Portland Bill
Portland Avenue is possibly named after Portland in Dorset. It’s in Harnham, adjacent to the A354 (the Coombe Road) which leads from Salisbury down to Dorset.
‘Portland’ as a name does seem slightly obscure though. Portland is fairly well known, but why not the even better known Weymouth, or Corfe, or Wareham?
Perhaps there is another explanation for the name of Portland Avenue – I have a nagging feeling that there is some connection with Harvard Hospital, which was an American wartime hospital just North of Portland Avenue. If you know, please leave a comment.
Portland and the Shipping Forecast
Portland is, of course, one of the 31 sea areas of the Met Office shipping forecast. It’s the only one that shares its name with the name of a road in Salisbury. The area broadly covers the English coastline from Weymouth to Brixham.
