When conflict first broke out in 1642, Weymouth was peacefully occupied by Parliamentarians, but it was captured in August the following year by 2,000 Royalist cavalry and held until June 1644, when it was retaken. Civil war ĭuring the English Civil War, control of Weymouth changed a number of times and the town was much damaged as a result. More townspeople emigrated to the Americas to bolster the population of Weymouth, Nova Scotia and Salem, Massachusetts then called Naumking. In 1635, around 100 emigrants from the town crossed the Atlantic Ocean on board the ship Charity and settled in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Coastal erosion forced the abandonment of Sandsfoot as early as 1665 and parts have since fallen into the sea. King Henry VIII had two Device Forts built to protect the south Dorset coast from invasion in the 1530s: Sandsfoot Castle in Wyke Regis and Portland Castle in Castletown. The ruins of the 16th-century Sandsfoot Castle The villages of Upwey, Broadwey, Preston, Wyke Regis, Chickerell, Southill, Radipole and Littlemoor have since become part of the built-up area. Both towns have become known as Weymouth, despite Melcombe Regis being the main centre. In 1571, Queen Elizabeth I became so tired of the petitioning that she united the two towns in an Act of Parliament, to form a double borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis.

In their early history, the two towns were rivals for trade and industry, and many arguments broke out over use of the harbour.

Melcombe Regis is thought to be the first port at which the Black Death came into England in June or July 1348, possibly aboard either a spice ship or an army ship from Calais, where fighting was taking place in the Hundred Years' War. But French raiders found the port so accessible that in 1433 the staple was transferred to Poole. It developed separately from the mid 12th century onwards and in 1310 was a licensed wool port. Melcombe Regis, on the north side, was first noted in the 11th century. The older of the two, on the south side, was referred to as Weymouth as early as the 10th century, as part of the parish of Wyke Regis, and by 1252 had become a chartered borough and established seaport, trading in imported wine. The modern town of Weymouth originated as the two settlements of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, on opposite sides of Weymouth Harbour in Dorset. Weymouth gave its name to Weymouth, Massachusetts. Once a port for cross-channel ferries, Weymouth Harbour is now home to a commercial fishing fleet, pleasure boats and private yachts, while nearby Portland Harbour is the location of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, where the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were held. Visitors are attracted by its harbour and position, halfway along the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, important for its geology and landforms. Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency.Ī seaside resort, Weymouth and its economy depend on tourism. Since then the area has been governed by Dorset Council. Prior to local government reorganisation in April 2019, Weymouth formed a borough with the neighbouring Isle of Portland. It was a major departure point for the Normandy Landings during World War II. The history of the town stretches back to the 12th century and includes roles in the spread of the Black Death, the settlement of the Americas and the development of Georgian architecture. It is the third largest settlement in Dorset after Bournemouth and Poole. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, 11 kilometres (7 mi) south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,068 as of 2018. Weymouth / ˈ w eɪ m ə θ/ is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England.

Dt4 postcode