Chesil Cove is a curved steep bank forming the south-east end of

Chesil Beach Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) in Dorset, England, is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain.A. P. Carr and M. W. L. Blackley, "Investigations Bearing on the Age and Development of Chesil Beach, Dorset, and the Associ ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is thus part of one of three large shingle structures in Britain, extending from West Bay to the

Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies south of the resort of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier ...

(Portland Bill), the latter acting more firmly as a great barrier (

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid aquatic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concrete ...

) which stops tidal action from washing the beach away and leads to the high depositions by wind and tide action forming the grand curved bank of this "cove". The "cove", bill and much of Chesil Beach give shelter from the

prevailing wind In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on t ...

s and waves for much of Weymouth Bay, the town of Weymouth and the village of

Chiswell Chiswell , sometimes , is a small village at the southern end of Chesil Beach, in Underhill, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It is the oldest settlement on the island, having formerly been known as Chesilton. The small bay at Chiswell is ...

. It forms part of the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast, also known as the Dorset and East Devon Coast, is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was ins ...

Flooding defences

The adjoining village of Chiswell was established predominately as a fishing community. Despite its vulnerability to sea storms and flooding, Chiswell developed into a thriving community. One of the best-documented incidents of flooding occurred in the

Great Storm of 1824 The Great Storm of 1824 (or Great Gale) was a hurricane force wind and storm surge that affected the south coast of England from 22 November 1824. The storm raged for two days. Nearly 100 people were believed to be killed across the counties of ...

. The storm saw the death of thirty residents, the destruction of eighty houses, and the damage of many others. The construction of a sea wall finally commenced in 1958, and work on this scheme continued until 1965. The wall extended from the far end of Chesil Cove, at West Weares, to the location of the village's Cove House Inn. A promenade was laid-out on top of the wall, and this became a popular attraction. Chesil Cove flood defences

Despite the sea wall proving a worthy defence, incidents of widespread flooding continue. During December 1978 and February 1979, two major storms caused further devastation to Chiswell. Accordingly, further defence were installed during the 1980s. During January–February 2014, violent storms across the south-west of England caused more flooding in the village.

Recreation

Diving

Chesil Cove is a popular site for

scuba diver Scuba, originally SCUBA, often expanded to scuba set, is any self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a source of breathing gas used for underwater diving which is carried by the diver. Scuba may also refer to: * Scuba diving Scuba ...

s. It has become one of the best known shore dives in the UK. The cove is a reasonably shallow shore dive, and has an interesting selection of south coast marine life, as well as an abundance of flora and fauna. Although there have been many

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

s in the cove, few significant divable remains exist close to the beach due to its exposure to strong waves.

Fishing

Through

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, the beach provided the main occupation for the villagers of Chiswell and the rest of the islanders. The beach is still used by sea anglers and the British record for shore-captured

shore rockling The shore rockling (''Gaidropsarus mediterraneus'') is a mottled brown, small, elongated fish. This eel-like fish has three barbels on its head, with the second dorsal fin and the anal fin running the length of most of its body. These fins may be ...

was set there in 1992. Recreational fishing is a popular pastime at the cove.

Shipwrecks

Chesil Beach, and the cove, have seen many cases of shipwrecks, more so than most other parts of the British coast, particularly during the

age of sail The Age of Sail is a period in European history that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the int ...

. Chesil Beach became infamously known as "Deadman's Bay", taken after the name

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

gave West Bay, including Chesil Cove, in his novel ''The Well Beloved'' of 1892. The local fishermen, particularly at Portland, developed a purpose-built vessel to withstand the sea actions at Chesil Beach. The boat, known as a

Lerret A lerret is a type of rowing boat designed for use off the Chesil Beach in Dorset. It is of wooden, clinker (boat building), clinker construction and varied in size, depending on the number of oars – the largest would have up to eight. It w ...

, is a double-ended open fishing boat, used for seine net fishing. The 18th-century public house

The Cove House Inn The Cove House Inn is an 18th-century public house on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is situated within the village of Chiswell, and alongside Chesil Beach on the esplanade. The Cove House Inn remains one of Portland's most popular pub ...

remains one of Portland's most popular pubs and is Grade II Listed. Despite its particularly vulnerable position on the beach, the pub was a survivor of the

Shipwreck list

Some of the ships wrecked at Chesil Cove include: * ''John'' - 1669 - English cargo vessel, crew and cargo saved * ''Angel Guardian'' - 1681 - cargo vessel, 6,000 oranges recovered * ''Peter'' - 1685 - French cargo vessel, four hogsheads of French wine saved * ''De Hoop'' - 1749 - Dutch

West Indiaman West Indiaman was a general name for any merchantman sailing ship making runs from the Old World to the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas. These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the Atlantic ...

, all crew saved * ''Johanna Theresa'' - 22 January 1753 - Dutch craft, the captain and five men drowned * ''Biscaye'' - 1754 - Spanish cargo vessel * ''Fanny'' - 1760 - British brigantine involved in slave trade * ''Zenobie'' - 12 January 1762 - French privateer * ''Le Pelerin'' - 10 August 1784 - French craft * ''Nancy'' - 13 August 1793 - British brig, crew and part cargo saved * ''Peggy'' - 3 June 1796 - American cargo vessel, four of eleven crew saved * ''Rodney'' - 26 September 1799 - English brigantine vessel, all crew saved * ''Hayward'' - 26 September 1799 - English brigantine vessel, all crew saved * ''Concord'' - 26 September 1799 - English brigantine vessel, all crew saved * ''Smith'' - 26 September 1799 - English brigantine vessel, all crew saved * ''Endeavour'' - 1800 - British craft, all crew saved * ''Nancy'' - 24 March 1801 - British craft * ''Le Mercuria'' - 4 March 1818 - 500-ton French vessel, 20-30 drowned * ''Pollux'' - 20 October 1820 - brig, one crew lost * ''Iris'' - 7 November 1823 - Swedish brig, the master and three of six crew men saved * ''Wasster Norland'' - 26 November 1824 - Swedish sailing vessel, six of ten crew men saved * ''Leonora'' - 3 December 1824 - Dutch Galliot, all crew and cargo lost * ''Haabets Anker'' - 11 December 1828 - Norwegian brig, all crew saved * ''Atlas'' - 9 December 1831 - American brig, nine of eleven crew saved * ''Amyntas'' - 30 November 1841 - English brig, master and three crew drowned * ''Maria Johanna'' - April 1852 - Dutch galliot, four of crew of seven lost * ''Amalie'' - 1 February 1869 - German brig * ''Edwin & Sarah'' - 5 January 1882 - ketch * ''Sapphire'' - 8 August 1883 - English schooner, all crew of six saved by coastguard rocket apparatus * ''Christiana'' - 2 September 1883 - Norwegian barque, eight of crew of ten saved * ''Fannie C'' - 3 October 1890 - schooner, beached whilst on fire, 10 saved * ''Ora et Labora'' - 13 October 1891 - Norwegian brig * ''Emma Maria'' - 25 October 1903 - Russian schooner * ''Patria'' - 26 October 1903 - Norwegian barque * ''Dorothea'' - 14 February 1914 - Dutch cargo steamship * ''Preveza'' - 15 January 1920 - Greek vessel * ''Ellida'' - 1920 - salvage tug * ''Madeleine Tristan'' - 20 September 1930 - French schooner, all crew saved

References

External links

{{Jurassic Coast Isle of Portland Beaches of Dorset Jurassic Coast Coves of Dorset Underwater diving sites in England