Found in the beautiful hamlet of Wakeham, Portland Museum was founded by Dr Marie Stopes in 1930. The museum occupies two early 17th Century stone cottages and is the subject of Thomas Hardy's novel 'The Well-Beloved' as the house of Avice, the story’s heroine. The museum’s diverse and intriguing collection comprises items unique to Portland and showcases this idyllic island’s history, telling dramatic stories of the sea, the stone, the prisons, and the people.
Learn about two of the most disastrous shipwreck incidents off Portland, the tragic tale of the ‘Avalanche’ and ‘Forest’ collision and the story of the sinking of ‘The Royal Adelaide’. Children can play detective and use the museum’s explorer trail to hunt for items from the collection, dress up as dinosaurs in the stone/fossil room, learn about smuggling with a pre-booked, hands-on session, and touch a real dinosaur footprint in the garden. Visitors can also walk to the nearby ‘Pirates Graveyard’ and stunning Church Ope cove. Learn about the local history, industry and geology of the area and how the landscape has shaped the lives of the people and wildlife of Portland.