Salt Pans, Portland

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The Salt Pans seen from the cliff top of East Weares. Salt Pans, East Weares, Portland, Dorset.JPG
The Salt Pans seen from the cliff top of East Weares.

The Salt Pans are two salt pans on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Both pans sit next to one another, and are situated on the coastline of East Weares, the east side of Portland. The pans sit directly below the Young Offenders Institution HM Prison Portland, and are found close to various old historic relics such as the East Weare Rifle Range, Folly Pier, King's Pier and the remains of the Folly Pier Waterworks. The East Weares area, including the Salt Pans, has been labelled a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), largely due to the scrub and wildlife being of high nature conservation value. [1]

Contents

History

The southernmost salt pan seen close up. Salt Pans, East Weares, Portland, Dorset 8.JPG
The southernmost salt pan seen close up.

Situated along the eastern coastline of East Weares, [2] the two salt pans have existed for many centuries. The origins of the pans remain uncertain, however the limited evidence recorded suggest they are likely to be medieval. [3] During Saxon and Norman times the pans were one of two places for the thriving salt production industry on Portland. The other was the tidal lagoon known as The Mere, which was situated at the north of the island. The two pans at East Weares were formed by the digging of Kimmeridge clay. [4]

The pans would flood at high Spring Tides and once they dried out through the evaporation of the seawater, the encrusted salt would be removed from the rocks. [3] Although the pans have remained unused for centuries, both remain completely intact and undisturbed. [5]

Access

The salt pans can be reached via an unofficial pathway veering off the official coastal path of the East Weares area. A similar pathway further north links to the remains of the Folly Pier Waterworks. Sitting on the coastline, the pans link directly to the sea and thus can be reached via the coastline edge as well. The pans can also be viewed from the clifftops of Grove Point.

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Portland Bill

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Ringstead Bay

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Church Ope Cove

Church Ope Cove is a small secluded beach on the sheltered eastern side of the Isle of Portland in Dorset, southern England and is part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found close to the village of Wakeham. The beach has many unusual features for the Isle of Portland. The beach used to be sandy, but quarry debris now covers the sand, and has been worn into rounded pebbles. The pebbles cover a small stream which runs to the sea, which is one of the few active streams remaining on the Isle of Portland.

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 a complex history, built in three separate sections and operated jointly by two rival railway companies. Its construction needed twelve years of blasting through solid rock and three extensions of Parliamentary time.

Balaclava Bay

Balaclava Bay is a bay situated on the edge of Portland Harbour, where the breakwater meets the island, at the northern end of the Isle of Portland, Dorset, in southern England. The bay is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. The bay is overlooked by the Victorian East Weare Battery, built in the 1860s to protect the harbour. The nearest road within the dockyard of Portland Port is named Balaclava Road.

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 Weare.

Broadcroft Quarry

Broadcroft Quarry is an active stone quarry and part butterfly nature reserve located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located towards the eastern side of the island, where it lies to the east of the village Easton and close to The Grove village. The reserve section is now a valued home for a number of butterfly species, while the working quarry area is one of the largest active quarries on Portland and has supplied London with natural Portland stone for many years. The quarry is owned by Portland Stone Firms Ltd, along with Perryfield and Coombefield Quarries. The firm is the largest landholder on the island. The nature reserve is managed by Butterfly Conservation.

Great Southwell Landslip

The Great Southwell Landslip occurred in 1734 on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England near the southerly village of Southwell and extended for a length of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) between Durdle Pier and Freshwater Bay. It remains Britain's second largest recorded historical landslide.

Folly Pier Waterworks

Folly Pier Waterworks was a 19th-century waterworks on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The building was located at East Weares, the east side of Portland, below HM Prison Portland, which it supplied water for. Today, only the foundations and walls of its reservoirs survive. The waterworks was named after Folly Pier, a pier once used for the transporting of Portland stone by sea.

NCI Portland Bill

NCI Portland Bill is a National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) lookout station on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The station is situated 50 metres above sea level on the cliff edge, half a mile north of the tip of Portland Bill. It is located close to the Old Higher Lighthouse.

Kings Pier

King's Pier is a 17th-century stone shipping quay, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England; part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found at the boundary point of the land owned by Portland Port Ltd, on the east side of the island within the area of East Weares. To the north of the pier is Balaclava Bay, whilst further south along the coastline are the remains of Folly Pier and Folly Pier Waterworks, East Weare Rifle Range, the two Salt Pans, Little Beach and Durdle Pier respectively. When active, King's Pier was one of the most important stone shipping pier sites.

Folly Pier

Folly Pier is a disused stone shipping quay, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England; part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found on the east side of the island within the area of East Weares. Other piers within the area include King's Pier and Durdle Pier respectively. Folly Pier dates from the 17th century.

East Weare Rifle Range

East Weare Rifle Range is a disused naval rifle range on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located within the area of East Weares, overlooking Portland Harbour. The range became a scheduled monument in October 2015, which included the stop butt of Portland stone, 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.

Little Beach, Portland

Little Beach is a small secluded beach on the eastern side of the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England; part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found at East Weares, below Grove Point, and is found in close proximity of the two Salt Pans. The East Weares area, including Little Beach, has been labelled a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), largely due to the surrounding scrub and wildlife being of high nature conservation value.

References

  1. ↑ "File:East Weares - Portland Goats Sign - Portland, Dorset.JPG - Wikimedia Commons". Commons.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
  2. ↑ http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MDO19643&resourceID=1012
  3. 1 2 "Salt pans, a mine and a dead whale on Portland, Dorset". Geoffkirby.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
  4. ↑ Morris, Stuart (1985). Portland, an Illustrated History. Dorset: The Dovecote Press, Wimborne, Dorset. p. 20. ISBN   0-946159-34-3.
  5. ↑ "Chesil Beach, Dorset - Geological Field Guide, Introduction by Dr. Ian West". Southampton.ac.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-03.

Coordinates: 50°33′03″N2°24′59″W / 50.5508°N 2.4165°W / 50.5508; -2.4165

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