165-576: Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank ) in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain. Its name is derived from the word chessil ( Old English ceosel or cisel ), meaning "gravel" or "shingle". It runs for a length of 29 kilometres (18 mi) from West Bay to the Isle of Portland and in places is up to 15 metres (50 ft) high and 200 metres (660 ft) wide. Behind
330-529: A National Trail , begins at South Haven Point at the entrance to Poole Harbour. There are also substantial areas of green belt surrounding the South East Dorset conurbation , filling in the area between this and the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB. Dorset's climate of warm summers and mild winters is partly due to its position on Britain's south coast. The third most southerly county in
495-547: A Roman ruin described by Historic England as the "only Roman town house visible in Britain"; Athelhampton , a Tudor manor house; Forde Abbey , a stately home and former Cistercian monastery; Christchurch Priory , the longest church in England; and St Edwold's church , one of the smallest. Dorset hosts a number of annual festivals, fairs and events including the Great Dorset Steam Fair near Blandford, one of
660-452: A heathland habitat which sustains all six native British reptile species. Most of the Dorset heathland has Site of Special Scientific Interest status, with three areas designated as internationally important Ramsar sites . In the far west of the county and along the coast there are frequent changes in rock strata, which appear in a less obviously sequential way compared to the landscapes of
825-458: A lerret , is a double-ended open fishing boat — 16–17 ft (4.9–5.2 m) long — used for seine net fishing . It is usually rowed by four people with a fifth to steer and deploy the net. Much of the villages of Fleet and Chiswell were destroyed in the Great Storm of 1824 . Over the centuries Chiswell had battled with the sea and was regularly flooded during rough winter storms. In the storms
990-552: A breakwater. Construction of the breakwater was a prodigious task involving very large quantities of stone and gravel, and it was not completed until 1872. Even then, much further defensive and marine work was continuing. During the construction of the breakwater, several temporary tramways had been laid. In 1870, it was decided that a more permanent railway connection was required, and the Great Western Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1871 ( 34 & 35 Vict. c. clxxxiii) and
1155-575: A chalk downland. The highest point in Dorset is Lewesdon Hill (279 m (915 ft)), in the southwest. There is evidence of Neolithic , Celtic , and Roman settlement in Dorset, and during the Early Middle Ages the region was settled by the Saxons ; the county developed in the 7th century. The first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the eighth century, and
1320-518: A closed area of netting is a duck decoy located within Abbotsbury Swannery. It was originally installed to provide food for the local monks, but is now used to catch ducks for ringing. It may be the oldest surviving decoy in England. Located in the Upper Fleet, within Abbotsbury Swannery, is Bum Point, and adjacent to this is an artificial island known as Tern Island, which was created to provide
1485-643: A conservation measure. A shallow draft boat, named the Fleet Observer, featuring a transparent bottom, takes visitors around the lower Fleet to observe the wildlife above and below the water. The main site of the Wyke Regis Training Area is found to the west of the Wyke Regis village, where it lies on the north side of the Fleet. This site, a bridging camp, was constructed in 1928 by Royal Engineers. Since then
1650-517: A ferry boat was used to connect Portland to the mainland, until the first bridge was constructed in 1839. An iron bridge replaced this in 1896, and this was in turn replaced with a concrete bridge in 1985. Both Chesil Beach and the Fleet Lagoon are a Site of Special Scientific Interest , and the view of the beach from Abbotsbury has been voted by Country Life magazine as Britain's third best view. An arrangement of nets and poles to lure ducks into
1815-564: A few weeks this was reduced to eight and three respectively. The passenger service was run entirely by the LSWR at first, and this continued for some considerable time. The GWR worked the goods traffic, although occasionally narrow (standard) gauge goods wagons were attached to LSWR passenger trains. A new station at Rodwell was opened on 1 June 1870. The signals at Portland were of the Stevens Patent lattice type, but at Weymouth Junction they were of
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#17328511486551980-488: A further horse-worked section led to Castletown Pier. It had a track gauge of 4ft 6in (1,372mm), and it opened in October 1826. As it was paid for by the quarry operators who used it, its income was rather haphazard, although the public may have been allowed to use it. Maintenance was not carried out diligently on the track and the cable system, and stoppages due to breakdowns were common. Notwithstanding continual difficulties,
2145-561: A group of lines on the Isle of Portland in the English county of Dorset . The first was the Portland Railway, a tramway with a counterbalanced rope-worked incline. It opened in 1826. It was followed by the Weymouth and Portland Railway, which connected to the main line of the Great Western Railway at Weymouth . It opened in 1865. From the late 1840s until 1872, Portland Breakwater was built,
2310-501: A little farther inland. From West Bay to Cliff End the beach is piled up against the cliff. At Cliff End a hollow forms behind the beach and at Abbotsbury a stretch of saline (or brackish) water called the Fleet Lagoon begins. This is up to 3m in depth. The Fleet is home to many wading birds and Abbotsbury Swannery , and fossils can be found in the sand and mud. The Fleet connects to Portland Harbour at Ferry Bridge . Initially
2475-406: A negative impact on the tourist trade, particularly when popular areas are closed for military manoeuvres. Other major employers in the county include: BAE Systems , Sunseeker International , J.P. Morgan , Cobham plc and Bournemouth University . Dorset's three ports, Poole, Weymouth and Portland , and the smaller harbours of Christchurch, Swanage, Lyme Regis, Wareham and West Bay generate
2640-602: A nesting site for common terns. The lagoon is a designated bass nursery area, and the species are frequently seen on an underwater camera connected to the Chesil Beach Visitor Centre. Accordingly, angling for the fish is only permitted in the lower Fleet area, from the Narrows to Ferrybridge, and only from the shore and even this has been discouraged by the Southern-IFCA (Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority) as
2805-566: A number of his works in Dorset, such as the novels Maiden Castle and Weymouth Sands . Children's author Enid Blyton drew inspiration for many of her works from Dorset. The 19th-century poet William Barnes was born in Bagber and wrote many poems in his native Dorset dialect . Originating from the ancient Norse and Saxon languages, the dialect was prevalent across the Blackmore Vale but has fallen into disuse. Dorset's flag , which
2970-437: A positive effect on local businesses and tourism. Tourism has grown in Dorset since the late 18th century and is now the predominant industry. It is estimated that 37,500 people work in Dorset's tourism sector. Some 3.2 million British and 326,000 foreign tourists visited the county in 2008, staying a total of 15.1 million nights. In addition there were 14.6 million day visitors. The combined spending of both groups
3135-535: A prodigious construction task that created a very large safe harbour. It was decided to provide a railway connection to the breakwater, which was used as a pier for bunkering ships. This was constructed by the LSWR and the GWR jointly and opened in 1876. The fourth line was the Easton and Church Hope Railway. This line was conceived as a simple descent to bring stone down from quarries to a new jetty at Church Ope, but after their line
3300-523: A professional or technical capacity (Standard Occupational Classification 2010, groups 1–3), just over 10.3% are administrators or secretaries (group 4), around 12.8% have a skilled trade (group 5), over 18% are employed at a low-level in the care, leisure, sales or customer relations sector (groups 6 and 7) and 14.8% are operatives or in elementary occupations (groups 8 and 9). Local government in Dorset consists of two unitary authorities (UA): Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council , which governs
3465-561: A remarkable gradation in size along Chesil Beach, from around 5 cm long at the Chiswell end to pea-sized at West Bay . People landing on the beach at night having been fishing, or smuggling, are said to have been able to work out their location based on the pebbles' size. The sorting of the pebbles is due to the difference in wave height and direction along the beach. The natural processes leading to this separation by size have been able to produce this effect as there are no sea defences along
