About
A warm welcome to the Encyclopedia of Portland History website. Created in 2014, the purpose of this website is to provide an easily-accessible and educational resource on Portland; particularly covering the many sites of interest located across the island. The website has information on all of Portland's villages and other settlements, as well as the history of the various military sites, attractions, beaches, gardens, churches, industry and other relics of Portland's intriguing past.
The origins of this website dates back to September 2012 when I first expanded a Portland-related article on Wikipedia. From that time onwards, I became affixed with expanding Portland's coverage on the online encyclopedia. This became an ongoing project, and eventually Portland's coverage there far exceeded the usual density of information seen about a particular location. A wide range of historical sites had their own articles created and existing ones were redeveloped and expanded. This sole effort took over two years alone - such is the sheer size and range of Portland's history!
In May 2014, I decided to create a dedicated website on Portland. The main reason for this was to free myself from the general guidelines and restrictions imposed on Wikipedia. With my own website, I am able to cover more topics and add many more photographs to each topic than would be possible otherwise.
Born in Dorchester, I was only four years old when I moved to Portland in 1998. I spent seven years there, which started a lasting fondness for the island. I still retain fond memories of growing up there. The island was essentially one large playground and certainly a rather unusual place in comparison to the more conventional urbanised areas of Britain. Although I left the island in 2005, my connection to Portland has been maintained by frequent visits.
I'm immensely proud of the work achieved here. I hope that the website allows anybody with an interest in the island to enjoy instant access to a wide range of its history. Portland is a place with lots of potential, and much to see, even if there is a danger of losing a lot of its history through lack of care and investment.
The website is regularly being updated, while new articles will also continue to appear into the foreseeable future.
Ashley Smith
The origins of this website dates back to September 2012 when I first expanded a Portland-related article on Wikipedia. From that time onwards, I became affixed with expanding Portland's coverage on the online encyclopedia. This became an ongoing project, and eventually Portland's coverage there far exceeded the usual density of information seen about a particular location. A wide range of historical sites had their own articles created and existing ones were redeveloped and expanded. This sole effort took over two years alone - such is the sheer size and range of Portland's history!
In May 2014, I decided to create a dedicated website on Portland. The main reason for this was to free myself from the general guidelines and restrictions imposed on Wikipedia. With my own website, I am able to cover more topics and add many more photographs to each topic than would be possible otherwise.
Born in Dorchester, I was only four years old when I moved to Portland in 1998. I spent seven years there, which started a lasting fondness for the island. I still retain fond memories of growing up there. The island was essentially one large playground and certainly a rather unusual place in comparison to the more conventional urbanised areas of Britain. Although I left the island in 2005, my connection to Portland has been maintained by frequent visits.
I'm immensely proud of the work achieved here. I hope that the website allows anybody with an interest in the island to enjoy instant access to a wide range of its history. Portland is a place with lots of potential, and much to see, even if there is a danger of losing a lot of its history through lack of care and investment.
The website is regularly being updated, while new articles will also continue to appear into the foreseeable future.
Ashley Smith
In regards to copyright: the articles and photographs of the website have been created/taken by Ashley Smith. A small number of photographs are the work of other authors which are clearly credited as such. All material should not be distributed, modified, republished, or otherwise, unless for non-commercial purposes. Non-commercial usage is welcomed providing appropriate credit is given. For any commercial use, please email using the address or contact form provided on the 'Contact' section of the website.
