Portland Stone - page 3
Portland Bill, Isle of Portland
As well as being important for its Portland stone the Isle was until recently a major naval base. At the beginning of the nineteenth century two great breakwaters were built to shelter the Portland Harbour at a time when Britain was threatened by Napoleonic invasion. The scheme was built in 2 stages between 1848 and 1872, and 1894 to 1903. This feat of engineering created the largest deep water port in Europe. Two and a half million tons of stone were used in the construction of the breakwaters, which were placed on the sea bed stretching from the north east point of the Isle of Portland and north towards Weymouth for a distance of one and a half miles. To move the vast quantities of stone to sea level, a three stage inclined railway was built. It constituted the largest ever project undertaken using Portland stone.
Verne Prison, Isle of Portland
Interestingly, it was built using a workforce of convicts from the Isle's prison, the Verne prison. The convicts were first brought to Portland in 1848 to transport the stone down to the harbour. The cruel conditions in the original Portland prison and its quarries during the latter half of the 19th century were a major catalyst for penal reform in this country. Many prisoners died while working to quarry the blocks of stone necessary to build Portland's naval breakwater. During the 1870s, deaths within the prison ran at nearly one per week. Local entrepreneurs living adjacent to the prison quarries would charge eagerly awaiting visitors, who came to the Island on the newly constructed railway, to view the prisoners at work from the upper windows of their houses. The prison still exists today and is called the Verne Young Offenders Institution.
When war against Germany broke out in August 1914, there was concern that ships of the Royal Navy anchored in Portland Harbour would be vulnerable to torpedoes fired from an enemy submarine through the southern entrance into the harbour. It was decided to block the southern entrance, which was so vulnerable to torpedo attack from the Channel, by sinking the aged battleship Hood. Throughout its lifetime Portland Harbour has been visited by monarchs and leaders of many nations, been through two World Wars, saw many tragedies, and been visited by practically every major naval vessel.
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Last updated:
23 October, 2008