Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis This Lyme Regis page is intended for visitors and those with a passing interest in the rich history of Lyme Regis. A new book by local author John Fowles provides greater detail and further reading recommendations, a link to a mail order supplier will appear here soon.
Read down for more or go to: The Lyme Regis Visitors Guide Site Home Page
Notable events in in date order from the eighth century:
In the year 774
The first recorded reference to Lyme occurs although the town's existence is believed to pre-date the record. Cynewulf, King of Wessex made a gift of land near the mouth of the River Lym to the Abbott of Sherborne, which was then used to set up a salt works.
Lyme formed part of the Diocese of Sherborne until 1075 when the Bishop moved to Old Sarum.
1284
A charter was granted by King Edward I. Lyme became royal property and its name changed to Lyme Regis to reflect its new status. This gave Lyme Regis the right to form a Guild and send two members to Parliament.
1544
Sir George Somers was born in Lyme Regis. He became an Admiral and 'discovered' Bermuda.
1588
There was the Spanish Armada and Lyme Regis sent two ships to join the engagement. One of the ships is believed to have brought Sir Richard Grenville into battle.
1644
Royalists under the command of Prince Maurice besiege Lyme Regis. The town, led by Thomas Sealey and Robert Blake defeated the royalist army which suffered between two and three thousand casualties.
1668
Thomas Coram was born. He obtained a charter from King Charles II to establish the Foundling Hospital in 1739, this was England's first major orphanage.
1685
James, Duke of Monmouth chose Lyme as his landing place and as a start for his ill-fated attempt to oust the King and claim the crown for himself.
1772
From this time until about 1880, the area was rife with smugglers. One of the most notorious was John Rattenbury of Beer who married a Lyme Regis girl.
1779
Mary Anning was born. She became one of the best researchers in the field of fossil collecting and probably one of the best known figures of her time. Lyme Regis is still a haven for fossil hunters.
1803 - 1804
Jane Austen and her family visited Lyme Regis. The film of her book "Persuasion" was largely shot around the Lyme Regis area.
1811-1812
Joseph Anning and his sister Mary found the first fossilised Ichthyosaur in the Lyme Regis area. This was a major breakthrough at the time.
1839
An enormous landslip took place at Downlands (just to the West of the town). Today this area is commonly referred to as the Undercliff and is a nature reserve with an interesting variety of flora and fauna.
1895
James McNeill Whistler painted the "Master Smith of Lyme" and "The Little Rose of Lyme"
1903
A railway line arrived with the birth of modern day tourism. The nearest railway line nowadays is at Axminster, some five miles away.
1943
The 16th Infantry US 1st Division re-grouped at Lyme Regis in preparation for D-Day.
1980
Part of the town was transformed back a century for the filming of John Fowles' much acclaimed novel "The French Lieutenants Woman" starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.
1995
Gun Cliff walk is completed on the Lyme Regis sea front. This is a popular area to stroll in and few of the tourists who walk there realize that the superstructure conceals a state of the art sewage treatment scheme which has received numerous awards.
1996
Lyme Regis is twinned with the town of St. George's, Bermuda.
From here you can go to: The Lyme Regis Visitors Guide Site Home Page
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