Important History Dates For West Bay
Bridport Harbour
| 1200's | First evidence of a 'crude' harbour or haven being constructed. |
| 1200's | Levy toll disputes between the Abbot of Cerne (Symondsbury), the Prior of Frampton (Manor of Burton Bradstock) and the Burgesses (Borough of Bridport). |
| 1280 | Borough of Bridport claims all rights to sea wrecks on the beach. |
| 1288 | Borough of Bridport claims rights to 'Take tolls from all Ships'. |
| 1385 | John Huddersfield, under the authorisation of King Richard II, introduces a levy toll to pay for the construction of a harbour. |
| 1392 | The Patents Rolls records showed that a harbour had begun. |
| 1403 | Joan (Joanna) of Navarre, the widowed Duchess of Brittany, landed at West Bay (Bridport Harbour) in January, on her way to marry King Henry IV (2nd wife) at Winchester Cathedral on 7th February. |
| 1500's | The harbour had become silted and derelict, rated as a creek. |
| 1670 | A single basic pier is constructed on a framework of stilts. Note that the estuary of the River Brit was close to East Cliff at this time. |
| Late 17th Early 18th Century |
'The Ship Inn', sometimes known as 'The Sloop', later to be renamed the 'Bridport Arms', is thought to have been built around this period, thus being the oldest surviving building. It is understood to have originally operated as a Cider House and Farm. |
| Early 18th Century |
The Salt House is built. Click here for its history. |
| 1739 | 'The Neptune' public house is built, later to be renamed 'The West Bay Hotel'. |
| 1740 | River Brit estuary is diverted further west (to where it is now), from its original position next to East Cliff. Solid entrance pier built and shipbuilding yard established. Commissioned by John Reynolds. |
| 1747 | Cottages on East Beach are built (Gull House, The Dinghy and Ship Cottage). |
| 1750 | Sladers Yard, a maritime warehouse, is built to unload and store rope and net deliveries (by horse and cart) from Bridport. |
| 1756 | Second pier added and harbour basin enlarged. |
| 1766 | On 21st April, Dr Giles Roberts (inventor of the 'Poor Man's Friend') was born at The Ship Inn. |
| 1771 | Large warehouse built behind East Beach, to the east of The Ship Inn (Bridport Arms). Owned by the 'Good' family and used to store flax, hemp, iron and wine. |
| 1779 | First reported launch of a vessel from the 'Old Shipyard', a 52 ton sloop called 'North Star'. |
| 1784 | First identified (private venture) shipbuilder was Nicholas Bowles. |
| 1805 | Battery Point set up at the base of West Cliff (Watton Cliff) due to fears of a Napoleonic invasion. |
| 1819 | Construction of a road to link Bridport to the harbour (West Bay Road). |
| 1822 | Public house 'The Ship Inn' (sometimes known as 'The Sloop') re-opens as the 'Bridport Arms'. |
| 1823 | A new larger harbour is completed. Stronger entrance piers with solid construction. |
| 1824 | In November, The Great Storm causes considerable damage to piers and harbour. |
| 1832 | The harbour opens a Customs House at Clarence House and achieves 'Bondport' status, suggesting that secure stores / warehouses existed, Norman Good's warehouse being an example. |
| 1830's | A Post Office opens at Clarence House, alongside the Customs House. |
| 1834 | The George Inn and several houses are destroyed by fire. |
| 1837 | Parish boundary changes. West Bay, previously shared between the parishes of Symondsbury, Burton Bradstock and Bothenhampton, now came under the control of Bridport Municipal Borough Council. |
| 1839 | The George Inn is rebuilt. |
| 1844 | The first Regatta is held, to become an annual event in August. |
| 1848 | 26 ships are registered at the harbour. The largest number ever to be recorded. |
| 1849 | Wesleyan Chapel (Methodist Church on East Beach) opened. |
| 1800's | Isolation hospital for infectious diseases is built at the foot of East Cliff, next to the beach and away from other developments. |
| 1853 | The largest ship ever to be built at the shipyard is launched. Named 'Speedy', it weighed 1,460 tons, with a 192 ft keel (202 ft overall) and 33 ft beam. |
| 1856 | Haddon House is built as a private dwelling - a Gentleman's Residence. |
| 1857 | The harbour loses its Customs status. |
| 1863 | In October at approximately 4.00am, an earthquake hits the West Dorset coast, being at its most violent from Burton Bradstock to Lyme Regis. |
| 1865 | 4 buildings are destroyed by fire at the shipyard. |
| 1865 | In November the Cork Schooner 'Black Diamond' is wrecked on West Beach. The crew are saved. |
| 1868 | St Andrew's Mission Church is opened, facing Harbour Green (above 'Fisherman's Locker'). |
| 1868 | On 24th January, the harbour entrance becomes blocked for 2 weeks after the 'Marie Leocardie' is driven between the piers and wrecked. |
