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Weymouth is a town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The town is eight miles south of Dorchester, and just north of the Isle of Portland. The district of Weymouth and Portland has a population of 63,648. The town's successful economy depends on its harbour and the beaches of Weymouth Bay. While fishing has declined in importance and little freight now passes through the port, tourism has long had a place in the town. The harbour is now home to cross-channel ferries, pleasure boats and private yachts. As it is situated on the South Coast, the borough of Weymouth and Portland has a reputation of being one of the sunniest places in Britain, rivalling other south coast resorts such as Eastbourne for the title.
History Weymouth originated as a post-Conquest settlement on a constricted site to the south and west of Weymouth Harbour, an outlying part of the village of Wyke Regis. A settlement here is not noted until the 13th century, the likelihood being that the town developed from the mid 12th century onwards. (The few earlier references appear to be to the geographical feaure of the mouth of the River Wey from which the settlement took its name, not to the settlement itself.) By 1252 it was sufficiently established as a seaport to become a chartered borough. In their early history Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, the town and borough established on the north and east side of the harbour, were rivals for trade and industry, but the towns were united in an Act of Parliament in 1571 to form the double borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, since when both towns have become known simply as Weymouth. The town now also encompasses the outlying suburbs of Upwey, Broadway, Preston, Wyke Regis, Chickerell, Southill, Radipole and Littlemoor. During the English Civil War (1642-51) more than 500 people were killed in the Battle of Weymouth on the 27th February 1645. Emigrants from the town settled in Weymouth, Nova Scotia, and Weymouth, Massachusetts. The first settlers of Salem (then called Naumking), Massachusetts, later infamous for its "Witch Trials", came from Weymouth, Dorset. There is a monument to that effect, on the side of Weymouth Harbour. The town is amongst the first modern tourist destinations, after King George III made Weymouth his summer holiday residence on fourteen occasions between 1789 and 1805. The seafront is still largely the original Georgian terraces. A mounted white horse representing King George is carved into the chalk hills to the east of the town. Legend has it that, because the horse faces away from the town, the King took offence, believing it was a sign that the townspeople did not welcome him, and that the designer subsequently hanged himself. This is probably not true as King George died before its completion. Weymouth and Portland were extremely important in World War II. Portland harbour was home to a large naval base, and Weymouth was home to Nothe Fort, together an important part of the D-Day preparations and Bouncing bomb development. Weymouth's history is documented at the Brewers Quay Timewalk museum. Weymouth Harbour
Geology and ecology Weymouth is situated 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 washed away. At Weymouth the weak rock has been protected by Chesil Beach and the strong limestone Isle of Portland that lies just offshore. The Isle of Portland also affects the tides of the area, producing an unusual double low tide in Weymouth bay. Weymouth is separated from Dorchester by the South Dorset Downs, a steep ridge of chalk. Because Weymouth is low lying, the eastern areas of the town were flooded several times from the sea during extreme low pressure storms, until in the 1980s and 1990s a high sea wall was constructed. Beach nourishment and groynes ensure that the sand beach, important both for tourism and as a natural defence against the sea, is wide and has a shallow incline. As Weymouth is low lying (below sea level in some areas) and is bounded by lakes and the warm seas, winter frost is rare (average twice a year) , as are snow days (average 0 to 6 days a year) . Almost all winters have 0 or 1 days with snow lying; it may snow or sleet a few times in a winter, yet snow almost never settles on the ground. The town, along with other low lying areas in the south west, including Torbay and south west Cornwall, experiences the mildest winters in the UK. The borough's growing season lasts from 9 to 12 months a year. Due to its location, Weymouth has a temperate climate with a small variation in daily and annual temperatures. The average annual mean temperature in Weymouth from years 1971 to 2000 was 10.2 to 12°C. The warmest month is July, with an maximum average temperature range of 12°C to 21.7 °C. The coolest month is February, with an maximum average temperature range of 1.9°C to 9.9°C. The borough has a reputation as one of the sunniest places in Britain. The resort averaged 1768 hours of sunshine annually between the years 1971 and 2000, and between 1990 and 2005 there were five years in which the town had over 2000 hours, a rare event in the UK. Average annual rainfall is 751.7mm (see rainfall in the United Kingdom for comparisons). The borough has two lakes which are both RSPB Nature Reserves, Radipole Lake, and Lodmoor. Radipole lake, the largest Nature Reserve, and mouth of the River Wey before it flows into the harbour, is a large important habitat for many species of birds and fish. Radipole is an important tourist attraction, as along with Weymouth Beach, it is situated very close to the main town centre and shops. Tourism and other industries
Transport
Culture, recreation and sport The local football team, Weymouth F.C., have remained outside the Football League but, in common with many other non-League clubs, they went professional in 2005. They have enjoyed erratic success at their level over the years, on at least two occasions reaching the third round of the FA Cup (where the top clubs enter the competition). At the end of the 2005-06 season they were crowned Champions of the Conference South (the sixth level of English football) meaning that they will play in the Conference National (the fifth level) for the first time since 1989. Their current home is the out-of-town Wessex Stadium, but until 1987 they played at a ground near the town centre, now the site of a supermarket. The club's move predated the move to new out-of-town grounds by professional league clubs, and came at a time when there had been no new league football stadia opened in England for 32 years. The stadium is now set to be rebuilt again on land occupied by a pitch-and-putt golf course, coincidentally with ASDA again building on the previous stadium site. Weymouth's record attendance for the Wessex Stadium is 6,000 against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup in the 2005-2006 Season. Just south of Weymouth in Portland Harbour is the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, where the sailing events at the 2012 Olympics will take place. | ||||||||||||||
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