Chiswell (village)
| Chiswell | |
|---|---|
 Chiswell
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| Chiswell shown within Dorset | |
| OS grid reference | SY689732 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
Chiswell (once known as Chesilton) is a small fishing village at the southern end of Chesil Beach, in Underhill, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, and is the oldest settlement on the island. The small bay at Chiswell is called Chesil Cove. The promenade and sea wall which forms Chiswell's coastal defences are a prominent feature. The village itself is almost indistinguishable from Fortuneswell, the largest village on the island, as the two settlements are very close. However this distinction can be made: Chiswell occupies flat land close to sea level, whereas Fortuneswell's streets wind up and down the steep hills. At the entrance to the village is the 19th-century development of Victoria Square.
As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, Chiswell has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. Underhill, including Chiswell and other settlements, became designated in 1976 with boundary extensions in 1997 and 2000. Today the village is maintained by the Chiswell Community Trust.
Situated alongside the pebble bank of Chesil Cove, the village of Chiswell was established predominately as a fishing community. Chiswell has its history dating back to Roman times, when it was known as "Coesl". Many of the village's stone, thatched cottages were originally established on the shingle of Chesil Beach.
Despite its vulnerability to sea storms and flooding, Chiswell continued to develop into a thriving community, and by the beginning of the 19th century it had become well established as a "burgeoning centre of trade and exchange". Though the island's biggest settlement, incidents of flooding were still part of village life there.
One of the best-documented incidents of flooding was the Great Storm of 1824. Chiswell received the full force of the storm, which saw the death of thirty residents, the destruction of eighty houses, and the damage of many others. The damage the storm inflicted upon Chiswell was so extensive that the village never made a full recovery. Traces of the effect the storm had on the village can be seen today. Throughout the 20th century, Chiswell continued to lose its character, and saw further decline. The first half of the 20th century had seen a number of calls for some form of protection from sea flooding. During 1942, the engineers Coode & Partners drew up plans for such measures, but lack of funding had once again stopped any such project from commencing.
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