Finds from two Weymouth digs are on show free at County Hall, Dorchester, to 23 October. The artefacts are out only on 14 and 21 October, 11am to 2pm.

Finds from two excavations in the oldest parts of Weymouth are on show at County Hall in Dorchester for the next fortnight. The exhibition is free and runs until Friday 23 October.

The display covers digs at North Quay and the former Weymouth Bowl site, on opposite sides of the harbour. Together they tell the story of the two towns, Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, that later joined to become modern Weymouth. Dorset Council, which owns both sites, announced the exhibition in a release on 8 October.

Go on a Wednesday if you want to see the objects

The panels, photographs and plans are up in the County Hall foyer during normal office hours. The artefacts themselves are not. The council says that “for security reasons” they will only be out while staff are present.

That means two sessions:

  • Wednesday 14 October, 11am to 2pm
  • Wednesday 21 October, 11am to 2pm

At both, archaeologists from Context One Heritage and Archaeology, the firm that led the digs, will show the finds and talk about them. Historic maps of the town will be on display too. No booking is needed.

What the two digs found

North Quay is the site of the former Weymouth and Portland Borough Council offices. Context One dug there in 2023. The Dorset Historic Environment Record entry for the excavation says the site covers the core of medieval Weymouth, which became the High Street. That street was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the council offices, built in 1971.

Trial trenches beforehand found “a surprising level of preservation” below ground, the record says, with evidence of activity from the medieval period and “the genesis of the town”. The open excavation covered about two hectares.

The Weymouth Bowl site on St Nicholas Street was dug earlier this year. It is in Melcombe Regis, on the other side of the harbour. The council’s October 2025 update says the town there was founded in the late 13th century. An evaluation in 2022 found at least one medieval property along St Nicholas Street. It also found an early 19th-century chapel that became the Theatre Royal in the Victorian period.

When the site opened to the public in May, the council said the dig had revealed:

  • medieval walls
  • historic wells
  • early refrigeration cold stores
  • coins, tiles, pottery and personal items

Local volunteers worked alongside the professionals at both sites. Richard McConnell, Context One’s director, said volunteers had helped “uncover many of the finds on display”. He said the two digs “have revealed how Weymouth and Melcombe Regis developed over the past 700 years”.

What happens to the sites now

Both digs were carried out because the council plans to regenerate the land. The council’s update on the Weymouth Bowl said the future of that site “is still to be decided”. It is part of the council’s programme to grow the economy around Chickerell, Weymouth and Portland. No final report on either excavation has been published yet that we could find.

What it means for you

  • To see the objects, go on 14 or 21 October between 11am and 2pm. On other days you will see the panels only.
  • It is free and there is no booking. The display is in the foyer of County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester.
  • It closes on Friday 23 October, the Friday before half term. Our October half term page has more for the week that follows.

Parking near County Hall is on our parking in Dorset page.

Sources