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#17328511486553630-802: A review by the Local Government Commission for England , Bournemouth and Poole each became administratively independent single-tier unitary authorities in 1997. For representation in Parliament Dorset is divided into eight Parliamentary constituencies—five county constituencies and three borough constituencies . At the 2017 general election , the Conservative Party was dominant, taking all eight seats. The borough constituencies of Bournemouth East , Bournemouth West and Poole were traditionally Conservative safe seats and were all represented by Conservative members of parliament until
3795-468: A ruling gradient of 1 in 40. Today, parts of the line can still be walked, but the course of the backwater railway viaduct has long since been replaced by Weymouth’s Swannery road bridge, which was built in virtually the same place. The former platforms at Westham and Rodwell are still to be seen and this section is a popular green trailway, the Rodwell Trail . The bridge over The Fleet at Smallmouth
3960-473: A seasonal service to the Channel Islands and St Malo , France. Poole and Portland harbours are capable of taking cruise liners. Bournemouth Airport , on the edge of Hurn village 6 kilometres (4 mi) north of Bournemouth, has scheduled and charter flights. Morebus and Damory provide a county wide bus network with frequent services linking major towns, including Bournemouth, Poole and Wimborne, and
4125-551: A service for those who live in the western districts of Dorset. The South West Main Line runs through the south at Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester and the terminus at Weymouth. Additionally, the Heart of Wessex Line runs north from Weymouth to Bristol and the Swanage Railway , a heritage steam and diesel railway , runs the 10 kilometres (6 mi) between Norden and Swanage. Dorset
4290-451: A share capital of £25,000. It was to run from Sheepcroft, immediately north of Easton, to the top of the cliff above Church Ope Cove, where there was to be an inclined plane down to the foreshore. The line was to be made in a zigzag pattern and was to be broad gauge, with a 1 in 8 cable worked incline. After the 1867 incorporation, the company did not achieve very much until 1870, when representatives of commoners met. They had rights on some of
4455-706: A ship from Gascony . The disease, more commonly known as the Black Death , created an epidemic that spread rapidly and wiped out a third of the population of the country. Dorset came under the political influence of a number of different nobles during the Middle Ages. During the Wars of the Roses, for instance, Dorset came into the area influenced by Humphrey Stafford, earl of Devon (originally of Hooke , Dorset) whose wider influence stretched from Cornwall to Wiltshire. After 1485, one of
4620-423: A substantial amount of international trade and tourism. Around 230 fishing vessels that predominantly catch crab and lobster are based in Dorset's ports. When the waters around Weymouth and Portland were chosen for the sailing events in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games , the area underwent an increased investment in infrastructure and a growth in the marine leisure sector. It is expected that this will continue to have
4785-650: A trend reflected throughout the UK. Manufacturing industry in Dorset provided 10.3% of employment in 2008. This was slightly above the average for Great Britain but below that of the South West region which was at 10.7% for that period. The sector is the county's fourth largest employer, but a predicted decline suggests there will be 10,200 fewer jobs in manufacturing by 2026. As a largely rural county, Dorset has fewer major cultural institutions than larger or more densely populated areas. Major venues for concerts and theatre include
4950-479: A varied landscape of chalk downs , steep limestone ridges, and low-lying clay valleys. The majority of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site due to its geological and palaeontologic significance, and features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove , the Isle of Portland , Chesil Beach and Durdle Door . The north of the county contains part of Cranborne Chase ,
5115-678: A varied service in further rural locations. The First Group operate buses in the Weymouth and Bridport area, including a regular route along the A35 from Weymouth to Axminster, which helps to compensate for the missing rail link west of Dorchester; and the Jurassic Coaster service, which runs along the county's coastline. Yellow Buses provided bus services within Bournemouth and outlying areas until they ceased operating in 2022. Portland Branch Railway The Portland Branch railway refers to
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5280-520: A wide band of Cretaceous chalk which crosses the county as a range of hills from north-east to south-west, incorporating Cranborne Chase and the Dorset Downs , and a narrow band running from south-west to south-east, incorporating the Purbeck Hills . Between the chalk hills are large, wide vales and wide flood plains . These vales are dotted with small villages, farms and coppices , and include
5445-577: Is a disused control tower and landing pad for the navy helicopter firing range in Lyme Bay. The range was closed when the Navy left Portland in 1995. There are also the remains of an anti-aircraft battery from the Second World War. Fossils occur all along the landward shore of the Fleet and along the landward side of Chesil Beach from Abbotsbury to West Bay. The main site is at Burton Bradstock. The pebbles show
5610-411: Is about 11.5 tons but it is very uncertain what weight one of the half baulks would carry. It is quite certain that they are much too weak, that the workmanship is not good; and sufficient care not being exercised defective pieces of timber have been made use of. It is very doubtful whether these viaducts will not require to be entirely reconstructed and it is not clear whether the piles will not give under
5775-511: Is an outdoor arts festival that takes place every two years in rural and urban locations across Dorset. In addition to the smaller folk festivals held in towns such as Christchurch and Wimborne , Dorset holds several larger musical events such as Camp Bestival , End of the Road and the Larmer Tree Festival . Dorset's only professional football club is AFC Bournemouth , which plays in
5940-527: Is connected to the mainland by Chesil Beach , a 27-kilometre (17 mi) long shingle barrier beach protecting The Fleet , Britain's largest tidal lagoon. The county has one of the highest proportions of conservation areas in England, and two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) cover 53% of the administrative county. It has two heritage coasts totalling 92 kilometres (57 mi), and Sites of Special Scientific Interest covering 199 km (77 sq mi). The South West Coast Path ,
6105-617: Is known as the Dorset Cross or St Wite's Cross, was adopted in 2008 following a public competition organised by Dorset County Council. The winning design, which features a white cross with a red border on a golden background, attracted 54% of the vote. All three colours are used in Dorset County Council's coat of arms and the red and white was used in recognition of the English flag . The golden colour represents Dorset's sandy beaches and
6270-641: Is less straightforward and includes Portland and Purbeck stone , other limestones , calcareous clays and shales . Portland and Purbeck stone are of national importance as a building material and for restoring some of Britain's most famous landmarks. Almost every type of rock known from the Early Jurassic to the Eocene epochs can be found in the county. Dorset has a number of limestone ridges which are mostly covered in either arable fields or calcareous grassland supporting sheep. These limestone areas include
6435-640: Is one of few English counties not well served by canals and has no motorways. The A303 , A35 and A31 trunk roads run through the county. The A303, which connects the West Country to London via the M3 , clips the north-west of the county. The A35 crosses the county in a west–east direction from Honiton in Devon, via Bridport, Dorchester, Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch, to Southampton in Hampshire. The A31 connects to
6600-528: Is one of the largest natural harbours in the world. The harbour is very shallow in places and contains a number of islands, notably Brownsea Island , the birthplace of the Scouting movement and one of the few remaining sanctuaries for indigenous red squirrels in England. The harbour, and the chalk and limestone hills of the Isle of Purbeck to the south, lie atop Western Europe's largest onshore oil field . The field, operated by Perenco from Wytch Farm , has
6765-488: Is the home to top-flight speedway team Poole Pirates . The county's coastline, on the English Channel, is noted for its watersports (particularly sailing, gig racing , windsurfing, power boating and kayaking) which take advantage of the sheltered waters in the bays of Weymouth and Poole , and the harbours of Poole and Portland. Dorset hosted the sailing events at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics at
