About The Seaham Bed & Breakfast
A Warm Welcome From Nick & Caroline
We welcome you to our smart stylish and modern bed and breakfast in Weymouth just minutes from Weymouth Beach in the heart of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.
We have been welcoming guests to our home for over 14 years now and many people ask us what inspired us to do what we’re doing – running a B & B by the sea so here’s our story.
Our Story – How It Began
Never really having been to Weymouth before, we weren’t sure what to expect when we bundled our family into the car early on one lovely sunny day in July. We had made appointments to see a handful of Bed and Breakfasts in Weymouth over 2 days. Since our early days together we had often talked about running a Pub or Bed and Breakfast, but talking about it was as far as we had got.
When we saw The Seaham on the first day we were immediately taken by the atmosphere of the house and we fell in love with both the bed and Breakfast and Weymouth. Our search ended before it had really begun and we knew The Seaham was right for us.
At the time we were living in Oxford, Nick had worked in the printing industry since leaving School and Caroline in Financial Services. Prior to this Caroline had lived in Coventry and had studied in Brighton, living for some of that time in Arundel Terrace on the Seafront in Kemptown Brighton, perhaps one of the things that drew us back to the Sea. So we set about the Challenge of moving our life to Weymouth.
So we left the Dreaming Spires to follow our dreams and four months later we had moved lock stock and Barrel as they say.
Sean the previous owner, who many of our returning Guests remember, is a real character. He smoothed our transition by staying on with us for a few days to show us the ropes, although he moved away from the area we are still in touch and count him as a friend.
During our first two years we couldn’t quite shake off the feeling that we too were on Holiday, and didn’t miss a chance to take a stroll on the beach or explore the many delights of the surrounding area. Nine years on and we still feel the buzz of living in such a fabulous location and welcoming many lovely and interesting Guests to our house to enjoy the delights of Weymouth and Dorset time and again.
Do we miss Oxford and the friends and family we left behind? Well yes but not that much as it turns out, many of them love Weymouth too and they just can’t keep away! So this is how we run our B & B, welcoming our guests like our friends, we hope you will enjoy The Seaham and Weymouth as much as we do.
History & Owners
The Seaham was built c1835, originally as a private residency but has now been welcoming guests for over 100 years. The terrace along with most of the buildings on the Seafront is protected under grade 2 listing by English Heritage.
The Seaham is situated on Waterloo Place which took its name from the battle fought 20 years earlier. It was the last of the Esplanade to be built and is a Georgian Terrace. Waterloo Place does not front directly onto the bay but continues the line of The Esplanade. Views of the Bay and Beach can be enjoyed to the right.
We have been lucky enough to meet 3 previous owners of the Seaham including the son and daughter in law of Mrs Biggs who lived here in the 1960’s and 70’s. They have told us a story that actually we have heard more than once from other people whose family’s have owned bed and Breakfasts, of how they had a nice comfortable bed and room during the winter however come the start of the season they were turfed out of their rooms to make way for guests and were relegated to sleeping in the garden shed often with the family dog for company. We’re pleased to say our family and pets enjoy much more luxury now!
Of course the guesthouse has changed much internally over the years, the current dining area being the guest lounge with the dining room being on the first floor which is now the very popular premier room 2. We have also learned that a dumb waiter was used to transport food from the basement kitchen to the dining room, 2 floors above.
We can only imagine the result on the occasion when someone let go of the pulley before it had been properly secured leaving a lasting memory for Ken Biggs who shared this with us when we met.