West Bay (Dorset)
Coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ N , 2 ° 46 ′ W
West Bay (formerly Bridport Harbor ) is a small town about 3.5 km from Bridport on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset , England at the mouth of the Brit River in the English Channel .
West Bay has a small harbor, two piers and two beaches. The eastern beach (on the East Cliff) is the northernmost point of Chesil Beach .
The oldest evidence of the place dates back to the 13th century when locks were built at the mouth of the river to create a navigable estuary for the Brit River. The Great Western Railway came to Bridport in 1857 and resulted in the port becoming significantly less important. The place was then renamed West Bay. There was still an attempt to revive the port by expanding it, which was completed in 1883, but this had little success. To expand the port, the West Bay Building Company was founded, which then endeavored to build villas and hotels for vacationers. Only a row of ten houses was completed according to the plans of architect Edward Schroeder Prior from the Arts and Crafts Movement in 1885. The houses still shape the harbor front of the place today.
The place and its surroundings served as filming locations for the award-winning crime drama series Broadchurch .
Web links
- Bridport and West Bay Parish Official website of the parish.