximity to the sea give Portland overal character which is quite distinct.
Geology
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.[29] The geology of Underhill 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.[29]
2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) Underneath south Dorset lies a layer of Triassic rock salt, and Portland is one of four locations in the United Kingdom where the salt is thick enough to create stable cavities.[30][31] Portland Gas has applied to excavate 14 caverns to store 1,000,000,000 cubic metres (3.5×1010 cu ft) of natural gas, which is 1 % of the UK’s total annual demand.[30][31] The caverns will be connected to the National gas grid at Mappowder via a 37-kilometre (23 mi) pipeline.[30][31] The surface facilities will be complete to store the first gas in 2011, and the entire cavern space should be available for storage in winter 2013.[31] As part of the £350 million scheme,[30] a Grade II listed former engine shed is being converted into an £1.5 million educational centre with a café and an exhibition space about the geology of Portland.
Portland Bill
Portland Bill is the southern tip of the island of Portland. The Bill has three lighthouse towers: The Higher Lighthouse is now a dwelling and holiday apartments; the Lower Lighthouse is now a bird observatory and field centre 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 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.[33] As of June 2009, the lighthouse uses a 1 kW metal-halide US-made lamp with an operational life of about 4000 hours, or 14 months. Two earlier lighthouses stand further inland: one is an important observatory used by ornithologists, providing records of bird migration and accommodation for visitors.[33][34]
Portland Ledge (the Shambles) 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 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.[35] The current only stops for brief periods during the 12½ hour tidal cycle and can reach 4 metres per second (8 kn) at the spring tide of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in).
Ecology
Due to its isolated coastal location, 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.[26][34] Sea and migratory birds occupy the cliffs in different seasons, sometimes these include rare species which draw ornithologists from around the country.[26][36] Rare visitors to the surrounding seas include dolphins, seals and basking sharks.[34] 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.[36] A number of British primitive goats have recently[when?] been introduced to the East Weares part of the island to control scrub.[37]
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.[34] Portland Sea Lavender can be found on the higher sea cliffs—unique to Portland it is one of the United Kingdom's rarest plants.[38] 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.[26] Species live on Portland that are rare in the United Kingdom, including the limestone race of the Silver Studded Blue.
Climate
The mild seas which almost surround the tied island produce a temperate climate (Koppen climate classification Cfb) with a small variation in daily and annual temperatures. The average annual mean temperature from 1971 to 2000 was 10.2 to 12 °C (50.4 to 53.6 °F).[40] The warmest month is August, which has an average temperature range of 13.3 to 20.4 °C (56 to 69 °F), and the coolest is February, which has a range of 3.1 to 8.3 °C (38 to 47 °F).[41] Maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year are above England's average,[42] and Portland is in AHS Heat zone 1.[B] Mean sea surface temperatures range from 7.0 °C (44.6 °F) in February to 17.2 °C (63.0 °F) in August; 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 winter frost rare: on average eight times per year — this is far below the United Kingdom's average annual total of 55.6 days of frost.[45][46] Days with snow lying are equally rare: on average zero to six days per year;[47] almost all winters have one day or less with snow lying. It may snow or sleet in winter, yet it almost never settles on the ground[41]—coastal areas in South West England such as Portland experience the mildest winters in the UK.[48] Portland is less affected by the Atlantic storms that Devon and Cornwall experience. The growing season in Weymouth and Portland lasts from nine to twelve months per year,[D] and the borough is in Hardiness zone 9b.[49][E]
Weymouth and Portland, and the rest of the south coast,[50] has the sunniest climate in the United Kingdom.[26][51] The borough averaged 1768.4 hours of sunshine annually between 1971 and 2000,[41] which is over 40 % of the maximum possible,[C] and 32 % above the United Kingdom average of 1339.7 hours.[45] Four of the last nine years have had more than 2000 hours of sunshine.[41] December is the cloudiest and wettest month (55.7 hours of sunshine, 90.9 millimetres (3.6 in) of rain) and July is the sunniest and driest (235.1 hours of sunshine, 35.6 millimetres (1.4 in) of rain).[41] Sunshine totals in all months are well above the United Kingdom average,[45] and monthly rainfall totals throughout the year are less than the UK average, particularly in summer;[45] this summer minimum of rainfall is not experienced away from the south coast of England.[50] The average annual rainfall of 751.7 millimetres (29.6 in) is well below the UK average of 1,125 millimetres (44.3 in).
Demography
Religion
%[52][F]
Buddhist
0.21
Christian
74.67
Hindu
0.03
Jewish
0.12
Muslim
0.30
No religion
15.89
Other
0.32
Sikh
0.03
Not stated8.43
AgePercentage[1]
0–1519.4
16–173.1
18–4438.3
45–5920.6
60–8417.2
85+1.5
The mid-year population of Portland in 2005 was 12,710;[A] this figure has remained around twelve to thirteen thousand since the 1970s. In 2005 there were 5,474 dwellings in an area of 11.5 square kilometres (2,840 acres), giving an approximate population density of 1100 people per km2 (4.5 per acre).[1] The population is almost entirely native to England—96.8 % of residents are of white ethnicity.[1] House prices in Weymouth and Portland are relatively high by UK standards, yet around average for most of the south of England—the average price of a detached house in 2007 was £327,569; semi-detached and terraced houses were cheaper, at £230,932 and £190,073 respectively, and an apartment or maisonette cost £168,727.[53][G]
Crime rates are below that of Weymouth and the United Kingdom—there were 9.1 burglaries per 1000 households in 2005 and 2006; which is higher than South West England (8.9 per 1000) but lower than England and Wales (13.5 per 1000).[1] Unemployment levels are lower in summer than the winter—1.8 % of the economically active population in July 2006 were not employed, and 5.3 % were unemployed year-round,[1] the same as the United Kingdom average.[54] The largest religion in Weymouth and Portland is Christianity, at almost 74.7 %,[52] which is slightly above the UK average of 71.6 %.[55] The next-largest sector is those with no religion, at almost 15.9 %,[52] also slightly above the UK average of 15.5 %.[
Transport
The A354 road is now the only land based access to the peninsula; formerly a railway ran alongside it. The road connects to Weymouth and the A35 trunk road in Dorchester. The road runs from Easton, splitting into 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.
