Victoria Square, Portland

The roundabout at Victoria Square.

Victoria Square is a public square on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The square is situated at the entrance to Portland, within close proximity to Chesil Beach, Ocean Quay, and the small fishing village of Chiswell. The square developed during the 19th-century.

History

The view from Victoria Gardens down to the square.

During the mid 19th-century, Captain Charles Manning of Portland Castle decided to develop the entrance to the island. This was in direct relation to the arrival of Portland's railway from the mainland. The site had already been chosen as the location for the island's initial sole railway station, which would open on 25 May 1864, after the extension of the Weymouth railway line to Portland between 1862-64.^[1] Manning had acquired the old Poor House in 1860, as well as some common land owned by the Crown Estate. The Poor House was demolished, with the Royal Victoria Lodge Hotel replacing it in around 1867. The hotel's name referenced royal visitors to the island.^[2] Opposite the hotel, a terrace was erected to overlook the square. This site, which became known as Victoria Square, also became the site of the traditional Portland Fair since 1862.^[3]

The station, a twin-pavilion structure, faced onto Victoria Square,^[4] and attracted further business into the area, with the Portland Gas Works being built in 1865. A sawmill was erected next to the railway station, by the Portland Stone Company, and steam saws were introduced there during 1877. That same year saw the building of The Terminus Hotel, a public house which was later renamed The Little Ship during the 1970s. In 1878 local builder John Patten erected Portland's first Masonic Hall at Victoria Square.^[5] The hall was decorated with stone carvings by E. H. Grassby, who also carved the gateway arch for the adjoining gasworks during the same year.^[2] During this period an observatory was built within the square, which was used by Rev. William Robert Morris Waugh.^[6]

The neighbouring village of Castletown was positioned next to Portland's naval base, and as such it became known as "Drunkards' Row" whenever sailors came ashore to visit the village pubs. In 1880 a teetotal coffee shop was established by Aggie Weston as a counter-measure, at Victoria Square.^[7] In 1886, F. J. Barnes purchased the Portland Stone Company's sawmill.^[8] During 1898 a ceremony celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for a new, and larger, masonic hall.^[9] The hall was completed that year for the Masonic fraternity "Portland Lodge" (No 1037). Designed with an externally plain structure, internally the building has a large assembly hall, and above this a large lodge room.^[10] In 1902, when Portland's railway line was extended to Easton village, the original Portland station would become a goods station.^[11]

During 1902 suggestions were made to create two open land sites on Portland into public gardens. One of these was Little Common, situated between at the bottom of Fortuneswell village, and close to the villages of Castletown and Chiswell, overlooking the square. The garden, named Victoria Gardens, was sanctioned in 1903, and opened in 1904, along with its associate Easton Gardens. Portland originally had two cinemas during the early 20th-century; the one at Easton was known as Easton Palace, which opened in 1915, and the other, known as The Palace, was situated at Victoria Square. The Palace would have most likely opened around the same time, but its role diminished when silent movies were replaced by 'talkies', along with the building of The Regal Cinema at Fortuneswell in 1932. Both Palaces were owned by the pioneering English theatre proprietor and cinema developer Albany Ward, who owned a number of cinemas in the West Country and the Channel Islands. Weymouth was Ward's main base and residence.^[12] Ward's two cinemas were listed under "Large Theater Circuits in Great Britain" in The Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures of 1922-23.^[13]

The Royal Victoria Lodge as seen in 2011.

Chiswell and Victoria Square had long been susceptible to sea flooding, whenever storms caused waves to breach Chesil Beach. The railway station, along with the Admiralty's filling-in of the tidal lagoon known as the Mere, caused the blocking of the natural outlet of floodwater from the square. The idea for building a sea wall within the area had been put forward since the early 20th century. With the rise of unemployment following the First World War, it was suggested in 1920 that 250 local men could be hired to build the sea wall. However the council chose other schemes instead, including leveling a recreation ground north of the newer Masonic Hall. By this point the hall itself began looking increasingly weathered.^[14] In 1935, the stone mills site at Victoria Square closed, and the work was transferred to a new site at Portland's Wide Street near Easton village.^[15] The following year saw King Edward VIII arrive on the island to inspect the naval base. However his journey on train had coincided with a flood, and the king had to spend a night in his flood-bound carriage at the square's station. The incident sparked further pressure from Chiswell village residents for sea defences.^[16]

The Second World War bought many air raids to Portland due to the important naval base. As part of pre-invasion measures, a minefield was laid from the main A354 road to the top of Chesil Beach, behind and alongside the newer Masonic Hall. The mines used were naval beach mines (mine B type C), and these formed part of the Isle of Portland defences and Dorset coast defences. It was laid out during 1940-41, and cleared before 1946.^[17] In addition to this, a tank trap was placed near the minefield, within the recreation ground. The trap comprised a set of square concrete blocks, with pyramid shaped tops. They were constructed and laid during 1940-41. The structures have since been destroyed.^[18]

In December 1942 a large-scale flood hit Victoria Square and Chiswell village. 150 houses were affected in total, with many residents becoming trapped in the higher levels of their homes to escape the flooding. The war effort meant that limited relief could be supplied. With Weymouth and Portland being a major embarkation point of Allied Forces for D-Day in 1944, the Royal Victoria Lodge became a makeshift hospital.^[19]

