Weston, Dorset

Weston
Weston  Weston shown within Dorset
OS grid reference	SY690721
District	Weymouth and Portland
Shire county	Dorset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	DT5 1
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	South Dorset
List of places UK England Dorset

Weston is a village in Tophill on the Isle of Portland), Dorset, England. It abuts the main village Easton, and is north of the village of Southwell.

History

Until the early 20th century, Weston had a duck pond at Weston Corner, by the road leading to the village of Southwell. Each Tophill village was established around a natural watering place, and the Weston Pond, for hundreds of years, was the scene of women washing, horses drinking and children playing. In 1906 it was filled in after Portland's piped water supply was laid down.^[1] The site of the pond is now a wide grass verge. Nearby until the 1970s stood The Prince Alfred Pub, now a row of modern houses.^[2] The pub last served on the 28 March 1973.^[3]

To the east of the village lies the two Portland Windmills, and to the north is Reforne, which holds St George's Church and St George's Centre.

Area

Part of Weston Road

The village features a small commercial business area based along the main Weston Road. This road features the sweet store Just Sweets, previously known as Cards 'n' Candy,^[4] a Co-Operative store,^[5] the Codfathers takeaway,^[6] The Royal Exchange pub^[7] and L'n'O's Bistro.^[8]

A large part of Weston is the Weston Estate which contains much housing and surrounding fields. The original historic village of Weston, characterised by old cottages fronting very wide greens, was expanded by these large housing estates in the 1960s. The Westcliff Housing Estate was originally built for the Admiralty, but is now largely private. Weston is still set amongst expansive fields to the east and south.^[9]

On the east side of Weston Road near the former Royal Manor Arts College (now a campus of the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy) is an ancient Sheep Pound where the Court Leet used to impound straying sheep and cattle. The pound was moved to its present position when the nearby housing estate was built.^[10]

Along the high West Cliff on the seaward side of Weston Estate, Blacknor Fort was built as a heavy gun emplacement. The fort was originally built around 1902 and the stronghold was equipped during both World Wars. During the second World War on the night of 27 April 1944, the gunners of the fort witnessed Nazi E-boats which attacked landing craft full of American soldiers on exercise in Lyme Bay. The fort was ordered not to fire for fear of hitting the men in the water. The Slapton Sands Massacre, as it became known, saw more than 600 American soldiers and seamen drowned by the end of the night.^[11] The fort is now converted into a private clifftop residence.^[12] Further south, on the edge of the estate once stood ROC Post Portland Bill, which was operational from 1960 to 1991, and was demolished circa 2008.^[13] The high cliffs around this area are popular with rock climbers.^[14]

Roman Villa

On the west side of Weston Road is one of the few archaeological sites on the Isle of Portland. Remains of what is likely to be a Roman villa and high quality medieval building remains have been discovered. Around 2004 excavations for a new school sports pitch revealed the remains of the large multi-period complex. The sports area was relocated to enable a major archaeological dig to be undertaken. ^[10] The ruins dating from the Iron Age, Roman and Medieval periods were unearthed during the topsoil clearance. As a result, the council commissioned an in-depth examination of the area to discover more about the finds. Since then the site has been excavated and various discoveries have been reported.^[15]

References