The Avalanche Memorial Church, also known as the Church of St Andrew, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

church in Southwell, on the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

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 , ...

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. It was built in 1879 and remains active as part of the Portland Parish. The church, along with its boundary wall, has been a Grade II Listed building since September 1978. The church was designed C.R. George Crickmay in an early English style. Built by Lynham and Bayliss of Portland, it was completed in 1879 and consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury on 3 July. The church is not to be confused with the ruins of Portland's first parish church, the 13th century St Andrew's Church.

History

In September 1877, two ships, the SS ''Avalanche'' of the Shaw Savill Line and the SS ''Forest'', collided off Portland Bill during stormy conditions. The ''Avalanche'' was taking 63 passengers to their homes in New Zealand, while the ''Forest'' had a crew of 22. The tragedy claimed the lives of 106 people, and by the dawn local fishermen at Chesil Cove rescued the survivors and brought them ashore. The disaster became national news and a national campaign was launched, raising £2,000 in donations for a new church to be erected as a memorial. The church features memorials to those drowned and testimonials to the bravery of the local fishermen. Some of the windows, the lectern, and the pulpit were funded by relatives and friends of those who drowned. There is a picture of the ''Avalanche'', an artist's impression of the two Portland lerrets coming into land after the rescue and a framed copy of the testimonial presented to William Flann. There is also a brass tablet listing the names and, where known, the descriptions of the passengers and crew of the ''Avalanche''. The most notable artifact is the large anchor of the ''Avalanche'', which was raised and donated to the church in 1984.

References

External links

*
Portland Parish website
{{Isle of Portland Isle of Portland Churches in Dorset Grade II listed churches in Dorset 1879 establishments in England Church of England church buildings in Dorset