Many local people are aware that Weymouth was originally two towns; Melcombe Regis to the north of the harbour, and Weymouth to the south. The two communities had an often fractious relationship, usually related to the harbour.
If ships moored on the Weymouth side, Weymouth could take the various charges and petty customs when the ships were unloaded. If ships moored at the Melcombe Regis side the situation was reversed. This understandably led to intense competition for the mooring of ships, and the situation degraded to the point where rioting broke out on more than one occasion.
Joining together
So many complaints and petitions were sent to the Privy Council that the decision was made to join the towns, so in 1571 the twinned Borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis was created by Act of Parliament. Unfortunately this did not rectify the situation, and it was not until a town bridge was erected in the 1590s that the two communities started to coexist more comfortably.
A royal intervention
Then as now, a major consideration with building the new bridge was funding. This amazing survival from 1592 is a letter addressed to the Justices of Dorset, requesting that they meet and devise a means of contributing to the cost of erecting the bridge. It stands out because it was actually signed by various members of Elizabeth I’s Privy Council, including the queen’s cousin Charles Howard (who was Lord High Admiral at the time of the Spanish Armada), the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Burghley.