Chesil Beach - Misplaced Pages Continue
6930-486: The Easton and Church Hope Railway (Portland Extension) Act 1884 ( 47 & 48 Vict. c. cclviii) to authorised a fundamental change of plan by the company: it would build a new line to link up with the Portland Railway, and abandon the unfinished section to Church Ope Cove. The act of Parliament was passed on 14 August 1884; despite the decision not to reach Church Ope, the company name was unchanged. The authorised share capital
7095-454: The Easton and Church Hope Railway Act 1901 ( 1 Edw. 7 . c. ccxxxv) was obtained on 9 August 1901. During May 1901 it was established that the company had exhausted all of its financial resources. Lieut Colonel Yorke visited the Admiralty section of the line on 19 March 1902, and he was dismayed to find that the train staff could be withdrawn from the ground frame lock at Castletown with
7260-757: The 2024 . The marginal seat of South Dorset is represented by Lloyd Hatton , who gained the seat from Conservative representative, Richard Drax , in 2024. The Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency has been represented by the Liberal Democrat MP, Vikki Slade since 2024. In the 2024 general election, the Conservatives held 2 constituencies in Dorset, while the Liberal Democrats gained 2 and Labour gained 4. A. Excludes self-employed , government-supported trainees and armed forces B. Includes industries that are also part of
7425-520: The Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348. The county has seen much civil unrest: in the English Civil War an uprising of Clubmen vigilantes was crushed by Oliver Cromwell 's forces in a pitched battle near Shaftesbury ; the doomed Monmouth Rebellion began at Lyme Regis ; and the Tolpuddle Martyrs , a group of Dorset farm labourers, were instrumental in the formation of
7590-594: The Bloody Assizes took place to punish the rebels. Over a five-day period in Dorchester, Judge Jeffreys presided over 312 cases: 74 of the accused were executed, 175 were sentenced to penal transportation , and nine were publicly whipped. In 1686, at Charborough Park , a meeting took place to plot the downfall of James II of England . This meeting was effectively the start of the Glorious Revolution . During
7755-487: The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre , Poole Museum , Portland Museum and Wareham Town Museum . Dorset contains 190 conservation areas , more than 1,500 scheduled monuments , over 30 registered parks and gardens and 12,850 listed buildings . Grade I listed buildings include: Portland Castle , a coastal fort commissioned by Henry VIII ; a castle with more than a 1,000 years of history at Corfe ;
7920-485: The England and Wales average of 17.4%, and 18.6% are less than 17 years old, lower than the England and Wales average of 21.3%. The working age population (females and males between 16 and 64) is lower than England and Wales average, 60% compared to 64%. Data collected between 2010 and 2012 shows that average life expectancy at birth in the county is 85.3 years for females and 81.2 years for males. This compares favourably with
8085-464: The Industrial Revolution largely bypassed Dorset which lacked coal resources and as a consequence the county remained predominantly agricultural. Farming has always been central to the economy of Dorset and the county became the birthplace of the modern trade union movement when, in 1834, six farm labourers formed a union to protest against falling wages. The labourers, who are now known as
8250-573: The Kingdom of Wessex . The precise details of this West Saxon conquest and how it took place are not clear, but it appears to have substantially taken place by the start of the reign of Caedwalla in 685. The Saxons established a diocese at Sherborne (later to develop into the Diocese of Salisbury ) and Dorset was made a shire —an administrative district of Wessex and predecessor to the English county system—with borders that have changed little since. In 789
8415-730: The Lighthouse arts centre in Poole; the Bournemouth International Centre , Pavilion Theatre and O2 Academy in Bournemouth; and the Pavilion theatre in Weymouth. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra , founded in 1893, is based in Poole. Dorset has more than 30 general and specialist museums. The Dorset County Museum (now the Dorset Museum ) in Dorchester was founded in 1846 and contains an extensive collection of exhibits covering
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#17328511486558580-667: The Parliamentarians . An uprising of Clubmen —vigilantes weary of the depredations of the war—took place in Dorset in 1645. Some 2,000 of these rebels offered battle to Lord Fairfax's Parliamentary army at Hambledon Hill but they were easily routed. Sherborne Castle was taken by Fairfax that same year and in 1646 Corfe Castle, the last remaining Royalist stronghold in Dorset, was captured after an act of betrayal: both were subsequently slighted . The Duke of Monmouth's unsuccessful attempt to overthrow James II began when he landed at Lyme Regis in 1685. A series of trials known as
8745-563: The Premier League —the highest division in the English football league system . Non-League semi-professional teams in the county include Southern Premier Division teams Dorchester Town F.C. , Poole Town F.C. and Weymouth F.C. Dorset County Cricket Club competes in the Minor Counties Cricket Championship and is based at Dean Park Cricket Ground in Bournemouth. Poole Stadium hosts regular greyhound racing and
8910-530: The South Western Railway Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. clxvi) of 19 July 1875 authorised the construction of a railway 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.5km) long between the Admiralty Breakwater and the Weymouth and Portland Railway. The line was to be known as The Admiralty Line. The line was built at the expense of the Admiralty and the railway companies operated it for them. Although it
9075-591: The Tolpuddle Martyrs , were subsequently arrested for administering "unlawful oaths" and sentenced to transportation but they were pardoned following massive protests by the working classes. The Dorsetshire Regiment were the first British unit to face a gas attack during the First World War (1914–1918) and they sustained particularly heavy losses at the Battle of the Somme . In total some 4,500 Dorset servicemen died in
9240-986: The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy . The venue was completed in May 2009 and was used by international sailing teams in preparation for the Games. In motorsport, Dorset hosts the Extreme E Jurassic X Prix at Bovington Camp. Dorset is famed in literature for being the native county of author and poet Thomas Hardy , and many of the places he describes in his novels in the fictional Wessex are in Dorset, which he renamed South Wessex . The National Trust owns Thomas Hardy's Cottage , in Higher Bockhampton, east of Dorchester; and Max Gate , his former house in Dorchester. Several other writers have called Dorset home, including Douglas Adams , who wrote much of The Hitchhiker's Guide to
9405-421: The trade union movement . During the Second World War , Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy , and the large harbours of Portland and Poole were two of the main embarkation points. Agriculture was historically the major industry of Dorset, but is now in decline in favour of tourism. Dorset derives its name from the county town of Dorchester . The Romans established
9570-427: The 18th century, much smuggling took place along the Dorset coast; its coves, caves and sandy beaches provided opportunities for gangs such as the Hawkhursts to stealthily bring smuggled goods ashore. Poole became Dorset's busiest port and established prosperous trade links with the fisheries of Newfoundland which supported cloth, rope and net manufacturing industries in the surrounding towns and villages. However,
9735-402: The 2024 United Kingdom general election when they were all gained by Labour. The county constituencies of North Dorset and Christchurch are also represented by Conservative MPs. Between 1997 and 2019, West Dorset was represented by Conservative MP Oliver Letwin who was the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office in David Cameron 's government. The seat was won by Edward Morello in
9900-399: The A35 at Bere Regis , and passes east through Wimborne and Ferndown to Hampshire, where it later becomes the M27 . Other main roads in the county include the A338 , A354 , A37 and A350 . The A338 heads north from Bournemouth to Ringwood (Hampshire) and on to Salisbury (Wiltshire) and beyond. The A354 also connects to Salisbury after travelling north-east from Weymouth in the south of
10065-495: The Abbotsbury Defence area. An anti-tank ditch was located within this area behind Chesil Beach. An observation post still exists on the landward side of the Fleet, with the open front facing Chesil Beach. The portion of the beach to the east of the anti-tank division in front of Fleet Lagoon had no passive defences against a landing, whereas the beach to the west was protected with miles of Admiralty scaffolding , with anti-tank ditches and minefields and flame fougasse installations