Local buses are run by FirstGroup, which has services from Portland to Weymouth town centre.[56] Weymouth serves as the hub for south Dorset bus routes; providing services to Dorchester and local villages.[56] Weymouth is connected to towns and villages along the Jurassic Coast by the Jurassic Coast Bus service, which runs along the route of 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Exeter to Poole, through Sidford, Beer, Seaton, Lyme Regis, Charmouth, Bridport, Abbotsbury, Weymouth, Wool, and Wareham.[57] Travellers can catch trains from Weymouth to London and Bristol, and ferries to the French port of St Malo, and the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey.[58]
There is a short airstrip and heliport just north of Fortuneswell at the northern end of the Isle.
Education
The Chesil Education Partnership pyramid area operates in south Dorset, and includes five infant schools, four junior schools, twelve primary schools, four secondary schools and two special schools.[1] 69.8 % of Portland residents have qualifications, which is slightly below the Dorset average of 73.8 %.[1] 10.2% of residents have higher qualifications (Level 4+), less than the Dorset average of 18.3 %.[1]
There are two infant schools on Portland—Brackenbury Infant School in Fortuneswell and Grove Infant School.[59] Portland has one junior school Underhill Community Junior School in Fortuneswell, (a second junior school, Tophill Junior School was absorbed into St George's Primary School in 2006) and two primary schools, St George's Primary School in Weston and Southwell Primary School.[59] Royal Manor Arts College in Weston is Portland's only secondary school,[1] however it has no sixth form centre. In 2007, 57 % of RMAC students gained five or more grade A* to C GCSEs.[60]
Some students commute to Weymouth to study A-Levels, or to attend the other three secondary schools in the Chesil Education Partnership. Budmouth College in Chickerell has a sixth form centre which had 296 students in 2006.[61] Weymouth College in Melcombe Regis is a further education college which has around 7,500 students from south west England and overseas,[62] about 1500 studying A-Level courses.[61] In 2006, Budmouth students received an average of 647.6 UCAS points, and Weymouth College students gained 614.1.[61] Some secondary and A-Level students commute to Dorchester to attend The Thomas Hardye School; in 2007, 79% of Hardye school students received five or more A* to C GCSEs, and 78 % of all A-Level results were A to C grades
Culture
Sport and recreation
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.[64] Weymouth and Portland regularly host local, national and international sailing events in their waters; these include 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.[65]
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.[66] However, as part of the South West of England Regional Development Agency's plans to redevelop Osprey Quay, a new 600-berth marina and an extension with more on-site facilities will be built.[67] 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.[68][69][70][71][72]
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, diving to shipwrecks, snorkelling, canoeing, and swimming.[73] 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 is the most common style.[74] 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.
Rabbits
Rabbits have long been associated with bad luck on Portland; use of the name is still taboo—the creatures are often referred to as "Underground Mutton", "Long-Eared Furry Things" or just "bunnies".[76] 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.[77] If a rabbit was seen in a quarry, the workers would pack up and go home for the day, until the safety of the area had been assured.[76] Local fishermen too would refuse to go to sea if the word was mentioned.
Even today older Portland residents are 'offended' (sometimes for the benefit of tourists) at the mention of rabbits;[77] 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 the Were-Rabbit. In respect of local beliefs the adverts omitted the word 'rabbit' and replaced the film's title with the phrase "Something bunny is going on"
Literature
Thomas Hardy called Portland the Isle of Slingers in his novels; the isle was the main setting of The Well-Beloved (1897), and was featured in The Trumpet-Major (1880).[78] 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 named Portland the Gibraltar of the North, with reference to its similarities with Gibraltar; its physical geography, isolation, comparatively mild climate, and Underhill's winding streets.[79]
In The Warlord Chronicles (1995-97), Bernard Cornwell makes Portland the Isle of the Dead, a place of internal exile, where the causeway was guarded to keep the 'dead' (people suffering insanity) from crossing the Fleet and returning to the mainland. No historical evidence exists to support this idea.[80]
The Portland Chronicles series of four children's books, set on and around Portland and Weymouth and written by local author Carol Hunt, draw on local history to explore a seventeenth century world of smuggling, witchcraft, piracy and local intrigue.
Vernacular
Bunnies - see above.
Kimberlin: slang for any 'strangers' not from the Island.[82]
Portland screw: fossil mollusc (Aptyxiella portlandica) with a long screw-like shell or its cast
Notable persons born here
•Edgar F. Codd (August 23, 1923 – April 18, 2003), British computer scientist and inventor of the relational model for database management.
•Former Premier League referee Paul Durkin.
