Weymouth
Encyclopedia
Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset
, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey
on the English Channel
coast. The town is 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Dorchester and 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the Isle of Portland
. The town's population is 52,950 (2006).
The A354 road
bridge connects Weymouth to Portland, which together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland
. The history of the borough stretches back to the 12th century; including involvement in the spread of the Black Death
, the settlement of the Americas
, the development of Georgian architecture
, and preparations for World War II
.
Fishing and trading employ fewer people in the area since their peak in earlier centuries, but tourism has continuously increased its presence in the town since the 18th century and is now the primary industry. Weymouth is a tourist resort
, and its economy depends on its harbour and visitor attractions; the town is a gateway situated half-way along the Jurassic Coast
, a World Heritage Site
on the Dorset and east Devon
coast, important for its geology and landforms. Weymouth Harbour is home to cross-channel ferries, pleasure boats and private yachts, and nearby Portland Harbour
is home to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
, where the sailing events
of the 2012 Olympic Games will be held.
. The town developed from the mid 12th century onwards, but was not noted until the 13th century. By 1252 it was established as a seaport and become a chartered borough
. Melcombe Regis
developed separately on the peninsula
to the north of the harbour; it was mentioned as a licensed wool port in 1310. 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 1348, possibly either aboard a spice ship or an army ship. In their early history Weymouth and Melcombe Regis were rivals for trade and industry, but the towns were united in an Act of Parliament
in 1571 to form a double borough. Both towns have become known as Weymouth, despite Melcombe Regis being the main town centre. The villages of Upwey
, Broadwey
, Preston
, Wyke Regis
, Chickerell
, Southill
, Radipole
and Littlemoor
have 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. Parts of Sandsfoot have fallen into the sea due to coastal erosion. During the English Civil War
, around 250 people were killed in the local Crabchurch Conspiracy
in February 1645. In 1635, on board the ship Charity, around 100 emigrants from the town crossed the Atlantic Ocean
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, Salem became infamous for its witch trials
. There are memorials to this on the side of Weymouth Harbour and near Weymouth Pavilion.
The architect Sir Christopher Wren
was the Member of Parliament
for Weymouth in 1702, and controlled nearby Portland's quarries from 1675 to 1717. When he designed St Paul's Cathedral
, Wren had it built out of Portland Stone
, the famous stone of Portland's quarries. Sir James Thornhill
was born in the White Hart public house
in Melcombe Regis and became the town's MP in 1722. Thornhill became an artist, and coincidentally decorated the interior of St Paul's Cathedral.
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
. A painted statue of the king stands on the seafront, which was renovated in 2007/8 by stripping 20 layers of paintwork, replacing it with new paints and gold leaf
, and replacing the iron framework with stainless steel
one. A mounted white horse
representing the king is carved into the chalk
hills of Osmington
. The horse faces away from the town, and a myth developed that the king took offence, believing it was a sign that the townspeople did not welcome him, and that the designer subsequently killed himself.
Weymouth's esplanade
is composed of Georgian terraces, which have been converted into apartments, shops, hotels and guest houses. The buildings were constructed in the Georgian
and Regency
periods between 1770 and 1855, designed by architects such as James Hamilton, and were commissioned by wealthy businessmen, including those that were involved in the growth of Bath. These terraces form a long, continuous arc of buildings which face Weymouth Bay
along the esplanade, which also features the multi-coloured Jubilee Clock, erected in 1887 to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign. Statues of Victoria, George III and Sir Henry Edwards, Member of Parliament for the borough from 1867 to 1885, and two war memorial
s stand along the Esplanade.
In the centre of the town lies Weymouth Harbour; although it was the reason for the town's foundation, the harbour separates the two areas of Melcombe Regis
(the main town centre) and Weymouth (the southern harbourside) from each other. Since the 18th century this has been overcome with successive bridges over the narrowest part of the harbour. The present Town Bridge, built in 1930, is a lifting bascule bridge
, one of ten in the United Kingdom, to let boats access the inner harbour
. 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.
Weymouth and Portland were bombed by German planes for their role in World War II; Portland harbour
had a large naval base, and Weymouth was home to Nothe Fort
. 517,816 troops embarked through the borough to fight at the Battle of Normandy
, and the Bouncing bomb
was tested in the Fleet
lagoon
to the west of town. The history of the area is documented at the Timewalk museum in Brewers Quay
; the former brewery is a tourist attraction and shopping village on the southern shore of Weymouth Harbour.
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. For local elections the district is divided into 15 wards, 12 of them in Weymouth. Elections take place in a four-year cycle; one third of the councillors in all but three wards retire or seek re-election in years one, two and three, and county council elections are held in year four. The Mayor of Weymouth and Portland is Paul Kimber (Labour
), and Graham Winter (Liberal Democrat
) is Deputy Mayor.
Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset
parliamentary constituency
, created in 1885. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament; currently Richard Drax
(Conservative
).
South Dorset, the rest of South West England
, and Gibraltar
are in the South West England constituency
of the European Parliament
.
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 Drax for the Conservatives at the 2010 General Election.
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
in Normandy
, since 1959.
Weymouth is situated on the western shore of Weymouth Bay
on the south coast of England, 195 kilometres (121.2 mi) west-southwest of London
, at 50°37′N 2°27′W (50.613, −2.457). The town is built on weak sand and clay rock which in most places along the Dorset coast, except for narrow bands at Lulworth Cove
, Swanage
and Durdle Door
, has been eroded
and transported away. This weak rock has been protected at Weymouth by Chesil Beach
and the strong limestone
Isle of Portland
that lies offshore, 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of Wyke Regis
. The island affects the tides of the area, producing a double low tide in Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour. The maximum tidal range
is small, less than 2 metres (7 ft).
There are two lakes in the borough, both RSPB Nature Reserve
s—Radipole Lake
in the town centre, and Lodmoor
between the town centre and Preston
. Radipole Lake, the largest nature reserve, and mouth of the River Wey
before it flows into Weymouth Harbour, is an important habitat for fish and migratory
birds, and over 200 species of plants. Radipole is an important tourist attraction; it and Weymouth Beach are situated very close to the main town centre. There are 11 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the borough, which cover an area of 800.87 hectares (1,979 acre), and there are 37 other Nature Conservation Designations.
Situated approximately half-way along the Jurassic Coast
, Weymouth is a gateway town to the UNESCO
World Heritage Site
, which includes 153 kilometres (95 mi) of the Dorset and east Devon coast that is important for its geology and landform
s. The South West Coast Path
has two routes around Weymouth and Portland—one around its coast, and one along the South Dorset Downs, which reduces the path's length by 31 kilometres (19.3 mi). The path is the United Kingdom's longest national trail, at 1014 kilometres (630 mi).
Weymouth is the largest town in the area, larger than the county town of Dorchester, which lies just to the north, and hence is a centre of activity for the nearby population. A steep ridge of chalk
called the South Dorset Downs separates Dorchester and Weymouth; they are less agricultural than the valleys in the centre and north of Dorset
, but have dairy and arable
farms. The nearest villages to Weymouth are part of the built-up area, including Wyke Regis, Chickerell
and Preston.
The sand and clay on which Weymouth is built is very low-lying—large areas are below sea level, which allowed the eastern areas of the town to flood during extreme low pressure storms. In the 1980s and 90s a sea wall was built around Weymouth Harbour and along the coast road in Preston; a rip rap groyne
in Greenhill
and beach nourishment
up to Preston have created a wide and artificially graded pebble beach, to ensure that the low-lying land around Lodmoor does not flood. The defences at Preston, the extended ferry terminal and the widening of the Esplanade have changed the sediment
regime in Weymouth Bay, narrowing the beach at Greenhill and widening the sands in Weymouth. A study conducted as part of the redevelopment of the Pavilion complex showed that the proposed marina will contribute slightly to this effect, but sand dredged out of the marina could be used to make the beach up to 40 metres (131.2 ft) wider.
climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with a small variation in daily and annual temperatures. The average annual mean temperature from 1971 to 2000 was 10.2 to 12 °C
(50.4 to 53.6 °F
). The warmest month is August, which has an average temperature range of 13.3 to 20.4 °C (55.9 to 68.7 F), and the coolest is February, which has a range of 3.1 to 8.3 °C (37.6 to 46.9 F). Maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year are above England's average, and Weymouth is in AHS Heat zone 1
. Mean sea surface temperatures range from 7 °C (44.6 °F) in February to 17.2 °C (63 °F) in August; the annual mean is 11.8 °C (53.2 °F).
