Tout Quarry Sculpture Park
Tout Quarry Sculpture Park and Nature Reserve is an area of former quarries, now designated a sculpture park and nature reserve. It is located in the north-west corner of Tophill and has become one of Portland's most popular attractions. The Latin meaning of "Tout" is "look-out", referring to the quarry's position at West Cliff.
The sculpture park opened in 1983, with many of the site's carvings, sculptures and works in Portland stone being created between 1983-85. In 2012, the quarry was also designated a nature reserve. It is managed by Dorset Wildlife Trust, alongside the nearby King Barrow Quarry Nature Reserve.
Both Tout and King Barrow Quarries form part of the Portland Quarries Nature Park, which opened in 2013 and also includes reserves at Broadcroft and Perryfield Quarries, Verne Common, and sections of Inmosthay and Bowers Quarries. The forming of the nature park has allowed for the restoration, enhancement and improved management of its various sites, while also providing better public access to them. Restoration of the ecological habitats includes the removal of harmful and invasive plant species, while archaeological and industrial features relating to past quarrying are preserved. Habitat management ensures that wildlife suited to limestone grassland can continue to thrive.
History
Operational history
Tout Quarry was worked commercially since at least the 18th century. Initially most of the quarrying was undertaken on the clifftops of West Cliff, but progressively moved inland into Tour over the course of the 19th century. The north-western part of Tophill supported other quarries alongside Tout, including Trade and Bowers Quarries to the south and Inmosthay Quarries to the east. Traditionally Tout Quarry was divided into small workings, each of which had different owners and were worked by separate quarry gangs. Tout produced both Whit Bed and Base Bed stone, which had to be extracted from 30-60 feet down. As a result, much overburden and waste rock had to be removed before the quality stone was reached.
From the early-to-mid-19th century, waste stone and overburden was either being tipped off the cliff edge onto the West Weares below, or being used to form the large waste tips (or 'beaches') still in existence by West Cliff. A series of gullies were formed within the tips, allowing tramway lines to be laid for carrying waste stone and overburden to the cliff edge to be tipped. This latter form of disposal produced the large scree slopes seen at West Weare today.
Quarrying at Tout largely ceased in the early 20th century. During World War II, the quarry was chosen as the site of the Coastal Defence/Chain Home Low (CHL) radar station M73, which was established by the British Army and soon taken over by the Royal Air Force. It was used for the monitoring of shipping and aircraft, and later retained for use as part of the Cold War ROTOR programme and finally by the Royal Navy. The station was later demolished, but much rubble remains within the quarry.
Tout Quarry was the proposed location for a leisure home development in the 1970s. The planning application, submitted by Massey Associates & Co. in 1976, wished to construct 130 houses within the quarry, along with a swimming pool, tennis court and administration area. However, the scheme never came to fruition and the site remained unused. Later in 1982, a final extraction of stone from Tout took place when 30,000 tons was removed for use as part of sea defences.
Establishment of sculpture park (1983)
The Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust was established in 1983 and their aim of "re-establishing a spirit of creativity in the Portland Quarries" saw Tout Quarry transformed into a sculpture park, which opened under their care that year as the Portland Clifftop Sculpture Park. The quarry had been leased to the trust by the owners Kingston Minerals Limited, while the idea for the park had been the brainchild of Portland resident Jonathan Phipps, who was an art consultant for Ambient. Having had the idea years before, he aspired to create a sculpture park and workshop space for the island and would be one of the key organisers behind Tout's transformation.
Tout Quarry was Britain's first sculpture quarry. Once planning permission was approved by Weymouth & Portland Borough Council, work began on clearing the site of waste and rubbish, most of which had been the result of illegal fly-tipping. Ambient then approached a wide range of artists who soon began creating both temporary and permanent works at the site. Over forty artists had been involved in the project by July 1983, while further works were produced into 1985. Many of the permanent sculptures and works produced during 1983-85 can still be discovered today.