This view is taken from the podium level (one floor above ground level) from under the junction of Gilbert House (crossing the lake to my left) and Andrewes House (running parallel to the lake to my right), looking north-east.
In the foreground is the Barbican Water Gardens. The lake isn't just for show; it was designed to provide cooling for the Barbican Centre's air-conditioning. It is replenished by rainfall but can be topped up from hydrants. The water is completely recirculated every two days - and there are some big fish in there...
The terrace and low building beyond on the left of shot is the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, which includes a theatre and concert hall for use by the students. Beyond the end of the lake is Brandon Mews, completed in November 1969, a small terrace containing 26 two-storey homes clad in glazed engineering brick. Within the Barbican it is unusual as all of the residences are below podium level (the level I was stood on. They face out onto the Barbican Water Garden and Speed Garden (between the School and Brandon Mews). Behind Brandon Mews is Willoughby House which contains 148 flats and maisonettes, all on six floors above podium level. The car park beneath podium level extends over three floors. At the left end of Willoughby House, the dogleg to the left is Speed House, the first Barbican block to be completed, in July 1969. Its seven stories contained 114 flats, maisonettes and penthouses, varying in size from 2-5 rooms. One of the floors of maisonettes is below the podium level.
The first of three projects for Camden Council by Benson & Forsyth the estate consisted of a series of maisonettes along with the 9 family houses on Lamble Street. Similar in style to Neave Brown’s Winscombe street houses, they featured a split level design with skylights, roof terraces and gardens.
Nikon D750 | Nikkor 18-35 f3.504.5
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, 6 kilometres (4 mi) long by 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) wide, in the English Channel. Portland is 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and Weymouth together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The population of Portland is almost 13,000.
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. Its name is used for one of the British Sea Areas, and has been exported as the name of North American and Australian towns. Portland stone, famous for its use in British and world architecture, including St Paul's Cathedral and the United Nations Headquarters, continues to be quarried.
Portland Harbour, in the bay between Portland and Weymouth, is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. The harbour was formed 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, which will be used for the 2012 Olympic Games.
History
Portland has been inhabited since at least the Mesolithic period (the Middle Stone Age)—there is archaeological evidence of Mesolithic inhabitants near Portland Bill,[2] and of inhabitation in ages since. The Romans occupied Portland, reputedly calling it Vindelis.[3][4] In 1539 King Henry VIII ordered the construction of Portland Castle for defence against attacks by the French; the castle cost £4,964.[5] It is one of the best preserved castles from this period, and is open to the public by the custodians English Heritage.[6]
Sir Christopher Wren, the architect and Member of Parliament for nearby Weymouth, used six million tons of white Portland limestone to rebuild destroyed parts of London after the Great Fire of London of 1666. Well-known buildings in the capital, including St Paul's Cathedral[7] and the eastern front of Buckingham Palace feature the stone.[8] 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,[4] and after the Second World War hundreds of thousands of gravestones were hewn for the fallen soldiers on the Western Front.[4] Portland cement has nothing to do with Portland; it was named such due to its similar colour to Portland stone when mixed with lime and sand.[9]
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 a pier at Castletown, from where the Portland stone was shipped around the country.[10] 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.[11] At the end of the 19th century the line was extended to the top of the island as the Easton and Church Hope Railway, running through Castletown and ascending the cliffs at East Weares, to loop back north to a station in Easton.[10] The line closed to passengers in 1952, and the final goods train (and two passenger 'specials') ran in April 1965.[11]
The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck stationed a lifeboat at Portland in 1826, but it was withdrawn in 1851.[12] Coastal flooding has affected Portland's residents and transport for centuries—the only way off the island 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.[13] Following two severe flood events in the 1970s, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and Wessex Water decided to investigate the structure of the beach, and possible coastal management schemes that could be built to protect Chiswell and the beach road. In the 1980s it was agreed that a scheme to protect against a one-in-five year storm would be practicable; it would reduce flood depth and duration in more severe storms.[13] Hard engineering techniques were employed in the scheme, including a gabion beach crest running 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) to 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.[13]
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.[14] Portland Harbour 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 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.[15] During the Second World War Portland was the target of heavy bombing, although most warships had moved North as Portland was within enemy striking range across the Channel. 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 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).[15] There are still two prisons on Portland, HMP The Verne, which until 1949 was a huge Victorian military fortress, and a Young Offenders' Institution (HMYOI) on the Grove clifftop. This was the original prison built for convicts who quarried stone for the Portland Breakwaters from 1848. For a few years until 2005 Britain's only prison ship, HMP Weare, was berthed in the harbour.
The naval base closed after the end of the Cold War in 1995, and 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.[15] MRCC Portland's area of responsibility extends 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).[16] The 12 Search and Rescue teams in the Portland area dealt with almost 1000 incidents in 2005;
Governance
Portland is an ancient Royal Manor, and until the 19th century remained a separate liberty within Dorset for administration purposes. It was an urban district from 1894 to 1974, until the borough of Weymouth and Portland formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. This merged the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis with Portland urban district. For local elections the borough is divided into 15 wards, and three of them cover Portland.[18] Elections take place in a four-year cycle; one third of the councillors in all but three wards retire or seek re-election in years one, two and three, and county council elections are held in year four.[19]
The Mayor of Weymouth and Portland is Paul Kimber (Labour Co-operative), and Graham Winter (Liberal Democrat) is Deputy Mayor.[20] Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency, created in 1885. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament; the current MP is Richard Drax (Conservative).[21] South Dorset, the rest of the South West England, and Gibraltar are in the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.[22]
Weymouth and Portland have been twinned with the town of Holzwickede in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany since 1986,[23] and the French town of Louviers, in the department of Eure in Normandy, since 1959.[24] The borough and nearby Chickerell have been a Fairtrade Zone for three years.
