The famous nursery rhyme about the grand old Duke of York may have been inspired by hills near Weymouth.

For when the duke marched 10,000 men to the top of the hill they could have been overlooking Weymouth Bay.

Perhaps the well-known rhyme should actually say: 'And when they were up they were up Bincombe Hill and when they were down they were in Bincombe Down'.

Legend has it that the hill near Weymouth inspired the well-known verse during the Napoleonic wars.

A large military camp was formed on Bincombe Down and it is said that the York Hussars stationed there, trained and marched up and down the steep hill by the church.

The Grand Old Duke of York,

He had ten thousand men,

He marched them up to the top of the hill,

And he marched them down again.

Weymouth historian Maureen Attwooll said: "On Bincombe Hill are the prominent Bronze Age round barrows known locally as 'Bincombe Bumps'.

"Here in the Napoleonic era, King George III reviewed his troops and watched them participate in mock battles, ready to defend the coast against Bonaparte's invaders.

"The King's son, Frederick, Duke of York, was the Army's commander-in-chief and tradition has it that it was on Bincombe Hill that he marched 10,000 men, although the location of the hill in the rhyme has never positively been confirmed."