The park received acclaim upon its inception. Marina Vaizey of the Sunday Times praised the outdoor workshops and described some of the sculptures as "outstandingly beautiful and affecting". She added: "There is something intensely vital and appealing about this whole experiment, deeply respectful to its surroundings and full of living teaching." W. J. Strachan, in the 1984 book Open Air Sculpture in Britain, commented: "The park is important, Dorset otherwise having little sculpture to show. The organisers have exploited the potential of this difficult terrain in a practical way to match the imaginative ideas of the sculptors." Lewis Biggs, in an essay for Open Air Sculpture in Britain, described the park as one of the "best achievements for outdoor sculpture in this country so far".
Remaining industrial relics
Aside from the many sculptures to be found within the quarry, Tout also displays a range of industrial features and signs of past quarrying. The uneven landscape of the quarry contains many working faces, walls of waste stone, flat-topped waste tips and a series of gullies linked to West Cliff. Some of the industrial reminders include old tramway lines (some of which retain stone sleepers and iron pegs that held the rails), tunnels and shelters used by quarrymen.
The surviving tramway lines are associated with the Merchants' Railway, a horse-drawn and cable-operated railway, opened in 1826 for the use of the island's stone industry. The tramway lines operating in Tout allowed stone to be transported to Priory Corner, where it would join the railway to be taken down to Castletown for shipping. They also enabled waste stone to be tipped from West Cliff down onto the Weares below, and some of the associated tipping bridges and platforms can still be found today.
Lano's Arch was built by Jonathan Comben Lano in 1854 and is now a Grade II listed structure. On the east side of Tout, a number of tramway tunnels running under Wide Street once allowed other quarries in the area to connect to the Merchants' Railway via Tout, including Inmosthay, Wide Street, Kingbarrow and Withies Croft Quarries. In 2010-11, one of these tunnels, dated 1862, was reopened and restored as a walkway, thereby linking Tout with a disused section of Inmosthay Quarry. Two of the other tunnels to the south are still in existance but are now filled-in.
Wildlife
As much of Tout Quarry's former workings have been reclaimed by nature, the quarry is home to a rich and diverse range of wildlife. In 2012, Portland Stone Firms Ltd leased the quarry to the Dorset Wildlife Trust, allowing it to become a nature reserve in addition to a sculpture park. Restoration of the existing habitats across the quarry was then carried out for the benefit of both wildlife and visitors.
The landscape has been slowly colonised by limestone grassland, along with low growing herbs such as the Small Scabious, Squinancywort, Horse shoe and Kidney Vetch, and Bird's foot Trefoil. Taller scrub of Wild Privet, Buddleia, Wayfaring Tree, Sycamore and the non-native Cotoneaster are found in Tout, although the latter is being removed where possible due to its invasive nature. The rocks and open bare soil found within the area are home to uncommon lichen species, while many low growing, flowering plants, such as Eyebright and Thyme, flourish during the warmer seasons.
The grassland, scrub and plants all serve to attract a wide range of wildlife. The Bird's foot Trefoil is important to a particular race of Silver-studded Blue butterfly, unique to Portland, while other butterfly species, including Chalkhill Blue and the rare Adonis Blue, are dependent on the sparse turf and limestone soils which suit their caterpillar food plants. A variety of moth species are also found at Tout, including the diurnal Burnet moths and the Hummingbird Hawkmoth, while the warm slopes and dry stone walls of the quarry are inhabited by common lizards and slow-worms.
Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust
The Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust is an artist-led organisation formed in 1983. The Trust is "dedicated to preserving a knowledge and understanding of all aspects of stone and the landscape from which it comes". The trust operates a yearly programme of workshops for educational groups and the general public, which includes courses in stone carving, letter-cutting and architectural detail. An outdoor workshop is located within the quarry and is used each May to September, while the trust's headquarters at the nearby Drill Hall has an indoor workspace.
