In 1842, shortly after the first national census but before the harbour was built, the total population of Weymouth, including Melcombe Regis, was about 7750. In this small town there were, according to the directory of Mr J. Pigot, no less than 51 outlets selling beer or 152 persons per outlet. According to a study in Cambridge in 1995 the national average at the time for such outlets was about 186 per head of the population so Weymouth started off with a higher than average consumption of alcohol and could reflect the fact that the town was already a seaport.

At this stage one should look at the drinking habits of the time. Beer was a popular and very necessary drink, in most cases substituting for water which at the time, with the inadequacy of drains and the pollution of the ground with waste, was heavily contaminated. It was also the social drink with price making tea a luxury. There was thus a thriving trade in the brewing and selling of beer carried out by small family businesses where it could be drunk in the back parlour or delivered to the home or work site. The figure of 51 outlets above contained 24 such retailers and only 27 pubs and inns.

By 1898, after the completion of the harbour in 1872 and the arrival of the military, the picture changes considerably. The population had risen to approximately 14500 and only 15 beer sellers remain listed in the Kelly's directory of the date; but 73 licensed pubs and inns appear, only a rise to 164 outlets per head of population but a considerable shift of emphasis of drinking habit from private to social. This could be partly affected by improvements in water supply and the lowering of the price of tea, yet at the same time a national campaign was being waged against the "evils of alcohol" and Weymouth boasted some seven "Temperance" hotels. Social drinking had become a part of the Weymouth scene and it is probable that the armed services provided not a few of the new customers.

Another great change is coming over the town today with the conversion of many of the erstwhile boarded premises into homes and the demolition of many others.