PORTLAND ISLE, a rocky peninsula projecting into the English channel from the shore of Dorsetshirc, 17 m. w.s.w. of St. Alban's head. Its appearance suggests the shape of a beak, and it is therefore called also the Bill of Portland. It is 9 m. in cir cumference, is composed of oolitic limestone, and slopes southward, with an even surface from the height of 490 ft. to that of 30 ft. above sea-level. Its sides are extremely rugged, and are worn into fantastic caverns by the furious action of the The peninsula is supposed to have been once an island, but for ages it has been connected with the mainland by Chesil bank, an extraordinary ridge of loose shingle, which, after running n.w. in a straight line close to the shore for about 10 m., joins the mainland at Abbotsbury. South-west winds prevail on this part of the coast, and during their continuance the long . ridme of Chesil bank is lashed by a frightful sea, and is the 0 scene of frequent shipwrecks. A long narrow inlet of the sea, called the Fleet, egtends between Chesil bank and the shore, and is the haunt of numerous wild-fowl. Portland castle, in the north of the isle, is a ponderous building, erected by Henry VIII. as a protection for this part of the coast in 1520. The peninsula furnishes the famous Port land stone (Qv.). Portland breakwater, built of stones obtained on the island, partly described under the article breakwater (q.v.), has provided a secure harbor for hundreds of the largest ships; in connection with it are also a naval station, harbor of refuge, and batteries. Pennsylvania castle, in a most romantic district on the east coast,
was built by John Penn, the grandson of the founder of Pennsylvania. Rufus castle, or, as it is commonly called. Bow-and AITOW castle, also on the east coast, is now a ruin, and is generally said to have been built by William Rufus. On Portland bill, the southern extremity of the island, are two light-houses, one 130 and the other 197 ft. above sea-level. Between the southern point and the shambles, three in. to the s.e., a dangerous surf, well known as the race of Portland, is raised by the rushing of the impetuous tides. The convict prison, near the e. coast, erected in 1848, consists of eight wings, besides the hospital, chapel, barracks, and cottages for the warders. It ueconunodates upward of 1500 convicts, besides the officers, and is maintained at an annual cost of upward of £50,000, or at the rate of E33 per prisoner. The inhabitants of the island long remained a peculiar people, intermarrying and preserving, generation after generation, the many curious customs of their ancestors. The island itself is chiefly remarkable for its abundant supply of excellent spring water, for its building stone, and for its breed of sheep, the flesh of which, well known as Portland mutton, is celebrated for its flavor. The pop. of the parish of Portland Isle amounted iu 1871 to 9,907.