East Weare Rifle Range is a disused naval rifle range 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 (unitary authority), Dors ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is located within the area of East Weares, overlooking

Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and rema ...

. The range became a scheduled monument in October 2015, which included the stop butt of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

, the marker's gallery and 100-yard firing position. It remains on the private property of Portland Port Ltd, and has not been opened to the public, however can be seen from surrounding coastal paths. The range was not the only one of its kind on the island. A rifle and revolver range was once located near King's Pier, while a late 20th-century light automatic range was also located nearby.

History

The East Weare Rifle Range was built at the beginning of the 20th century on land the war department purchased. It was built as part of the general development of the naval base and its training provisions, where it was used to train naval and other military service personnel. Due to its close proximity to the railway line of the

Portland Branch Railway The Portland Branch railway was a railway line located on the Isle of Portland in the English county of Dorset. The line operated from the late nineteenth century until closing to passengers in 1952 and goods in 1965. For a short line, it had ...

, red flags would be hoisted whenever the range was in use. The range ceased operating during the 1980s after the government reviewed all active firing ranges in the UK and classed Portland's range as dangerous due to the public footpaths surrounding it. Today, the range remains a reminder of the military presence at Portland. The surrounding area is designated a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI). In 2007, ten British Primitive goats were released into the area to control the scrub.

Design

The large stop butt is located at the south-east end of the range, and measures approximately 100 metres in length and 30 metres wide. The marker's gallery, situated on the opposite side, survives in reasonable condition. It held the Hythe pattern target frame which was used to raise and lower the targets. The range had firing points, earth and stone-built mounds, at 100 yard intervals from 100 yards to 600 yards, with an additional lane of fire to the north-east, firing from 800 yards. Today, only the 100 and 200 yard positions survive. Within proximity of the rifle range are two remaining sentry posts, where lookouts would warn away walkers when shooting was taking place. An observation post also remains above the range on the clifftop. There are also two World War II pillboxes within the range's perimeter.

References

Gallery

Image:East Weares Rifle Range, Portland, Dorset.JPG, The range from the clifftop coast path of East Weares. Image:East Weares Rifle Range, Portland, Dorset 2.JPG, The range's back stop and markers' gallery from the clifftop path. Image:East Weares Rifle Range, Portland, Dorset 4.JPG, The side of the rifle range. Image:East Weares Rifle Range, Portland, Dorset 6.JPG, One of the surviving sentry posts. {{Jurassic Coast Isle of Portland Shooting ranges in the United Kingdom Rifle ranges Military installations established in 1903