We’re delighted to have been selected as a Travellers’ Choice Award Winner again for 2024. The award is given to establishments that have consistently received great reviews over the past 12 months and we are so very grateful to our visitors for their kind words and recommendations and placing us Read more…
The Victorian era was a period of development and there was a great enthusiasm for building railways. There were many options for connecting Bridport to the railway line but when none materialised a group of Bridport Businessmen set up the Bridport Rail Company and the first train ran down the Read more…
Our current exhibition ‘West Bay in the War’ has attracted many visitors. It looks at West Bay’s coastal defences, food rationing and the recollections of local people and GI’s living in West Bay. In November 1943 the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment US arrived in Dorset and were Read more…
Dorset is a county famous for its culture. Creativity thrives here, and the enormous variety and volume of cultural events is astounding. We are delighted to have been featured in the Arts Development Company’s Culture in Dorset celebrations and report, see why we were chosen below: The Arts Development Council Read more…
Fishing has always been part of West Bay, a source of employment and something that attracts visitor interest. In our latest exhibition ‘Beneath the Waves we have bought to life the history of fishing along the Chesil Beach and in Lyme Bay. We tell the story of the seine fishing Read more…
West Bay Discovery Centre is proud to follow the the Kids in Museums Manifesto guidelines developed with children, young people and families and reflect what they feel makes museums and heritage organisations welcoming and inclusive places. We are one of nearly 1,100 organisations that have signed up to show their Read more…
The water fountain (trough) Have you ever even noticed the water trough or wondered how long it has been at West Bay? This water trough is the only relic left in West Bay of the era of the horse drawn cart. Horses were an integral part of Harbour life, as Read more…
Our exhibition over the winter invited our visitors to relive their “West Bay Memories”. The exhibition used photographs and stories that have been shared with the Centre by local people and visitors. Many of our film clips and images came from holiday makers who were more likely to have captured Read more…
So much of history and personal stories get lost in the realms of time. One of our tasks in the Discovery Centre is to rediscover information about West Bay and share it with you. Until we opened in 2018 there was very little in West Bay to show that it Read more…
Looking back at historical maps of Bridport Harbour (renamed West Bay) we noticed that one from 1860s listed a hospital on the beach and we just had to find out more! The hospital was built to isolate and treat patients who were suffering from cholera, just like Covid it was Read more…