Save this place and discover nearby attractions with NextOnTrip
In the app you can add it to your favorites, see what else is worth visiting nearby on the map, and earn a badge for your visit.
The app is available for iPhone and Android.
About this place
Pulpit Rock is a rock stack at the very southern tip of the Isle of Portland in Dorset, southern England. It stands beside Portland Bill, the island's best-known spot, and is one of its most photographed sights. It is not purely a work of nature, though: quarrymen shaped it.
What is Pulpit Rock?
It is a stack, a lone block of rock cut off from the cliff. This one is artificial: it was formed in the 1870s by quarrying at the Bill. Some accounts say the starting point was a natural arch that workers at Bill Quarry cut away, with the leaning slab on top added afterwards. The details are told in different ways, but every source agrees it is a relic of stone extraction.
Why is it called Pulpit Rock?
The name comes from the shape. The tilted slab looks like an open Bible resting on a pulpit, and that resemblance gave the rock its name.
What is it made of?
The stack is built from Portland Freestone, an oolitic limestone prized as building stone. Portland stone has been quarried for several hundred years, and abandoned quarries still mark the landscape of the island's southern part. Pulpit Rock is one of the most visible reminders of that history. Fossil hunters and geology fans visit the Portland Bill area because the same rock is exposed in many places here.
What else is nearby?
Portland Bill is the island's main visitor attraction. Besides Pulpit Rock you will find its lighthouses and a stretch of coast with walking routes. The rock makes an easy stop on a stroll around the southern headland.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Pulpit Rock? At the southern end of the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England, at Portland Bill. Its coordinates are roughly 50.514 N, 2.459 W.
Is Pulpit Rock natural? Partly. It is an artificial stack created in the 1870s by quarrying. Some accounts say it began as a natural arch.
Can you climb Pulpit Rock? No. Climbing the rock or tombstoning from it is not permitted, and signs on site say so.
Is it the same as Norway's Preikestolen? No. The Norwegian cliff Preikestolen is also sometimes called Pulpit Rock in English, but this rock is in England on the Isle of Portland and is far smaller.
Why does it matter to geologists? It shows Portland Freestone, the stone quarried on the island for centuries, along with traces of the old quarrying industry in the landscape.
Nearby places
Earn badges for the places you visit
Download NextOnTrip, discover new places and check off your trails.