A book celebrating the quirky, the amusing and tales of the downright odd in Bridport over the centuries has been published by the town’s museum.

Quirky Bridport, penned by museum volunteer Tegwyn Jones, contains 80 illustrated stories about Bridport and nearby villages, with support from Bridport 24 – Town of Culture. Tegwyn collected the stories from Bridport Museum’s archives, which include Antarctic explorer Albert Balson, Walter Powell the Ballooning MP, Ethelbert Holborow the DIY sailor, and events such as an exorcism of the A35, a 1755 Tsunami and, of course, the Hat Festival.

Tegwyn said: “It’s been a fascinating exercise, inspired by a similar book on offbeat Paris. I found plenty of great stories in the museum archives, the library and local papers; many more than I needed for this book.

Bridport has a seemingly endless capacity to produce wonderful characters and quirky events. In the end I had to cut the number of stories down to fit into a paperback. “Last year, the museum’s booklet on Boozy Bridport was so popular that we had to print a new edition.

Encouraged by this, and the amount of material that was coming to light, I felt that a book on Quirky Bridport might be really interesting for locals and visitors alike.” Emma Squire, chair of museum trustees, said: “Like all museums, we are always looking at new ways to engage with local people and visitors about the heritage of the town and our area. This book, Quirky Bridport, is part of that effort. It’s a great way to support the museum and find out more about the town’s fascinating history.”

n Quirky Bridport is available from the Bridport Museum shop in South Street.