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#173285114865510230-446: The Admiralty line for passenger operation with the main line companies, but now the Admiralty made it clear that it would not assist, leaving the Easton company having to bear the entire cost of the upgrade. The question of a joint station at Portland had arisen several times over the past two years. In January 1900 the estimated cost was considered to be £18,000. It was suggested that the Easton company should pay £2,000 as its share of
10395-447: The Blackmore Vale ( Stour valley ) and the Frome valley . The Blackmore Vale is composed of older Jurassic deposits, largely clays interspersed with limestones, and has traditionally been a centre for dairy agriculture. South-east Dorset, including the lower Frome valley and around Poole and Bournemouth, comprises younger Eocene deposits, mainly sands and clays of poor agricultural quality. The soils created from these deposits support
10560-456: The Board of Trade approved the working arrangements. So far as the propelling from Weymouth was concerned, the resolution appears to have been that the train engine ran round at Weymouth Junction, hauling its train to and from that point. Goods traffic started working on 9 October, and on 16 October 1865 passenger trains started running. The first day's receipts amounted to £26. Eleven trains ran each way except Sundays when four operated. After
10725-417: The Board of Trade: the line was authorised as a mixed gauge operation. The issue was now put to arbitration under Captain Galton . He adjudicated that the Weymouth & Portland company could use Weymouth GWR station and pay them £2,600 for the accommodation provided, and £3,175 for land and works arranged by the GWR at the junction. In September 1865 an agreement was finally settled, and early in October
10890-406: The Channel had to clear Portland Bill to be safe, but the wind and tide would be pushing it northwards into Lyme Bay. When sailing ships were common, a strong string of coastguards were based along the beach, with lookouts and cottages at Chiswell, Wyke Regis, Chickerell, Langton Herring, Abbotsbury, East Bexington, Burton Bradstock and West Bay. At present there are no manned Coastguard lookouts along
11055-431: The D-Day Normandy landings and gliders from RAF Tarrant Rushton dropped troops near Caen to begin Operation Tonga . Dorset experienced an increase in holiday-makers after the war. First popularised as a tourist destination by George III's frequent visits to Weymouth, the county's coastline, seaside resorts and its sparsely populated rural areas attract millions of visitors each year. With farming declining across
11220-440: The Dorset Downs receive between 1,000 and 1,250 mm (39–49 in) per year; less than much of Devon and Cornwall to the west but more than counties to the east. The 2011 Census records Dorset's population as 744,041. This consisted of 412,905 for the non-metropolitan county (not including Bournemouth and Poole), 183,491 for the unitary authority of Bournemouth and 147,645 for the unitary authority of Poole. In 2013 it
11385-430: The Dorset Downs, the average annual temperature of the county is 9.8 to 12 °C (49.6 to 53.6 °F). The south coast counties of Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex , East Sussex and Kent enjoy more sunshine than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, receiving 1,541–1,885 hours a year. Average annual rainfall varies across the county—southern and eastern coastal areas receive 700–800 mm (28–31 in) per year;
11550-470: The Dorset landmarks of Golden Cap and Gold Hill . It is also a reference to the Wessex Dragon , a symbol of the Saxon Kingdom which Dorset once belonged to, and the gold wreath featured on the badge of the Dorset Regiment . Dorset is connected to London by two main line railways. The West of England Main Line runs through the north of the county at Gillingham and Sherborne. Running west from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids in Devon, it provides
11715-482: The Fleet. It soon dominated the environment despite a number of attempts to limit its impact. It has since died back to a much lower level of occupancy in the Narrows and lower Fleet, however the current amount of growth is often dependent on a number of factors and as such varies from year to year. Due to issue with litter, both natural and man-made, brought to the beach by south-westerly gales, regular litter picks are organised, which involves volunteers to help alleviate
11880-583: The GWR disc and crossbar type. The Great Western Railway route at Weymouth was converted to narrow (standard) gauge between 18 and 22 June 1874, of course affecting the Portland line also. In the 1840s, it was desired to provide a harbour of refuge at Portland. There was no other suitable place between Portsmouth and Plymouth . On 11 May 1847, an enabling act of Parliament was passed; the Commissioners of Woods and Forests could acquire land necessary to build
12045-519: The GWR line. As a broad gauge line, the GWR had been compelled to lay mixed gauge track from Dorchester, where the two routes converged, for the convenience of the LSWR. Because of the quarrying activity, a railway into Portland was agreed to be desirable, although there was some opposition, but the Weymouth and Portland Railway got an authorising act of Parliament, the Weymouth and Portland Railway Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. lxxi) on 30 June 1862. It
12210-739: The Galaxy while he lived in Stalbridge ; John le Carré , author of espionage novels, was born in Poole; Tom Sharpe of Wilt fame lived in Bridport; John Fowles ( The French Lieutenant's Woman ) lived in Lyme Regis before he died in late 2005; T.F. Powys lived in Chaldon Herring for over 20 years and used it as inspiration for the fictitious village of Folly Down in his novel Mr. Weston's Good Wine ; John Cowper Powys , his elder brother, also set
12375-533: The Merchants' Railway had been opened many of the quarries had established routes by which their product was taken by traction engines to a loading point on that line. The Easton and Church Hope line had arrived too late to secure this kind of traffic. The Admiralty ended its agreement for maintenance of their own line as they had no further use for it and the Easton company had to apply to Parliament for powers to carry out that work itself. The necessary act of Parliament,
12540-644: The Old English word sæte (meaning "people"). The same ending can also be seen in the neighbouring Somerset . It is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in AD ;845 and in the 10th century the county's archaic name, Dorseteschyre (Dorsetshire), was first recorded. The first human visitors to Dorset were Mesolithic hunters, from around 8000 BC. The first permanent Neolithic settlers appeared around 3000 BC and were responsible for
12705-517: The Portland Railway was incorporated by an act of Parliament, the Portland Railway Act 1825 ( 6 Geo. 4 . c. cxxi) of 10 June 1825. It was also known informally as the Merchants' Railway or the Freeman's Incline. It consisted of a horse-drawn tramway from what is now Priory Corner and a counterbalanced incline 586 yards (536m) in length descending to sea level near Portland Castle . From there,
12870-531: The Stour, which rises in Wiltshire to the north, has its origins in clay soil. The River Avon , which flows mainly through Wiltshire and Hampshire, enters Dorset towards the end of its journey at Christchurch Harbour . The rivers Axe and Yeo , which principally drain the counties of Devon and Somerset respectively, have their sources in the north-west of the county. In the south-west, a number of small rivers run into
13035-493: The UK, Dorset is less affected by the more intense Atlantic winds than Cornwall and Devon. Dorset, along with the entire South West England , has higher winter temperatures, average 4.5 to 8.7 °C (40.1 to 47.7 °F), than the rest of the United Kingdom. However, Dorset maintains higher summer temperatures than Devon and Cornwall, with average highs of 19.1 to 22.2 °C (66.4 to 72.0 °F). Excluding hills such as
13200-465: The Weymouth station for Portland will therefore require to be shunted over the long distance. This is an objectionable and dangerous practice... [There was no proper signalbox at Weymouth Junction, so] The signals at the junction with the Wilts Somerset and Weymouth railway require to be brought together on a properly covered-in stage at the junction – the signals to have the locking apparatus. Some of
13365-426: The area has revealed that it is in fact a barrier beach which has "rolled" landwards, joining the mainland with the Isle of Portland and giving the appearance of a tombolo. The beach curves sharply at the eastern end, near the village of Chiswell , and forms Chesil Cove against the cliffs of the Isle of Portland , and this protects the low-lying village from flooding. It has been the scene of many shipwrecks and
