West Bay - Dorset
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 (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. |
| Early 18th Century |
The Salt House is built. Click here for its history. |
| Early 18th Century |
'The Ship Inn' (sometimes known as 'The Sloop') is built, later to be renamed the 'Bridport Arms'. |
| 1739 | 'The Neptune' public house is built, later to be renamed 'The West Bay'. |
| 1740 | A small harbour and stronger pier are built, 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. |
| 1779 | First reported launch of a vessel from the 'Old Shipyard'. |
| 1805 | Battery Point set up at base of West 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 and the River Brit estuary diverted further west (to where it is now). 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 (now Clarence House) and achieves 'Bondport' status, suggesting that secure stores / warehouses existed, Norman Good's warehouse being an example. |
| 1834 | The George Inn and several houses are destroyed by fire. |
| 1839 | Haddon House is built as a private dwelling. |
| 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 | Small isolation hospital is constructed on lower East Cliff, 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. |
| 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 | 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 | 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'. |
| 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. Their first development is 'Pier Terrace'. |
| 1886 | 'Pier Terrace' is built to designs by Edward Schroder Prior (10 terraced houses). |
| 1887 | The Esplanade is opened (often referred to as The Promenade). |
| 1891 | A Golf Club is started on West Cliff. |
| 1894 | A Golf Club House is opened. |
| 1895 | A Sailing Club is started. |
| 1898 | A Swimming and Water Polo Club is started. |
| 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' built to designs by Edward Schroder Prior. |
| 1911 | The Golf Club moves from West Cliff to East Cliff, to become its permanent home. |
| 1914 | Erection of a wartime beacon on East Cliff. |
| 1914 | West Cliff Estate is sold by Giles Stephen Holland Fox-Strangways, the 6th Earl of Ilchester, for residential development. |
| 1921 | Building starts on West Cliff. |
| 1929 | The seaward end of Pier Terrace is damaged by fire. |
| 1939 | St John's Church is built to replace St Andrew's Mission Church. |
| 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. King George VI also visits West Bay during the war. |
| 1942 | The Pavilion on The Mound is demolished after being seriously damaged by storms. |
| 1958 | Captain George Pitt-Rivers sells his ownership of land to the east of West Bay, including East Cliff 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. |
| 1961 | The Old Shipyard is sold, to be re-developed into holiday units and shops. |
| 1962 | 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. |
| 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. |
| 1975 | On 3rd May, the railway branch line down to Bridport from Maiden Newton is finally closed. |
| 1976 | The opening sequence of the popular TV series 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin' was filmed on West Beach. |
| 1976 | Riverside Restaurant is built on the site of the old wooden constructed Riverside Café. |
| 1983 | New bridge and automatic sluice gates completed. |
| 1987 | On 19th July, the River Brit Viaduct is opened as part of the new A35 Bridport Bypass. |
| 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 | 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 the 'Jurassic Coast Gateway'. |
| 2004 | On 17th December, a new west pier is opened and named the 'Jurassic Pier'. |
| 2005 | On 8th March, HRH The Duke of York (Prince Andrew) officially opens the new £17million Harbour Defence Scheme, complete with a new outer harbour / marina and slipway. |
| 2005 | Maritime House is built on the site of the old Harbour Garage. |
| 2007 | Quay West is built on part of the Old Shipyard land. 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. |
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 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.
Note that some dates are approximate / unconfirmed.