Portesham, sometimes also spelled Portisham,
is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in the
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
in southwest England, situated in the
Dorset Council administrative area approximately northwest of
Weymouth, southwest of the county town
Dorchester, and northeast of the
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-Decembe ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
at
Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain.A. P. Carr and M. W. L. Blackley, "Investigations Bearing on the Age and Development of Chesil Beach, Dorset, and the Associat ...
. The parish is quite large, covering several outlying hamlets and what were once their manors. In the
2011 census it had a population of 685 in 316 households
[ and 342 dwellings.
]
Description
In 1905 Sir Frederick Treves
Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet (15 February 1853 – 7 December 1923), was a prominent British surgeon, and an expert in anatomy. Treves was renowned for his surgical treatment of appendicitis, and is credited with saving the life of K ...
described the village's site as being ''"in a hollow among the downs"'' so that it was ''"too low to command a view of the sea"'', but nevertheless ''"in a south-westerly gale the roar of the breakers on the Chesil Beach can be heard in the village."'' The houses in Portesham comprise a mix of old grey stone cottages and more modern buildings in various styles.[ A stream runs alongside the main street.
]
History
The area around Portesham is rich in prehistoric remains. On the hills to the north of the village are several Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
barrows and a Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
chambered long barrow called the Hell Stone
The Hell Stone is a badly-restored Neolithic dolmen on Portesham Hill in Dorset, England.
It is around north of the village of Portesham, and approximately southeast of the Valley of Stones.
Description
The Hell Stone is situated at the head ...
, which may have been used as a resting place for people awaiting burial in the nearby Valley of Stones.
In 1024 Portesham was granted as a manor by King Canute
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...
. The lands were first given to Orc, Canute's servant and subsequently to the monastery of Abbotsbury. In 1086 at the time of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
the village had 34 households, of meadow and 9 ploughland
The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...
s. It was in Uggescombe Hundred
Uggescombe Hundred was a hundred in the county of Dorset, England, containing the following parishes:
*Abbotsbury
* Chilcombe
*Fleet
*Hawkchurch (part)
*Kingston Russell
*Langton Herring
*Littlebredy
* Litton Cheney
*Portesham
* Puncknowle
*Swyr ...
and the lords and tenants-in-chief
In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as oppos ...
were Abbotsbury Abbey and Hawise, wife of Hugh son of Grip.
At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries the manor was granted to William Paulet, Lord St. John. The manor was also held at one time by the Trenchard family. The manor was partly sold in fee to the tenants by Sir Andrew Ricard. Upon his death, in 1672, the remainder passed to his daughter Christian and she married John, Lord Berkeley of Stratton. The manor then passed down through his family.
Running through the parish is an outcrop of Purbeck limestone
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone.
Geology
Str ...
, which was formerly quarried. Portesham quarry operated in the 19th and early 20th centuries, producing stone that was used in domestic and ecclesiastical buildings within the local area, including Abbotsbury Abbey. A limekiln
A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is
: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2
This reaction can take pl ...
was sited within the quarry.
A week-long fair was held in early August every year in Portesham until the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Known as "Possum Fes' Wik", the event included all-night dancing.[
Portesham had a ]railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
sited across fields to the south of the village, on a branch line between Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropic ...
(the neighbouring village to the west) and Upwey (between Dorchester and Weymouth). The line and station closed in 1952.
Governance
Portesham is in the Chesil Bank electoral ward, which also includes the neighbouring settlements of Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropic ...
, Litton Cheney
Litton Cheney is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England. It lies west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited beneath chalk hills in the valley of the small River Bride. In the 2011 census the parish had a ...
and Rodden. The total ward population at the 2011 census was 2,094. The ward is one of 32 that comprise the West Dorset parliamentary constituency, which is currently represented in the UK national parliament by the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Oliver Letwin
Sir Oliver Letwin (born 19 May 1956) is a British politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dorset from 1997 to 2019. Letwin was elected as a member of the Conservative Party, but sat as an independent after having the whip removed in S ...
.
Vice-Admiral Hardy
Captain Thomas Hardy, one of Lord Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...
's commanders at the Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
, lived in the village. He was born a few miles away at Kingston Russell House,[ lived in Portesham as a boy, and again as an older man at Portesham House.][ He affectionately referred to the village as "Possum"][ and is commemorated by the ]Hardy Monument
The Hardy Monument is a monument on the summit of Black Down, Dorset, Black Down in Dorset, erected in 1844 by public subscription in memory of Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, flag captain of Horatio Nelson, 1st Vi ...
, a tower high, erected above the village in 1844 on the top of Black Down and visible over half the county.
Parish church
The parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of St Peter is part of the Dorset Wildlife Trust
Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) is a wildlife trust covering the county of Dorset, United Kingdom. The trust was founded in 1961 as Dorset Naturalists' Trust, to protect and conserve the wildlife and natural habitats of the county.
DWT is one of 4 ...
's "Living Churchyard Project" and manages the churchyard for the benefit of wildlife. Part of the churchyard grass remains uncut to allow the growth of wildflowers, over 70 different species of which have been identified. A 1994 survey identified over 50 species of lichen. In 2011 the church won Best New Entry in the "Living Churchyard Competition".
In 1897, the 13th century St Bartholomew's Chapel at Corton was consecrated as a chapel of ease to St Peter's.
References
External links
Portesham Local History
Portesham Village Website (including local history)
{{Authority control
Villages in Dorset