About WCS

Weymouth Civic Society

Founded in 1944, Weymouth Civic Society's role is to enhance civic life for residents of Weymouth and Portland, as well as surrounding areas.

How we deliver our purpose

With our singular aim of enriching the experience of living in our area, we work across five categories that impact the quality of civic life.

1. We encourage quality in town planning , public realm and private architecture, celebrating success, campaigning for excellence and providing expert planning commentary.

2. We engage residents and visitors with our history, while helping to conserve features of historic interest.

3. We support the arts and culture, delivering events and exhibitions, as well as supporting other arts groups to deliver their projects.

4. We encourage the availability of lifestyle facilities and initiatives that support the physical and mental wellbeing of residents within a vibrant community.

5. We support initiatives that protect and enhance the natural environment to the benefit of non-human species and landscapes.

How we’re organised

WCS is a registered charity with a board of trustees delivering strong governance to ensure our charitable aims are met in a legal, financially sustainable and ethical manner.

Sitting underneath the board and reporting into it are three sub-committees.

Nothe Fort Management Committee runs Nothe Fort.

Tudor House Committee runs Tudor House.

Our Planning Committee provides expert scrutiny of planning applications, submitting comments to planning authorities on behalf of WCS and referring projects they consider strategic to the development of our area to the WCS board for high level consideration.

Get involved today

Volunteer or become a trustee

WCS has been able to deliver so many fantastic initiatives over the years because generations of local people have donated their time, skill and energy. Volunteering is one of the most meaningful things you can do in life and we invite you to be part of our work.

As well as hands on volunteering, WCS’ board, planning committee and the management committees of our museums, welcome people with governance experience, as well as management or technical skills to contribute to the success of our operations.

Visitors

Every year, over 94,000 people visit the historic buildings that WCS is conserving for the future.

Volunteers

140 local people donate time, skill and energy each year to help deliver the full range of WCS initiatives.

Join us today

Join WCS

WCS is a membership organisation. Members’ benefit from being invited to a programme of meetings to discuss topics of interest and hear from local experts. We also regularly keep in touch to make sure members are fully appraised of WCS’s work in the key civic areas that we focus on. Annual membership costs just £12 for one person or £20 for a couple. Contact us to join today.

Our awards

Nominate projects to win one of our famous annual awards

Our famous annual awards recognise amazing contributions people have made in our five focus areas: town planning and buildings, heritage, lifestyle, arts and culture, and the natural environment. We are always on the look out for potential winners and welcome nominations from our members as well as the public. Find out more on our awards page.

Our museums

WCS conserves Weymouth's Nothe Fort and Tudor House as popular heritage visitor attractions

WCS is proud to have saved two of Weymouth’s most significant historic buildings. We operate Nothe Fort and Tudor House as museums. You can find out more about these two fantastic sites by visiting their separate websites: Nothe Fort, Tudor House