The low-lying nature of the area, and the ameliorating effect of the lakes and mild seas that surround the town, act to keep night-time temperatures above freezing for much of the winter, though frosts are sometimes recorded. Days with snow lying are equally rare: on average zero to six days per year; almost all winters have one day or less with snow lying. It may snow or sleet
in winter, yet it almost never settles on the ground, except for in cold winters such as 2008/2009 & 2009/2010 (when many people were stranded in Weymouth due to heavy snow) —low-lying coastal areas on the South Coast of England such as Weymouth experience milder winters than the rest of the United Kingdom. The growing season
in Weymouth lasts from nine to twelve months per year, and the borough is in Hardiness zone
9b.
Weymouth and Portland has one of the sunniest climates in the United Kingdom, along with many south coast towns. The resort averaged 1768.4 hours of sunshine annually between 1971 and 2000, which is over 40 % of the maximum possible, and 32 % above the United Kingdom average
of 1339.7 hours. Four of the last nine years have had more than 2000 hours of sunshine. December is the cloudiest and wettest month (55.7 hours of sunshine, 90.9 millimetres (3.6 in) of rain) and July is the sunniest and driest (235.1 hours of sunshine, 35.6 millimetres (1.4 in) of rain). Sunshine totals in all months are well above the United Kingdom average, and monthly rainfall totals throughout the year are less than the UK average, particularly in summer; this summer minimum of rainfall is not experienced away from the south coast of England. The average annual rainfall of 751.7 millimetres (29.6 in) is well below the UK average of 1125 millimetres (44.3 in).
The mid-year population of Weymouth in 2006 was 52,950, in a built-up area of 18.5 square kilometres (4,571.4 acre), giving an approximate population density
of 2,800 residents per square kilometre (11 per acre), in 24,622 dwellings. The population has grown steadily since the 1970s, mainly as a result of migration. There is an above average number of residents aged 60–84 (23.2%), however this is less than the Dorset average of 26.2%, and the largest proportion of the population (32.4%) is between the ages of 18 to 44, above the Dorset average of 29.6%. The population is largely native to England—98.8% of residents are of white ethnicity, slightly above the Dorset average of 98.7%. The largest religion in Weymouth and Portland is Christianity, at almost 74.7%, which is slightly above the United Kingdom average of 71.6%. The next-largest sector is those with no religion, at almost 15.9%, slightly above the UK average of 15.5%.
House prices in Weymouth and Portland are relatively high by UK standards, yet around average for the south of England—the average price of a detached house in 2007 was £327,569; semi-detached
and terraced house
s were cheaper, at £230,932 and £190,073 respectively, and an apartment or maisonette cost £168,727. The crime rate in Weymouth of 12.0 burglaries per 1000 households is lower than that of England and Wales
(13.5 per 1000), but above that of South West England
(8.9 per 1000). Unemployment levels are low, particularly in summer, at 2.0% of the economically active population in July 2006, and 4.3% year-round, compared to the UK average of 5.3%.
Tourism has been the largest industry in Weymouth for decades, though the number of people employed in the sector has declined slightly since its peak in the late 1990s. Weymouth's coast and beaches, lakes, museums, aquarium, and two shopping centres are the main attractions for visitors. The visitor accommodation consists of hotels on the seafront, guest houses around the town centre, and caravan
and camping sites
just out of town, including three sites owned by Haven and British Holidays: Littlesea, Seaview and Weymouth Bay.
There are over two hundred events held throughout the year in the borough, including firework festivals, dragon boat
racing, beach volleyball, handball and motocross, and the annual carnival in mid-August, which attracts around 70,000 people each year. Weymouth is the only port in the world to have hosted the start of The Tall Ships' Races
three times—in 1983, 1987 and 1994; the 1994 race attracting 300,000 spectators.
The Pavilion Theatre was built in 1960 on a peninsula of reclaimed land between the harbour and the esplanade, after the Ritz Theatre was destroyed by fire in 1954. The Pavilion is owned and operated by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council
, providing a venue for local community groups
and schools, and hosting seasonal 'end-of-the-pier' entertainment and year-round shows and events. It was announced in 2006 that the Pavilion complex and 4 hectares (10 acre) of its surroundings
will be entirely redeveloped from 2008 to 2011, in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics
. The complex is to include a refurbished theatre, a World Heritage Site
visitors' centre, a new ferry terminal
, a 140 bed 4-star hotel, an underground car park, a shopping arcade, offices, around 340 luxury apartments, 110 affordable homes, public squares, promenades, and a 290-berth marina. Delays to the project mean it is now unlikely to be completed in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics
.
As part of the regeneration of Weymouth and Portland, it was decided in 2007 that Weymouth's esplanade
will be redeveloped in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. Planned improvements include a public square around the restored statue of King George III, the restoration and extension the Art Deco
pier bandstand
, a Tourist information centre and café, Victorian-style
shelters and seasonal kiosks, a beach rescue
centre, and a sand art pavilion for the sculptures of Mark Anderson. Other alterations to the promenade are considered, particularly around key areas such as the Jubilee Clock and the pier bandstand, including a lighting scheme and seating areas with planting, fountains and structural trees. All proposals are scheduled to undergo a period of public consultation
before accepted improvements could begin in 2008 for completion before 2012.
Weymouth Harbour is long and narrow, and formed the estuary
of the River Wey
until the building of a bridge to Westham, which separated the harbour's backwaters
from Radipole Lake
. For centuries the harbour was a passenger terminal and trade and cargo port: goods handled included wool and spices, and in the 20th century Weymouth was a bulk importer of fertiliser and cars. The old harbourside, on both sides of the seaward end of the harbour, still hosts a large fishing fleet, with docks, unloading areas, and a cross-channel ferry terminal. Fishing and cargo trading employ fewer people in the area since their peak in earlier centuries, but local fishermen catch the largest mass of fish in England and the third largest in the United Kingdom. The inner harbour has been refurbished in two phases, in 1994–1996 and in 2002, to include a new marina
with hundreds of berths for pleasure boats, cruisers and sailing boats. Local boats offer fishing and diving trips, pleasure cruises along the Jurassic Coast
, and thrill-rides to the Isle of Portland
.
The main shopping centre in the area is in Melcombe Regis, consisting of two pedestrianised streets (St. Thomas's and St. Mary's Street), shops along the esplanade, and a new precinct stretching from St. Thomas's Street to the harbourside, built in the 1990s. There are shops and restaurants in the pedestrianised Hope Square and Brewers Quay, which are linked to the town centre by town bridge and a small passenger ferry service across the harbour. In 2005 the town centre had 292 shops and 37500 square metres (403,646.6 sq ft) of floorspace, and there was 0.4 square kilometres (98.8 acre) of industrial estate in the area. Weymouth, Portland and Chickerell
have been a Fairtrade Zone for three years. Fashion company New Look
has its global headquarters in Weymouth, and until 2005 the company's regional distribution centre was based at the same site. Plans were approved in 2007 to develop the New Look site to include new headquarters, retail warehouses and industrial units, a hotel, fire station, and a medical centre with ambulance station.
Weymouth railway station
is the terminus of a route from
London Waterloo and of a route from
Westbury
and Bristol
. There used to be a large station to handle heavy summer tourist traffic, but this traffic declined and the station was demolished in 1986. A smaller station took up part of the site, and the rest was given over to commercial development. Part of the South West Main Line west of Moreton
Station to east of Dorchester South Station have been reduced from dual to single track. However, local councils have lobbied the Department for Transport
, in connection with the sailing events in 2012 Olympic Games, to relay the double track and increase services to London
and Bristol, and to introduce new direct services to Exeter
. Services to London Waterloo began running every 30 minutes from December 2007, but services through Bristol to Cardiff
were reduced.
An unusual feature of the railways in Weymouth was that until 1987 main-line trains ran though the streets
and along the Weymouth Harbour Tramway
to the Quay station
at the eastern end of the harbour, to connect with ferries to mainland Europe. Due to declining business, goods traffic ceased in 1972, but passenger services continued until they ceased in 1987 from lack of use.
Local bus services are run by First Hampshire & Dorset
, which bought the local Southern National company. Buses run from Weymouth to the Isle of Portland
, Dorchester, Bournemouth
, Wool
, Beaminster
, Axminster
, and to other villages and the town's holiday parks. Weymouth is connected to towns and villages along the Jurassic Coast
by the Jurassic Coast Bus service, which runs for 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Exeter to Poole
, through Sidford
, Beer
, Seaton
, Lyme Regis
, Charmouth
, Bridport
, Abbotsbury
, Weymouth, Wool, and Wareham
. This service is convenient for walkers who can ride the bus to connect with the South West Coast Path
for a walk along the coast.