Geography
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 (50.55, −2.44). Portland is situated approximately half-way 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.[26] 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 the mainland at Abbotsbury by Chesil Beach, a tombolo which runs 29 kilometres (18 mi) north-west to West Bay.[27] 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).[28]
There are eight settlements on Portland, the largest being Fortuneswell in Underhill and Easton on Tophill. Castletown and Chiswell are 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 architecture; the natural and man-made environment and the proximity to the sea give Portland overal character which is quite distinct.
Geology
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.[29] The geology of Underhill 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.[29]
2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) Underneath south Dorset lies a layer of Triassic rock salt, and Portland is one of four locations in the United Kingdom where the salt is thick enough to create stable cavities.[30][31] Portland Gas has applied to excavate 14 caverns to store 1,000,000,000 cubic metres (3.5×1010 cu ft) of natural gas, which is 1 % of the UK’s total annual demand.[30][31] The caverns will be connected to the National gas grid at Mappowder via a 37-kilometre (23 mi) pipeline.[30][31] The surface facilities will be complete to store the first gas in 2011, and the entire cavern space should be available for storage in winter 2013.[31] As part of the £350 million scheme,[30] a Grade II listed former engine shed is being converted into an £1.5 million educational centre with a café and an exhibition space about the geology of Portland.
Portland Bill
Portland Bill is the southern tip of the island of Portland. The Bill has three lighthouse towers: The Higher Lighthouse is now a dwelling and holiday apartments; the Lower Lighthouse is now a bird observatory and field centre 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 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.[33] As of June 2009, the lighthouse uses a 1 kW metal-halide US-made lamp with an operational life of about 4000 hours, or 14 months. Two earlier lighthouses stand further inland: one is an important observatory used by ornithologists, providing records of bird migration and accommodation for visitors.[33][34]
Portland Ledge (the Shambles) 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 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.[35] The current only stops for brief periods during the 12½ hour tidal cycle and can reach 4 metres per second (8 kn) at the spring tide of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in).
Ecology
Due to its isolated coastal location, 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.[26][34] Sea and migratory birds occupy the cliffs in different seasons, sometimes these include rare species which draw ornithologists from around the country.[26][36] Rare visitors to the surrounding seas include dolphins, seals and basking sharks.[34] 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.[36] A number of British primitive goats have recently[when?] been introduced to the East Weares part of the island to control scrub.[37]
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.[34] Portland Sea Lavender can be found on the higher sea cliffs—unique to Portland it is one of the United Kingdom's rarest plants.[38] 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.[26] Species live on Portland that are rare in the United Kingdom, including the limestone race of the Silver Studded Blue.
Climate
The mild seas which almost surround the tied island produce a temperate climate (Koppen climate classification Cfb) with a small variation in daily and annual temperatures. The average annual mean temperature from 1971 to 2000 was 10.2 to 12 °C (50.4 to 53.6 °F).[40] The warmest month is August, which has an average temperature range of 13.3 to 20.4 °C (56 to 69 °F), and the coolest is February, which has a range of 3.1 to 8.3 °C (38 to 47 °F).[41] Maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year are above England's average,[42] and Portland is in AHS Heat zone 1.[B] Mean sea surface temperatures range from 7.0 °C (44.6 °F) in February to 17.2 °C (63.0 °F) in August; 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 winter frost rare: on average eight times per year — this is far below the United Kingdom's average annual total of 55.6 days of frost.[45][46] Days with snow lying are equally rare: on average zero to six days per year;[47] almost all winters have one day or less with snow lying. It may snow or sleet in winter, yet it almost never settles on the ground[41]—coastal areas in South West England such as Portland experience the mildest winters in the UK.[48] Portland is less affected by the Atlantic storms that Devon and Cornwall experience. The growing season in Weymouth and Portland lasts from nine to twelve months per year,[D] and the borough is in Hardiness zone 9b.[49][E]
Weymouth and Portland, and the rest of the south coast,[50] has the sunniest climate in the United Kingdom.[26][51] The borough averaged 1768.4 hours of sunshine annually between 1971 and 2000,[41] which is over 40 % of the maximum possible,[C] and 32 % above the United Kingdom average of 1339.7 hours.[45] Four of the last nine years have had more than 2000 hours of sunshine.[41] December is the cloudiest and wettest month (55.7 hours of sunshine, 90.9 millimetres (3.6 in) of rain) and July is the sunniest and driest (235.1 hours of sunshine, 35.6 millimetres (1.4 in) of rain).[41] Sunshine totals in all months are well above the United Kingdom average,[45] and monthly rainfall totals throughout the year are less than the UK average, particularly in summer;[45] this summer minimum of rainfall is not experienced away from the south coast of England.[50] The average annual rainfall of 751.7 millimetres (29.6 in) is well below the UK average of 1,125 millimetres (44.3 in).
