Wakeham
| Wakeham | |
|---|---|
 Wakeham
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| Wakeham shown within Dorset | |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Portland |
| Postcode district | DT5 |
| Dialling code | 01305 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Wakeham is a hamlet near the village of Easton, in Tophill on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. It is situated between the Straits part of Easton, and Pennsylvania Castle. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, Wakeham has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. Easton, Wakeham and Reforne were designated pre-1974. The hamlet features a distinctively wide road running through it, once built to allow space for horse-drawn carts transporting stone by road. Many of Wakeham's older buildings of the 17th and 18th century survive.
Wakeham was established around a natural watercourse and various springs, which the Romans are likely to have developed. Among the archaeological finds of Wakeham are Roman stone sarcophagi, and Iron Age underground chambers. The original settlement was situated within the small valley at the south of the hamlet, and this land later became part of the grounds of Pennsylvania Castle. In 789 AD, the first recorded Viking attack within British Isles, including Ireland, occurred on Portland's coast. It is believed that Church Ope Cove was the location, and at the time would have shown Wakeham above it. The exposed location was later defended by the Norman 12th-century Rufus Castle. Wakeham was home to Portland's first parish church, St Andrews Church, which was probably first established above the cove by the Saxons, and rebuilt in the 12th century. The church was later replaced in the 18th century by the new parish church St George's. During the construction of the new church, between 1754 and 1766, a temporary place of worship was established within Wakeham.
Between 1797 and 1800, John Penn, Governor of Portland and grandson of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, had the Gothic revival mansion Pennsylvania Castle built on a platform above the cove, and at the bottom of Wakeham. In order to expand his land, he had Southwell Road diverted, and purchased a number of cottages at the bottom of Wakeham. From the 1840s onwards, Portland saw a large increase within its population, due to the construction of Portland Harbour's Breakwaters. With the need for housing, and the expansion of Portland's villages, Wakeham became part of Easton village. After the First World War, a number of inland quarries were opened around Wakeham area. Opposite Portland Museum at the bottom of Wakeham, a small quarry was opened to provide stone for the Whitehall Cenotaph. The museum was opened in 1930, after Marie Stopes donated two houses for a museum. Today Wakeham remains part of Easton, and is largely residential.
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Wikipedia