The A354 road
connects the town to the A35
trunk road
in Dorchester, and terminates at Easton on the Isle of Portland. The A353 road runs east from Weymouth to the south of Warmwell
, where it connects with the A352 to the Isle of Purbeck
and Wareham. In the 1980s the town centre was bypassed by the A354 to Portland, but the government's road building policy changed before a proposed relief road could be completed. Before completion of the relief road, the A354 followed its original route through Upwey and Broadwey, where traffic problems were common at peak tourist times, particularly on event days such as the carnival.
The relief road's construction was delayed by opposition from residents and environmental
groups, including Transport 2000 and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, who objected to the route's partial destruction of a nature reserve, which is an AONB and SSSI. With Weymouth and Portland scheduled to host 2012 Olympic sailing events the project reopened; the local authorities favouring a more environmentally friendly proposal than in the 1990s. On 5 April 2007, Dorset
County Council granted planning permission for a modified proposal including a single carriageway running 7 kilometres (4 mi) north, and a 1000-space park-and-ride scheme, costing £
84.5 million. Work commenced in 2008; and has been largely completed and opened by mid-2011, in time for the 2012 Olympic sailing events. During archaeological excavations carried out in advance of the relief road construction, a burial pit containing 51 dismembered skeletons of Viking men was discovered on Ridgeway Hill.
are the local ITV
television franchises. Westcountry is received from the Stockland Hill transmitter or from one of its three relay transmitters in the town (Wyke Regis, Bincombe Hill and Preston). Meridian is received from the Rowridge transmitter.
The local newspaper is The Dorset Echo.
Weymouth has also been in the media, for example films such as The Boat That Rocked
and on TV e.g. Hugh's Fish Fight.
The Chesil Education Partnership pyramid area operates in south Dorset, and includes five infant school
s, four junior school
s, twelve primary schools, four secondary school
s and two special schools. 73.3 % of Weymouth residents have qualifications, which is slightly below the Dorset average of 73.8 %. 8.8 % of residents have higher qualifications (Level 4 +
), about half the Dorset average of 18.3 %.
There are three secondary schools in Weymouth—All Saints' Church of England
School in Wyke Regis
, Budmouth Technology College
in Chickerell
and Wey Valley School and Sports College
in Broadwey
which was added to the Government's Failing Schools list in 2007 as only 27% of the students achieved 5 A* to C passes. The fourth secondary school in the Chesil Education Partnership is Royal Manor Arts College on the Isle of Portland
. All Saints' has 921 students on roll, Budmouth has 1560 and Wey Valley 1171. In 2006, 31 % of students at Wey Valley, and 58 % of students at All Saints' and Budmouth, attained five or more A* to C GCSEs including English and mathematics.
Budmouth College also has a sixth form
centre which had 296 students in 2006. Weymouth College
in Melcombe Regis
is a further education
college which has around 7,500 students from South West England
and overseas, about 1500 studying A-Level courses. In 2006, Budmouth students received an average of 647.6 UCAS points, and Weymouth College students gained 614.1. Some secondary and A-Level students commute to Dorchester to attend The Thomas Hardye School
; in 2007, 79 % of Hardye school students received five or more A* to C GCSEs, and 78 % of all A-Level results were A to C grades.
is used for swimming and sunbathing during the tourist season, and for beach sport events throughout the year, including beach motocross
, the International handball championships and the beach volleyball classic. The international kite festival, held in May each year on Weymouth Beach, attracts around 40,000 spectators to the esplanade from around the world.
The local football club, Weymouth F.C.
or 'the Terras', are outside the Football League but, in common with other non-league clubs, they became professional in 2005. The team enjoyed erratic success at their level; twice playing in the third round of the FA Cup
, the highest club competition level. At the end of the 2005–06 season the team became champions of the Conference South
(the sixth level of English football) and moved up to the Conference National
(the fifth level) for the first time since 1989. However the club were relegated at the end of the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons and now play in the Southern League Premier Division (the seventh level). The Terras' ground is the Bob Lucas Stadium; its record attendance is 6,500 against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 2005–2006 season.
The Wessex Stadium is out of town, but until 1987 the team played at a ground near the town centre, which is now an Asda
supermarket. The club's move pre-dated the move to new out-of-town grounds by professional league clubs, and was the first football stadium opened in England in 32 years. Motorcycle speedway
racing was staged at the stadium from 1954 until the redevelopment; Weymouth's team was revived in 2003, and 'the Wildcats
' race at a track adjacent to the stadium. In 2005 a scheme was proposed to rebuild the Wessex Stadium to occupy a pitch-and-putt golf course, coincidentally with Asda building on the previous stadium site. Although the plans were to move by August 2007, the scheme was shelved before construction could begin.
On the shores of Portland Harbour
, 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of Wyke Regis
, is Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
, where the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
will take place. The main reason that the resort was chosen to be an Olympic venue
was because the National Sailing Academy had only recently been built, so no venue would have to be built. However, as part of the South West of England Regional Development Agency's plans to redevelop Osprey Quay, in which the academy is built, a new 600-berth marina and an extension with more on-site facilities will be built. Weymouth and Portland are likely to be the first in the United Kingdom to finish building a venue for the Olympic Games, as construction started in October 2007 and will finish at the end of 2008.
The waters of Weymouth and Portland
were credited by the Royal Yachting Association
as the best in Northern Europe
for sailing. Local, national and international sailing events are regularly held in the bay; these include the J/24
World Championships in 2005, trials for the 2004 Athens Olympics, the ISAF
World Championship 2006, the BUCS Fleet Racing Championships, and the RYA Youth National Championships. Weymouth Bay is a venue for other water-sports—the reliable wind is favourable for wind-
and kite-surfing
. The sheltered waters in Portland Harbour and near Weymouth are used for angling, diving to shipwrecks, snorkelling, canoeing, jet skiing, water skiing, and swimming.
The town also has a successful cricket club, who are currently in the Premier Division of the Dorset Saturday League.
Rugby league team South Dorset Giants
are based in Weymouth. They play in the South West Division of the Rugby League Conference
.
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey
River Wey, Dorset
The River Wey of Dorset, south west England, is a short river 9 kilometres long. The river rises in Upwey, where the spring forms in Upwey Wishing Well, at the foot of the South Dorset Downs, a ridge of chalk hills that separate Weymouth from Dorchester...
on the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast. The town is 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Dorchester and 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
. The town's population is 52,950 (2006).
The A354 road
A354 road
The A354 is a primary route in England which runs from Salisbury in Wiltshire to Easton on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, a total distance of . From Salisbury the road crosses Cranborne Chase and briefly merges with the A350 at the Blandford Forum bypass before crossing the Dorset Downs and...
bridge connects Weymouth to Portland, which together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland
Weymouth and Portland
Weymouth and Portland is a local government district and borough in Dorset, England. It consists of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southill, Chiswell, Castletown, Fortuneswell, Radipole, Nottington,...
. The history of the borough stretches back to the 12th century; including involvement in the spread of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, the settlement of the Americas
British colonization of the Americas
British colonization of the Americas began in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas...
, the development of Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
, and preparations for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Fishing and trading employ fewer people in the area since their peak in earlier centuries, but tourism has continuously increased its presence in the town since the 18th century and is now the primary industry. Weymouth is a tourist resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
, and its economy depends on its harbour and visitor attractions; the town is a gateway situated half-way along the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
, a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
on the Dorset and east Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
coast, important for its geology and landforms. Weymouth Harbour is home to cross-channel ferries, pleasure boats and private yachts, and nearby Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
is home to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is a centre for the sport of sailing on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England, United Kingdom. The academy building is located in Osprey Quay on the northern tip of the island, and the waters of Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay,...
, where the sailing events
Sailing at the Summer Olympics
Sailing has been one of the Olympic sports since the Games of the I Olympiad, held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Despite being scheduled in the first Olympic program, the races were canceled due to severe weather conditions...
of the 2012 Olympic Games will be held.
History
Weymouth originated as a settlement on a constricted site to the south and west of Weymouth Harbour, an outlying part of Wyke RegisWyke Regis
Wyke Regis is a village in south Dorset, England. The village is part of the south western suburbs of Weymouth, on the northern shore of Portland Harbour and the south-eastern end of Chesil Beach. Wyke is south of the county town, Dorchester...
. The town developed from the mid 12th century onwards, but was not noted until the 13th century. By 1252 it was established as a seaport and become a chartered borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
. Melcombe Regis
Melcombe Regis
Melcombe Regis is an area of Weymouth in Dorset, England.Situated on the north shore of Weymouth Harbour and originally part of the waste of Radipole, it seems only to have developed as a significant settlement and seaport in the 13th century...
developed separately on the peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
to the north of the harbour; it was mentioned as a licensed wool port in 1310. but French raiders found the port so accessible that in 1433 the staple was transferred to Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
.