13530-438: The averages for England and Wales of 82.9 and 79.1 years respectively. Around 95.2% of Dorset's population are of white ethnicity, 60.9% of the population are Christian and 28.5% say they are not religious. More than 33% of the county's population possess a level 4 qualification or above, such as a Higher National Diploma, Degree or a Higher Degree; while nearly 6.3% have no qualifications at all. Almost 43.7% are employed in
13695-622: The beach is the Fleet, a shallow tidal lagoon. Both are part of the Jurassic Coast and a UNESCO World Heritage Site , and together form an SSSI and Ramsar Site . Owners of the land designated as Chesil & The Fleet SSSI include the Crown Estate , the Ministry of Defence and the National Trust . The beach is often identified as a tombolo , although research into the geomorphology of
13860-440: The beach to interrupt them, and few stones are being added or removed from the beach (either naturally or artificially). Due to the bird nesting season from 1 April until the end of August, access along, and to all parts of the beach from the Portland boundary stone to Abbotsbury is not permitted. Additionally access to the Fleet slope of the beach from Wyke to Abbotsbury is not permitted at any time in effort to protect and conserve
14025-594: The beach, with coverage provided when required from the National Maritime Operations Centre based at Fareham. However, their observational role has been taken over by the National Coastwatch Institution, who have lookouts at Burton Bradstock (operational 2010) and Charmouth (operational 2016). The local fishermen, particularly at Portland, developed a purpose-built vessel to withstand the sea actions of Chesil Beach. The boat, known as
14190-562: The border with modern-day Hampshire , delayed the advance of the Saxons into Dorset for almost 150 years. It appears to have been re-fortified during this period, with the former Roman Road at Ackling Dyke also being blocked by the Britons, apparently to prevent the West Saxon advance into Dorset. However, by the end of the 7th century Dorset had fallen under Saxon control and been incorporated into
14355-531: The branch service was worked as a separate section from the temporary Portland station to Easton. In 1908 the Church Hope Railway line was placed in the hands of a receiver as a result of an action brought by debenture holders. At the time of opening to Easton, the entire line between Weymouth and Easton was worked between by the Great Western and London and South Western companies together, although
14520-559: The breakwater and coal was conveyed down the new railway to reach it. In 1866, another line was proposed on the Isle of Portland: the Easton and Church Hope Railway. It was to be on the south-east side of the island; it was intended as another line to bring quarried stone down to the water's edge where a new jetty would be constructed. The act of Parliament for the short line, the Easton and Church Hope Railway Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. clxvii), obtained royal assent on 25 July 1867, with
14685-525: The chalk and the heath. In the west this results in a hilly landscape of diverse character that resembles that of neighbouring county Devon . Marshwood Vale , a valley of Lower Lias clay at the western tip of the county, lies to the south of the two highest points in Dorset: Lewesdon Hill at 279 metres (915 ft) and Pilsdon Pen at 277 metres (909 ft). A former river valley flooded by rising sea levels 6,000 years ago, Poole Harbour
14850-454: The close proximity of the lagoon, water based training is held there. A commercial oyster farm is situated on the sandbanks on the north side of the lower Fleet. The species farmed is the Pacific oyster , rather than the local oyster, and the farm racks are always visible at low tide. At Seabarn, a 68-metre-high (223 ft) hill located in the mid-Fleet, between Butterstreet Cove and Herbury ,
15015-558: The cost of the upgrade, and it quickly agreed, as it had anticipated that it might be obliged to pay the entire cost of the altered arrangements. Colonel Yorke for the Board of Trade inspected the line on 3 July 1900, and he remarked that the railway was not laid out according to the plans. He was not impressed with the bridge over the Merchants' Incline; this was an original structure of the Admiralty railway which had carried only freight traffic. Accordingly Yorke declined to give permission to open
15180-421: The country, tourism has edged ahead as the primary revenue-earning sector. Dorset is largely rural with many small villages, few large towns and no cities. The only major urban area is the South East Dorset conurbation , which is situated at the south-eastern end of the county and is atypical of the county as a whole. It consists of the seaside resort of Bournemouth, the historic port and borough of Poole,
15345-472: The county was in agricultural use, up from 1,986 km (767 sq mi) in 1989, although this was due to an increase in permanent grass, and land set aside . By contrast, in the same period, arable land decreased from 993 to 916 km (383 to 354 sq mi). Excluding fowl, sheep are the most common animal stock in the county; between 1989 and 2006 their numbers fell from 252,189 to 193,500. Cattle and pig farming has declined similarly; during
15510-462: The county's history and environment. The Tank Museum at Bovington contains more than 300 tanks and armoured vehicles from 30 nations. The museum is the largest in Dorset and its collection has been designated of national importance . Other museums which reflect the cultural heritage of the county include The Keep Military Museum in Dorchester, the Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth,
15675-445: The county's largest settlements: Bournemouth (183,491), Poole (151,500), and Christchurch (31,372). The remainder of the county is largely rural, and its principal towns are Weymouth (53,427) and Dorchester (21,366). Dorset contains two unitary authority areas : Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) and Dorset . The county did not historically include Bournemouth and Christchurch, which were part of Hampshire. Dorset has
15840-515: The county. The A37 travels north-west from Dorchester to Yeovil in Somerset. The A350 also leads north, from Poole through Blandford and Shaftesbury, to Warminster in Wiltshire. A passenger seaport and an international airport are situated in the county. Brittany Ferries and Condor Ferries operate out of Poole Harbour; Brittany Ferries provide access to Cherbourg in France and Condor Ferries sail
16005-559: The county—most notably Maiden Castle which is one of the largest in Europe. The Romans arrived in Dorset during their conquest of Britain in AD 43. Maiden Castle was captured by the Legio II Augusta under the command of Vespasian , and the Roman settlement of Durnovaria was established nearby. Bokerley Dyke , a large defensive ditch built by the county's post-Roman inhabitants near
16170-609: The creation of the Dorset Cursus , a 10.5-kilometre (6.5 mi) monument for ritual or ceremonial purposes. From 2800 BC onwards Bronze Age farmers cleared Dorset's woodlands for agricultural use and Dorset's high chalk hills provided a location for numerous round barrows . During the Iron Age , the British tribe known as the Durotriges established a series of hill forts across
16335-514: The delicate environment. The Upper Fleet has some parts restricted to protect sensitive habitats. The little egret , Egretta garzetta , once a rare visitor to the UK, but is now regularly seen along the shores of the Fleet. The scaly cricket , a small insect, is only found at three sites in the UK, including Chesil Beach. Two species of eelgrass are found in the Fleet: Zostera marina and Zostera noltii . These species both grow submerged in
16500-471: The directors were still confident that a 4% dividend would be paid when the line was completed. On 5 August 1897 the Church Hope company entered an agreement with the GWR and the LSWR for those companies to work their line jointly. In 1901 the Admiralty decided to acquire the Admiralty line, taking it over from the GWR and the LSWR. The Easton and Church Hope Company had hoped to share the cost of upgrading
16665-499: The early part of the 12th century. Over the next 200 years Dorset's population grew substantially and additional land was enclosed for farming to provide the extra food required. The wool trade, the quarrying of Purbeck Marble and the busy ports of Weymouth , Melcombe Regis , Lyme Regis and Bridport brought prosperity to the county. However, Dorset was devastated by the bubonic plague in 1348 which arrived in Melcombe Regis on
16830-511: The east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south-east, the English Channel to the south, and Devon to the west. The largest settlement is Bournemouth , and the county town is Dorchester . The county has an area of 2,653 km (1,024 sq mi) and a population of 772,268. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation , which contains three of
