Boats moored at Weymouth marina, UK, in bright sunshine, the town being on the far side
The port of Weymouth was once two communities, Weymouth on the south side and Melcombe Regis on the north. There was bitter strife: in 1571 Queen Elizabeth I intervened and proclaimed that the two unite, becoming the Borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis. The Black Death was brought into Weymouth in 1598 via a sailor from Gascony and quickly spread to nearby villages, commemorated by a plaque on the wall of Vaughan's restaurant. In the mid 1880s one of the most successful businesses to operate from the harbour was Cosens and Company who capitalised on the need for good sea links to the new naval dockyard on Portland. Firstly taking sightseers to see the dockyard, they then expanded their service to carry passengers by paddle steamer to towns along the coast, becoming the largest excursion company in the area. The port prospered and in the 1880s the railway track was extended to carry trains right along the quay to the waiting cargo vessels with traded produce with the Channel Islands: the harbourside was awash with imported tomatoes, flowers and vegetables. Weymouth's harbour increased from reclamation schemes enabling the construction of two piers. A dam was built across the upper reaches of the harbour to ensure an adequate depth of water. In 1921 the current tidal dam and Westham Bridge was built, with the old dam finally being removed in the winter of 1995/6 when the harbour was dredged to allow keel boats to use the inner harbour at all tide depths. Today, a small fishing fleet thrives alongside the many pleasure craft that have helped to make the harbour a tourist destination with the new marina for keen recreational sailors.
Size: 6000px × 4000px
Location: Weymouth, Dorset, England, UK
Photo credit: © Philip Chapman / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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