The Portland Gas Works was closed in 1959, and was replaced by a plant hire yard.^[1] With the commissioning of RNAS Portland (HMS Osprey) in 1959, later expansion of the station during the 1970s meant that much of the grassland surrounding the north of Victoria Square was enclosed. The main guardroom/gatehouse was situated on the southern edge of the perimeter to HMS Osprey, just off Victoria Square, alongside one of a number of Cold War Norcon-style pillboxes protecting the site. The base later closed in 1999, and the perimeter soon removed afterwards.^[20]

Portland's railway operated until it closed to passengers in 1952 and goods in 1965. In 1969, the square's railway station was demolished, and replaced by a roundabout.^[1] A commemorative stone and plaque, acting as a boundary marker, was later placed near the square, giving a brief history of the railway.^[6] In 1977 Smiths of Portland, a bus operator, had outgrown its base in Easton and moved to the former Southern National garage in Victoria Square. The company occupied the site until the end of the 20th-century.^[21]

The Little Ship.

Between 1958 and 1965 a sea wall for Chiswell as completed, with other flood prevention measures put in place throughout the rest of the century. This in turn helped protect Victoria Square. Although the protective measures of the wall were great, particularly violent storms were still successful in breaching the beach. In both December 1978 and February 1979, two major floods saw international attention focus on Chiswell and the square. Further funding resulted in new protection works.^[22] The flooding in 1978 saw the destruction of Chesil Beach Motors' showroom, situated alongside The Little Ship. The showroom was originally made up of three houses, before being converted. The company decided to move to new premises in Easton following the flooding, and the Victoria Square block was demolished due to extensive damage.^[6] The company continues to run today.^[23] During the late 20th-century, a large section of the recreation ground alongside the newer Masonic Hall was turned into the Masonic car park.^[24]

The square saw a decline in attractiveness over the 20th century, and in 1995 a refurbishment scheme began on improving selected parts of Underhill. Victoria Square was enhanced with flower beds, paving and ornamental lighting, as well as the positioning on the roundabout of a large anchor from Portland Harbour. A commemorative stone was unveiled in 1996 by HRH The Duke of York once the work was completed.^[1] The northern area of the square is occupied by grassland. For the millennium, two ornamental pillars, made of Portland Stone, were planned to mark the entrance to Portland. They were erected on the grassland site, and officially 'opened' during June 2004. The pillars were designed to be used as safe nesting sites for seagulls, which were designated as an endangered species on the RSPB's Red List.^[6]

Near the site of the demolished Chesil Beach Motors block is now the premises of the Portline Taxi company. As a trading name of Weyline Cars Ltd, the company decided to retain the "Portline" name as homage to the island, when they first opened their office in Victoria Square.^[25] During the beginning of the 21st-century, the Royal Victoria Hotel was redeveloped as the free-house Masons and Mariners, however this business ended up ceasing its operations in 2009.^[6] It re-opened under its original name in March 2011, but closed again the following year.^[26] The building has remained boarded up and unoccupied since, though it has been sold for £350,000.^[27][28] The square is also home to Portland's Sewerage Pumping Works, with all sewerage gathered to the works before being transported to the Wyke Regis sewerage station.^[6]

Grade listed buildings

The Little Ship, a pub located at Victoria Square, became Grade II Listed in May 1993. The building, externally, is a complete example of a modest classical-style Victorian pub, holding a very important corner to this Square, at the main entry from the mainland to the island.^[29] The Royal Victoria Hotel also became Grade II Listed at the same time. Again it holds an important position on the corner of the Square, complementing The Little Ship opposite.^[30]

Portland Skate Park

The other section of Victoria Square's recreation ground, not to be transformed as a car park, would become a Skate Park, known simply as Portland Skate Park.^[31] Portland has the distinction of being home to the UK's first skate park, which was located at Tophill, on the grounds of Portland Market. It had been built around 1977, but was later removed after the landowner and local council had disagreements over taxation.^[32]

The Portland Skate Park at Victoria Square was first established around 2005, at a cost of £20,000. However in June 2009, the park was set to be removed after complaints of crumbling, rusty metal ramps, despite the facility being only three years old.^[33] Weymouth & Portland Borough Council attempted to get the manufacturers of the equipment to refurbish the equipment, as it had been expected to remain safe for 10 years. However the company declined to carry out the refurbishment work.^[34]

Afterwards work commenced on a new £200,000 skate park for the same site. The project was funded as part of the South West Regional Development Agency's (RDA) sale agreement on the nearby Officers Field. The agency had made an agreement with the developer, Zero C, that £500,000 from future RDA land sale receipts was to be invested into sporting and leisure facilities within 500 metres of the new housing development. The Portland Skate Park Users Group worked alongside local skaters to design the park and worked with skate park developers Freestyle to construct the site. On 13 November 2010 the park was officially opened, with 150 young people from across Dorset attending the event.^[35]

References

Coordinates: 50°33′48″N 2°26′59″W / 50.5633°N 2.4498°W / 50.5633; -2.4498