St George's Church, Portland

2013-06-26

A church inspired by St Paul's Cathedral

Vast and solitary, St George's is one of  the most magnificent 18th-century church in Dorset. It rises from the rocky, treeless and dramatic peninsula of Portland and is the masterwork of a local mason named Thomas Gilbert whose grandfather supplied the Portland stone used to build St Paul’'s Cathedral.

The interior is fabulously preserved with it's lectern, pulpit, box pews and galleries all surviving. It is a 'preacher’s church’ with all the seating facing the twin pulpits – one for reading 'the Word’ (scripture), the other for lengthy sermons.

The sprawling churchyard is a treasure trove of fabulous headstones and memorials that tell tales of murder, piracy and adventure in a gloriously atmospheric setting.

There are inscriptions to Mary Way and William Lano, who were shot and killed in 1803 by a press gang, and Joseph Trevitt, an assistant warder at Portland Prison who was murdered by a convict in 1869.