Monument record MDO19537 - Cave Hole Quarry, Portland

Small quarry started after 1926 but before 1959. Unusual for being slightly inland and not cut back from cliff edge (probably because of natural sea caves and hole nearby). Quarry has boreholes visible in cap, channelled faces, gullet and a well-built waste stone bank with level top upon which stands a hut surrounded by large scappled blocks. The quarry is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of the 1940s at Lawnsheds to the east of Portland Bill Road.

Started after 1926 but before 1959. (1-2) Small quarry, unusual for being slightly inland and not cut back from cliff edge (probably because of natural sea caves and hole nearby). Quarry has boreholes visible in cap, channelled faces, gullet and a well-built waste stone bank with level top upon which stands a hut surrounded by large scappled blocks. (3)

The limestone quarry described above (in 1-3) is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of the 1940s at Lawnsheds to the east of Portland Bill Road. The quarry is visible over an area measuring approximately 55 m by 35 m. (4) The site is still visible on the most recent comprehensive aerial imagery available to the project. (5) This site was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1929, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, sheet LX.3 (Map). SDO10282.

<2> 1960, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, sheet SY 6872 (Map). SDO10261.

<3> AC Archaeology, 2002, The Isle of Portland Review of Mineral Planning Permissions Stage 1: archaeological baseline study for Hanson Bath & Portland Stone, document no. 4299/1/4. (Unpublished document). SDO10260.

<4> Royal Air Force, 13-APR-1946, RAF 106G/UK/1411 4050-1 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13027.

<5> XX-XXX-2009, Google Earth (Aerial Photograph). SDO12705.

Record last edited

Jan 22 2025 12:39PM