Chiswell Earthworks is a land sculpture, located on 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 ...

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 found above

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 ...

's most southerly part

Chesil Cove Chesil Cove is a curved steep bank forming the south-east end of Chesil Beach in Dorset, England. It is thus part of one of three large shingle structures in Britain, extending from West Bay, Dorset, West Bay to the Isle of Portland (Portland B ...

, at the end of the promenade sea wall, towards West Weares. It was created by John Maine RA, between 1986 and 1993.

History

The Chiswell Earthworks land sculpture was built after a suggestion was made by Margaret Somerville, a Portland local and owner of the Chesil Gallery. The project became one of the Common Ground's New Milestone projects and was commissioned in 1986. John Maine RA, a sculptor with international reputation, was asked to undertake the commission. Maine firstly decided on a site for the project, and ended up choosing a grassy area of hillside above the Sea Wall where Chesil Beach ends. Many local people believed that the project and sculpture would never see completion. However, an exhibition titled "Henry Moore and the Sea" was held at the Chesil Gallery in 1993 to mark the completion of the sculpture during the summer of that year. In total the sculpture took £250,000 to complete. Since completion, the earthworks have been highly praised internationally, gathered various awards, and is often used by local people as well as for hosting various local events.

References

External links

Tom Maine short film on Chiswell Earthworks
{{Isle of Portland Outdoor sculptures in England Isle of Portland