Channel Fleet
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The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915.
British ironclad HMS Minotaur as Channel Fleet flagship, c. 1875–1887
Portland Harbour
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Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its 520-hectare (1,300-acre) surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains one of the largest in the world today. It is naturally sheltered by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and mainland Dorset to the north. It consists of four breakwaters: two southern and two northern. These have a total length of 4.57 km (2.84 mi) and enclose approximately 1,000 ha of water.
Southern and eastern entrances of Portland Harbour looking northeast from the Isle of Portland across Balaclava Bay. The dark colour of the water between the two breakwaters in the foreground indicates the position of the scuttled battleship HMS Hood.
The western side of the Harbour with Chesil Beach, Lyme Bay and the Fleet Lagoon in the background.
Dockyard Offices (left), built (as the Engineer's Office) by John Coode in 1848, extended to the west in 1910.
Coaling shed (1856-60) on the inner breakwater. Coal was stored on the first floor and then deployed in railway wagons to waiting vessels moored along the length of the breakwater.