Chiswell Walled Garden

England, United Kingdom

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Chiswell Walled Garden is a small community garden tucked inside an old stone‑walled compound in the village of Chiswell on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, close to Chesil Beach.

It was created between 2001 and 2006 by the Chiswell Community Trust on a derelict site that had once been a wartime air‑raid shelter and later a council yard, conceived as a local green space after the village’s former common was built over.

The project was funded by several grants, including the Countryside Agency’s Doorstep Green Initiative and other local heritage and community schemes, and is maintained by volunteer members of the trust, who also run the nearby Chiswell Earthworks. The garden is open to the public and offers a quiet, informal spot with beds, benches, and planting nooks, described by visitors as a peaceful, hidden “secret garden” in this rugged coastal community.