High Angle Battery Improvements Project

In September 2023, Dorset Council was granted National Lottery Heritage funding to improve and preserve the heritage site of High Angle Battery on Portland.

Working closely with Portland Town Council, Island Community Action, heritage experts, stakeholders and the community, this project, will focus on improving the site’s heritage, biodiversity, access and to tell the story of the battery to a much wider audience.

A consultation with the local community carried out at the beginning of 2023 helped shape the project, through which key partners, the community, and volunteers outlined improvements they wanted to see made to the site. The consultation also highlighted local appetite for more activities and events at the site and for the popular ‘ghost tunnels’ to be fully opened.

Heritage interpretation designers Smith & Jones have now been commissioned to develop innovative interpretation that will tell the story of High Angle Battery.

How to get involved

Thank you to those of you who joined us at Portland Library on the 7th March. We had some really interesting conversations with people from the community who had memories and stories to tell about High Angle Battery. It was great to hear about family members who had worked on the site during the various stages of the site's history. Stories and memories will help shape new interpretation to share the story of High Angle Battery.

If you have a story or memory to share you can still do this on our online Story board or contact us at dorset.coast@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or speak to Nikki or Izzy on 01305 224388.

Share your memories and stories and upload any photos on our Story Board!

Event at Portland Library for the community to drop-in and share their stories

Background Information

High Angle Battery is located on Portland and is a protected as a Scheduled Monument, a status which recognises its national importance. It is part of the story of Portland’s military past and a significant element in an ‘arms race’ in the later 19th century. It was built in the 1890s with the intention of firing shells down onto ships attacking Portland Harbour from a position invisible to those on the ships – aided by a complicated system to help the gunners locate the ships. It is a hidden complex with buildings, tunnels, and gun emplacements.

High Angle Battery is loved by the people of Portland and holds many memories for them, especially around the tunnels, known locally as the ‘ghost tunnels’. It is also visited by tourists, many who stumble across it not knowing it is there or have any knowledge of its national importance.