16995-412: The effects of the island on waves (through refraction ) and to sediment transport , which usually produces a beach perpendicular to the mainland rather than parallel to it. There have been many shipwrecks on Chesil Beach, particularly during the age of sail . The beach was particularly dangerous within the English Channel, as it forms an extended lee shore during south-westerly gales. A ship coming up
17160-407: The entire council occur every four years. The two authorities came into existence on 1 April 2019, when Bournemouth and Poole merged with Christchurch, one of six second-tier districts previously governed by Dorset County Council , leaving the other five districts - Weymouth and Portland , West Dorset , North Dorset , Purbeck and East Dorset - to form a second UA. Dorset County Council
17325-402: The first complete Ichthyosaur , discovered near Lyme Regis in 1811 by Mary Anning . The county features some notable coastal landforms, including examples of a cove ( Lulworth Cove ), a natural arch ( Durdle Door ) and chalk stacks ( Old Harry Rocks ). Jutting out into the English Channel at roughly the midpoint of the Dorset coastline is the Isle of Portland , a limestone island that
17490-564: The first recorded Viking attack on the British Isles took place in Dorset on the Portland coast, and they continued to raid into the county for the next two centuries. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, feudal rule was established in Dorset and the bulk of the land was divided between the Crown and ecclesiastical institutions. The Normans consolidated their control over the area by constructing castles at Corfe , Wareham and Dorchester in
17655-534: The ground, and the time limit in the act of Parliament expired. Another act of Parliament, the Easton and Church Hope Railway Act 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. cxii) was obtained on 25 July 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. cxii), now allowing further time and authorising deviations to the route. Still, more acts of Parliament were obtained for extension of time in July 1894 and August 1896; by now, £80,000 had been expended on obtaining land and legal and other expenses, though
17820-444: The land to be crossed by the line and were due compensation. The sum of £850 was agreed. At the end of 1872, the parliamentary powers expired; 1,320 yards (1,200m) of the railway had been built but not put into operation, and £20,250 had been expended. As the years passed with no sign of any progress towards completion, shareholders' meetings began to be ignored by the proprietors. In 1884 a new board had arranged an act of Parliament,
17985-643: The largest events of its kind in Europe, and the Bournemouth Air Festival , a free air show that attracted 1.3 million visitors in 2009. The Spirit of the Seas is a maritime festival held in Weymouth and Portland. Launched in 2008, the festival features sporting activities, cultural events and local entertainers. The Dorset County Show, which was first held in 1841, is a celebration of Dorset's agriculture. The two-day event exhibits local produce and livestock and attracts some 55,000 people. Inside Out Dorset
18150-462: The level of activity a century ago. Within the Fleet there is still a small controlled fishery for eels using fyke nets. The grey mullet is a common fish of the Fleet, occurring in large numbers along its entire length. In 1971, the Japanese seaweed, Sargassum muticum , arrived in Britain, where it first appeared in the Isle of Wight . However, in the following years it spread along the south coast to
18315-467: The line continued into the twentieth century. Traffic then declined, and the First World War effectively stopped the demand for the stone, and the line ceased operation on 17 June 1917. It reopened on 12 January 1920, and business was rather buoyant once again, but the outbreak of World War II indicated the end of operation, and the line closed again, this time permanently, on 11 October 1939. By
18480-432: The line to passenger traffic; however goods traffic did not require his sanction and was allowed. The public goods service started on 1 October 1900. The directors were surprised to find that the stone traffic business did not pick up in the early period of operation as they had hoped. It was established that the loading depots were too far from the source of traffic, and that the goods rates were too high. In addition since
18645-547: The line was thought to be ready for opening, Col Yolland made the Board of Trade inspection on 19 May 1864. In his report he stated that the track was of Vignoles (flat-bottom) rails spiked directly to transverse sleepers. There were two multiple-span viaducts, Backwater and Fleet, and Yolland said: The viaducts are entirely of wood with openings mostly from 20 to 22 feet [6.1 to 6.7m] and they are both very unsatisfactory structures... The calculated breaking weight of one of these beams
18810-409: The long-awaited improved rail service started with 13 trains each way between Weymouth and Portland, with an additional nine rail motors. Only the rail motors were able to serve the new halts at Westham and Wyke Regis, and they did not run on Sundays so those places did not have a train service on that day. The Railways Act 1921 created four new large railway companies, and the LSWR was absorbed into
18975-486: The major conurbation comprising the three towns; and Dorset Council which serves the more rural remainder of the county. For the BCP council, voters choose 76 councillors from 33 wards, with ten wards returning three candidates apiece and 23 wards, two. Dorset elects 82 councillors representing six three-councillor wards, 18 two-councillor wards and 28 single-councillor wards - 52 wards in total. In both authorities, elections for
19140-547: The middle decades of the nineteenth century, Weymouth developed considerably as a seaside holiday resort. The broad gauge Great Western Railway had taken over the incomplete Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway and opened a line from near Chippenham to Weymouth on 20 January 1857. The London and South Western Railway had reached Dorchester with the aid of the Southampton and Dorchester Railway , and an act of Parliament had given it running powers from Dorchester to Weymouth over
19305-599: The most influential Dorset figures was Henry VII's chamberlain Giles Daubeney . The dissolution of the monasteries (1536–1541) met little resistance in Dorset and many of the county's abbeys, including Shaftesbury , Cerne and Milton , were sold to private owners. In 1642, at the commencement of the English Civil War , the Royalists took control of the entire county apart from Poole and Lyme Regis. However, within three years their gains had been almost entirely reversed by
19470-482: The naval base on Portland. The beach was also used for machine gun training and Highball bouncing bomb testing during the war. A double row of anti-tank blocks divides the beach near Abbotsbury, where the Fleet Lagoon begins. Most of the seaward blocks have been destroyed, but the parallel lines of blocks on the landward side still survive in good condition. Within the same spot are two remaining Type 26 pillboxes . They were constructed in 1940 and were situated within
19635-538: The new Southern Railway . The Weymouth and Portland Railway and the Easton And Church Hope companies were allowed to continue in existence. In June 1927, there was a joint officers' conference of the Southern and Great Western companies examining the running costs of the line. Carrying the local stone out and coal in was very expensive due to the steep gradients but it was considered that the contributory value of
19800-452: The onward section to Easton was disappointing commercially, and the E&;CHR company, which owned the infrastructure, fell into receivership. The entire line closed to passengers in 1952 and completely in 1965. There is no railway activity on the former route now. The Isle of Portland is rich in excellent-quality limestone , that was considered ideal for the construction of public buildings. It
19965-428: The original Portland station by a footpath and was completed by 19 July. It was inspected by Colonel Yorke on 14 August 1902; he was not happy with the sharp curve but as this appeared to be only a temporary arrangement pending the building of the new station he accepted it. The Church Hope line opened on 1 September 1902. The physical connection between the two lines at Portland was not approved for passenger operation, so
20130-415: The points set for the sidings, completely contrary to proper interlocking arrangements; there was no locking whatsoever on the section of line into Portland station. He once again declined to give authority for opening the line. At Portland work started on erecting a temporary wooden platform on the five chain (100m) radius curve between Portland station and Castletown road bridge. The platform was connected to
20295-458: The problem. A boom is in place at Ferry Bridge to minimise the impact on the Fleet of any oil pollution from within Portland Harbour. In the novel The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament by Thomas Hardy he calls Chesil Beach Deadman's Bay. The Fleet Lagoon and Chesil Beach feature in the novel Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner (1898), in which the village of Moonfleet is based on
