A NEW street sign has been reinstalled outside of a historic building in Weymouth after the original sign was stolen more than 30 years ago.

Last year permission was granted from a conservation officer to put the High Street sign back on the wall of the Old Town Hall in Weymouth.

The Old Town Hall has been used since the late 1500s. The venue was originally three Tudor cottages but was substantially rebuilt in 1774 and 1896, and is now used for community events

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To celebrate getting the sign back, the Guardians of the Old Town Hall invited Mayor of Weymouth Cllr Colin Huckle to unveil it.

One of the directors of the Old Town Hall, Selwyn Williams, said: “Unfortunately due to lockdown we couldn’t do it until recently but that turned out to be fortunate as it can now be included to mark the 450th anniversary of the unification of the Borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis by Elizabeth I.”

Cllr Huckle said: “The High Street has an interesting history to it and the recent digs found some really interesting remnants.”

Director of the Old Town Hall Mr Williams and Steve Booth attended the unveiling ceremony and were joined by historians Mark Vine and Debby Rose.

Mr Vine is behind the Dig the Street campaign which culminated in the recent archaeological digs around the former council offices.

The Old Town Hall is one of the few remaining buildings with links back to the High Street in Tudor times.

It is one of the key historical landmarks chosen to form part of a new heritage trail created to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Weymouth officially being merged with Melcombe Regis.

The Old Town Hall has applied for a grant to exhibit the findings of the archaeological digs, to record oral histories and to produce a fly through video of the High Street.