On a beautiful clear but chilly Monday in January of 1895 a terrible scene took place on the normally peaceful Weymouth esplanade, one that shocked those out enjoying an afternoon strolling in the crisp days sunshine. Early that morning two persons ‘of a certain class,’ (according to the magistrate,) had boarded the train from their home town…
Category: Victorian illustrations
Examples of Victorian illustrations.
Shopping in St Mary Street at the turn of the century:Part 2.
It’s an usually hot and sunny autumns day on Weymouth esplanade and Mrs Vearee Nozee is busy gathering together her flock of female friends. They are off for another little jolly, a short stroll to peruse a few more of the shops in St Mary St. The gaggle of giggling ladies make their way down…
The Portland Shooting 1898.
Right throughout the whole of time certain laws of the human universe remained constant. One of those being that no amount of wealth, social standing and prosperity could ever guarantee happiness. So it was for one Weymouth hard working family. William and Martha Lumley owned and ran an established, well respected Weymouth business. They were the proud owners…
Victorian Weymouth; sea bathing, from starkers to stilettos….
I had previously written about the habit of nude sea bathing in places like Weymouth during the Victorian era, but thought as it was summer, and the Weymouth beach packed with locals and visitors during what has been a lovely season weather wise so far, it might be a chance to share some of the…
The Great Eastern links to Weymouth and Portland Roads.
I have spent years studying the lives of military men based at the Nothe in Weymouth during the Victorian era and in the course of sifting through old newspapers have uncovered many other fascinating snippets of Weymouth and Portland life that I hadn’t known about. One advantage to being based high up on the Nothe,…
Misdemeanours and misfits in the Victorian courts; 1863.
I just love to browse the old newspapers and see what our ancestors were up to. The papers columns are filled with intriguing snippets of their daily lives, the usual hatch, match and dispatches, arrivals and departures, accidents and fights, and the misfortunes of those whose day to day activities managed to fall foul of…
Park Street, Weymouth; 1901
I shall take you for a nostalgic stroll down what was once a very well-heeled and extremely busy street, bustling with numerous shops, businesses and public houses. The main fairway for most of the thousands of Victorian train travellers into and out of the town.
Weymouth’s Long History with Luxury Yachts.
I had always heard my Dad talk about the Yacht Regattas that used to take place in our beautiful bay in the early 20th c, and the luxurious and immense vessels that would sail into view in all their glory to attend these momentous occasions. Like most self-centred youth, it used to go in on…
The Victorian Backwater…fowling pieces, ospreys, auks and otters.
The Backwater, or Radipole Lake played a large part of my childhood. I spent a lot of my childhood playing in and around here, I fished for eels from the riverside with nothing but a stick, string and bent pin for a hook,(not very successfully I hasten to add,) I watched the swans build their nests…
Fishing for trouble, Weymouth quayside 1887.
Weymouth harbour early morning is a beautiful tranquil place, with only the local fishermen busy on board their vessels getting ready to set out to sea, but as the day picks up, so the harbourside begins to fill with boats of all shapes and sizes and people, some working and those out enjoying themselves. So…
VICTORIAN TALES FROM WEYMOUTH AND PORTLAND 