One of the beautiful old buildings that Weymouth lost during a period of modernisation was what was locally known as the Sidney Hall, this intricately styled building sat in pride of place along the harbourside where Asda car park now stands. There is a tragic family history that laid behind the building of this hall. The…
Author: cannasue
Weymouth’s St John’s Terrace Gardens.
I know…it’s just outside the Victorian era, but close enough I thought. St John’s gardens are situated at the end of the long terrace of houses that run along the start of the main Dorchester Road, known as St John’s Terrace, past St John’s church which stands proud at the end of the sea front,…
Old Weymouth’s High Street; Everyday Life in the 1850’s.
We stop first at no 10 High Street, here lives 45-year-old Charles Buck, a coal merchant.
Love and matrimony came late to Charles, at the ripe old age of 40 he finds himself waiting nervously at the alter of Holy Trinity church for his bride to be.
The sea takes… and the sea gives back
With the steady stream of violent storms that has hit the South coast over the past couple on months it has been fascinating to see how the immense power of the ebb and flow of the extreme tides and currents affect the shores. The last storm to hit the South Coast, rather fetchingly named the…
The Battle of Weymouth, February 27th/28th 1645
Originally posted on The Crabchurch Conspiracy:
On this day, from midnight on the 27th February 1645, a large Royalist army commanded by George, Lord Goring, attacked the twin towns of Weymouth & Melcombe in Dorset, determined to overthrow the Parliamentarian garrison therein. Outnumbered six to one, the Weymouth garrison commanded by local man, Colonel William…
The Armada and Chesil beach; December 1876.
Storms are nothing new to us on the South coast, we have lived with them since time immemorial, though this winter’s battering is proving to be some what of a prolonged event! World famous Chesil beach runs from the cove at Chiswell, Portland to West Bay. Facing that immense heritage pebble bank is the locally…
Fun and games in Weymouth town, one long sip and we all fall down! ; 1883
Much like today, the Victorians had their fare share of petty criminals or well know characters around town, those that must just have made the local bobby shake their heads when they come across them yet again. We might well think that bad behaviour and drunkenness in the streets is a new phenomenon, but believe…
Beating the Bounds; Weymouth Corporation defying fate 1840
Beating the Bounds is an age old custom steeped in history, it can be traced right back to Anglo Saxon times, and is similar in method of the Roman custom of Terminalia. It was a time when people would walk the exact same route around the boundary of their parish, usually during Rogation week, (second…
Weymouth 1857; A heinous crime solved after 50 years.
I’m a great believer in karma, or what goes around, comes around, and that ultimately things will always work themselves out. Such was the case of a heinous murder that took place in Weymouth during the late Georgian period. This was an age when Weymouth was an up and coming, lively, gay resort, thanks to visiting Royalty and…
The Original Bell.
Originally posted on The Crabchurch Conspiracy:
This is the original bell that was hanging in the bell tower of the Weymouth Old Town Hall on the night of 27th February 1645 when thousands of men under the command of the famous Royalist General, George, Lord Goring smashed through the town gates and attacked the town…
VICTORIAN TALES FROM WEYMOUTH AND PORTLAND 