20460-511: The railway infrastructure was still owned by their respective companies. However the LSWR took over the working of the branch on 1 January 1904. Over time the development of passenger and goods traffic on the branch had now outstripped the original Portland station facilities. The platform was extended by 100 feet (30m) to a length of 276 ft (84m) in February 1891, making it capable of accommodating eleven 4-wheeled coaches. The platform at Rodwell
20625-467: The real village of Fleet . Despite being the setting for the novel Moonfleet it was not used as a location for the film adaptation Moonfleet (1954) which was filmed entirely in Hollywood , California . Ian McEwan's Booker Prize nominated novel On Chesil Beach is, primarily, set in a hotel overlooking Chesil Beach. In the final sections of the book, there are scenes on Chesil Beach itself. This
20790-544: The same period the number of cattle fell from 240,413 to 170,700, and pigs from 169,636 to 72,700. In 2009 there were 2,340 armed forces personnel stationed in Dorset including the Royal Armoured Corps at Bovington , Royal Signals at Blandford and the Royal Marines at Poole . The military presence has had a mixed effect on the local economy, bringing additional employment for civilians, but on occasion having
20955-530: The sea along the Dorset coastline; most notable of these are the Char , Brit , Bride and Wey . Most of Dorset's coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast , a World Heritage Site , which stretches for 155 kilometres (96 mi) between Studland and Exmouth in Devon. This coast documents the entire Mesozoic era, from Triassic to Cretaceous, and is noted for its geological landforms . The Dorset section has yielded important fossils, including Jurassic trees and
21120-456: The sea would pour through the upper part of the bank, and for this reason plans to drain the Fleet were abandoned in 1630. The great storm of November 1824 struck the village with disastrous results - an event from which Chiswell would never fully recover. Since then various defences have been set-up to aid the village, notably the sea wall and promenade which commenced work in 1958, and was completed in 1965. The Weymouth to Portland Railway line
21285-416: The services industry C. Excluding Poole and Bournemouth In 2003 the gross value added (GVA) for the non-metropolitan county was £4,673 million, with an additional £4,705 million for Poole and Bournemouth. The primary sector produced 2.03% of GVA, the secondary sector produced 22.44% and 75.53% came from the tertiary sector . The average GVA for the 16 regions of South West England
21450-480: The setting for the climax of The Small Back Room (1949). Dorset Dorset ( / ˈ d ɔːr s ɪ t / DOR -sit ; archaically : Dorsetshire / ˈ d ɔːr s ɪ t . ʃ ɪər , - ʃ ər / DOR -sit-sheer , -shər ) is a ceremonial county in South West England . It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to
21615-503: The settlement in the 1st century and named it Durnovaria which was a Latinised version of a Common Brittonic word possibly meaning "place with fist-sized pebbles". The Saxons named the town Dornwaraceaster (the suffix -ceaster being the Old English name for a "Roman town"; cf. Exeter and Gloucester ) and Dornsæte came into use as the name for the inhabitants of the area from Dorn (a reduced form of Dornwaraceaster ) and
21780-416: The shallow waters of the mid and upper Fleet, where large quantities die off in the early autumn. Chesil Beach is a popular location for sea angling, with access at Chiswell, Ferry Bridge, Abbotsbury, Cogden, Burton Bradstock and West Bay. Angling is also allowed in the lower Fleet from the shore. Commercial fishing, which often involved seine nets, has now virtually disappeared from Chesil Beach compared with
21945-414: The site has been in continuous use for the training of Royal Engineers, amongst other armed forces, including both regular and reserve forces in the construction of both bridges and ferries, along with other types of military training. The Bridging Camp's inner training area allows Sappers to hone their skills on everything from raft building to familiarising themselves with state of the art weaponry. Due to
22110-454: The towns of Christchurch and Ferndown plus many surrounding villages. Bournemouth, the most populous town in the conurbation, was established in the Georgian era when sea bathing became popular. Poole, the second largest settlement (once the largest town in the county), adjoins Bournemouth to the west and contains the suburb of Sandbanks which has some of the highest land values by area in
22275-626: The traffic due to long hauls on the main line compensated for that. However the passenger traffic was all very short distance, and closing the eastern section to passengers and replacement by railway-owned buses was considered, but not implemented. The line was being operated jointly by the Southern Railway (as successor to the LSWR) and the Great Western Railway, but in 1931, the branch was brought into line with other pooling arrangements between
22440-421: The two companies, and the Southern Railway took over the entire operation of passenger services on the line. Owing to a combination of air raid damage and its low potential as a passenger carrying line, the Easton section from Portland was closed to passenger traffic from 11 November 1940, although the service was restored during the summer months from 1941 to 1944. Nevertheless the decline in passenger carryings
22605-412: The use of the Weymouth station without payment. This had never been negotiated, nor suggested at the time of getting the act of Parliament. The LSWR objected to the arrangement as well, fearing that there would be insufficient accommodation for their own trains at Weymouth station. A request by the Weymouth and Portland company that its line might be operated by GWR broad gauge trains only was objected to by
22770-404: The waiting passengers from the elements. The platform was resurfaced at the same time. The new integrated Portland station, serving both lines, was opened on 7 May 1905, and on March a trial run had been made to Easton with a steam railmotor. In September 1905 it was announced that an hourly train service would be operated on the branch, with rail motors alternating with conventional trains. This
22935-532: The war and of the county's towns and villages, only one, Langton Herring , known as a Thankful Village , had no residents killed. During the Second World War (1939–1945) Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy : beach landing exercises were carried out at Studland and Weymouth and the village of Tyneham was requisitioned for army training. Tens of thousands of troops departed Weymouth, Portland and Poole harbours during
23100-485: The weight of an engine. He went on A Joint Committee [of the GWR and LSWR] is to be appointed to regulate the working... over the line but this has not yet been done so that it is uncertain in what manner it is proposed to work the traffic. The junction with the Wilts Somerset and Weymouth is made nearly a quarter of a mile (402m) north of the Weymouth station while on the deposited plans the distance does not exceed 200 yards (183m). Every train arriving at or departing from
23265-440: The west of the county; Verwood and the historic Saxon market towns of Wareham and Wimborne Minster are located to the east. Lyme Regis and Swanage are small coastal towns popular with tourists. Under construction on the western edge of Dorchester is the experimental new town of Poundbury commissioned and co-designed by Charles III when he was Prince of Wales. The suburb, which is expected to be fully completed by 2025,
23430-417: The work was attended to and Yolland paid another visit on 6 August 1864. He found that although some strengthening of the viaducts had been attempted, little else had been rectified, and no solution had been proposed to the dangerous reversal of trains from Weymouth Junction to the station. As time went on with no progress, it became plain that the local company expected the Great Western Railway to assent to
23595-520: The world's oldest continuously pumping well at Kimmeridge which has been producing oil since the early 1960s. Dorset's diverse geography ensures it has an assortment of rivers, although a moderate annual rainfall coupled with rolling hills, means most are typically lowland in nature. Much of the county drains into three rivers, the Frome, Piddle and Stour which all flow to the sea in a south-easterly direction. The Frome and Piddle are chalk streams but
23760-477: The world. The other two major settlements in the county are Dorchester, which has been the county town since at least 1305, and Weymouth, a major seaside resort since the 18th century. Blandford Forum , Sherborne, Gillingham , Shaftesbury and Sturminster Newton are historic market towns which serve the farms and villages of the Blackmore Vale in north Dorset. Beaminster and Bridport are situated in