Melcombe Regis is thought to be the first port at which the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
came into England in June 1348, possibly either aboard a spice ship or an army ship. In their early history Weymouth and Melcombe Regis were rivals for trade and industry, but the towns were united in an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1571 to form a double borough. Both towns have become known as Weymouth, despite Melcombe Regis being the main town centre. The villages of Upwey
Upwey, Dorset
Upwey is a village in south Dorset, England. The village is situated on the A354 road in the Wey valley and has been absorbed into the Weymouth built-up area and is four miles north of the town centre in the outer suburbs...
, Broadwey
Broadwey
Broadwey is a former village in the northern suburbs of Weymouth, Dorset, England, on the A354 road. Broadwey and Upwey ward had a population of 4,349 in 2001.- External links :* *...
, Preston
Preston, Dorset
Preston is a coastal village and suburb of Weymouth in south Dorset, England. It is approximately north-east of Weymouth town centre and west of the village of Osmington....
, Wyke Regis
Wyke Regis
Wyke Regis is a village in south Dorset, England. The village is part of the south western suburbs of Weymouth, on the northern shore of Portland Harbour and the south-eastern end of Chesil Beach. Wyke is south of the county town, Dorchester...
, Chickerell
Chickerell
Chickerell is a small town and parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England. The parish has a population of 5,282 .-History:Although Roman remains have been found, indicating that there has been settlement in the area for many years, as a modern town, Chickerell is recent and one of...
, Southill
Southill, Weymouth
Southill, Weymouth is a modern suburb of Weymouth, Dorset, England, and lies about 2 miles north of the town centre. It was developed on the western shore of Radipole Lake in several phases from the 1960s onwards....
, Radipole
Radipole
Radipole is a part of the district of Weymouth and Portland in the county of Dorset, England. It was formerly an independent parish, until abolished as a separate local government unit in 1933. It remains a separate ecclesiastical parish...
and Littlemoor
Littlemoor
Littlemoor is a suburb of Weymouth in Dorset, England, in the parish of Upwey and Broadwey.During World War I, the Littlemoor area was used as an Australian army camp. For this reason most of the roads in the area today are named after towns and cities in Australia.Littlemoor has a skatepark and...
have become part of the built-up area.
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
had two Device Forts
Device Forts
The Device Forts, also known as Henrician Castles, are a series of artillery fortifications built to defend the southern coast of England by Henry VIII. After his divorce of Catherine of Aragon England was left politically isolated, and the peace of Nice between France and Spain in 1538 aroused...
built to protect the south Dorset coast from invasion in the 1530s: Sandsfoot Castle
Sandsfoot Castle
Sandsfoot Castle is one of Henry VIII's Device Forts, also known as Henrician Castles, built in the 1530s to the west of Weymouth, Dorset, England, opposite its contemporary Portland Castle...
in Wyke Regis and Portland Castle
Portland Castle
Portland Castle is one of the Device Forts, also known as Henrician Castles, built in 1539 by Henry VIII on the Isle of Portland to guard the natural Portland anchorage known as the Portland Roads. The castle lies in the far north of the island, in the village now called Castletown, near Fortuneswell...
in Castletown. Parts of Sandsfoot have fallen into the sea due to coastal erosion. During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, around 250 people were killed in the local Crabchurch Conspiracy
Crabchurch Conspiracy
The Crabchurch Conspiracy was a plot during the English Civil War which took place in the town of Weymouth, Dorset during February 1645. Around 250 men were killed during the battle, which aimed to bring the town back under the control of the King's army....
in February 1645. In 1635, on board the ship Charity, around 100 emigrants from the town crossed the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and settled in Weymouth, Massachusetts
Weymouth, Massachusetts
The Town of Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, Weymouth had a total population of 53,743. Despite its city status, it is formally known as the Town of Weymouth...
. More townspeople emigrated to the Americas to bolster the population of Weymouth, Nova Scotia
Weymouth, Nova Scotia
-History:The area was settled in the 1760s by New England Planters after the Acadian Expulsion. The town was formally founded by Loyalists in 1783 . Current day Weymouth was once called Weymouth Bridge, and Weymouth North was called Weymouth...
and Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
; then called Naumking, Salem became infamous for its witch trials
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
. There are memorials to this on the side of Weymouth Harbour and near Weymouth Pavilion.
The architect Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Weymouth in 1702, and controlled nearby Portland's quarries from 1675 to 1717. When he designed St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, Wren had it built out of Portland Stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
, the famous stone of Portland's quarries. Sir James Thornhill
James Thornhill
Sir James Thornhill was an English painter of historical subjects, in the Italian baroque tradition.-Life:...
was born in the White Hart public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Melcombe Regis and became the town's MP in 1722. Thornhill became an artist, and coincidentally decorated the interior of St Paul's Cathedral.
The resort is among the first modern tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
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
Bathing machine
The bathing machine was a device, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, to allow people to change out of their usual clothes, possibly change into swimwear and then wade in the ocean at beaches. Bathing machines were roofed and walled wooden carts rolled into the sea...
. A painted statue of the king stands on the seafront, which was renovated in 2007/8 by stripping 20 layers of paintwork, replacing it with new paints and gold leaf
Gold leaf
right|thumb|250px|[[Burnishing]] gold leaf with an [[agate]] stone tool, during the water gilding processGold leaf is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades...
, and replacing the iron framework with stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
one. A mounted white horse
Osmington White Horse
The Osmington White Horse is a hill figure sculpted in 1808 into the limestone Osmington hill just north of Weymouth called the South Dorset Downs, within the parish of Osmington....
representing the king is carved into the chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
hills of Osmington
Osmington
Osmington is a village and civil parish in the District of West Dorset within Dorset, England, situated on the Jurassic Coast northeast of Weymouth. The village has a population of 609.To the east is Osmington Hill.-History:...
. The horse faces away from the town, and a myth developed that the king took offence, believing it was a sign that the townspeople did not welcome him, and that the designer subsequently killed himself.
Weymouth's esplanade
Esplanade
An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
is composed of Georgian terraces, which have been converted into apartments, shops, hotels and guest houses. The buildings were constructed in the Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
and Regency
Regency architecture
The Regency style of architecture refers primarily to buildings built in Britain during the period in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to later buildings following the same style...
periods between 1770 and 1855, designed by architects such as James Hamilton, and were commissioned by wealthy businessmen, including those that were involved in the growth of Bath. These terraces form a long, continuous arc of buildings which face Weymouth Bay
Weymouth Bay
Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which stretches from the resort of Weymouth, along to the...
along the esplanade, which also features the multi-coloured Jubilee Clock, erected in 1887 to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign. Statues of Victoria, George III and Sir Henry Edwards, Member of Parliament for the borough from 1867 to 1885, and two war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
s stand along the Esplanade.
Melcombe Regis
Melcombe Regis is an area of Weymouth in Dorset, England.Situated on the north shore of Weymouth Harbour and originally part of the waste of Radipole, it seems only to have developed as a significant settlement and seaport in the 13th century...
(the main town centre) and Weymouth (the southern harbourside) from each other. Since the 18th century this has been overcome with successive bridges over the narrowest part of the harbour. The present Town Bridge, built in 1930, is a lifting bascule bridge
Bascule bridge
A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic....
, one of ten in the United Kingdom, to let boats access the inner harbour
Weymouth Marina
Weymouth Marina occupies most of the inner backwater of Weymouth Harbour, Dorset, England. The marina was refurbished to accommodate more vessels in the 1990s, and today houses hundreds of pleasure cruisers, fishing boats, yachts, dinghies and speedboats. Access to the marina is via a lifting road...
. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
stationed a lifeboat at Weymouth for the first time on 26 January 1869. A boathouse
Weymouth Lifeboat Station
Weymouth Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution search and rescue operations at Weymouth in Dorset, England. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1869...
was built with a slipway by the harbour and is still in use, although the lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
is now moored at a pontoon.
Weymouth and Portland were bombed by German planes for their role in World War II; Portland harbour
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
had a large naval base, and Weymouth was home to Nothe Fort
Nothe Fort
Nothe Fort is a fort in Weymouth, Dorset, England. The fort is situated on the shore beside the northern breakwater of the ex-military Portland Harbour, and at the mouth of civilian Weymouth Harbour. The fort was built in 1872 to protect Portland's harbour, which was then becoming an important...