| 1868 | Gas street lighting introduced. |
| 1879 | The last ship 'The Lilian' is launched, after which the shipyard finally closes. |
| 1879 | Weekly passenger pleasure steamer ships make stops, sailing between Weymouth and Torquay, docking either between the piers or with the bow run onto East Beach. |
| 1881 | The harbour ceases to be a 'Bond' port. |
| 1882 | Mains water arrives. |
| 1882 | The crane house is destroyed by fire (positioned near the Bridport Arms). |
| 1884 | On 31st March, the Bridport Railway Company opens West Bay station. |
| 1884 | The village formally known as 'Bridport Harbour' is renamed 'West Bay'. |
| 1884 | Public house 'The Neptune' re-opens as 'The West Bay Hotel'. |
| 1884 | Harbour Road, linking South Street in Bridport to West Bay, is renamed West Bay Road. |
| 1885 | Harbour Commissioners construct a road around the west side of the harbour to provide access to West Beach. |
| 1885 | The West Bay Land & Building Company is formed, principle owners being Lieutenant-General Augustus Pitt-Rivers and Henry Edward Fox-Strangways, the 5th Earl of Ilchester. |
| 1886 | The first development of the West Bay Land & Building Company is 'Pier Terrace', built to designs by Edward Schroder Prior (10 terraced houses). |
| 1887 | The Esplanade is opened (often referred to as The Promenade). |
| 1891 | A 9 hole Golf Course is started on West Cliff (Watton Cliff). |
| 1894 | A Golf Club House is opened (West Dorset Golf Club). |
| 1895 | A Sailing Club is started. |
| 1897 | Mains sewerage system arrives. |
| 1898 | A Swimming and Water Polo Club is started (men only). |
| 1901 | In March, Princess Beatrice (Duchess of Battenburg and youngest daughter of Queen Victoria) spends a holiday in Pier Terrace with her four children. |
| 1901 | A Pavilion is built on The Mound. |
| 1901 | The Great Western Railway - GWR (the operating company for the Bridport branch line) buys the Bridport Railway Company. |
| 1901 | The early morning train to West Bay becomes known as the 'Bathing Train'. |
| 1902 | Coastguard Cottages are built on East Cliff. |
| 1903 | On 12th March the schooner 'Albion' is wrecked on the beach after hitting the West Pier. |
| 1905 | 'The Moorings' is built to designs by Edward Schroder Prior, followed by 'Querida'. |
| 1910 | The West Bay Sea Scouts movement is started. |
| 1911 | The Golf Club moves from West Cliff (Watton Cliff) to East Cliff, to become its permanent home as an 18 hole course (initially 10 holes, with 8 being played twice!). |
| 1911 | Land fronting the Esplanade, owned by the Earl of Ilchester, is sold for the construction of 6 wooden chalet bungalows. |
| 1912 | The Customs House is transferred from Clarence House to a building next to the Arcade, the Arcade being the walkway or 'cut' linking Harbour Green to George Street. |
| 1912 | The Post Office is transferred from Clarence House to below St Andrew's Mission Church. |
| 1912 | Clarence House is converted into 'Refreshment Rooms', a hotel. |
| 1914 | Erection of a wartime beacon on East Cliff. |
| 1914 | On 24th October, a part plot of land (15 acres) known as Watton Eweleaze on West Cliff (Watton Cliff) is sold by Giles Stephen Holland Fox-Strangways, the 6th Earl of Ilchester, to William Guppy, Louis Trevett and Samuel Gluning. |
| 1921 | The 15 acre plot of Watton Eweleaze on West Cliff is sold off as building plots with covenants, to form the West Cliff Estate. |
| 1925 | In February, inauguration of the West Bay Women's Institute. |
| 1929 | The seaward end of Pier Terrace is damaged by fire. |
| 1930 | On 22nd September, the last passenger train service runs between Bridport and West Bay. The line is kept open for goods services (mainly for gravel extraction from East Beach). |
| Early 1930's | West Cliff Terrace is demolished. This was a row of terraced cottages located on shipyard land, at the bottom of West Cliff and next to Forty Foot Way. Originally used by shipyard workers. |
| 1930's | The Melplash Show is held during alternate years between Beaminster (even years) and West Bay. It was ultimately transferred to West Bay after WW2 due to the larger venue. |
| 1935 | In June, at a meeting of Bridport Municipal Borough Council, they agree to purchase 'Saltmarsh' at a cost of £2,700. This was a field on the western bank of the River Brit, bounded by West Cliff to the west and Forty Foot Way to the south, the intention being to open a Caravan and Camping Site. |
| 1935 | The Riverside Café opens in a wooden hut next to the River Brit, on a peninsula of land across from George Street. |
| 1935 | The Post Office is transferred from below St Andrew's Mission Church to a wooden hut next to the Riverside Café. |
| 1936 | St John's Church is built to replace St Andrew's Mission Church. |
