West Bay, Dorset nr Bridport - art postcard by Sheild

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  West Bay, Bridport, Dorset - art posted by Harold Sheild
• Publisher:  Harold Sheild, Yeovil
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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West Bay, also known as Bridport Harbour, is a small harbour settlement and resort on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England, sited at the mouth of the River Brit approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Bridport. The area is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.

The harbour at West Bay is not a natural landscape feature and it has a long history of having been silted up, blocked by shingle and damaged by storms, and each time repairs, improvements and enlargements have subsequently been made. The harbour has been moved twice: it was originally 1 mile (1.6 km) inland, then was moved to the coast beside the East Cliff, then was moved again 270 metres (300 yd) along the coast to the west, where it is located today.

The previous main commercial trade of the harbour—exporting Bridport's ropes and nets—declined in the second half of the 19th century. When the railway arrived in 1884, attempts were made to provide the settlement with the facilities of a resort, and today West Bay has a mixed economy of tourism and fishing.

Bridport historically needed a harbour to export its principal products, rope and nets.^[1] Originally the harbour was about 1 mile (1.6 km) inland, close to the town,^[2] and its exit to the sea—the river mouth—was 270 metres (300 yd) east of its current position.^[3] The Anglo-Saxons and Normans struggled to keep the harbour open because the river mouth repeatedly silted up and was blocked by shingle from Chesil Beach, so eventually a system of sluices was devised to help keep it clear.^[1]

In 1388 John Huderesfeld, a local merchant, started building a new harbour and levied a toll on goods loaded and unloaded.^[4] The toll was a market privilege granted to him for three years as a result of his petition that finishing the construction would not be possible without aid.^[5] After completion in 1395 a customs officer was employed full-time as trade grew.^[4] The new harbour prospered for fifty years until winter storms and an outbreak of Black Death damaged both its structure and trade, so in 1444 construction of a new harbour commenced—prompted by an indulgence granted by the Bishop of Sarum—and on its completion the harbour again prospered.^[4]

By the 18th century the small harbour was ill-equipped to deal with the increasing size of ships, plus the problems of silting and storm damage had never been fully resolved, so in 1740 work commenced on building another new harbour 270 metres (300 yd) to the west.^[3][4] This is the site of the harbour as seen today. Two piers, extending as far as the low tide mark, were constructed to house the harbour. The river was also diverted to run between the piers. The work cost £3,500 and was undertaken by John Reynolds of Cheshire. It was supposed to have taken only two years, but the new harbour didn't open officially until 1744. It could hold forty sailing ships.^[6]