Demography
Religion
%[52][F]
Buddhist
0.21
Christian
74.67
Hindu
0.03
Jewish
0.12
Muslim
0.30
No religion
15.89
Other
0.32
Sikh
0.03
Not stated8.43
AgePercentage[1]
0–1519.4
16–173.1
18–4438.3
45–5920.6
60–8417.2
85+1.5
The mid-year population of Portland in 2005 was 12,710;[A] this figure has remained around twelve to thirteen thousand since the 1970s. In 2005 there were 5,474 dwellings in an area of 11.5 square kilometres (2,840 acres), giving an approximate population density of 1100 people per km2 (4.5 per acre).[1] The population is almost entirely native to England—96.8 % of residents are of white ethnicity.[1] House prices in Weymouth and Portland are relatively high by UK standards, yet around average for most of the south of England—the average price of a detached house in 2007 was £327,569; semi-detached and terraced houses were cheaper, at £230,932 and £190,073 respectively, and an apartment or maisonette cost £168,727.[53][G]
Crime rates are below that of Weymouth and the United Kingdom—there were 9.1 burglaries per 1000 households in 2005 and 2006; which is higher than South West England (8.9 per 1000) but lower than England and Wales (13.5 per 1000).[1] Unemployment levels are lower in summer than the winter—1.8 % of the economically active population in July 2006 were not employed, and 5.3 % were unemployed year-round,[1] the same as the United Kingdom average.[54] The largest religion in Weymouth and Portland is Christianity, at almost 74.7 %,[52] which is slightly above the UK average of 71.6 %.[55] The next-largest sector is those with no religion, at almost 15.9 %,[52] also slightly above the UK average of 15.5 %.[
Transport
The A354 road is now the only land based access to the peninsula; formerly a railway ran alongside it. The road connects to Weymouth and the A35 trunk road in Dorchester. The road runs from Easton, splitting into 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.
Local buses are run by FirstGroup, which has services from Portland to Weymouth town centre.[56] Weymouth serves as the hub for south Dorset bus routes; providing services to Dorchester and local villages.[56] Weymouth is connected to towns and villages along the Jurassic Coast by the Jurassic Coast Bus service, which runs along the route of 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Exeter to Poole, through Sidford, Beer, Seaton, Lyme Regis, Charmouth, Bridport, Abbotsbury, Weymouth, Wool, and Wareham.[57] Travellers can catch trains from Weymouth to London and Bristol, and ferries to the French port of St Malo, and the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey.[58]
There is a short airstrip and heliport just north of Fortuneswell at the northern end of the Isle.
Education
The Chesil Education Partnership pyramid area operates in south Dorset, and includes five infant schools, four junior schools, twelve primary schools, four secondary schools and two special schools.[1] 69.8 % of Portland residents have qualifications, which is slightly below the Dorset average of 73.8 %.[1] 10.2% of residents have higher qualifications (Level 4+), less than the Dorset average of 18.3 %.[1]
There are two infant schools on Portland—Brackenbury Infant School in Fortuneswell and Grove Infant School.[59] Portland has one junior school Underhill Community Junior School in Fortuneswell, (a second junior school, Tophill Junior School was absorbed into St George's Primary School in 2006) and two primary schools, St George's Primary School in Weston and Southwell Primary School.[59] Royal Manor Arts College in Weston is Portland's only secondary school,[1] however it has no sixth form centre. In 2007, 57 % of RMAC students gained five or more grade A* to C GCSEs.[60]
Some students commute to Weymouth to study A-Levels, or to attend the other three secondary schools in the Chesil Education Partnership. Budmouth College in Chickerell has a sixth form centre which had 296 students in 2006.[61] Weymouth College in Melcombe Regis is a further education college which has around 7,500 students from south west England and overseas,[62] about 1500 studying A-Level courses.[61] In 2006, Budmouth students received an average of 647.6 UCAS points, and Weymouth College students gained 614.1.[61] Some secondary and A-Level students commute to Dorchester to attend The Thomas Hardye School; in 2007, 79% of Hardye school students received five or more A* to C GCSEs, and 78 % of all A-Level results were A to C grades
Culture
Sport and recreation
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.[64] Weymouth and Portland regularly host local, national and international sailing events in their waters; these include 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.[65]
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.[66] However, as part of the South West of England Regional Development Agency's plans to redevelop Osprey Quay, a new 600-berth marina and an extension with more on-site facilities will be built.[67] 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.[68][69][70][71][72]
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, diving to shipwrecks, snorkelling, canoeing, and swimming.[73] 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 is the most common style.[74] 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.
Rabbits
Rabbits have long been associated with bad luck on Portland; use of the name is still taboo—the creatures are often referred to as "Underground Mutton", "Long-Eared Furry Things" or just "bunnies".[76] 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.[77] If a rabbit was seen in a quarry, the workers would pack up and go home for the day, until the safety of the area had been assured.[76] Local fishermen too would refuse to go to sea if the word was mentioned.
Even today older Portland residents are 'offended' (sometimes for the benefit of tourists) at the mention of rabbits;[77] 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 the Were-Rabbit. In respect of local beliefs the adverts omitted the word 'rabbit' and replaced the film's title with the phrase "Something bunny is going on"
Literature
Thomas Hardy called Portland the Isle of Slingers in his novels; the isle was the main setting of The Well-Beloved (1897), and was featured in The Trumpet-Major (1880).[78] 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 named Portland the Gibraltar of the North, with reference to its similarities with Gibraltar; its physical geography, isolation, comparatively mild climate, and Underhill's winding streets.[79]
In The Warlord Chronicles (1995-97), Bernard Cornwell makes Portland the Isle of the Dead, a place of internal exile, where the causeway was guarded to keep the 'dead' (people suffering insanity) from crossing the Fleet and returning to the mainland. No historical evidence exists to support this idea.[80]
The Portland Chronicles series of four children's books, set on and around Portland and Weymouth and written by local author Carol Hunt, draw on local history to explore a seventeenth century world of smuggling, witchcraft, piracy and local intrigue.
