Portland Museum

The Museum was founded in 1930 by Dr Marie Stopes, its first curator and famous birth control pioneer. It is housed in two thatched picturesque cottages nestling above Church Ope Cove. One cottage inspired the author Thomas Hardy to centre his famous novel "The Well Beloved " around it, making it the home of "Avis" the novel's heroine.

There is a purpose-built Gallery , home of the Island's History which is related through a wealth of exhibits, curiosities and folklore. In the garden is a fascinating collection of local fossils, ammonites, fossilised wood etc. and other local masonry and artefacts.

Marie Stopes Cottage, 17th century, is now the home of the Island's Shipwreck and Smuggling Exhibition. There are numerous artefacts and pictures, all with a tale to tell. The ground floor has displays of the life and work of Dr Marie Stopes and the traditions of the Court Leet and Royal Manor of Portland.

Portland Museum is set in the historic centre of Portland, England's first and only natural World Heritage site, in recognition of the unique 185 million years geology and fossil record of the beautiful 90 mile stretch of coastline.

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