. 517,816 troops embarked through the borough to fight at the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, and the Bouncing bomb
Bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed specifically to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner, in order to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-determined...
was tested in the Fleet
Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach, sometimes called Chesil Bank, in Dorset, southern England is one of three major shingle structures in Britain. Its toponym is derived from the Old English ceosel or cisel, meaning "gravel" or "shingle"....
lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
to the west of town. The history of the area is documented at the Timewalk museum in Brewers Quay
Brewers Quay
Brewers Quay is a converted Victorian brewery near the Old Harbour in Weymouth, Dorset, southern England. It was formerly the Devenish Brewery and then was an indoor shopping complex with around twenty speciality shops together with heritage and science exhibits: Until it was closed in 2011.*...
; the former brewery is a tourist attraction and shopping village on the southern shore of Weymouth Harbour.
Governance
Weymouth and Portland
Weymouth and Portland is a local government district and borough in Dorset, England. It consists of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southill, Chiswell, Castletown, Fortuneswell, Radipole, Nottington,...
was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, and merged the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis and the nearby Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
urban district. For local elections the district is divided into 15 wards, 12 of them in Weymouth. Elections take place in a four-year cycle; one third of the councillors in all but three wards retire or seek re-election in years one, two and three, and county council elections are held in year four. The Mayor of Weymouth and Portland is Paul Kimber (Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
), and Graham Winter (Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
) is Deputy Mayor.
Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset
South Dorset
South Dorset is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
parliamentary constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
, created in 1885. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament; currently Richard Drax
Richard Drax
Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax , known as Richard Drax, is a former Army officer and journalist, now Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for South Dorset....
(Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
).
South Dorset, the rest of South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
, and Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
are in the South West England constituency
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Dorset South was the most marginal Labour seat in the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, 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
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
. The seat was gained from Labour by Drax for the Conservatives at the 2010 General Election.
Weymouth and Portland have been twinned with the town of Holzwickede
Holzwickede
Holzwickede is a municipality in the district of Unna in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.It is twinned with Weymouth, England and Louviers.- References :...
in North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, Germany since 1986, and the French town of Louviers
Louviers
Louviers is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen.-Population:-Sights:Its church, Notre Dame, has parts which date from the thirteenth century...
, in the department of Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, since 1959.
Geography
Weymouth Bay
Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which stretches from the resort of Weymouth, along to the...
on the south coast of England, 195 kilometres (121.2 mi) west-southwest of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, at 50°37′N 2°27′W (50.613, −2.457). The town is built on weak sand and clay rock which in most places along the Dorset coast, except for narrow bands at Lulworth Cove
Lulworth Cove
Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a tourist location with over 1 million visitors a year...
, Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
and Durdle Door
Durdle Door
Durdle Door is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset, England. It is privately owned by the Welds, a family who own in Dorset in the name of the Lulworth Estate. It is open to the public...
, has been eroded
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
and transported away. This weak rock has been protected at Weymouth by Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach, sometimes called Chesil Bank, in Dorset, southern England is one of three major shingle structures in Britain. Its toponym is derived from the Old English ceosel or cisel, meaning "gravel" or "shingle"....
and the strong limestone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
that lies offshore, 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of Wyke Regis
Wyke Regis
Wyke Regis is a village in south Dorset, England. The village is part of the south western suburbs of Weymouth, on the northern shore of Portland Harbour and the south-eastern end of Chesil Beach. Wyke is south of the county town, Dorchester...
. The island affects the tides of the area, producing a double low tide in Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour. The maximum tidal range
Tidal range
The tidal range is the vertical difference between the high tide and the succeeding low tide. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth...
is small, less than 2 metres (7 ft).
There are two lakes in the borough, both RSPB Nature Reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s—Radipole Lake
Radipole Lake
Radipole Lake is a lake on the River Wey, now in the English coastal town of Weymouth, Dorset, once in Radipole, the village and parish of the same name. Along the western shore of the lake, and between Radipole and the town centre of Weymouth, now lies the modern suburb of Southill...
in the town centre, and Lodmoor
Lodmoor
Lodmoor is a 71.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset, England, notified in 1952. The site includes a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve. Some nationally rare bird species breed there, and it is also visited by some uncommon migratory...
between the town centre and Preston
Preston, Dorset
Preston is a coastal village and suburb of Weymouth in south Dorset, England. It is approximately north-east of Weymouth town centre and west of the village of Osmington....
. Radipole Lake, the largest nature reserve, and mouth of the River Wey
River Wey, Dorset
The River Wey of Dorset, south west England, is a short river 9 kilometres long. The river rises in Upwey, where the spring forms in Upwey Wishing Well, at the foot of the South Dorset Downs, a ridge of chalk hills that separate Weymouth from Dorchester...
before it flows into Weymouth Harbour, is an important habitat for fish and migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
birds, and over 200 species of plants. Radipole is an important tourist attraction; it and Weymouth Beach are situated very close to the main town centre. There are 11 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the borough, which cover an area of 800.87 hectares (1,979 acre), and there are 37 other Nature Conservation Designations.
Situated approximately half-way along the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
, Weymouth is a gateway town to the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, which includes 153 kilometres (95 mi) of the Dorset and east Devon coast that is important for its geology and landform
Landform
A landform or physical feature in the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography...
s. The South West Coast Path
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
has two routes around Weymouth and Portland—one around its coast, and one along the South Dorset Downs, which reduces the path's length by 31 kilometres (19.3 mi). The path is the United Kingdom's longest national trail, at 1014 kilometres (630 mi).
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
called the South Dorset Downs separates Dorchester and Weymouth; they are less agricultural than the valleys in the centre and north of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, but have dairy and arable
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
farms. The nearest villages to Weymouth are part of the built-up area, including Wyke Regis, Chickerell
Chickerell
Chickerell is a small town and parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England. The parish has a population of 5,282 .-History:Although Roman remains have been found, indicating that there has been settlement in the area for many years, as a modern town, Chickerell is recent and one of...
and Preston.
The sand and clay on which Weymouth is built is very low-lying—large areas are below sea level, which allowed the eastern areas of the town to flood during extreme low pressure storms. In the 1980s and 90s a sea wall was built around Weymouth Harbour and along the coast road in Preston; a rip rap groyne
Groyne
A groyne is a rigid hydraulic structure built from an ocean shore or from a bank that interrupts water flow and limits the movement of sediment. In the ocean, groynes create beaches, or avoid having them washed away by longshore drift. In a river, groynes prevent erosion and ice-jamming, which...
in Greenhill
Greenhill, Dorset
Greenhill is a suburb to the northeast of Weymouth in Dorset, England, with a sand and shingle beach.The A353 road, locally known as Greenhill, runs parallel and close to the beach. To the northeast it becomes Preston Road, leading to the village of Preston. Also to the northeast along the coast...
and beach nourishment
Beach nourishment
Beach nourishment— also referred to as beach replenishment—describes a process by which sediment lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from sources outside of the eroding beach...
up to Preston have created a wide and artificially graded pebble beach, to ensure that the low-lying land around Lodmoor does not flood. The defences at Preston, the extended ferry terminal and the widening of the Esplanade have changed the sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
regime in Weymouth Bay, narrowing the beach at Greenhill and widening the sands in Weymouth. A study conducted as part of the redevelopment of the Pavilion complex showed that the proposed marina will contribute slightly to this effect, but sand dredged out of the marina could be used to make the beach up to 40 metres (131.2 ft) wider.
Climate
Due to its location on the south-west coast of England, Weymouth has a temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with a small variation in daily and annual temperatures. The average annual mean temperature from 1971 to 2000 was 10.2 to 12 °C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
(50.4 to 53.6 °F
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
). The warmest month is August, which has an average temperature range of 13.3 to 20.4 °C (55.9 to 68.7 F), and the coolest is February, which has a range of 3.1 to 8.3 °C (37.6 to 46.9 F). Maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year are above England's average, and Weymouth is in AHS Heat zone 1
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...
. Mean sea surface temperatures range from 7 °C (44.6 °F) in February to 17.2 °C (63 °F) in August; the annual mean is 11.8 °C (53.2 °F).
The low-lying nature of the area, and the ameliorating effect of the lakes and mild seas that surround the town, act to keep night-time temperatures above freezing for much of the winter, though frosts are sometimes recorded. Days with snow lying are equally rare: on average zero to six days per year; almost all winters have one day or less with snow lying. It may snow or sleet
Ice storm
An ice storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain, also known as a glaze event or in some parts of the United States as a silver thaw. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on exposed surfaces...
in winter, yet it almost never settles on the ground, except for in cold winters such as 2008/2009 & 2009/2010 (when many people were stranded in Weymouth due to heavy snow) —low-lying coastal areas on the South Coast of England such as Weymouth experience milder winters than the rest of the United Kingdom. The growing season
Growing season
In botany, horticulture, and agriculture the growing season is the period of each year when native plants and ornamental plants grow; and when crops can be grown....
in Weymouth lasts from nine to twelve months per year, and the borough is in Hardiness zone
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...