In 2008, the Trust was the runner-up in the British Urban Regeneration Association's awards for community-inspired regeneration. In 2009, the Trust was shortlisted for the British Urban Regeneration Awards Scheme.
Sculptures
There is estimated to be over 70 official sculptures within the quarry. These include:
Memory Stones
In 2017, a new feature, known as the Memory Stones, was erected at the north-eastern entrance of the quarry. Created by Hannah Sofaer, the feature is a stone circle made up of twelve large blocks of Portland stone, which are aligned according to the annual journey of the planet around the sun. It was erected by Paisley Plant Hire Ltd and officially opened on 21 June.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Dorset Echo - Portland quarry trust up for award - Hilda Swinney - January 2009 - website page
2) Exploring Portland - Tout Quarry Sculpture Park - Geoff Kirby - website page
3) Free Portland News - Portland 40 Years Ago: 1976 (Taken from the late George Davey's diary) - July 2016 - Issue No. 453
4) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Bridge in Touts Quarry at NGR SY 685 727 - website page
5) Pastscape - Coastal Defence/Chain Home Low Station M73 - website page
6) Pastscape - Tout Quarry - website page
7) Placemaking Resource (regen.net) - Set in stone - July 2009 - website page
8) Portland: Tout Quarry - Where Sculpture & Environment Meet - Creative Studios/Portland Sculpture Trust/Weymouth & Portland Borough Council/Environmental Services Department - 1999 - leaflet
9) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - Portland Clifftop Sculpture Park - Tout Quarries - 31 July - 8 October 1983 - PDF document
10) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - Portland Clifftop Sculpture Park 2 - Tout Quarries - 28 July - 4 October 1985 - PDF document
11) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - PSQT History - website page
12) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - Tout Quarry Map - PDF document
13) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - Tout Word Document - Leaflet Information - Microsoft word document (doc)
14) Portlanders.co.uk - Lano's Bridge - website page
15) Memory Stones - Official Website - The Memory Stones - website page
16) Visit Weymouth - Tout Quarry Portland Sculpture Trust & Stone Carving on Portland - website page
17) Weymouth People - OlymPianist plays piano at Tout Quarry on Portland - Newshound007 - May 2012 - website page
The sculpture park opened in 1983, with many of the site's carvings, sculptures and works in Portland stone being created between 1983-85. In 2012, the quarry was also designated a nature reserve. It is managed by Dorset Wildlife Trust, alongside the nearby King Barrow Quarry Nature Reserve.
Both Tout and King Barrow Quarries form part of the Portland Quarries Nature Park, which opened in 2013 and also includes reserves at Broadcroft and Perryfield Quarries, Verne Common, and sections of Inmosthay and Bowers Quarries. The forming of the nature park has allowed for the restoration, enhancement and improved management of its various sites, while also providing better public access to them. Restoration of the ecological habitats includes the removal of harmful and invasive plant species, while archaeological and industrial features relating to past quarrying are preserved. Habitat management ensures that wildlife suited to limestone grassland can continue to thrive.
History
Operational history
Tout Quarry was worked commercially since at least the 18th century. Initially most of the quarrying was undertaken on the clifftops of West Cliff, but progressively moved inland into Tour over the course of the 19th century. The north-western part of Tophill supported other quarries alongside Tout, including Trade and Bowers Quarries to the south and Inmosthay Quarries to the east. Traditionally Tout Quarry was divided into small workings, each of which had different owners and were worked by separate quarry gangs. Tout produced both Whit Bed and Base Bed stone, which had to be extracted from 30-60 feet down. As a result, much overburden and waste rock had to be removed before the quality stone was reached.
From the early-to-mid-19th century, waste stone and overburden was either being tipped off the cliff edge onto the West Weares below, or being used to form the large waste tips (or 'beaches') still in existence by West Cliff. A series of gullies were formed within the tips, allowing tramway lines to be laid for carrying waste stone and overburden to the cliff edge to be tipped. This latter form of disposal produced the large scree slopes seen at West Weare today.
