Weymouth, Dorset

Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third largest settlement in Dorset after Bournemouth and Poole.

The history of the town stretches back to the 12th century and includes roles in the spread of the Black Death, the settlement of the Americas and the development of Georgian architecture. It was a major departure point for the Normandy Landings during World War II. Prior to local government reorganisation in April 2019, Weymouth formed a borough with the neighbouring Isle of Portland. Since then the area has been governed by Dorset Council. Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency.

A seaside resort, Weymouth and its economy depend on tourism. Visitors are attracted by its harbour and position, halfway along the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, important for its geology and landforms. Once a port for cross-channel ferries, Weymouth Harbour is now home to a commercial fishing fleet, pleasure boats and private yachts, while nearby Portland Harbour is the location of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, where the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were held.

Weymouth gave its name to Weymouth, Massachusetts.

History

Early days

The modern town of Weymouth originated as the two settlements of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, on opposite sides of Weymouth Harbour in Dorset. The older of the two, on the south side, was referred to as Weymouth as early as the 10th century, as part of the parish of Wyke Regis, and by 1252 had become a chartered borough and established seaport, trading in imported wine. Melcombe Regis, on the north side, was first noted in the 11th century. It developed separately from the mid 12th century onwards and in 1310 was a licensed wool port. But French raiders found the port so accessible that in 1433 the staple was transferred to Poole. Melcombe Regis is thought to be the first port at which the Black Death came into England in June or July 1348, possibly aboard either a spice ship or an army ship from Calais, where fighting was taking place in the Hundred Years' War.

In their early history, the two towns were rivals for trade and industry, and many arguments broke out over use of the harbour. In 1571, Queen Elizabeth I became so tired of the petitioning that she united the two towns in an Act of Parliament, to form a double borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis. Both towns have become known as Weymouth, despite Melcombe Regis being the main centre. The villages of Upwey, Broadwey, Preston, Wyke Regis, Chickerell, Southill, Radipole and Littlemoor have since become part of the built-up area.

King Henry VIII had two Device Forts built to protect the south Dorset coast from invasion in the 1530s: Sandsfoot Castle in Wyke Regis and Portland Castle in Castletown. Coastal erosion forced the abandonment of Sandsfoot as early as 1665 and parts have since fallen into the sea. In 1635, around 100 emigrants from the town crossed the Atlantic Ocean on board the ship ''Charity'' and settled in Weymouth, Massachusetts. More townspeople emigrated to the Americas to bolster the population of Weymouth, Nova Scotia and Salem, Massachusetts; then called Naumking.

Civil war

During the English Civil War, control of Weymouth changed a number of times and the town was much damaged as a result. When conflict first broke out in 1642, Weymouth was peacefully occupied by Parliamentarians, but it was captured in August the following year by 2,000 Royalist cavalry and held until June 1644, when it was retaken. Around 250 people were killed in the local Crabchurch Conspiracy when sympathetic residents let Royalist soldiers into the town in February 1645. It was recaptured later that month and remained in Parliamentarian hands for the remainder of the war, despite enduring a protracted siege.

George III

The resort is among the first modern tourist destinations, after King George III's brother the Duke of Gloucester built a grand residence there, Gloucester Lodge, and passed the mild winter there in 1780; the King made Weymouth his summer holiday residence on fourteen occasions between 1789 and 1805, even venturing into the sea in a bathing machine.

In celebration of the king's patronage, in 1810, a painted statue was built on the seafront. Known simply as the King's Statue, it was extensively renovated in 2007–8. A second tribute to George III, completed two years earlier in 1808, is the mounted white horse at Osmington. Designed by local architect James Hamilton, and cut into the chalk hillside by soldiers under his direction, the figure measures long by high.

19th century

During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, Weymouth started to gain some military importance: in 1795, the Red Barracks were constructed for cavalry troops stationed at Nothe. They were badly damaged in 1798 by a fire and work started on new buildings and a parade ground at Radipole. These premises could house 953 officers and men together with 986 horses. The Red Barracks were rebuilt in 1801 and given over to infantry. Militarisation of the town continued through the Victorian era, with work starting on Portland Harbour in 1849. Built specifically to accommodate the new steam navy, the project was completed in 1872. Between 1860 and 1872, Nothe Fort was constructed at the entrance of Weymouth Harbour, overlooking the new harbour at Portland.

Weymouth's popularity, both as a trading port and as a holiday destination, also grew in this period and the arrival of the railway in 1857 boosted both industries. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed a lifeboat at Weymouth for the first time on 26 January 1869. A boathouse was built with a slipway by the harbour and is still in use, although the lifeboat is now moored at a pontoon. In 1887, to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign, a multi-coloured Jubilee Clock was erected on the esplanade.

Modern times

During World War I, about 120,000 Australian and New Zealand Army Corps personnel convalesced in Weymouth after being injured at Gallipoli or other theatres of the war; the existing army camps and mild climate made it an ideal location. Most of the soldiers were repatriated in 1919; some stayed and married local women.

Weymouth's military importance made it a target for German bombing during World War II. The air raids destroyed 1,200 civilian dwellings and killed 76 civilians, and the high street was so badly damaged that much of it had to be demolished after the war. In September 1942 the first full-scale testing of the bouncing bomb was carried out west of the town, on the lagoon behind Chesil Bank. Tens of thousands of Allied troops departed Weymouth on D-Day, bound for Normandy beaches that included Omaha and Utah. By the time the conflict in Europe had ended, 517,816 troops and 144,903 vehicles had been through the port.

The immediate aftermath of the war was a difficult time for Weymouth which, in common with other seaside resorts, was not seen as a priority for government investment. In 1960, Southampton stopped services to the Channel Islands, leaving Weymouth as the UK's major link with the islands. A linkspan constructed in 1972 and the introduction of a passenger service to Cherbourg in 1974 helped to further revive the town's fortunes. During the 1970s, cheap package holidays abroad caused a reduction in the town's tourist trade, and harbour trade also suffered a decline; but the number of ferry passengers continued to rise and in 1980 a new terminal with improved facilities was built. From 1990, the demand for bigger vessels forced the cross-channel ferries to transfer to larger ports, such as Poole; the last one leaving Weymouth in 2015.

Governance and politics

The district of Weymouth and Portland was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and merged the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis and the nearby Portland urban district. Under the local government reforms on 1 April 2019, the district was abolished, and Weymouth is now administered by Dorset Council at the highest tier, and Weymouth Town Council (successor to the district council) at the lowest tier.

Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency which elects one Member of Parliament: since 2019, Richard Drax (Conservative). Dorset South was the most marginal Labour seat in the 2001 general election, won by 153 votes. Jim Knight was expecting to have a difficult 2005 election, yet he won with a margin of 1,812 votes—this was in contrast to other areas, where Labour suffered a decline in popularity. This was helped by a high-profile anti-Conservative campaign by musician Billy Bragg. The seat was gained from Labour by Richard Drax for the Conservatives at the 2010 General Election, and held by him in 2015 2017 and 2019.

Weymouth and Portland have been twinned with the town of Holzwickede in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany since 1986, and the French town of Louviers, in the department of Eure

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