About half way along the main part of Weymouth’s sea-front stands the “Jubilee Clock”. It’s a landmark that commemorates Queen Victoria’s 50 years of reign in 1887. Before that however Weymouth was put on the map and made popular by King George III. Yes, the one famous for being mad! As a treatment for his illness he was prescribed sea bathing, and chose to do so here in Weymouth. He stayed in what is now the Gloucester Lodge, below.
His bath tub once stood in the grounds just to the right, until it was smashed by workmen not knowing what it was! However, the main attraction for me was always the horse stables behind. Obviuosly before the age of the car, there were lots more horses and the stable block was almost as big as the hotel. Not that I am interested in horses you understand!
The round plaque commemorates the stable block, but this ordinary building was built in the 2000’s to replace the, in order going backwards, Picturedrome /Canon /Odeon Cinema that stood here since 1933. I’ve discovered a fantastic post here, which shows not only the place I remember, but the people too! It mentions the last show on 31st October 1999, of Disney’s Tarzan – I was there, and would have been whatever they were showing. I spent hours, days, perhaps a year of my youth in there – fantastic memories. Literally just around the corner was the building where I worked – I wrote about that here, now it’s “money matters”!
Back up onto the sea-front there is a statue commemorating George III. Known locally as simply “the statue”. Most of the bus network starts and leaves from here, it’s a hub. In my youth it didn’t have railings around it’s base, I guess they are necessary these days! The building directly behind in the photo below was once Fortes Restaurant, when my nan worked for decades. She was quite put out when they more or less made her retire, she was only 81 after all!
Finally the actual (?) bathing “machine” that (allegedly) George III used to bath. It was found in someone’s back garden being used as a shed.
Chatter: Leica M4-P with 35mm Zeiss Biogon. FP4 Movie film bulk loaded and developed in FX55.
S.H.O.U.T. 