Weymouth is a town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The town is 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Dorchester and 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the Isle of Portland. The population of Weymouth is almost 52,000. The A354 road bridge connects Weymouth to Portland, which together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The history of the borough stretches back to the 12th century; including involvement in the Black Death, the settlement of the Americas, the Georgian era, and World War II. Although fishing and trading are less significant employment sectors in the area since their peak in earlier centuries, tourism has had a strong presence in the town since the 18th century. Weymouth continues to be a popular tourist resort, and the town's economy depends on its harbour and the beaches of Weymouth Bay. Weymouth is a gateway town situated half-way along the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site on the Dorset and east Devon coast, important for its geology and landforms. Weymouth harbour is home to cross-channel ferries, pleasure boats and private yachts, and nearby Portland Harbour is home to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, where the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic Games will be held.
Weymouth originated as a settlement on a constricted site to the south and west of Weymouth Harbour, an outlying part of Wyke Regis village. The town developed from the mid 12th century onwards, but was not noted until the 13th century. By 1252 it was established as a seaport and become a chartered borough. Melcombe Regis developed separately on the peninsula to the north of the harbour, it was mentioned as a licensed 'wool port' in 1310. Melcombe Regis is thought to be the first port at which the Black Death came into England, aboard a spice ship in June 1348. In their early history Weymouth and Melcombe Regis were rivals for trade and industry, but the towns were united in an Act of Parliament in 1571 to form a double borough. Both towns have become known as Weymouth, despite Melcombe Regis being the main town centre. The villages of Upwey, Broadwey, Preston, Wyke Regis, Chickerell, Southill, Radipole and Littlemoor are encompassed by the town. During the English Civil War around 250 people were killed in the Crabchurch Conspiracy in February 1645. In 1635, on board the ship Charity, around 100 emigrants from the town crossed the Atlantic Ocean and settled in Weymouth, Massachusetts. More townspeople emigrated to the Americas to bolster the population of Weymouth, Nova Scotia and Salem, Massachusetts; then called Naumking, Salem became infamous for its "Witch Trials". There are memorials to this on the side of Weymouth Harbour and near Weymouth Pavilion. More on Weymouth 

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