23925-628: Was abandoned in the mid-1980s. The cables came ashore under the beach at the West Bexington car park, and today the range control building can still be seen behind the car park, while one of the theodolite stations is located near the entrance to the Cogden Beach car park. The beach and the Fleet were used as an experimental bombing range by the RAF before and during World War II because of the low population density of nearby areas, as well as their proximity to
24090-602: Was adapted into a 2017 film of the same name . The cover of the 1980 UK single " Echo Beach " by Martha and the Muffins was based on the Chesil Beach bar. Chesil Beach: a Peopled Solitude (2021) by Judith Stinton is a non-fiction account of the history of Chesil Beach. Chesil Beach and The Fleet Lagoon have been used as a location in films including The Dam Busters (1955), The Damned (1963), On Chesil Beach (2017), and The Sands Of Summers Past (2017), as well as being
24255-459: Was also built from Maiden Newton to Bridport and then onwards to West Bay. A more recent proposal was to build a light railway between Weymouth and West Bay. A rifle range, built around 1907, is situated on Chesil Beach, near Ferry Bridge. It had 100 yard increments up to 800 yards, and some remains of this structure can still be seen today. The Royal Navy operated a minesweeping trials range off West Bexington for many years following World War II. It
24420-494: Was an operational challenge on a single line with no passing places, and with the complication of the shunt to get into Weymouth station. In fact the rail motor service was not implemented at first. Melcombe Regis station opened in April 1909, and after that time all trains to Portland started from the new station; the punctuality of the service was greatly improved. In June 1909 halts were built at Westham and Wyke Regis and on 1 July
24585-454: Was authorised in 1867, the Company delayed useful construction, and a change of plan followed, with several acts of Parliament authorising modifications to the route and extension of time. It finally opened in 1900. The Weymouth and Portland Railway and the Easton and Church Hope Railway were operated jointly by the Great Western Railway and the LSWR. As far as Portland, the line was well used, but
24750-564: Was believed that beach material was from the Budleigh Salterton pebble beds to the west and later from Portland to the south east. The differences between the pebbles on the beach and nearby sources is now put down to the Flandrian isostatic sea level rise , so the feature could also be considered a barrier beach or bar , that happens to connect the mainland to an island rather than a 'true' tombolo . Normally, tombolos are created due to
24915-476: Was demolished in 1972. The route now passes through a boatyard, then along the Portland causeway over open common land. Reaching the southwest corner of Portland Harbour, the route now lies under a landscaped earthen embankment, which marks the edge of Portland's National Sailing Academy . Here, there is little evidence of the old railway, until east of Castletown, within Portland Port, where it re-emerges to climb
25080-449: Was designed to integrate residential and retail buildings and counter the growth of dormitory towns and car-oriented development. Dorset covers an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi) and contains considerable variety in its underlying geology, which is partly responsible for the diversity of landscape. A large percentage (66%) of the county comprises either chalk , clay or mixed sand and gravels . The remainder
25245-458: Was desirable because it was durable, easy to work, and pleasing in colour. . In the early nineteenth century, transport to cities where it was required was by coastal shipping. Much of the actual quarrying took place at high points on the Island, and getting the heavy material down to a quayside was a considerable task. In the early 1820s, this led to a tramway being promoted by interested parties, and
25410-472: Was estimated that the population had risen by around 1.4% to 754,460: 416,720 in the non-metropolitan county and 188,730 and 149,010 in Bournemouth and Poole respectively. More than half of the county's residents live in the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch conurbation. Dorset's population has a high proportion of older people and a lower than average proportion of young people: According to 2013 mid-year estimates, 23.6% are over 65 years of age, higher than
25575-464: Was extended during January 1894, for by then the Rodwell area was rapidly expanding and more passengers were travelling between Weymouth and Portland. By this date passenger traffic through to Portland was increasing considerably. The facilities at Portland station–still far from ideal–were improved early in 1896 when a wall and cover were constructed on the west side of the station to protect the platform and
25740-400: Was first formed in 1888 by an act of government to govern the newly created administrative county of Dorset which had been based largely on the historic county borders. Dorset became a two-tier non-metropolitan county after a reorganisation of local government in 1974 and its border was extended eastwards to incorporate the former Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch. Following
25905-494: Was inexorable, and it was announced that the Portland lines would be closed to passengers on 3 March 1952. After the closure Melcombe Regis station was occasionally used for trains on the main line arriving at Weymouth, when platform availability was inadequate. Goods traffic was not immune to the decline, and the last goods train ran on 9 April 1965, clearing last wagons, the goods service having closed on 5 April. The Easton and Church Hope line fell steeply from Sheepcroft, at
26070-402: Was named "Dead Man's Bay" by Thomas Hardy . The beach provides shelter from the prevailing winds and waves for the town of Weymouth, Dorset and the village of Chiswell on Portland. Simon Jenkins rates the view of Chesil Beach from Abbotsbury along the coast to Portland Bill as one of the top ten in England. The origin of Chesil Beach has been argued over for some time. Originally it
26235-429: Was opened in 1865, and built along the southern end of the beach. It closed to passengers in 1952 and finally closed to all traffic in 1965. The line included a viaduct across Ferry Bridge. Over the last 150 years there have been a number of proposals to build a line from Weymouth to Bridport running the length of Chesil Beach. A line was built from Upwey to Abbotsbury but could not be continued through lack of money. A line
26400-417: Was successfully trading, and the Easton and Church Hope Railway itself had not so far run any trains whatsoever. The takeover never happened. On 23 August 1887, another act of Parliament, the Easton and Church Hope Railway Act 1887 ( 50 & 51 Vict. c. cxc) was passed, allowing the company £40,000 of further share capital and another extension of time. Three years passed now with no progress made on
26565-420: Was to be made on the mixed gauge, from a junction with the GWR line a short distance north of Weymouth station, to a terminus at Portland. The extent of line authorised was 4m 17ch (6.6km) for the main line, 34 chains (274m) for a tramway at Portland, and 1 mile 4 chains (1.93km) for a tramway "to the harbour", which referred to Weymouth Harbour. Authorised share capital was £75,000. Work progressed and when
26730-520: Was used principally by horse-drawn goods traffic the Board of Trade insisted on it being fully interlocked to passenger standards. As a private railway there was no general announcement of opening of the line, but the Southern Times reported that "a Great Western passed over the line on Wednesday [19 July 1876]. A few alterations must be made in laying the metals before the railway can be declared open." From 1881 bunkering of merchant ships took place from
26895-415: Was £1,458 million. Towns received 56% of Dorset's day trippers, 27% went to the coast and 17% to the countryside. A survey carried out in 1997 concluded that the primary reason tourists were drawn to Dorset was the attractiveness of the county's coast and countryside. Numbers of domestic and foreign tourists have fluctuated in recent years due to various factors including security and economic downturn,
27060-554: Was £4,693 million. The principal industry in Dorset was once agriculture. It has not, however, been the largest employer since the mid 19th century as mechanisation substantially reduced the number of workers required. Agriculture has become less profitable and the industry has declined further. Within the administrative county between 1995 and 2003, GVA for primary industry (largely agriculture, fishing and quarrying) declined from £229 million to £188 million—7.1% to 4.0%. In 2007, 2,039 km (787 sq mi) of
27225-427: Was £50,000. Most importantly running powers were obtained over the Admiralty line so as to reach and connect with Weymouth and Portland Railway. Having obtained the necessary authority, the company once again failed to act to construct the line, and in 1885 further plans were made for alterations to the route. The extremely ambitious intention now was to take over the Weymouth and Portland Railway, even though that company
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