INDUSTRIES 



worked by the ' Ope ' joints, known as ' South- 

 ers,' ' Ope Gullies,' north to south, ' East and 

 Westers,' which cross 'Southers' and 'Rangers,' 

 south to east. 



The marks placed on the stone when quarried 

 to indicate its measurement and weight are 

 shown in the illustration here given. A hori- 

 zontal line is placed on the block of stone. Each 

 of the perpendicular lines across it represents lO 

 cubic ft. The downward oblique line to the 

 right represents 5 cubic ft., and each stroke 

 following I cubic ft. up to 10 cubic ft. Then 

 instead of continuing these strokes (making in all 

 10 cubic ft.) an additional perpendicular stroke 

 is added to the horizontal line and so on. The 

 oblique upward line to the left must be placed in 

 such a position that if produced it would bisect 

 the right angle, but must not be allowed to 

 touch it. This line represents half a cubic foot. 

 If the blocks of stone are very large, figures 

 are sometimes substituted for the marks. The 

 amount of stone represented in the diagram is 



Lmes thus 

 represent 

 10 (eet eakch 



A line Thus* 

 represents 

 ;^ Cubic foot- 



At the beginning of the last century upwards 

 of 25,000 tons of Portland stone were annually 

 exported, and the stone was then sold at 9a'. a 

 foot at the quarries, and was rising in price,'" 

 while aquarryman working in the island expected 

 2s. 6d. a day. In 1 81 2 800 men and boys, i8o 

 horses, and 50 ships were engaged in the stone 

 trade of Portland, and from 20,000 to 30,000 

 tons were being exported every year at prices 

 varying from 16s. to 24.S. per ton of 16 cubic ft., 

 the duty being 6^. a ton.'^ In 1839 the annual 

 output of the Portland quarries was estimated at 

 24,000 tons, that is about one acre of good stone, 

 while it was believed that 2,000 acres of stone 

 remained un worked. In 1855 the Portland 

 railway carried 22,995 tons of Block and 3,547 

 tons of Roach, while a further amount was 

 shipped directly from the island. In 1865 the 

 amount carried by the Portland quarries railway 

 reached 81,649 ^ori^, but in 1875 this figure had 

 been reduced to 56,841 tons, and in 1882 to 

 45,967 tons. Besides the quantity carried on 



A line thus 

 represents 

 5" feet. 



Unas thus 

 represent 

 1 foot each 



59 J cubic ft., and it may be remembered that 

 the measurement of a ton of Portland stone is 

 16 cubic ft.«'^ 



According to the opinion of the Commission- 

 ers of 1839 the stone in the north-eastern part 

 of the island is superior to that in the south- 

 western part. Although many of the quarries 

 belong to the crown and are worked by convict 

 labour, some of the best are still privately owned. 

 It is impossible to give here a complete list of 

 the Portland quarries, but the Waycroft, Wide 

 Street, Maggot, Weston Independent, Inmosthay, 

 Tout, and Bowers may be mentioned.^''' 



'^" Ex informatlone Mr. J. Merrick Head. 



''"' It was presented 7 July, 1 846, that the queen's 

 quarries were in part of the farm and demesne lands 

 called Grove, Way Croft, Bowers, and Under King- 

 barrow, and that other quarries were on Vern, on 

 Higher Down, in Wide Street, at Sturt, in East Weir, 

 and in Yelland Cliffs (Yeolands) and West Cliff: 

 Since then large quarries have been opened in Combe 

 Fields and Portland Bill. Ex informatione Mr. J. 

 Merrick Head. 



the railway, large shipments varying from 5,000 

 tons or less to 10,000 tons were removed directly 

 from the island every year during the latter half 

 of the last century. And to get the total output 

 we must add to the figures mentioned the stone 

 won by convict labour for government works, 

 and the enormous quantity, especially of Roach, 

 used in the making of the breakwater between 

 1847 and 1862.'^ Since 1882 the amount of 

 stone quarried in Portland has largely increased, 

 and immense quantities have been used of late 

 years in inclosing Portland Roads by other break- 

 waters, in order to form a secure harbour for 

 naval defence. 



The Portland beds have also been worked 



" Hutchins, op. cit. ii, 819. 



" Stevenson, V'uiv ofjgrlc. of Dorset, 55. 



'■ For most of these figures we are indebted to the 

 valuable account of the Geology of Weymouth and Port- 

 land by Mr. Robert Damon and The Rep. of the Royal 

 Com. on the Selection of Stone for the New Houses of Par- 

 liament (1839). 



343 



