The Great Southwell Landslip
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The Great Southwell Landslip occurred in 1734 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 near the southerly village of Southwell and extended for a length of between
Durdle Pier Durdle Pier is a disused 17th-century stone shipping quay, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England; part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found close by Yeolands Quarry, on the east side of the island within the area of East Weares and Penn's ...
and
Freshwater Bay Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
. It remains Britain's second largest recorded historical landslide.


Geological factors

Cracks and gullies within the cliffs had allowed rain water to percolate through the layers of Purbeck Beds, Portland Limestone and Portland Sand to the underlying impermeable Kimmeridge Clay, and the accumulation of water had weakened the structure between the strata. Because the island tilts to the south and the east, this allowed the overlying strata to slip.


Effects

At St Andrew's Church a large section of the graveyard slipped down the cliff. A survey of the old church found that repairs would cost at least half as much as a new building. Consequently the church was closed and partly demolished in July 1756. Much of the stone was taken for use in local domestic dwellings. St George's Church was soon built at Reforne between 1754 and 1766, near Easton village, to replace the church.


Subsequent history

Since the landslip the area south of Church Ope Cove has been given the local name of Southwell Landslips. The cliff face has been subject to extensive quarrying, and subsequent smaller landslips have tilted huge masses of rocks at odd angles. Along this part of the coastline much of Portland's raw sewage once poured into the sea from an exposed pipe. An expensive scheme was completed to pump all Portland's sewage to Weymouth. The area is to be a new nature reserve, created as part of a housing development north of Weston Road and to the south-east of Perryfields, and the existing Perryfields Butterfly Reserve and SNCI. In the north-eastern corner of Coombefield is the working Pennsylvania Quarry, which has existing wildlife value.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwell Landslip, 1734 Isle of Portland Jurassic Coast Landslides in the United Kingdom Landslides in 1734 1734 in Great Britain