Weymouth Museum is a museum in Weymouth, Dorset, England. Its permanent home is in Brewers Quay on the south side of Hope Square near Weymouth Harbour. It is currently closed while the Brewers Quay building is being redeveloped.
Weymouth Museum is a museum in Weymouth, Dorset, England. Its permanent home is in Brewers Quay on the south side of Hope Square near Weymouth Harbour. It is currently closed while the Brewers Quay building is being redeveloped.
Weymouth Museum was founded in 1972 and originally occupied the former Melcombe Regis Boys' School at Westham Road. [1] Following the school's closure in the 1960s, it was used to host a temporary local history exhibition in 1971, which had been set up by Jack West of Weymouth Library. The success of the exhibition led to the building becoming the home of the permanent Weymouth Museum in 1972. Later in 1987, plans were revealed for the area's redevelopment, which included transforming part of the harbour into Weymouth Marina. The museum had to vacate the former school, which was set to be demolished, in January 1989. After a period of uncertainty over the future, Weymouth Museum relocated to Brewers Quay, a former brewery which was being transformed into an indoor shopping complex by Devenish Brewery and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council. A 25 year agreement between Devenish and the Friends of Weymouth Museum group was signed and the museum's collection was moved to the new location. [2] [3]
Brewers Quay opened in June 1990 and Weymouth Museum initially operated alongside the Timewalk exhibition, which took visitors on a journey covering the town's history and maritime connections from the 14th century onwards. [1] The museum later separated from the exhibition in 1999 so that it could be converted into a charitable trust, and re-opened in 2000. [1] However, as Brewers Quay had been suffering operational losses since its opening, a succession of new owners of the building disrupted the museum's plans. [3] Brewers Quay was sold to a local investment group, Brewers Quay Investment LLP, in 2010, and the building then closed for redevelopment. [4] Space was set to be retained for the museum, however the new owners ultimately decided that their plans were not viable. Brewers Quay reopened primarily as an antiques emporium in 2013, which saw temporary space provided for the museum, which re-opened in December that year. [5]
Weymouth Museum closed again in 2016, with the Brewers Quay emporium closing in 2017. In January 2016, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council gave approval of Weymouth Museum Trust's plans to relocate and expand the museum within Brewers Quay as part of the building's wider redevelopment project. The trust revealed its intentions to gain some of the estimated £300,000 project cost from the Heritage Lottery Fund, while the council pledged £94,000. [6] [7] In March 2018, the museum reopened using temporary exhibitions to display a small proportion of its collection within Brewers Quay. The £300,000 redevelopment project is expected to be completed for a 2020 opening. [8]
Dorchester is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs and north of the South Dorset Ridgeway that separates the area from Weymouth, 7 miles (11 km) to the south. The civil parish includes the experimental community of Poundbury and the suburb of Fordington.
Nothe Fort is a fort in Weymouth, Dorset, England, situated at the end of the Nothe Peninsula, which juts eastwards from the town of Weymouth, and Weymouth Harbour, into the sea to the north of the ex-military Portland Harbour. The fort is located next to Nothe Gardens.
Weymouth Quay is a disused railway station in Weymouth, Dorset, England at the terminus of the Weymouth Harbour Tramway. Until September 1987 it was the regular terminus and starting point for boat trains to and from London Waterloo, linking to the ferry services with street running along the streets of the town.
RNAS Portland was an air station of the Royal Navy, situated at the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It was established in 1917 on the western edge of Portland Harbour as HMS Sarepta. From 1959 the station shared the name HMS Osprey, the anti-submarine establishment based at Portland, with helicopters used for research and development in anti-submarine techniques. RNAS Portland remained operational until 1999.
The Dorset County Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building was designed specifically to house the museum's collection and is in the neo-Gothic style.
York Art Gallery is a public art gallery in York, England, with a collection of paintings from 14th-century to contemporary, prints, watercolours, drawings, and ceramics. It closed for major redevelopment in 2013, reopening in summer of 2015. The building is a Grade II listed building and is managed by York Museums Trust.
Weymouth is a sea-side town and civil parish in the Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, 11 km (7 mi) south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third-largest settlement in Dorset after Bournemouth and Poole. The greater Weymouth urban area has a population of 72,802.
Weymouth Harbour is a harbour at the seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset, southern England. It has a 17th-century waterfront.
The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum is the principal art gallery and museum in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, run by Bedford Borough Council and the trustees of the Cecil Higgins Collection.
HM Prison Dorchester was a local men's prison, located in Dorchester in Dorset, England. The prison was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and closed in January 2014.
Brewers Quay is a converted Victorian brewery on the south side of Hope Square near the Old Harbour in Weymouth, Dorset, southern England. Much of the complex dates from 1903–04, when it was built as the Hope Brewery for John Groves & Sons Ltd. It was later taken over by Devenish Brewery in 1960 and opened in 1990 as an indoor shopping complex with around twenty specialty shops together with heritage and science exhibits, until it closed in 2010. From 2013-17, the building housed an antiques emporium. It currently awaits redevelopment.
Hope Square is a historic square to the south of Weymouth Harbour in the seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, southern England. Hope Street, Cove Street, and Trinity Street all lead via a short walk north to the harbour.
The Timewalk was an exhibition and visitor attraction located in Brewers Quay, Weymouth, Dorset. It opened in 1990 and closed in 2010. One of Weymouth's most popular attractions, Timewalk took visitors on a journey covering the town's history and maritime connections from the 14th century onwards. It was told by the brewery cat, Miss Paws, and her eight feline ancestors. The attraction aimed to "recreate the sights, sounds and smells, of six hundred years of maritime history".
Devenish Brewery, also known as J. A. Devenish & Co. Ltd, was a brewery in Weymouth, Dorset, England, that was founded in 1821 by William Devenish. It primarily operated from Weymouth's Hope Square, but also had a facility at Redruth, Cornwall. Devenish was sold to Greenalls in 1993.
The Jurassic Skyline tower was an observation tower on Weymouth Pier in Weymouth, Dorset, England. It was situated next to Weymouth Beach and the Weymouth Pavilion, where it overlooked Weymouth town, the beach, the Pavilion, the Old Harbour, Nothe Gardens, the Nothe Fort, and Portland Harbour. It opened on 22 June 2012.
Nothe Parade is a waterfront street on the south side of Weymouth Harbour in the seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, southern England. The waterfront dates from the 17th-century, but most of the cottages in Nothe Parade date from the 19th century. Nothe Parade was formerly known as Nothe Walk before it was developed.
Bridport Museum is a museum in Bridport, Dorset, England. It is housed within an early 16th century building known as the Castle, located on South Street. The building has been Grade II* Listed since 1950.