Portesham

Portesham, sometimes also spelled Portisham, is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England, situated in the West Dorset administrative district approximately 6mi northwest of Weymouth, 6mi southwest of the county town Dorchester, and 2mi northeast of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site at Chesil Beach. The parish is quite large, covering several outlying hamlets and what were once their manors. In the 2011 census it had a population of 685 in 316 households and 342 dwellings.DescriptionIn 1905 Sir Frederick Treves described the village's site as being "in a hollow among the downs" so that it was "too low to command a view of the sea", but nevertheless "in a south-westerly gale the roar of the breakers on the Chesil Beach can be heard in the village." The houses in Portesham comprise a mix of old grey stone cottages and more modern buildings in various styles. A stream runs alongside the main street.HistoryThe area around Portesham is rich in prehistoric remains. On the hills to the north of the village are several Bronze Age barrows and a Neolithic chambered long barrow called the Hell Stone, which may have been used as a resting place for people awaiting burial in the nearby Valley of Stones.