Town in Dorset, England
Weymouth
When George III went for a dip in Weymouth in 1789, a band hidden in a bathing machine is said to have struck up God Save the King, and a seaside craze was born.
Key information
- County
- Dorset
- Nation
- England
- Known for
- Georgian seaside holidays, a huge sandy beach, a busy harbour and Olympic sailing in 2012
- Famous people
- Sir James Thornhill, George III (royal regular), Thomas Hardy (lived and worked here)
- Football clubs
- Weymouth FC, nicknamed the Terras
About Weymouth
The king who made Weymouth fashionable
Weymouth's big break came in 1789, when George III arrived to try the sea-bathing cure. He liked it so much that he came back again and again, and the town became the place to be seen. The story goes that as the king stepped into the water from his bathing machine, a band in another machine nearby struck up God Save the King. Whether or not every detail is polished, it sums up the Weymouth the Georgians loved: sea air, royal fuss and a sense of occasion. The handsome Georgian terraces along the Esplanade are the legacy. So is the colourful statue of the king, erected in 1810 to commemorate his Golden Jubilee, which still looks out over the bay.
Where the Black Death stepped ashore
Weymouth's most grim claim to fame dates from 1348. The Black Death is generally said to have entered England here, arriving by ship at Melcombe Regis, on the northern side of the harbour. For centuries Weymouth and Melcombe Regis were separate towns facing each other across the water. They were merged by an Act of Parliament in 1571, and the double-barrelled history still shows in the layout of the old streets around the harbour. The port later became a base for fishing, trade and ferries to the Channel Islands; regular passenger ferry services ended in 2015.
The beach that does the work
Weymouth's trump card is its beach: a long sweep of sand curving round a sheltered bay, gentle enough for paddling and wide enough for sandcastle competitions. Victorian sand sculptors made their living here, and the tradition of elaborate beach art has carried on. Along the front stands the Jubilee Clock, built in 1887 for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, a bright landmark that has appeared on countless postcards. Behind it all, the town has the classic ingredients of the British seaside: donkeys of memory, ice cream, Punch and Judy and fish and chips eaten with one eye on the seagulls.
Sails, forts and a gold medal
The same sheltered water that suits paddlers also suits sailors. Weymouth and nearby Portland hosted the sailing at the 2012 London Olympics, and Ben Ainslie won his fourth consecutive Olympic gold here in the Finn class. The harbour's defensive past is on show at Nothe Fort, a Victorian stronghold built in the 1860s on the headland to protect Portland Harbour and the Royal Navy ships sheltering there. It had a major role again in the Second World War. Weymouth and Portland were major embarkation ports for the Normandy invasion. More than 500,000 troops sailed from them to France between June 1944 and May 1945.
Budmouth Regis and a king on a hill
Thomas Hardy knew Weymouth well, working here as a young architect in 1869 and 1870. He turned it into Budmouth Regis in his Wessex novels, a lively seaside town with a garrison and a taste for fashion. Just along the coast at Osmington, a huge white horse is cut into the chalk hillside, showing George III on horseback. It was carved in 1808 as a tribute to the royal regular, and it is a fitting bookend to the town's Georgian story. Painter Sir James Thornhill, who decorated the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, was born in Melcombe Regis, now part of Weymouth.
Terras, scallops and a Dorset day out
Weymouth FC are known as the Terras, a nod to their terracotta shirts. They play at the Bob Lucas Stadium and have a loyal following among locals. On the plate, the harbour is the place for crab, lobster and scallops from local waters, plus the seaside staple of chips with everything. Dorset apple cake is the sweet option. Weymouth also makes a useful base for the Jurassic Coast, with Portland, Chesil Beach and fossil-rich cliffs close by. On the other side of the Atlantic, Weymouth, Massachusetts, borrowed the name in the 1600s.