St. Peter's Church is a former Church of England church in The Grove, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. Designed by Major-General Sir Edmund Du Cane, [1] the church was built in 1870-72 and is now a Grade II* Listed building. [2] The gate piers and boundary walls to the north and west of the church are also Grade II Listed, [3] along with the church's vicarage. [4] St. Peter's Church is included on Historic England's "Heritage at Risk" register. [1] [5]
St Peter's Church was built between 1870 and 1872, for a cost of £8,000 and using convict labour from the adjacent HM Prison Portland. It was consecrated in August 1872 and used by residents of the Grove and the military garrison stationed at the Verne Citadel. [6] [7] [8] [9] St Peter's became redundant in 1973, but was retained as a chapel for the prison, then a Borstal Institution, until 1988. [10] The church is now in private ownership. [11]
The church is built of Portland stone and has slate roofs. The church, featuring ornate architecture, still maintains many of its original features and is set in walled gardens with mature trees. The stained glass inside dates from the 20th century. During World War II, one of the church's windows suffered bomb damage and was replaced with one dedicated to the memory of Bandmaster J. Tyson and men of the Dorset Regiment killed in action. Within the church is a mosaic, bordering around the porch and chancel, which was the work of female convicts, including Constance Kent, who was serving a life sentence in HM Prison Parkhurst. [2] [8] In the 1972 book The Buildings of England, authors Newman and Pevsner stated "St Peter is in its own way as surprising and as bold in scale as St George's Church, Reforne, Easton." [8]
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 520-hectare (1,300-acre) surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains one of the largest in the world today. It is naturally sheltered by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and mainland Dorset to the north. It consists of four breakwaters: two southern and two northern. These have a total length of 4.57 km (2.84 mi) and enclose approximately 1,000 ha of water.
Fortuneswell is a village in Underhill on the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, England. It lies on steeply sloping land on the northern edge of the island, known as Underhill, where Chesil Beach connects the island to the mainland. Adjoining Fortuneswell are Chiswell to the west and Castletown to the north. Fortuneswell occupies the steeper land above sea level, whereas Chiswell and Castletown occupy flat land close to sea level, next to Chesil Beach and Portland Harbour respectively. Fortuneswell has a main shopping street, and along with Easton, is the main hub of the island's activities.
Verne Citadel is a 19th-century citadel on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Located on the highest point of Portland, Verne Hill, it sits in a commanding position overlooking Portland Harbour, which it was built to defend. It later became HM Prison The Verne in 1949.
Easton is a village on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The village is situated at Tophill, within the centre of the island. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, Easton, including the settlements Reforne and Straits, has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. Easton, Wakeham and Reforne were designated pre-1974.
Samuel Sanders Teulon was an English Gothic Revival architect, noted for his use of polychrome brickwork and the complex planning of his buildings.
Wakeham is a hamlet near the village of Easton, in Tophill on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. It is situated between the Straits part of Easton, and Pennsylvania Castle. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, Wakeham has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. Easton, Wakeham and Reforne were designated pre-1974. The hamlet features a distinctively wide road running through it, once built to allow space for horse-drawn carts transporting stone by road. Many of Wakeham's older buildings of the 17th and 18th century survive.
Richard Charles Hussey (1806–1887), often referred to as R. C. Hussey, was a British architect. He was in partnership with Thomas Rickman from 1835, whose practice he assumed in 1838 with the latter's failing health; Rickman died on 4 January, 1841.
Benjamin Ferrey FSA FRIBA was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival.
St George's Church is a Church of England church on the Isle of Portland, built between 1754 and 1766 to replace St. Andrew's which had fallen into disuse and was no longer suitable as a place of worship.
HM Prison Portland is a male Adult/Young Offenders Institution in the village of The Grove on the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison was originally opened in 1848 as an adult convict establishment, before becoming a Borstal in 1921, and a YOI in 1988. In 2011 it became an Adult/Young Offenders establishment.
Charles Edwin Ponting, F.S.A., (1850–1932) was a Gothic Revival architect who practised in Marlborough, Wiltshire.
The Grove is a small village located at Tophill on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. The village is found close to the larger village Easton, and is most notable for containing the HM Prison Portland, including its museum Grove Prison Museum. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, The Grove has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. The village was designated in 1981.
St Andrew's Church is a ruined church located above Church Ope Cove on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. St Andrew's was Portland's first parish church and remained as such until the mid-18th century. It is now one of the island's prime historical sites, and is a Grade II* Listed Building and a Scheduled Monument. The southern retaining wall of the churchyard is also Grade II Listed, as are three remaining churchyard monuments, approximately 7 metres south of the church.
Governor's Community Garden is a public garden, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is found within The Grove village, opposite the site of HM Prison Portland.
St George's Centre is a former school, built in the 19th century, and now a community information and activity centre on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located in the area of Reforne, near the village of Easton. Both the centre and its community hall, which was formerly the school assembly hall, have been a Grade II listed since 1978.
Queen Anne House is an 18th-century detached house located within the village of Fortuneswell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The house, together with its boundary wall and gate piers, has been a Grade II* listed building since May 1993.
Grove Lime Kiln is a disused 19th century lime kiln on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located close to HM Prison Portland and The Grove village. Owned by the prison service, the lime kiln has been Grade II Listed since 2009.
St. John's Church is an Anglican Church of England church in Fortuneswell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. It was built between 1838–40 and has been a Listed Grade II building since January 1951. The churchyard walls, gate piers, railings, and steps of St. John's Church, dating from 1839–40, became Grade II Listed in September 1978. At this same time, two headstone monuments, about 5 metres north east from the west tower of the church became Grade II Listed.
Easton Methodist Church is a Methodist Church in Easton, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, which was built in 1906–07. The church, along with its former manse and boundary walls, has been a Grade II* Listed since May 1993. Its church hall was formerly a Wesleyan school, dated 1878 on the porch. The school, with the boundary wall, was designated Grade II in May 1993. The church remains active to date, as part of the Portland Methodist Circuit – which involves two churches; Underhill Methodist Church and Easton Methodist Church.
Richard Carver (1792-1862) was a prolific architect of churches and secular buildings in Somerset, England, first based in his home town of Bridgwater and from 1828 in Taunton. Possibly a pupil of Sir Jeffry Wyatville, he held the post of county surveyor, from which he retired in 1857 and died at Wilton, now part of Taunton, on 1 September 1862.