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The town itself lies at the mouth of the river Wey a short river of about 3 miles in length which enters the sea via two harbours separated by an opening bridge known as the Town Bridge which lifts from the centre upwards. The mouth of the river Wey is boarded by a steep cliff on the Western side created by erosion, and a wide sandy bay and safe beach on the Eastern side which today is one of the main attractions of the town as a holiday destination.

Throughout the history of the British Isles these harbours together with the large enclosed Portland harbour have played a very significant role.

Portland lies about 7 miles South of Weymouth on a peninsular that stretches out into the English Channel and is less than 100 miles from the French Coast.

Geographic location has meant that both Weymouth & Portland have played an important role in the marine related history of the British Isles, Portland has also been known world wide for its Portland stone used for many of London's famous buildings including St Pauls Cathedral built by Sir Christopher Wren.

Portland stone is still quarried on Portland and more detailed information about this subject can be found on the following website http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/mgodden/ compiled by Mark Godden a working quarryman who's family have been involved with the quarrying of Portland Stone for many years

Evidence of Stone Age settlements have been found close to the town and the advent of the Bronze Age some 4000yrs ago saw the arrival of the first settlers from Continental shores. As in many other areas of the British Isles the start of the Iron Age around 450BC saw an increase in human activity, this was followed by approx. 400yrs of Roman occupation and the Roman town of Dorchester was established 7 miles north of Weymouth which is the county town of Dorset today.

Remains of a Roman Villa have been found in the town and this together with other discoveries suggests that the area was well occupied by the Romans during this period.

Throughout the Saxon and Norman periods the Dorset Coast continued to see marine activity and there were attacks by the Danes for example around the year 982. Between 1200 and 1300  Weymouth began to be an important trading port, but this progress was suddenly halted in 1348 by the Bubonic Plague known as the Black Death which is believed to have entered Britain via the port of Weymouth (Melcombe Regis) from main land Europe resulting in the death of possibly 50% of the population of England.

It took many years for Britain and Weymouth to recover from the Black Death.  Between 1500 & 1600 once again there were many sea battles of the Dorset Coast and a real threat of invasion by the Spaniards. And in 1642 civil war broke out in England whilst under the rule of Charles 1 between the Royalists and the Parliamentary. During this war for a period of time the neighbouring island of Portland remained Royalist whilst Weymouth itself was under Parliamentary rule.

During the years 1700 to 1800 the town was again thriving with regular visits from the reigning King George 111. There were also many reports of smuggling along the surrounding coast. In 1857 the railway had finally reached Weymouth and it was soon possible to travel to London and Bristol by rail.

The advent of the railway saw a major expansion of the area as a holiday resort numerous special trains carried visitors from all areas of the country via the busy national railway network and  many small guest houses were established to cater for these visitors.

To be continued still being written.