Vernacular
Bunnies - see above.
Kimberlin: slang for any 'strangers' not from the Island.[82]
Portland screw: fossil mollusc (Aptyxiella portlandica) with a long screw-like shell or its cast
Notable persons born here
•Edgar F. Codd (August 23, 1923 – April 18, 2003), British computer scientist and inventor of the relational model for database management.
•Former Premier League referee Paul Durkin.
Doll - Repainted, Hair restyled - Vincent Anthony Repaints
Fashions - Hilda Westervelt - Bellissima Couture
Trunk apartment design and furnishings - Maryann Roy -Welcome Home
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, 6 kilometres (4 mi) long by 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) wide, in the English Channel. Portland is 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and Weymouth together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The population of Portland is almost 13,000.
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. Its name is used for one of the British Sea Areas, and has been exported as the name of North American and Australian towns. Portland stone, famous for its use in British and world architecture, including St Paul's Cathedral and the United Nations Headquarters, continues to be quarried.
Portland Harbour, in the bay between Portland and Weymouth, is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. The harbour was formed 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, which will be used for the 2012 Olympic Games.
History
Portland has been inhabited since at least the Mesolithic period (the Middle Stone Age)—there is archaeological evidence of Mesolithic inhabitants near Portland Bill,[2] and of inhabitation in ages since. The Romans occupied Portland, reputedly calling it Vindelis.[3][4] In 1539 King Henry VIII ordered the construction of Portland Castle for defence against attacks by the French; the castle cost £4,964.[5] It is one of the best preserved castles from this period, and is open to the public by the custodians English Heritage.[6]
Sir Christopher Wren, the architect and Member of Parliament for nearby Weymouth, used six million tons of white Portland limestone to rebuild destroyed parts of London after the Great Fire of London of 1666. Well-known buildings in the capital, including St Paul's Cathedral[7] and the eastern front of Buckingham Palace feature the stone.[8] 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,[4] and after the Second World War hundreds of thousands of gravestones were hewn for the fallen soldiers on the Western Front.[4] Portland cement has nothing to do with Portland; it was named such due to its similar colour to Portland stone when mixed with lime and sand.[9]
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 a pier at Castletown, from where the Portland stone was shipped around the country.[10] 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.[11] At the end of the 19th century the line was extended to the top of the island as the Easton and Church Hope Railway, running through Castletown and ascending the cliffs at East Weares, to loop back north to a station in Easton.[10] The line closed to passengers in 1952, and the final goods train (and two passenger 'specials') ran in April 1965.[11]
The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck stationed a lifeboat at Portland in 1826, but it was withdrawn in 1851.[12] Coastal flooding has affected Portland's residents and transport for centuries—the only way off the island 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.[13] Following two severe flood events in the 1970s, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and Wessex Water decided to investigate the structure of the beach, and possible coastal management schemes that could be built to protect Chiswell and the beach road. In the 1980s it was agreed that a scheme to protect against a one-in-five year storm would be practicable; it would reduce flood depth and duration in more severe storms.[13] Hard engineering techniques were employed in the scheme, including a gabion beach crest running 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) to 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.[13]
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.[14] Portland Harbour 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 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.[15] During the Second World War Portland was the target of heavy bombing, although most warships had moved North as Portland was within enemy striking range across the Channel. 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 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).[15] There are still two prisons on Portland, HMP The Verne, which until 1949 was a huge Victorian military fortress, and a Young Offenders' Institution (HMYOI) on the Grove clifftop. This was the original prison built for convicts who quarried stone for the Portland Breakwaters from 1848. For a few years until 2005 Britain's only prison ship, HMP Weare, was berthed in the harbour.
The naval base closed after the end of the Cold War in 1995, and 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.[15] MRCC Portland's area of responsibility extends 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).[16] The 12 Search and Rescue teams in the Portland area dealt with almost 1000 incidents in 2005;
Governance
Portland is an ancient Royal Manor, and until the 19th century remained a separate liberty within Dorset for administration purposes. It was an urban district from 1894 to 1974, until the borough of Weymouth and Portland formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. This merged the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis with Portland urban district. For local elections the borough is divided into 15 wards, and three of them cover Portland.[18] Elections take place in a four-year cycle; one third of the councillors in all but three wards retire or seek re-election in years one, two and three, and county council elections are held in year four.[19]
The Mayor of Weymouth and Portland is Paul Kimber (Labour Co-operative), and Graham Winter (Liberal Democrat) is Deputy Mayor.[20] Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency, created in 1885. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament; the current MP is Richard Drax (Conservative).[21] South Dorset, the rest of the South West England, and Gibraltar are in the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.[22]
Weymouth and Portland have been twinned with the town of Holzwickede in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany since 1986,[23] and the French town of Louviers, in the department of Eure in Normandy, since 1959.[24] The borough and nearby Chickerell have been a Fairtrade Zone for three years.
Geography
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 (50.55, −2.44). Portland is situated approximately half-way 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.[26] 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 the mainland at Abbotsbury by Chesil Beach, a tombolo which runs 29 kilometres (18 mi) north-west to West Bay.[27] 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).[28]
There are eight settlements on Portland, the largest being Fortuneswell in Underhill and Easton on Tophill. Castletown and Chiswell are 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 architecture; the natural and man-made environment and the proximity to the sea give Portland overal character which is quite distinct.
