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Weymouth and Portland

2019 disestablishments in EnglandFormer boroughs in EnglandFormer non-metropolitan districtsNon-metropolitan districts of DorsetPages with non-numeric formatnum arguments
Use British English from March 2017Weymouth and Portland
Weymouth and Portland UK locator map
Weymouth and Portland UK locator map

Weymouth and Portland was a local government district and borough in Dorset, England. It consisted of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southill, Nottington, Westham, Radipole, Chiswell, Castletown, Fortuneswell, Weston, Southwell and Easton; the latter six being on the Isle of Portland. In Portland Harbour is the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, where the sailing events at the 2012 Olympics took place. The main reason that the resort was chosen to be an Olympic venue was that the Sailing Academy had only recently been built, so no new venue would need to be provided. Weymouth and Portland's waters have also been credited by the Royal Yachting Association as the best in Northern Europe.Weymouth and Portland have been twinned with the town of Holzwickede in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, since 1986, and the French town of Louviers, in the department of Eure in Normandy, since 1959.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Weymouth and Portland (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Weymouth and Portland
Portland Beach Road,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 50.5666 ° E -2.4541 °
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Address

Portland Beach Road

Portland Beach Road
DT5 1PY , Portland
England, United Kingdom
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Nearby Places

Portland Castle
Portland Castle

Portland Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, between 1539 and 1541. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the Portland Roads anchorage. The fan-shaped castle was built from Portland stone, with a curved central tower and a gun battery, flanked by two angular wings. Shortly after its construction it was armed with eleven artillery pieces, intended for use against enemy shipping, operating in partnership with its sister castle of Sandsfoot on the other side of the anchorage. During the English Civil War, Portland was taken by the Royalist supporters of King Charles I, and then survived two sieges before finally surrendering to Parliament in 1646. Portland continued in use as a fort until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, when it was converted into a private house. Fresh concerns over invasion led to the War Office taking it over once again in 1869, but the castle was not rearmed and was instead formed accommodation for more modern neighbouring fortifications. During the First and Second World Wars it was used as offices, accommodation and as an ordnance store. In 1949, the War Office relinquished control, and in 1955 it was opened to the public by the state. In the 21st century it is managed by English Heritage and operated as a tourist attraction, receiving 22,207 visitors in 2010. Historic England consider the castle to form "one of the best preserved and best known examples" of King Henry's forts.