| 1940's | The Customs House is transferred from next to the Arcade 'cut' to 11 West Bay, between the fishing tackle shop and Harbour Stores (entrance now boarded up). |
| 1940 | World War II - West Cliff is billeted by the Army, with houses on the cliff being used by officers and their families. |
| 1940 | A German Bomber crash-lands on West Bay beach after running out of fuel, thinking they were over France. The occupants were captured after realising their error. |
| 1940 | In July, Field Marshal Montgomery (Monty) visits the troups stationed at West Bay during the war. |
| 1941 | King George VI visits the troups stationed at West Bay during the war. |
| 1942 | The Pavilion on The Mound is demolished after being seriously damaged by storms. |
| 1945 | Woolaway opens a factory in West Bay Road, manufacturing concrete prefabricated bungalows, garages and other pre-cast housing units. |
| 1953 | West Bay Women's Institute is bequeathed a boat house in George Street as a meeting hut, by Arthur Stephens of Haddon House. A covenant directs that the Council cannot make use of the land as long as a Women's Institute exists in West Bay and the hut can be maintained. |
| 1950's | The West Cliff private housing estate takes on the nickname of 'Nobs Hill' (from the 1945 film 'Nob Hill'). |
| 1958 | At auction on 31st July and 1st August, Captain George Pitt-Rivers sells his ownership of land to the east of West Bay, including East Cliff, Haddon House, Swains Row, West Dorset Golf Club, Freshwater and a large area of Burton Bradstock. |
| 1959 | The film 'The Navy Lark', starring Leslie Phillips, Hattie Jacques and Gordon Jackson was shot at the harbour. A spin off from the popular radio comedy at the time. |
| 1960 | Five Shops are built. Three at 9 West Bay, being the junction of Station Road (butcher, fishmonger and clothes shops) and two at 11 West Bay, entrance to the harbour area (general store and newsagent). |
| 1961 | In May, the 5½ acre Shipyard Estate is sold at auction for about £30,000, to be re-developed into holiday chalets and a shopping arcade. All shops have now been converted into accommodation. |
| 1961 | The West Cliff Estate is extended from the top of West Cliff Road (West Walk). |
| 1962 | On 3rd December, the railway link from Bridport to West Bay finally closes to all traffic. The station building is restored to its former glory in later years. |
| 1964 | 'Harbour House' for the elderly is built. |
| 1965 | The railway track between West Bay and East Street (Bridport) is lifted. |
| 1967 | The Promenade (alongside West Cliff) is built. |
| 1969 | West Dorset Golf Club House, located on East Cliff behind the Coastguard Cottages, is destroyed by fire and replaced (for 32 years) with a temporary building. |
| 1970's | Chesil House is built on land, previously occupied by coal-yards and stone sheds. |
| 1972 | The Old Watch House on east beach (with thatch roof), originally the Coastguard lookout and later a café, is destroyed by fire. |
| 1973 | The centre section of Pier Terrace is damaged by fire. |
| 1974 | Due to the Local Government Act of 1972, on 1st April, West Dorset District Council takes over the running of various Bridport Municipal Borough Council properties. |
| 1974 | Following local government reorganisation, Bridport Municipal Borough Council is replaced by Bridport Town Council. |
| 1974 | Ownership and running of the Caravan and Camping Site opposite Forty Foot Way is handed over to West Dorset District Council as part of the reorganisation of Bridport Municipal Borough Council to Bridport Town Council. |
| 1975 | On 5th May, the railway branch line down to Bridport from Maiden Newton is finally closed. |
| 1975 | Further extension of West Cliff Estate, to include Brit View Road and an extension of West Walk. |
| 1976 | The opening sequence of the popular TV series 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin' was filmed on East Beach. |
| 1976 | The Post Office is moved from next to the Riverside Café to Harbour Newsagents. |
| 1976 | Riverside Restaurant is built on the site of the old wooden constructed Riverside Café. |
| 1978 | Haddon House is purchased by Wing Commander William J Loud and opens as a hotel. |
| 1981 | The Bridec Group opens a factory in West Bay Road on the old site of Woolaway, manufacturing Melamine panels (and later, mdf) for the construction of kitchen and bedside furniture for Local Authorities, NHS, etc. |
| 1982 | Due to weakening and erosion of the esplanade sea wall originally built in 1887, the wall is rebuilt. |
| 1983 | In May, Hollywood Hotel & Scruples Nite Spot opens in West Bay Road, at a cost of £195,000. Billed as the 'West Coast Nite Spot', it attracted top Radio DJ's of the time, Simon Bates, etc. |