Quarrying at Tout largely ceased in the early 20th century. During World War II, the quarry was chosen as the site of the Coastal Defence/Chain Home Low (CHL) radar station M73, which was established by the British Army and soon taken over by the Royal Air Force. It was used for the monitoring of shipping and aircraft, and later retained for use as part of the Cold War ROTOR programme and finally by the Royal Navy. The station was later demolished, but much rubble remains within the quarry.
Tout Quarry was the proposed location for a leisure home development in the 1970s. The planning application, submitted by Massey Associates & Co. in 1976, wished to construct 130 houses within the quarry, along with a swimming pool, tennis court and administration area. However, the scheme never came to fruition and the site remained unused. Later in 1982, a final extraction of stone from Tout took place when 30,000 tons was removed for use as part of sea defences.
Establishment of sculpture park (1983)
The Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust was established in 1983 and their aim of "re-establishing a spirit of creativity in the Portland Quarries" saw Tout Quarry transformed into a sculpture park, which opened under their care that year as the Portland Clifftop Sculpture Park. The quarry had been leased to the trust by the owners Kingston Minerals Limited, while the idea for the park had been the brainchild of Portland resident Jonathan Phipps, who was an art consultant for Ambient. Having had the idea years before, he aspired to create a sculpture park and workshop space for the island and would be one of the key organisers behind Tout's transformation.
Tout Quarry was Britain's first sculpture quarry. Once planning permission was approved by Weymouth & Portland Borough Council, work began on clearing the site of waste and rubbish, most of which had been the result of illegal fly-tipping. Ambient then approached a wide range of artists who soon began creating both temporary and permanent works at the site. Over forty artists had been involved in the project by July 1983, while further works were produced into 1985. Many of the permanent sculptures and works produced during 1983-85 can still be discovered today.
The park received acclaim upon its inception. Marina Vaizey of the Sunday Times praised the outdoor workshops and described some of the sculptures as "outstandingly beautiful and affecting". She added: "There is something intensely vital and appealing about this whole experiment, deeply respectful to its surroundings and full of living teaching." W. J. Strachan, in the 1984 book Open Air Sculpture in Britain, commented: "The park is important, Dorset otherwise having little sculpture to show. The organisers have exploited the potential of this difficult terrain in a practical way to match the imaginative ideas of the sculptors." Lewis Biggs, in an essay for Open Air Sculpture in Britain, described the park as one of the "best achievements for outdoor sculpture in this country so far".
Remaining industrial relics
Aside from the many sculptures to be found within the quarry, Tout also displays a range of industrial features and signs of past quarrying. The uneven landscape of the quarry contains many working faces, walls of waste stone, flat-topped waste tips and a series of gullies linked to West Cliff. Some of the industrial reminders include old tramway lines (some of which retain stone sleepers and iron pegs that held the rails), tunnels and shelters used by quarrymen.
The surviving tramway lines are associated with the Merchants' Railway, a horse-drawn and cable-operated railway, opened in 1826 for the use of the island's stone industry. The tramway lines operating in Tout allowed stone to be transported to Priory Corner, where it would join the railway to be taken down to Castletown for shipping. They also enabled waste stone to be tipped from West Cliff down onto the Weares below, and some of the associated tipping bridges and platforms can still be found today.
Lano's Arch was built by Jonathan Comben Lano in 1854 and is now a Grade II listed structure. On the east side of Tout, a number of tramway tunnels running under Wide Street once allowed other quarries in the area to connect to the Merchants' Railway via Tout, including Inmosthay, Wide Street, Kingbarrow and Withies Croft Quarries. In 2010-11, one of these tunnels, dated 1862, was reopened and restored as a walkway, thereby linking Tout with a disused section of Inmosthay Quarry. Two of the other tunnels to the south are still in existance but are now filled-in.