9b.
Climate of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom straddles the geographic mid-latitudes between 50-60 N from the equator. It is also positioned on the western seaboard of Eurasia, the world's largest land mass. These boundary conditions allow convergence between moist maritime air and dry continental air...
of 1339.7 hours. Four of the last nine years have had more than 2000 hours of sunshine. December is the cloudiest and wettest month (55.7 hours of sunshine, 90.9 millimetres (3.6 in) of rain) and July is the sunniest and driest (235.1 hours of sunshine, 35.6 millimetres (1.4 in) of rain). Sunshine totals in all months are well above the United Kingdom average, and monthly rainfall totals throughout the year are less than the UK average, particularly in summer; this summer minimum of rainfall is not experienced away from the south coast of England. The average annual rainfall of 751.7 millimetres (29.6 in) is well below the UK average of 1125 millimetres (44.3 in).
Demography
| Religion | |
|---|---|
| Buddhist Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th... |
0.2 |
| Christian Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings... |
74.7 |
| Hindu Hinduism Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions... |
<0.1 |
| Jewish Judaism Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people... |
0.1 |
| Muslim Islam Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~... |
0.3 |
| No religion Irreligion Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as... |
15.9 |
| Other | 0.3 |
| Sikh Sikhism Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing... |
<0.1 |
| Not stated | 8.4 |
| Age | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0–15 | 18.3 |
| 16–17 | 2.3 |
| 18–44 | 32.4 |
| 45–59 | 20.8 |
| 60–84 | 23.2 |
| 85+ | 3.1 |
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1971 | 42,370 |
| 1981 | 45,090 |
| 1991 | 48,350 |
| 2001 | 50,920 |
| 2006 | 52,950 |
The mid-year population of Weymouth in 2006 was 52,950, in a built-up area of 18.5 square kilometres (4,571.4 acre), giving an approximate population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 2,800 residents per square kilometre (11 per acre), in 24,622 dwellings. The population has grown steadily since the 1970s, mainly as a result of migration. There is an above average number of residents aged 60–84 (23.2%), however this is less than the Dorset average of 26.2%, and the largest proportion of the population (32.4%) is between the ages of 18 to 44, above the Dorset average of 29.6%. The population is largely native to England—98.8% of residents are of white ethnicity, slightly above the Dorset average of 98.7%. The largest religion in Weymouth and Portland is Christianity, at almost 74.7%, which is slightly above the United Kingdom average of 71.6%. The next-largest sector is those with no religion, at almost 15.9%, slightly above the UK average of 15.5%.
House prices in Weymouth and Portland are relatively high by UK standards, yet around average for the south of England—the average price of a detached house in 2007 was £327,569; semi-detached
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
and terraced house
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s were cheaper, at £230,932 and £190,073 respectively, and an apartment or maisonette cost £168,727. The crime rate in Weymouth of 12.0 burglaries per 1000 households is lower than that of England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
(13.5 per 1000), but above that of South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
(8.9 per 1000). Unemployment levels are low, particularly in summer, at 2.0% of the economically active population in July 2006, and 4.3% year-round, compared to the UK average of 5.3%.
Economy
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
and camping sites
Campsite
A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...
just out of town, including three sites owned by Haven and British Holidays: Littlesea, Seaview and Weymouth Bay.
There are over two hundred events held throughout the year in the borough, including firework festivals, dragon boat
Dragon boat
A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft traditionally made, in the Pearl River delta region of southern China - Guangdong Province, of teak wood to various designs and sizes. In other parts of China different woods are used to build these traditional watercraft...
racing, beach volleyball, handball and motocross, and the annual carnival in mid-August, which attracts around 70,000 people each year. Weymouth is the only port in the world to have hosted the start of The Tall Ships' Races
The Tall Ships' Races
The Tall Ships' Races are races for sail training "tall ships" . The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a...
three times—in 1983, 1987 and 1994; the 1994 race attracting 300,000 spectators.
Weymouth and Portland
Weymouth and Portland is a local government district and borough in Dorset, England. It consists of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southill, Chiswell, Castletown, Fortuneswell, Radipole, Nottington,...
, providing a venue for local community groups
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
and schools, and hosting seasonal 'end-of-the-pier' entertainment and year-round shows and events. It was announced in 2006 that the Pavilion complex and 4 hectares (10 acre) of its surroundings
Weymouth Pier
Weymouth Pier is a peninsula of land between Weymouth Harbour and Weymouth Beach, in Dorset, England. It was intended to extend Weymouth's Esplanade, and consists of a theatre, pleasure pier, car parking and a cross-channel ferry terminal...
will be entirely redeveloped from 2008 to 2011, in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
. The complex is to include a refurbished theatre, a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
visitors' centre, a new ferry terminal
Condor Ferries
Condor Ferries is an operator of ferry services between mainland England and the Channel Islands, between England and France, and between France and the Channel Islands.-Recent history:...
, a 140 bed 4-star hotel, an underground car park, a shopping arcade, offices, around 340 luxury apartments, 110 affordable homes, public squares, promenades, and a 290-berth marina. Delays to the project mean it is now unlikely to be completed in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
.
As part of the regeneration of Weymouth and Portland, it was decided in 2007 that Weymouth's esplanade
Esplanade
An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
will be redeveloped in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. Planned improvements include a public square around the restored statue of King George III, the restoration and extension the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
pier bandstand
Pier Bandstand (Weymouth)
Pier Bandstand Weymouth is an Art Deco bandstand on the shore of Weymouth Bay in Dorset, England. Overall, tons of concrete, tons of steel, of electrical conduit, of neon tubing and 1,200 light bulbs were used during the course of construction....
, a Tourist information centre and café, Victorian-style
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
shelters and seasonal kiosks, a beach rescue
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
centre, and a sand art pavilion for the sculptures of Mark Anderson. Other alterations to the promenade are considered, particularly around key areas such as the Jubilee Clock and the pier bandstand, including a lighting scheme and seating areas with planting, fountains and structural trees. All proposals are scheduled to undergo a period of public consultation
Public consultation
Public consultation, or simply consultation, is a regulatory process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought. Its main goals are in improving the efficiency, transparency and public involvement in large-scale projects or laws and policies...
before accepted improvements could begin in 2008 for completion before 2012.
Weymouth Harbour is long and narrow, and formed the estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of the River Wey
River Wey, Dorset
The River Wey of Dorset, south west England, is a short river 9 kilometres long. The river rises in Upwey, where the spring forms in Upwey Wishing Well, at the foot of the South Dorset Downs, a ridge of chalk hills that separate Weymouth from Dorchester...
until the building of a bridge to Westham, which separated the harbour's backwaters
Weymouth Marina
Weymouth Marina occupies most of the inner backwater of Weymouth Harbour, Dorset, England. The marina was refurbished to accommodate more vessels in the 1990s, and today houses hundreds of pleasure cruisers, fishing boats, yachts, dinghies and speedboats. Access to the marina is via a lifting road...
from Radipole Lake
Radipole Lake
Radipole Lake is a lake on the River Wey, now in the English coastal town of Weymouth, Dorset, once in Radipole, the village and parish of the same name. Along the western shore of the lake, and between Radipole and the town centre of Weymouth, now lies the modern suburb of Southill...
. For centuries the harbour was a passenger terminal and trade and cargo port: goods handled included wool and spices, and in the 20th century Weymouth was a bulk importer of fertiliser and cars. The old harbourside, on both sides of the seaward end of the harbour, still hosts a large fishing fleet, with docks, unloading areas, and a cross-channel ferry terminal. Fishing and cargo trading employ fewer people in the area since their peak in earlier centuries, but local fishermen catch the largest mass of fish in England and the third largest in the United Kingdom. The inner harbour has been refurbished in two phases, in 1994–1996 and in 2002, to include a new marina
Weymouth Marina
Weymouth Marina occupies most of the inner backwater of Weymouth Harbour, Dorset, England. The marina was refurbished to accommodate more vessels in the 1990s, and today houses hundreds of pleasure cruisers, fishing boats, yachts, dinghies and speedboats. Access to the marina is via a lifting road...
with hundreds of berths for pleasure boats, cruisers and sailing boats. Local boats offer fishing and diving trips, pleasure cruises along the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
, and thrill-rides to the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
.
