Weymouth (GB)
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Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The town is 11 kilometres (7 mi) south of Dorchester and 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the Isle of Portland. Weymouth has a metropolitan population of 71,611 (2018). The town is the third largest settlement in Dorset after Bournemouth and Poole.
Weymouth was issued the Post Office 873 number by the GPO in 1844
Weymouth is a tourist resort, and its economy depends on its harbour and visitor attractions; the town is a gateway situated halfway along the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site on the Dorset and east Devon coast, important for its geology and landforms. Weymouth Harbour has included cross-channel ferries, and is home to pleasure boats and private yachts, and nearby Portland Harbour is home to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, where the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were held., then forwarded to Vienna, Austria with postage dues for the forwarding.
The A354 road bridge connects Weymouth to Portland, which together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The history of the borough stretches back to the 12th century; including involvement in the spread of the Black Death, the settlement of the Americas, the development of Georgian architecture, and a major departure point for the Normandy Landings.
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The resort is among the first modern tourist destinations, after King George III's brother the Duke of Gloucester built a grand residence there, Gloucester Lodge, and passed the mild winter there in 1780; the King made Weymouth his summer holiday residence on fourteen occasions between 1789 and 1805, even venturing into the sea in a bathing machine. A painted statue of the King stands on the seafront, called the King's Statue, which was renovated in 2007/8 by stripping 20 layers of paintwork, replacing it with new paints and gold leaf, and replacing the iron framework with a stainless steel one. A mounted white horse representing the King is carved into the chalk hills of Osmington.
Weymouth's esplanade is composed of Georgian terraces, which have been converted into apartments, shops, hotels and guest houses. The buildings were constructed in the Georgian and Regency periods between 1770 and 1855, designed by architects such as James Hamilton, and were commissioned by wealthy businessmen, including those that were involved in the growth of Bath. These terraces form a long, continuous arc of buildings which face Weymouth Bay along the esplanade. The earliest purpose-built hotel there was the first incarnation of the Royal Hotel. The esplanade features the multi-coloured Jubilee Clock, erected in 1887 to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign. Statues of Victoria, George III and Sir Henry Edwards, Member of Parliament for the borough from 1867 to 1885, and two war memorials stand along the Esplanade.
US soldiers marched through Weymouth to board landing ships for the 1944 invasion of France.
In the centre of the town lies Weymouth Harbour; although it was the reason for the town's foundation, the harbour separates the two areas of Melcombe Regis (the main town centre) and Weymouth (the southern harbourside) from each other. Since the 18th century they have been linked by successive bridges over the narrowest part of the harbour. The present Town Bridge, built in 1930, is a lifting bascule bridge allowing boats to access the inner harbour. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed a lifeboat at Weymouth for the first time on 26 January 1869. A boathouse was built with a slipway by the harbour and is still in use, although the lifeboat is now moored at a pontoon.
During World War I, approximately 120,000 ANZAC personnel convalesced in Weymouth after being injured at Gallipoli or other theatres of the war. Weymouth and Portland were bombed by German planes in World War II; Portland harbour had a large naval base, and Weymouth was home to Nothe Fort, next to Nothe Gardens. Weymouth lost 76 civilian lives in the town through enemy action. The Bouncing bomb was tested in the Fleet lagoon to the west of town. 517,816 troops embarked through the borough to fight at the Battle of Normandy. The history of the area was documented at the Timewalk museum in Brewers Quay.
_b.jpg) Weymouth to Dorchester 1847 cover with numeral and Weymouth cancels in an olive ink _c.jpg) Weymouth despatch and Dorchester receiving stamps |
