Many Weymouth residents will recall the Beehive clothing store on the corner of St Mary Street and St Edmund Street.

Standing outside the shop in this photo is Mike Freeman, the proprietor, and George Pitman, who had joined the staff in 1936.

This photo was taken in 1962 to mark the 80th anniversary of its opening.

The clothing shop was run throughout its existence by the Freeman family and was first opened to serve the needs of the Royal and Merchant navies and as the shop prospered, branches were opened at Castletown and Fortuneswell, Portland.

At the turn of the 19th/20th century there was a branch in Dorchester.

However, with the decline of customers after the First World War, Leon Freeman who inherited the business in 1924, concentrated on supplying local artisans.

In the Second World War the shop became the local warehouse for shipwrecked mariners.

After the war, customers changed again and Mike Freeman, who took over the business in 1960, ran for 15 years a teenaged boutique called King John in St Thomas Street.

The Beehive is well remembered by many residents as a place in which to buy leisure fashions and the range of bright and cheerful clothing, as well as work gear.

Sadly it closed in 1991 and is missed by many.

In this picture below you can see the same building today on the right, now home to Weymouth Angling Centre. 

Dorset Echo: The yellow building is the former Beehive Clothing Stores in St Edmund Street, Weymouth The yellow building is the former Beehive Clothing Stores in St Edmund Street, Weymouth (Image: Google Maps)