Castlefacts³

Weymouth Town Defences

Has been described as a Questionable Urban Defence

There are no visible remains

Name	Weymouth Town Defences
Alternative Names
Historic Country	Dorset
Modern Authority	Dorset
1974 Authority	Dorset
Civil Parish	Weymouth

Barley lists as a town with documentary evidence for defences and no visible remains.

Weymouth is first mentioned in 1248 when a market was granted. A free borough was created in 1252. There is documentary evidence for the presence of defences. (PastScape - seemingly derived from Barley)

Gatehouse Comments

Gatehouse has not yet identified what this documentary evidence is and neither Creighton/Higham or Barley give a citation. It may be that the defences are the artillery forts mentioned by Hutchin (see Melcombe Cotton Fort and Blockhouse although these properly belong to Melcombe - The two towns were combined only in 1571.)Whatever Barley's documentary evidence for town defence was it is so obscure as to have not been otherwise noted. The is no archaeological, topographical or place-name evidence to suggest medieval town defences although there were considerable Civil War defences and some Tudor coastal defences (notably Sandsfoot Castle).PastScape locate this at SY684793 which is medieval Melcombe, not Weymouth which was south of the harbour. The map reference given here is for St Nicholas Church, technically a chapel of ease, but which must have functioned as the towns 'parish' church.See also Melcome Regis Town Wall.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)

660781

County Historic Environment Record

www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MWX352&resourceID=1012

OS Map Grid Reference	SY678786
Latitude	50.6067085266113
Longitude	-2.4556200504303
Eastings	367800
Northings	78600