Geology
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.[29] The geology of Underhill 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.[29]
2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) Underneath south Dorset lies a layer of Triassic rock salt, and Portland is one of four locations in the United Kingdom where the salt is thick enough to create stable cavities.[30][31] Portland Gas has applied to excavate 14 caverns to store 1,000,000,000 cubic metres (3.5×1010 cu ft) of natural gas, which is 1 % of the UK’s total annual demand.[30][31] The caverns will be connected to the National gas grid at Mappowder via a 37-kilometre (23 mi) pipeline.[30][31] The surface facilities will be complete to store the first gas in 2011, and the entire cavern space should be available for storage in winter 2013.[31] As part of the £350 million scheme,[30] a Grade II listed former engine shed is being converted into an £1.5 million educational centre with a café and an exhibition space about the geology of Portland.
Portland Bill
Portland Bill is the southern tip of the island of Portland. The Bill has three lighthouse towers: The Higher Lighthouse is now a dwelling and holiday apartments; the Lower Lighthouse is now a bird observatory and field centre 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 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.[33] As of June 2009, the lighthouse uses a 1 kW metal-halide US-made lamp with an operational life of about 4000 hours, or 14 months. Two earlier lighthouses stand further inland: one is an important observatory used by ornithologists, providing records of bird migration and accommodation for visitors.[33][34]
Portland Ledge (the Shambles) 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 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.[35] The current only stops for brief periods during the 12½ hour tidal cycle and can reach 4 metres per second (8 kn) at the spring tide of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in).
Ecology
Due to its isolated coastal location, 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.[26][34] Sea and migratory birds occupy the cliffs in different seasons, sometimes these include rare species which draw ornithologists from around the country.[26][36] Rare visitors to the surrounding seas include dolphins, seals and basking sharks.[34] 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.[36] A number of British primitive goats have recently[when?] been introduced to the East Weares part of the island to control scrub.[37]
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.[34] Portland Sea Lavender can be found on the higher sea cliffs—unique to Portland it is one of the United Kingdom's rarest plants.[38] 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.[26] Species live on Portland that are rare in the United Kingdom, including the limestone race of the Silver Studded Blue.
Climate
The mild seas which almost surround the tied island produce a temperate climate (Koppen climate classification Cfb) with a small variation in daily and annual temperatures. The average annual mean temperature from 1971 to 2000 was 10.2 to 12 °C (50.4 to 53.6 °F).[40] The warmest month is August, which has an average temperature range of 13.3 to 20.4 °C (56 to 69 °F), and the coolest is February, which has a range of 3.1 to 8.3 °C (38 to 47 °F).[41] Maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year are above England's average,[42] and Portland is in AHS Heat zone 1.[B] Mean sea surface temperatures range from 7.0 °C (44.6 °F) in February to 17.2 °C (63.0 °F) in August; 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 winter frost rare: on average eight times per year — this is far below the United Kingdom's average annual total of 55.6 days of frost.[45][46] Days with snow lying are equally rare: on average zero to six days per year;[47] almost all winters have one day or less with snow lying. It may snow or sleet in winter, yet it almost never settles on the ground[41]—coastal areas in South West England such as Portland experience the mildest winters in the UK.[48] Portland is less affected by the Atlantic storms that Devon and Cornwall experience. The growing season in Weymouth and Portland lasts from nine to twelve months per year,[D] and the borough is in Hardiness zone 9b.[49][E]
Weymouth and Portland, and the rest of the south coast,[50] has the sunniest climate in the United Kingdom.[26][51] The borough averaged 1768.4 hours of sunshine annually between 1971 and 2000,[41] which is over 40 % of the maximum possible,[C] and 32 % above the United Kingdom average of 1339.7 hours.[45] Four of the last nine years have had more than 2000 hours of sunshine.[41] December is the cloudiest and wettest month (55.7 hours of sunshine, 90.9 millimetres (3.6 in) of rain) and July is the sunniest and driest (235.1 hours of sunshine, 35.6 millimetres (1.4 in) of rain).[41] Sunshine totals in all months are well above the United Kingdom average,[45] and monthly rainfall totals throughout the year are less than the UK average, particularly in summer;[45] this summer minimum of rainfall is not experienced away from the south coast of England.[50] The average annual rainfall of 751.7 millimetres (29.6 in) is well below the UK average of 1,125 millimetres (44.3 in).
Demography
Religion
%[52][F]
Buddhist
0.21
Christian
74.67
Hindu
0.03
Jewish
0.12
Muslim
0.30
No religion
15.89
Other
0.32
Sikh
0.03
Not stated8.43
AgePercentage[1]
0–1519.4
16–173.1
18–4438.3
45–5920.6
60–8417.2
85+1.5
The mid-year population of Portland in 2005 was 12,710;[A] this figure has remained around twelve to thirteen thousand since the 1970s. In 2005 there were 5,474 dwellings in an area of 11.5 square kilometres (2,840 acres), giving an approximate population density of 1100 people per km2 (4.5 per acre).[1] The population is almost entirely native to England—96.8 % of residents are of white ethnicity.[1] House prices in Weymouth and Portland are relatively high by UK standards, yet around average for most of the south of England—the average price of a detached house in 2007 was £327,569; semi-detached and terraced houses were cheaper, at £230,932 and £190,073 respectively, and an apartment or maisonette cost £168,727.[53][G]
Crime rates are below that of Weymouth and the United Kingdom—there were 9.1 burglaries per 1000 households in 2005 and 2006; which is higher than South West England (8.9 per 1000) but lower than England and Wales (13.5 per 1000).[1] Unemployment levels are lower in summer than the winter—1.8 % of the economically active population in July 2006 were not employed, and 5.3 % were unemployed year-round,[1] the same as the United Kingdom average.[54] The largest religion in Weymouth and Portland is Christianity, at almost 74.7 %,[52] which is slightly above the UK average of 71.6 %.[55] The next-largest sector is those with no religion, at almost 15.9 %,[52] also slightly above the UK average of 15.5 %.[
Transport
The A354 road is now the only land based access to the peninsula; formerly a railway ran alongside it. The road connects to Weymouth and the A35 trunk road in Dorchester. The road runs from Easton, splitting into 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.
