National Coastwatch Institution, which rebuilt the station in the 21st century. During the 1960s, the Ministry of Defence Magnetic Range was built at the Bill. Farther up the hill at Branscombe was a Royal Navy Wireless telegraphy station which was established in the early 20th century and closed in the 1990s. The Shambles lightship was permanently withdrawn in 1976 and replaced by automatic buoys. The current lighthouse was unmanned in 1996 and all monitoring and control transferred to the Trinity House Operations & Planning Centre in Harwich. The lighthouse has a visitor centre, while tours are conducted to take visitors to the top of the lighthouse. LB&SCR H1 class 4-4-2 no. 38 (later no. B38, 2038, and 32038) was named Portland Bill after this landmark. Features The lighthouses, Pulpit Rock and the Trinity House Obelisk are Portland Bill's key attractions. Close to the Ministry of Defence range at the Bill is Portland's main Raised Beach, and close to the Old Higher Lighthouse is NCI Portland Bill, a National Coastwatch Institution lookout station. A fishing crane, known as Red Crane, is situated on the cliff edge at Portland Bill. The area holds many beach huts. There are a few commercial businesses in the area, including a restaurant - The Lobster Pot - and a pub - The Pulpit Inn. Portland Bill has a number of listed buildings. The current lighthouse, along with its boundary walls, is Grade II Listed. The Old Lower Lighthouse, including its boundary walls and coastguard house, is also Grade II Listed, as is the Old Higher Lighthouse, its four cottages and boundary walls. A 19th-century Fisherman's hut is Grade II Listed, while Red Crane, part of a disused stone loading quay, which is protected as a scheduled monument. The surrounding fields between the Bill and Southwell are made up of an ancient strip field system, once found all over the island, dating from Anglo-Saxon times. The nearby Culverwell Mesolithic Site is a Mesolithic settlement, located along the Portland Bill Road. The site is said to be circa 7500–8500 years old and has also become a scheduled monument. This includes surrounding fields, also relating to the Mesolithic period, and these fields lead across to the coastline. Gallery See also Chesil Beach Jurassic Coast References External links Portland Bill Lighthouse at Trinity House Portland Bill photographs National Coastwatch Institution, Portland Bill Portland Bill Lighthouse Exploring Portland Headlands of Dorset