The main shopping centre in the area is in Melcombe Regis, consisting of two pedestrianised streets (St. Thomas's and St. Mary's Street), shops along the esplanade, and a new precinct stretching from St. Thomas's Street to the harbourside, built in the 1990s. There are shops and restaurants in the pedestrianised Hope Square and Brewers Quay, which are linked to the town centre by town bridge and a small passenger ferry service across the harbour. In 2005 the town centre had 292 shops and 37500 square metres (403,646.6 sq ft) of floorspace, and there was 0.4 square kilometres (98.8 acre) of industrial estate in the area. Weymouth, Portland and Chickerell
Chickerell
Chickerell is a small town and parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England. The parish has a population of 5,282 .-History:Although Roman remains have been found, indicating that there has been settlement in the area for many years, as a modern town, Chickerell is recent and one of...
have been a Fairtrade Zone for three years. Fashion company New Look
New Look (store)
New Look is a British global fashion retailer with a chain of high street shops in Britain, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Malta, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.-History:...
has its global headquarters in Weymouth, and until 2005 the company's regional distribution centre was based at the same site. Plans were approved in 2007 to develop the New Look site to include new headquarters, retail warehouses and industrial units, a hotel, fire station, and a medical centre with ambulance station.
Transport
Weymouth railway station
Weymouth railway station is a railway station serving the town of Weymouth, Dorset, England. The station is the terminus of both the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo and the Heart of Wessex Line from and .-History:...
is the terminus of a route from
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...
London Waterloo and of a route from
Heart of Wessex Line
The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth line, is a United Kingdom railway line that runs from Bristol to Westbury to Weymouth...
Westbury
Westbury, Wiltshire
Westbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, most famous for the Westbury White Horse.-Name:The most likely origin of the West- in Westbury is simply that the town is near the western edge of the county of Wiltshire, the bounds of which have been much the same...
and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. There used to be a large station to handle heavy summer tourist traffic, but this traffic declined and the station was demolished in 1986. A smaller station took up part of the site, and the rest was given over to commercial development. Part of the South West Main Line west of Moreton
Moreton, Dorset
Moreton is a village in Dorset, England, situated on the River Frome eight miles east of Dorchester. The village has a population of 270 . It has a number of long distance foot paths and cycle ways passing through it: the Purbeck cycle way, Route 2 , the Frome valley trail, the Jubilee trail, and...
Station to east of Dorchester South Station have been reduced from dual to single track. However, local councils have lobbied the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
, in connection with the sailing events in 2012 Olympic Games, to relay the double track and increase services to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Bristol, and to introduce new direct services to Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. Services to London Waterloo began running every 30 minutes from December 2007, but services through Bristol to Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
were reduced.
An unusual feature of the railways in Weymouth was that until 1987 main-line trains ran though the streets
Street running
On-street running or street running is when a railroad track or tramway track runs directly along city streets, without any separation. The rails are embedded in the road....
and along the Weymouth Harbour Tramway
Weymouth Harbour Tramway
The Weymouth Harbour Tramway is a goods and passenger railway constructed almost entirely on the streets of Weymouth, England...
to the Quay station
Weymouth Quay railway station
Weymouth Quay is a disused railway station in Weymouth, Dorset, England at the terminus of the Weymouth Harbour Tramway. Until September 1987 it was the regular terminus and starting point for boat trains, linking to the ferry services with street running along the streets of the town.After the...
at the eastern end of the harbour, to connect with ferries to mainland Europe. Due to declining business, goods traffic ceased in 1972, but passenger services continued until they ceased in 1987 from lack of use.
Local bus services are run by First Hampshire & Dorset
First Hampshire & Dorset
First Hampshire & Dorset is a subsidiary bus company within FirstGroup, which operates buses and trains throughout Great Britain.First Hampshire & Dorset has its head office in Empress Road, Southampton and operates bus services in the Weymouth and Bridport areas in Dorset; and services in...
, which bought the local Southern National company. Buses run from Weymouth to the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, Dorchester, Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, Wool
Wool, Dorset
Wool is a village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The village has a population of 4,118 , though the population has fluctuated over the past 15 years, due to the proximity of military institutions, reaching a high of 4,300 in 1992. The village lies at a historic bridging point on the...
, Beaminster
Beaminster
Beaminster is a small town and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, at the head of the valley of the River Brit. Beaminster is south of Bristol, west of Bournemouth, east of Exeter and northwest of the county town of Dorchester...
, Axminster
Axminster
Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of Devon in England. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmouth, and is in the East Devon local government district. It has a population of 5,626. The market is still...
, and to other villages and the town's holiday parks. Weymouth is connected to towns and villages along the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
by the Jurassic Coast Bus service, which runs for 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Exeter to Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, through Sidford
Sidford
Sidford is a small village in the civil parish of and on the outskirts of the town of Sidmouth in the English county of Devon. It has a population of just over 2100 people according to the 2001 Census....
, Beer
Beer, Devon
The village of Beer is in south-east Devon, England, on Lyme Bay.- Location :The village of Beer is situated on the 95-mile long Jurassic Coast, England's first natural World Heritage Site and its picturesque cliffs, including Beer Head, form part of the South West Coast Path.Beer lies about two...
, Seaton
Seaton, Devon
Seaton is a seaside town in East Devon on the south coast of England. It faces onto Lyme Bay, to the west of the mouth of the River Axe with red cliffs to one side and white cliffs on the other. Axmouth and Beer are nearby...
, Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset-Devon border...
, Charmouth
Charmouth
Charmouth is a village at the mouth of the River Char in West Dorset, England, with a population of 1,687 according to the 2001 census.-The village:...
, Bridport
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...
, Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a large village and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England; situated north-west of Weymouth. It is located from Upwey railway station and from Bournemouth International Airport. The main road running through the village is the B3157, connecting Abbotsbury to...
, Weymouth, Wool, and Wareham
Wareham, Dorset
Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...
. This service is convenient for walkers who can ride the bus to connect with the South West Coast Path
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
for a walk along the coast.
A354 road
The A354 is a primary route in England which runs from Salisbury in Wiltshire to Easton on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, a total distance of . From Salisbury the road crosses Cranborne Chase and briefly merges with the A350 at the Blandford Forum bypass before crossing the Dorset Downs and...
connects the town to the A35
A35 road
The A35 is a trunk road in southern England, running from Honiton in Devon, that then passes through Dorset and terminates in Southampton, Hampshire...
trunk road
Trunk road
A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...
in Dorchester, and terminates at Easton on the Isle of Portland. The A353 road runs east from Weymouth to the south of Warmwell
Warmwell
Warmwell is a hamlet in south west Dorset, England, situated five miles south east of Dorchester. The village has a population of 97 .Warmwell contains several historic buildings and was the home of Dorset RAF Warmwell Air Station, dating back to the late 1930's...
, where it connects with the A352 to the Isle of Purbeck
Isle of Purbeck
The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well...
and Wareham. In the 1980s the town centre was bypassed by the A354 to Portland, but the government's road building policy changed before a proposed relief road could be completed. Before completion of the relief road, the A354 followed its original route through Upwey and Broadwey, where traffic problems were common at peak tourist times, particularly on event days such as the carnival.
The relief road's construction was delayed by opposition from residents and environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
groups, including Transport 2000 and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, who objected to the route's partial destruction of a nature reserve, which is an AONB and SSSI. With Weymouth and Portland scheduled to host 2012 Olympic sailing events the project reopened; the local authorities favouring a more environmentally friendly proposal than in the 1990s. On 5 April 2007, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
County Council granted planning permission for a modified proposal including a single carriageway running 7 kilometres (4 mi) north, and a 1000-space park-and-ride scheme, costing £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
84.5 million. Work commenced in 2008; and has been largely completed and opened by mid-2011, in time for the 2012 Olympic sailing events. During archaeological excavations carried out in advance of the relief road construction, a burial pit containing 51 dismembered skeletons of Viking men was discovered on Ridgeway Hill.
Media
ITV1 Westcountry and ITV1 MeridianMeridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
are the local ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television franchises. Westcountry is received from the Stockland Hill transmitter or from one of its three relay transmitters in the town (Wyke Regis, Bincombe Hill and Preston). Meridian is received from the Rowridge transmitter.
The local newspaper is The Dorset Echo.
Weymouth has also been in the media, for example films such as The Boat That Rocked
The Boat That Rocked
The Boat That Rocked is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis, with pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s as its setting. The film has an ensemble cast featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, and Kenneth Branagh...
and on TV e.g. Hugh's Fish Fight.