Wildlife
As much of Tout Quarry's former workings have been reclaimed by nature, the quarry is home to a rich and diverse range of wildlife. In 2012, Portland Stone Firms Ltd leased the quarry to the Dorset Wildlife Trust, allowing it to become a nature reserve in addition to a sculpture park. Restoration of the existing habitats across the quarry was then carried out for the benefit of both wildlife and visitors.
The landscape has been slowly colonised by limestone grassland, along with low growing herbs such as the Small Scabious, Squinancywort, Horse shoe and Kidney Vetch, and Bird's foot Trefoil. Taller scrub of Wild Privet, Buddleia, Wayfaring Tree, Sycamore and the non-native Cotoneaster are found in Tout, although the latter is being removed where possible due to its invasive nature. The rocks and open bare soil found within the area are home to uncommon lichen species, while many low growing, flowering plants, such as Eyebright and Thyme, flourish during the warmer seasons.
The grassland, scrub and plants all serve to attract a wide range of wildlife. The Bird's foot Trefoil is important to a particular race of Silver-studded Blue butterfly, unique to Portland, while other butterfly species, including Chalkhill Blue and the rare Adonis Blue, are dependent on the sparse turf and limestone soils which suit their caterpillar food plants. A variety of moth species are also found at Tout, including the diurnal Burnet moths and the Hummingbird Hawkmoth, while the warm slopes and dry stone walls of the quarry are inhabited by common lizards and slow-worms.
Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust
The Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust is an artist-led organisation formed in 1983. The Trust is "dedicated to preserving a knowledge and understanding of all aspects of stone and the landscape from which it comes". The trust operates a yearly programme of workshops for educational groups and the general public, which includes courses in stone carving, letter-cutting and architectural detail. An outdoor workshop is located within the quarry and is used each May to September, while the trust's headquarters at the nearby Drill Hall has an indoor workspace.
In 2008, the Trust was the runner-up in the British Urban Regeneration Association's awards for community-inspired regeneration. In 2009, the Trust was shortlisted for the British Urban Regeneration Awards Scheme.
Sculptures
There is estimated to be over 70 official sculptures within the quarry. These include:
- Dreaming Head and Estuary (by Keir Smith - 1983) - stone carving
- Flow Through the Rocks (by Han Sal Por) - stone carving
- Representation of a Baroque Garden (by Shelagh Wakely - 1985) - work in landscape
- Wreck (by Rosie Leventon - 1985) - work in landscape
- Philosopher's Stone (by Robert Harding - 1985) - construction in shale
- 16 Candles (by David Tuckwell) - relief carving
- Crouching Figure (by Reiko Nireki) - stone carving
- Flowing Rocks (by Harry Klar - 1983) - work in landscape
- Dry Stone Landscape (by Nick Lloyd - 1983-85) - construction in shale
- The Arena of Fools (by Kerry Trengove - 1983) - incised work
- Pterichthys (a fish out of water) (by Richard Farrington - 1985) - stone carving
- Shrine (by Hiroshi Makimara) - relief carving
- A Tear for Stone (by anonymous) - stone carving
- Seat and Boat (by Mike Hick - 1983) - stone carving
- Yogi Seeker (by S. Chandrasekeran) - constructed in shale
- Wessex (by Andrews Kirkby - 1983) - hill figure, shale with limed cement
- Chair (by Simon Foster-Ogg - 1985) - stone carving
- Serpent Steps and Alignment (by Christine Fox - 1983-85) - construction in shale and standing stones
- Among the Stars that Hide and Seek (by Alain Ayres) - relief carving
- Sentimental Arch (by Barbara Ash) - stone carving
- Cornucopia (by Clare Stratton - 1985) - high relief
- Mirrored Sun (by Chris O'Neil & students from Wimbledon School of Art - 1985) - work in landscape
- A Homage to Lichen (by Patrick Howett) - stone carving and cast cement
