Portland Through the Ages by Stuart Morris

At the first meeting of the New Year,  Stuart Morris,  the well-known Portland  historian,  entertained the South Dorset Group of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society with a programme of slides showing Portland through the ages.  His collection illustrated the changing pattern of life on the Island, beginning with Roman stone coffins from two thousand  years ago, and ending with the new industries which have followed the departure of the Royal Navy.  Originally agriculture and fishing  were the main occupations of the people,  and Stuart’s pictures of a patchwork of small fields and  wind-swept jetties, illustrated the rural nature of the community..  The growing demand for Portland stone was at first satisfied with small-scale quarrying along the cliffs, where stone could easily be removed on barges.  Later when the industry boomed, and with the advent of steam, the quarrying moved inland, and changed the landscape for ever.  Roads and bridges were built to facilitate the transport of stone to the loading quays at Castletown.  The threat of invasion from France required the construction of large-scale defences such as  the fortifications on the Verne, and this again modified the traditional countryside.  Throughout his presentation,  Stuart emphasized  how these activities impacted  on the local people together with their dwellings, and many of his slides showed groups of  country folk going about their daily business in the Portland villages.  One of his favourite scenes showed an ancestor who was a mobile butcher, complete with horse and cart, delivering meat to customers in Chiswell, or Cheselton  as it was previously called.

Tony Johnson

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