| 1983 | New bridge and automatic sluice gates completed. |
| 1984 | Gravel extraction finally ceases from East Beach, following concerns of sea breaching and flooding. |
| 1984 | On Monday morning, 21st August, fire wrecks half of the roof of the Hollywood Hotel & Scruples, causing £100,000 of damage. (Later to be opened as De'Vinchies Nightclub). |
| 1985 | In February, Hollywood Hotel & Scruples Nite Spot changes ownership at a price of £250,000. |
| 1985 | In October, Querida Hotel is sold to the Abbeyfield Society, to become a residential home for the elderly. |
| 1986 | On east beach, a sea defence bank of shingle is constructed to a height of 7.5 metres above ordnance datum (mean sea level) to reduce sea breaching. Responsibility and maintenance by the Environment Agency. |
| 1987 | On 19th July, the River Brit Viaduct is opened as part of the new A35 Bridport Bypass. |
| 1988 | The Rank Organisation sells the Hollywood Hotel and Scruples Nite Spot. The Hotel is sold off as 10 separate Chalets. The new owners of Scruples rename the premises "De'Vinchies Nightclub". |
| 1989 | A further 44 acres of land on East Cliff are purchased by West Dorset Golf Club. |
| 1996 | Stabilisation works completed on West Cliff. |
| 1998/9 | Two series of the TV drama 'Harbour Lights', starring Nick Berry, was filmed in and around the West Bay area. |
| 2001 | In January, George Gowler dies, aged 88. He was butler and chef to Dame Agatha Christie during the 1950's, moving to West Cliff 30 years ago to become chef at the Bridport Arms, until retirement. |
| 2001 | Meadowlands Housing Estate is built. |
| 2001 | On 13th December, UNESCO awards World Heritage Site status to the Dorset and East Devon coasts. |
| 2002 | On 3rd October, Prince Charles officially opens the World Heritage Coast Site of Dorset and East Devon. West Bay becomes recognised as a 'Jurassic Coast Gateway'. |
| 2004 | On 27th June, the West Bay website is launched, followed by the West Bay webcam on 28th August. |
| 2004 | On 17th December, a new west pier is opened and named the 'Jurassic Pier'. |
| 2005 | Bridport Arms undergoes complete restoration, under the watchful eye of English Heritage. It re-opens as a luxury hotel. |
| 2005 | On 8th March, HRH The Duke of York (Prince Andrew) officially opens the new £18 million Harbour Defence Scheme, complete with a new outer harbour / marina and slipway. |
| 2005 | De'Vinchies Nightclub closes. Celebrities such as Nick Berry, Hugh Grant and Tina Hobley had 'strutted their stuff' on its dance floor. |
| 2005 | West Bay becomes known as the 'Golden Gateway to the Jurassic Coast' due to the golden sandstone of East Cliff and Golden Cap to the west. |
| 2005 | Maritime House is built on the site of the old Harbour Garage. |
| 2005 | Beachcombers, terraced & detached houses, are built on East Cliff, site of the old Golf Club House. |
| 2006 | Driftwood Apartments, along Forty Foot Way, are built. |
| 2007 | Quay West is built on part of the Old Shipyard land, consisting of Ellipse, Folly and Boardwalk buildings. Its planning approval had caused considerable unrest in the local community. |
| 2007 | Built in 1849, the Wesleyan Chapel (Methodist Church on East Beach) closes, due to a dwindling congregation. |
| 2008 | On 29th October, West Bay Sub-Post Office closes, ending a century & half era, at Clarence House, St Andrews Mission Church, a hut by the Riverside Café, finally moving to Harbour Newsagents. |
| 2009 | Norman Good's grade II listed warehouse and yard closes its business. |
| 2009 | New public toilets and a visitor information point opens in the West Bay Road car park. |
| 2010 | A new play area for children 'of all ages' opens next to the West Bay Road car park. |
The Salt House
The Salt House, as its name suggests, was built to store salt. From
the late 17th Century, Dorset fishermen, mainly from Poole and Bridport, set sail in the Spring to
Newfoundland, Canada with their boats laden with nets, ropes and salt.They would catch mainly cod
(found in the colder waters) and also some seals, storing them in the preserving properties of the dry salt.
The fishermen would then either sail south along the American coast or return across the Atlantic Ocean
to the Mediterranean countries to sell their catch, before returning to Dorset. The trade
carried on well into the 19th Century.
The Salt House has since been used as a milking parlour, then as a cycle hire shop in the mid 20th Century
and more recently as a museum / information centre until 2005. Now used as a community hall.
History records have been sourced from various locations including:
Local History Centre, The Coach House, Gundry Lane, Bridport, Dorset.
& Bridport News
Note that some dates are approximate / unconfirmed.
