Links & Books
The research carried out for each article on this website refers to many sources and a detailed list of these can be found on each page. This page lists some of the key websites and sources, along with other books of interest.
Internet resources
Books
Stuart Morris - a local historian and author who has links to Portland dating back a number of generations. He has represented Portland within Dorset County Council, and was a founding member of the Portland Field Research Group and the Isle of Portland Heritage Trust. His range of books covering Portland's history are much recommended:
Other books of interest include:
Internet resources
- Geoff Kirby - the creator of the excellent Exploring Portland website, which covers every part of Portland in a wonderfully readable and enjoyable fashion, including many great photographs. He is the host of the Portland Picture Archive (Steps in Time Image Project) - a website containing 3,500 photographs of Portland and Portlanders from the pre-1945 years. In addition, he also hosts an archive of photographs on the Nothe Fort, one of the defences built in the 19th century to protect Portland Harbour.
- Pastscape - this is a website covering England's archaeology, historical monuments and architecture. As a database containing over 400,000 records, there is plenty on Portland, many of which has been recorded on the website by Reg Perry.
- Historic England - the National Heritage List for England is the official database for all designated heritage assets, including around 200 Portland-related listed buildings and scheduled monuments. The website includes information on each listed building or structure.
- Heritage Gateway - linked to the two above databases, Heritage Gateway allows visitors to search through many online databases and resources on heritage across the country, including the Dorset Historic Environment Record.
- Dorset Explorer - an interactive map covering Dorset, with many layers allowing for various features of Portland to be displayed from historic monuments and environmental records to public right of ways. There are some historic maps available for viewing, along with aerial photography covering 1947, 1972 and 1997, as well as recent years from 2002 onwards.
- Old Maps - Britain's "most comprehensive historical map archive", this fantastic resource has many Portland OS maps spanning from the 19th century and across the 20th century.
- The British Newspaper Archive - subscription is required for this excellent resource, allowing individuals to search through digitised archives of British newspapers.
- Britain from Above - this archive has a over 95,000 oblique aerial photographs available for viewing, a number of which show much of Portland during the mid-20th century.
Books
Stuart Morris - a local historian and author who has links to Portland dating back a number of generations. He has represented Portland within Dorset County Council, and was a founding member of the Portland Field Research Group and the Isle of Portland Heritage Trust. His range of books covering Portland's history are much recommended:
- Portland in Old Picture Postcards (1983 - European Library - ISBN: 978-9028826472 - Amazon link)
- Portland Pocket Guide (1984 - Artsmiths - ISBN: NONE)
- Portland: An Illustrated History (1985 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-0946159345 - Amazon link)
- Portland Camera (1990 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-0946159796 - Amazon link)
- Discover Dorset: Portland (1998 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-1874336495 - Amazon link)
- Portland, A Portrait in Colour (2002 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-1874336914 - Amazon link)
- Weymouth, A Portrait in Colour (2003 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-1904349167 - Amazon link)
- Portland Then and Now (2006 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-1904349488 - Amazon link)
- Dorset, The Royal Navy (2011 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-1904349884 - Amazon link)
- Weymouth & Portland (2012 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-1904349983 - Amazon link)
- Portland: An Illustrated History (revised and updated) - (2016 - Dovecote Press - ISBN: 978-0-9955462-0-2 - Dovecote Press link)
Other books of interest include:
- Isle of Portland Railways: Volume One - The Admiralty and Quarry Railways - Brian L. Jackson - Oakwood - 1999 - ISBN: 978-0853615408 - Amazon link
- Isle of Portland Railways: Volume Two - The Weymouth & Portland Railway/The Easton & Church Hope Railway - B. L. Jackson - The Oakwood Press - 2000 - ISBN: 978-0853615514 - Amazon link
- Isle of Portland Railways: Volume Three - Railway, Associated and Other Bus Services - B. L. Jackson - The Oakwood Press - 2000 - ISBN: 978-0853615668 - Amazon link
- Military Dorset Today - Colin Pomeroy - Silver Link Publishing Ltd - 1995 - ISBN: 978-1857940770 - Amazon link
- Old Portland (Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Memoirs of Island Life) - Jean M. Edwards, Rodney Legg - Dorset Publishing Company - 1983 - ISBN: 978-0902129481 - Amazon link
- Portland Convict Prison Miscellany Vol. 1 - John Hutton - 2017 - ISBN: 978-1527213197
- Portland Borstal Institution Miscellany Vol. 2 - John Hutton - 2018 - ISBN: 9781527229310
- Portland Encyclopaedia - Rodney Legg - Dorset Publishing Company - 1999 - ISBN: 978-0948699566 - Amazon link
- Portland Prison Illustrated - D. R. G. Legg - Sprint Signs and Graphics, Weymouth - 2000 - no ISBN
- Railways on the Isle of Portland - Martin Smith - Irwell Press - 1997 - ISBN: 978-1871608823 - Amazon link
- Stone to Build London: Portland's Legacy - Gill Hackman - Folly Books Ltd - 2014 - ISBN: 978-0956440594 - Amazon link
- The Book of Portland: Gibraltar of Wessex - Rodney Legg - Halsgrove - 2006 - ISBN: 978-1841144979 - Amazon link
- The Island and Royal Manor of Portland 1750-1851 - J. H. Bettey - University of Bristol - 1970 - ISBN: 978-0901047052 - Amazon link
- The Portland Year Book and Island Record 1905 - anon (reprinted by Portland Museum in 2004) - no ISBN - extracts found here
- The Royal Navy at Portland 1900-2000 - Geoffrey Carter - Maritime Books - 2001 - ISBN: 978-0907771807 - Amazon link
- The Royal Navy at Portland since 1845 - Geoffrey Carter - Maritime Books - 1986 - ISBN: 978-0907771296 - Amazon link