Local buses are run by FirstGroup, which has services from Portland to Weymouth town centre.[56] Weymouth serves as the hub for south Dorset bus routes; providing services to Dorchester and local villages.[56] Weymouth is connected to towns and villages along the Jurassic Coast by the Jurassic Coast Bus service, which runs along the route of 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Exeter to Poole, through Sidford, Beer, Seaton, Lyme Regis, Charmouth, Bridport, Abbotsbury, Weymouth, Wool, and Wareham.[57] Travellers can catch trains from Weymouth to London and Bristol, and ferries to the French port of St Malo, and the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey.[58]
There is a short airstrip and heliport just north of Fortuneswell at the northern end of the Isle.
Education
The Chesil Education Partnership pyramid area operates in south Dorset, and includes five infant schools, four junior schools, twelve primary schools, four secondary schools and two special schools.[1] 69.8 % of Portland residents have qualifications, which is slightly below the Dorset average of 73.8 %.[1] 10.2% of residents have higher qualifications (Level 4+), less than the Dorset average of 18.3 %.[1]
There are two infant schools on Portland—Brackenbury Infant School in Fortuneswell and Grove Infant School.[59] Portland has one junior school Underhill Community Junior School in Fortuneswell, (a second junior school, Tophill Junior School was absorbed into St George's Primary School in 2006) and two primary schools, St George's Primary School in Weston and Southwell Primary School.[59] Royal Manor Arts College in Weston is Portland's only secondary school,[1] however it has no sixth form centre. In 2007, 57 % of RMAC students gained five or more grade A* to C GCSEs.[60]
Some students commute to Weymouth to study A-Levels, or to attend the other three secondary schools in the Chesil Education Partnership. Budmouth College in Chickerell has a sixth form centre which had 296 students in 2006.[61] Weymouth College in Melcombe Regis is a further education college which has around 7,500 students from south west England and overseas,[62] about 1500 studying A-Level courses.[61] In 2006, Budmouth students received an average of 647.6 UCAS points, and Weymouth College students gained 614.1.[61] Some secondary and A-Level students commute to Dorchester to attend The Thomas Hardye School; in 2007, 79% of Hardye school students received five or more A* to C GCSEs, and 78 % of all A-Level results were A to C grades
Culture
Sport and recreation
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.[64] Weymouth and Portland regularly host local, national and international sailing events in their waters; these include 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.[65]
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.[66] However, as part of the South West of England Regional Development Agency's plans to redevelop Osprey Quay, a new 600-berth marina and an extension with more on-site facilities will be built.[67] 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.[68][69][70][71][72]
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, diving to shipwrecks, snorkelling, canoeing, and swimming.[73] 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 is the most common style.[74] 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.
Rabbits
Rabbits have long been associated with bad luck on Portland; use of the name is still taboo—the creatures are often referred to as "Underground Mutton", "Long-Eared Furry Things" or just "bunnies".[76] 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.[77] If a rabbit was seen in a quarry, the workers would pack up and go home for the day, until the safety of the area had been assured.[76] Local fishermen too would refuse to go to sea if the word was mentioned.
Even today older Portland residents are 'offended' (sometimes for the benefit of tourists) at the mention of rabbits;[77] 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 the Were-Rabbit. In respect of local beliefs the adverts omitted the word 'rabbit' and replaced the film's title with the phrase "Something bunny is going on"
Literature
Thomas Hardy called Portland the Isle of Slingers in his novels; the isle was the main setting of The Well-Beloved (1897), and was featured in The Trumpet-Major (1880).[78] 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 named Portland the Gibraltar of the North, with reference to its similarities with Gibraltar; its physical geography, isolation, comparatively mild climate, and Underhill's winding streets.[79]
In The Warlord Chronicles (1995-97), Bernard Cornwell makes Portland the Isle of the Dead, a place of internal exile, where the causeway was guarded to keep the 'dead' (people suffering insanity) from crossing the Fleet and returning to the mainland. No historical evidence exists to support this idea.[80]
The Portland Chronicles series of four children's books, set on and around Portland and Weymouth and written by local author Carol Hunt, draw on local history to explore a seventeenth century world of smuggling, witchcraft, piracy and local intrigue.
Vernacular
Bunnies - see above.
Kimberlin: slang for any 'strangers' not from the Island.[82]
Portland screw: fossil mollusc (Aptyxiella portlandica) with a long screw-like shell or its cast
Notable persons born here
•Edgar F. Codd (August 23, 1923 – April 18, 2003), British computer scientist and inventor of the relational model for database management.
•Former Premier League referee Paul Durkin.