Education
Infant school
An Infant school is a term used primarily in the United Kingdom for school for children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular locality....
s, four junior school
Junior school
A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....
s, twelve primary schools, four secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s and two special schools. 73.3 % of Weymouth residents have qualifications, which is slightly below the Dorset average of 73.8 %. 8.8 % of residents have higher qualifications (Level 4 +
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
), about half the Dorset average of 18.3 %.
There are three secondary schools in Weymouth—All Saints' Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
School in Wyke Regis
Wyke Regis
Wyke Regis is a village in south Dorset, England. The village is part of the south western suburbs of Weymouth, on the northern shore of Portland Harbour and the south-eastern end of Chesil Beach. Wyke is south of the county town, Dorchester...
, Budmouth Technology College
Budmouth Technology College
Budmouth College is a foundation, comprehensive, DfES designated Technology College for boys and girls situated in Weymouth, Dorset, England.It consists of a secondary school and is the only school in Weymouth & Portland to also have a Sixth Form. Also on site is the privately owned Budmouth...
in Chickerell
Chickerell
Chickerell is a small town and parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England. The parish has a population of 5,282 .-History:Although Roman remains have been found, indicating that there has been settlement in the area for many years, as a modern town, Chickerell is recent and one of...
and Wey Valley School and Sports College
Wey Valley School and Sports College
The Wey Valley School and Sports College is a school and sports college in Broadwey, Weymouth, in the county of Dorset, in southern England.The school is a member of the Chesil Education Partnership and works with other schools and an FE College in the town to offer Diplomas and vocational...
in Broadwey
Broadwey
Broadwey is a former village in the northern suburbs of Weymouth, Dorset, England, on the A354 road. Broadwey and Upwey ward had a population of 4,349 in 2001.- External links :* *...
which was added to the Government's Failing Schools list in 2007 as only 27% of the students achieved 5 A* to C passes. The fourth secondary school in the Chesil Education Partnership is Royal Manor Arts College on the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
. All Saints' has 921 students on roll, Budmouth has 1560 and Wey Valley 1171. In 2006, 31 % of students at Wey Valley, and 58 % of students at All Saints' and Budmouth, attained five or more A* to C GCSEs including English and mathematics.
Budmouth College also has a sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
centre which had 296 students in 2006. Weymouth College
Weymouth College
Weymouth College is a Further Education college located in Weymouth, England.The college has over 7,000 students, studying on a wide range of practical and academic courses in many different subjects...
in Melcombe Regis
Melcombe Regis
Melcombe Regis is an area of Weymouth in Dorset, England.Situated on the north shore of Weymouth Harbour and originally part of the waste of Radipole, it seems only to have developed as a significant settlement and seaport in the 13th century...
is a further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
college which has around 7,500 students from South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
and overseas, about 1500 studying A-Level courses. In 2006, Budmouth students received an average of 647.6 UCAS points, and Weymouth College students gained 614.1. Some secondary and A-Level students commute to Dorchester to attend The Thomas Hardye School
The Thomas Hardye School
The Thomas Hardye School is a secondary school in Dorchester, Dorset.As part of a scheme run by the BBC and the British Council called Olympic Dreams, the school is twinned with The Doon School which India's first Olympic Gold Medalist Abhinav Bindra attended as a child.-Admissions:It provides...
; in 2007, 79 % of Hardye school students received five or more A* to C GCSEs, and 78 % of all A-Level results were A to C grades.
Sport and recreation
Weymouth's wide and shallow sandy beachWeymouth Beach
Weymouth Beach is a gently curving arc of sand in Weymouth Bay, beside the town of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Immediately adjacent to the beach is The Esplanade....
is used for swimming and sunbathing during the tourist season, and for beach sport events throughout the year, including beach motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
, the International handball championships and the beach volleyball classic. The international kite festival, held in May each year on Weymouth Beach, attracts around 40,000 spectators to the esplanade from around the world.
The local football club, Weymouth F.C.
Weymouth F.C.
Weymouth F.C. are an English football club based in the town of Weymouth, who currently play in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:Weymouth Football Club were founded in 1890 and played their first game on 24 September of that year...
or 'the Terras', are outside the Football League but, in common with other non-league clubs, they became professional in 2005. The team enjoyed erratic success at their level; twice playing in the third round of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
, the highest club competition level. At the end of the 2005–06 season the team became champions of the Conference South
Conference South
Conference South is one of the second divisions of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National...
(the sixth level of English football) and moved up to the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
(the fifth level) for the first time since 1989. However the club were relegated at the end of the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons and now play in the Southern League Premier Division (the seventh level). The Terras' ground is the Bob Lucas Stadium; its record attendance is 6,500 against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 2005–2006 season.
The Wessex Stadium is out of town, but until 1987 the team played at a ground near the town centre, which is now an Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
supermarket. The club's move pre-dated the move to new out-of-town grounds by professional league clubs, and was the first football stadium opened in England in 32 years. Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
racing was staged at the stadium from 1954 until the redevelopment; Weymouth's team was revived in 2003, and 'the Wildcats
Weymouth Wildcats
The Weymouth Wildcats are a British motorcycle speedway team based in Weymouth, England who race in the National League. The Wildcats won the first Conference League Championship in their history in 2008 after winning the Conference League play-offs.-History:...
' race at a track adjacent to the stadium. In 2005 a scheme was proposed to rebuild the Wessex Stadium to occupy a pitch-and-putt golf course, coincidentally with Asda building on the previous stadium site. Although the plans were to move by August 2007, the scheme was shelved before construction could begin.
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
, 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of Wyke Regis
Wyke Regis
Wyke Regis is a village in south Dorset, England. The village is part of the south western suburbs of Weymouth, on the northern shore of Portland Harbour and the south-eastern end of Chesil Beach. Wyke is south of the county town, Dorchester...
, is Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is a centre for the sport of sailing on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England, United Kingdom. The academy building is located in Osprey Quay on the northern tip of the island, and the waters of Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay,...
, where the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the city was successful with its bid for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games.Even though 2012 will be London's...
will take place. The main reason that the resort was chosen to be an Olympic venue
2012 Summer Olympic venues
The 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics venues are mostly located in the host city of London, though some other events require facilities located elsewhere...
was because the National Sailing Academy had only recently been built, so no venue would have to be built. However, as part of the South West of England Regional Development Agency's plans to redevelop Osprey Quay, in which the academy is built, a new 600-berth marina and an extension with more on-site facilities will be built. Weymouth and Portland are likely to be the first in the United Kingdom to finish building a venue for the Olympic Games, as construction started in October 2007 and will finish at the end of 2008.
The waters of Weymouth and Portland
Weymouth Bay
Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which stretches from the resort of Weymouth, along to the...
were credited by the Royal Yachting Association
Royal Yachting Association
The Royal Yachting Association is the national governing body for certain watersports in the United Kingdom. Activities it covers include:* Sailing* Windsurfing* Motor cruising* Sportsboats* Personal watercraft* Powerboat racing...
as the best in Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
for sailing. Local, national and international sailing events are regularly held in the bay; these include the J/24
J/24
The J/24 is an International One-Design keelboat class as defined by the International Sailing Federation. The J/24 is a one design class created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, one design racing, day sailing and handicap racing.The J/24 is the world's most...
World Championships in 2005, trials for the 2004 Athens Olympics, the ISAF
International Sailing Federation
The International Sailing Federation is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the world governing body for the sport of sailing....
World Championship 2006, the BUCS Fleet Racing Championships, and the RYA Youth National Championships. Weymouth Bay is a venue for other water-sports—the reliable wind is favourable for wind-
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
and kite-surfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
. The sheltered waters in Portland Harbour and near Weymouth are used for angling, diving to shipwrecks, snorkelling, canoeing, jet skiing, water skiing, and swimming.
The town also has a successful cricket club, who are currently in the Premier Division of the Dorset Saturday League.
Rugby league team South Dorset Giants
South Dorset Giants
South Dorset Giants are a rugby league team based in Weymouth, Dorset. They play in the South West Division of the Rugby League Conference.-History:South Dorset Giants were founded in 2008 at Weymouth RFC's Monmouth Avenue ground...
are based in Weymouth. They play in the South West Division of the Rugby League Conference
Rugby League Conference
The Rugby League Conference , was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the...
.
See also
- 2012 Summer Olympic venues2012 Summer Olympic venuesThe 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics venues are mostly located in the host city of London, though some other events require facilities located elsewhere...
- List of Dorset beaches
- List of places in Dorset
- UK coastlineUK coastlineThe coastline of the United Kingdom is long in comparison to the coastline of similar sized countries; it is accessible and very varied in geography and habitats....