Our Archives Project Technician, Amber, continues her journey into the Herbert Photographic Collection. She discovers the surprisingly labour-intensive processes behind transporting Portland limestone off the island in the 1960s (reference: D-HBT/5275).
Today, the process of moving, lifting and carrying quarried stone is a relatively simple affair: forklifts, conveyors and front end loaders make easy work of such things. Back in 1965 on the Isle of Portland, however, the process was a good deal more demanding.
A largely manual process
Firstly, workmen would construct a wooden cage support structure about the sides and circumference of the stone.
Next commenced the Herculean task of rolling the block across craggy open land towards one of the manually operated cranes that stand sentry about Portland’s coastline, a mere stone’s throw from the sea.
After attaching the great lump of limestone to a crane, the men would proceed to crank and heave, until finally the block descended onto the open deck of a fishing vessel waiting patiently below.
From land to sea, and from sea to shortly land again: the block arrives at a nearby port, before it commences the rest of its journey inland – in this case to Newcastle – by road.
Tip: cast your eyes to the right of the first image above, where you’ll spot several battleships dominating the horizon. This is the time period when the Portland Naval Base was still in full force.
Further reading
The Portland stone industry was something Graham Herbert photographed on a number of occasions. Dorset History Centre also holds photographs (reference: D-DPA/1/PTD) and diaries (reference: D-1140/2) from the late nineteenth century which shed light on activities around the quarries. Archives are available to view for free at Dorset History Centre – search our catalogue to see what else you can discover!
Amber Phoenix, Archives Project Technician