Flooding
Over the centuries Chiswell has battled with the sea and has been regularly flooded during rough winter storms which can over top the 15 metres (49 ft) high Chesil Beach which protects the village. Flood defences installed during the 1980s have largely alleviated the problems. The original esplanade was built between 1958-65, and helped defend Chiswell greatly, although flooding was still possible. Wire-mesh baskets filled with stones have also been used to strengthen the ridge of the beach following disastrous storms in the 1970s and 1990s. In the 1980s, the promenade continued to withstand storms well but was reinforced all the same.
The later floods of 1978 and 1979 in particular caused widespread devastation in Chiswell and left the area with an air of neglect and dereliction. As a result, the Chiswell scheme was introduced which strengthened the defence with highly innovative defence works which has since brought stability and confidence to a community that suffered greatly from the severe storms of the late 1970s. The scheme was completed in 1986 and has been tested several times under the one in five year event, the storm surge. In December 1989, the Cover House Inn suffered unprecedented damage in a storm, despite the sea defence protection that was not existent during the previous storm. The inn's basic structure remained in good condition and the pub reopened three months later.
In January 1990 another storm hit Chesil Cove and the sea overwhelmed the defensive wall. A great deal of damage was caused and the mainland was cut off from Portland. Those who were stranded in the mainland from Portland had to spend the night as refugees in Budmouth School.
Many traditional large thatched cottages and buildings from Victorian times no longer remain, and were victims of flooding throughout the decades. A mirror found in Portland Museum was once in the upstairs room of a cottage in Chiswell when it got flooded, and traces of where the seawater rose can still be seen.
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