- Sunstone (by Phil Nicol - 1985) - stone carving
- Flying the Kite (by Mary Kenny - 1985) - stone carving
- Window (by Justin Nicol - 1992) - stone carving
- Iguana (a.k.a. Lizard) (by John Roberts) - stone carving
- Chesil (by Chris O'Neil) - stone carving
- Stone Whirlpool (by Amanda Glover - 1985) - work in landscape
- Stitch in Time (by Graham Westfield) - drilled stone and rope
- Vessel (by Gerard Wilson - 1983) - stone carving
- Fallen Fossil (by Stephen Marsden - 1985) - stone carving
- Orobous (by Jan Nunn) - high relief
- Ascent (by Joe Hamilton) - stone carving
- Stone of the Summer Solstice (by Roger Davies) - Portland stone dust/cast cement
- Plant Form (by Sylvia Stuart) - stone carving
- Waterfall (by Hamish Horsley - 1983) - construction in shale
- Calendar Stone (by Barry Mason - 1983) - sawn stone
- History Lesson (by Angelo Bordonan) - stone carving
- Zen Garden (by Phillip King & students from the Royal College of Art - 1983) - work in landscape
- From the Ruins (by Lorna Green - 1985) - construction in shale and stone
- Water Bowl (by Valerie Josephs - 1983) - stone carving
- Woman on Rock (by Dhruva Mistry - 1983) - incised work
- Be Stone No More (by Pierre Vivant - 1985) - stone carving
- Still Falling (by Antony Gormley - 1983) - incised work
- Ribbed Form (by David Kelly) - stone carving
- Leaning Torso (by Hennie Hansel) - stone carving
- Hearth (by Timothy Shutter - 1989) - stone carving
- Drinking Bowl (by Jonathan Sells) - stone carving
- Horizontal Figure (by anonymous) - stone carving
- The Green Man (by Valentine Quinn - 1985) - stone carving
- Searchlights (by Michael Farrell) - stone carving
- The Beauty of Surveillance (by James Harries) - relief carving
- Cirkel van Stenen (Stone Circle) (by Groupe 85 from the Netherlands) - collection of stone sculptures
Memory Stones
In 2017, a new feature, known as the Memory Stones, was erected at the north-eastern entrance of the quarry. Created by Hannah Sofaer, the feature is a stone circle made up of twelve large blocks of Portland stone, which are aligned according to the annual journey of the planet around the sun. It was erected by Paisley Plant Hire Ltd and officially opened on 21 June.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Dorset Echo - Portland quarry trust up for award - Hilda Swinney - January 2009 - website page
2) Exploring Portland - Tout Quarry Sculpture Park - Geoff Kirby - website page
3) Free Portland News - Portland 40 Years Ago: 1976 (Taken from the late George Davey's diary) - July 2016 - Issue No. 453
4) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Bridge in Touts Quarry at NGR SY 685 727 - website page
5) Pastscape - Coastal Defence/Chain Home Low Station M73 - website page
6) Pastscape - Tout Quarry - website page
7) Placemaking Resource (regen.net) - Set in stone - July 2009 - website page
8) Portland: Tout Quarry - Where Sculpture & Environment Meet - Creative Studios/Portland Sculpture Trust/Weymouth & Portland Borough Council/Environmental Services Department - 1999 - leaflet
9) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - Portland Clifftop Sculpture Park - Tout Quarries - 31 July - 8 October 1983 - PDF document
10) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - Portland Clifftop Sculpture Park 2 - Tout Quarries - 28 July - 4 October 1985 - PDF document
11) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - PSQT History - website page
12) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - Tout Quarry Map - PDF document
13) Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (Learningstone.org) - Tout Word Document - Leaflet Information - Microsoft word document (doc)
14) Portlanders.co.uk - Lano's Bridge - website page
15) Memory Stones - Official Website - The Memory Stones - website page
16) Visit Weymouth - Tout Quarry Portland Sculpture Trust & Stone Carving on Portland - website page
17) Weymouth People - OlymPianist plays piano at Tout Quarry on Portland - Newshound007 - May 2012 - website page
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