KEEN historians Geoffrey Pritchard and Andy Hutchings have written a fabulous photographic book charting the development of Weymouth over the years.

Weymouth and Portland Then and Now in Colour is a hardback book crammed with images of iconic places in the borough taken in bygone times next to images of the same spots taken today.

Intriguingly, some places have hardly changed at all and are instantly recognisable, whereas others are completely altered.

Andy, who has collaborated with Geoff on previous books including Weymouth and Portland: Images of England, which is now in its fifth reprint, said: “People love the nostalgia of old Weymouth and like looking to see how much the town has changed.”

Geoffrey added: “People like to look at the photos and remember how places used to look.”

All the old photographs come from postcards taken by well-known Weymouth photographer Edwin Seward. Andy, who is a former Weymouth and Portland Borough Councillor and an Honorary Alderman, has around 3,000 of the cards.

Geoffrey has lived in Weymouth for most of his life and is a former Grammar School student.

Weymouth and Portland Then and Now in Colour is a lovely piece of nostalgia.

Some of the pages show places that have barely changed over the decades – the Greenhill Gardens chalets and the Old Town Hall are cases in point.

But some other locations in the borough have altered out of all recognition.

One atmospheric shot taken from Town Bridge looking towards Westwey Road shows a steam train chugging over the skyline where Asda and the benefit offices now stand.

And a large photograph of the hideous borough council offices sits next to a sepia print of the building that used to sit on that site – the Girls’ Friendly Society Hostel, which is a much more appealing building.

Likewise, the site of Rodwell Station is now a public footpath, a far cry from the busy station complete with vegetable patch, footbridge and buildings that used to stand there.

Both Geoffrey and Andy are fans of Edwin Seward’s images and also pay tribute to Geoffrey’s wife Marcia, who drove him to all the photo locations.

Weymouth and Portland Then and Now in Colour, published by The History Press, costs £12.99, and is available from Books Afloat and Imagine Books in Weymouth and also in WH Smith.