Joanna O'Donnell

Local readers recall former Bridport-area nightclubs and late-night venues, with De Vinchies—also known as “Divvies”—emerging as the most frequently missed destination. The Royal Oak, Askers Motel, Hardy’s West Point Tavern and several other venues also feature in memories of dancing, celebrations and friendships. Readers suggest today’s younger generations have fewer dedicated nightlife venues than previous ones, underscoring the lasting community significance of the area’s former club scene.

Broadchurch remains popular more than a decade after its debut, with its Dorset filming locations and ensemble cast continuing to attract attention on Netflix. The feature highlights actors including Vicky McClure, Jonathan Bailey, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jacob Anderson, Charlotte Rampling, Lenny Henry and Julie Hesmondhalgh, emphasizing how their appearances preceded major successes in television and film.

Organizers of the fully booked Cannington Viaduct Revisited heritage weekend are seeking a celebrity to officially open the historic structure, which will welcome visitors for the first time in more than 60 years. Suggested names include Rod Stewart, Michael Portillo, Brian May, Francis Bourgeois, James May, Tim Dunn and Ben Fogle. The September 19–20 event near Uplyme will feature guided walks, heritage displays, films and exhibitions, and is being organized by For the Love of a Railway with the National Highways Historical Railways Estate and local partners.

Mapperton’s Posy Tree was a sycamore associated with a local legend that plague survivors carried posies of herbs and flowers while transporting the dead for burial. The tree was removed in 2011 after being declared unsafe and replaced by a young tree in 2015. Historian George Osborn disputes the commonly cited 1665 plague date, arguing that the deaths occurred during the 1582 outbreak and that Netherbury villagers blocked the corpse-bearers, leading to a mass grave on South Warren Hill. The article also traces Mapperton’s name to Old English terms meaning a farm with maple trees and questions whether the original sycamore could really have survived for centuries.

After HMS Formidable was torpedoed and sunk by German forces in Lyme Bay on New Year's Day 1915, 71 sailors escaped in an overcrowded pinnace and endured roughly 23 hours of freezing conditions, rowing and bailing water. Guided by a small light on the Lyme Regis shore, the boat reached Cobb Gate, where local residents organized a rescue; 42 of those who escaped the ship survived, although some died after reaching land. The story also recounts how a dog named Lassie helped revive a sailor thought to be dead, the town's continuing remembrance of the victims, and Roy Emmett's later effort to locate surviving crew members, including Stoker Smith.

Two German bombing raids struck Bridport in 1942, killing seven people and injuring many others. The August 2 daylight attack involved low-flying aircraft strafing the town and dropping bombs near West Street, while a December 16 raid scattered four bombs along the main street, including one that lodged at the Westminster Bank. The attacks damaged homes, businesses and the Star Inn, with the nearby stonemason's premises believed to have been the intended target because of its Admiralty contract. The town later commemorated the victims with a memorial tree planting at Bridport Cemetery.

A collapsed underground passage discovered in 1975 between the old vicarage and the Old Swan Inn in Toller Porcorum is believed to have been used for smuggling. Builder Ted Bugler reported uncovering the arched, walled tunnel during renovation work and locals link it to early twentieth‑century alcohol smuggling, possibly involving clergy.