Shops lined both sides of this long narrow street from end to end. This photo comes from the wonderful book Portland Then and Now by historian Stuart Morris. Now we can compare this photo with a more recent but not up to date photo of Portland. This photo shows the gaps in the street frontage left by Second World War bomb damage. Between the old and new pictures the Mere (old) has changed from natural salt water shallows to a fuel tank farm, then a major helicopter base, and now is the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.