Lyme Regis is a small town with a population of approximately four-thousand in the English county of Dorset. It is located on the coast, about 25 miles away due west of Dorchester. The town is situated on a bay of the same name, on the English Channel.
The town is a popular retirement place being small, manageable and yet having all the regular amenities that one needs. Approximately half of the population are retired.
The town was mentioned in the Domesday Book survey of 1086. Since a royal charter was granted to the town by King Edward I in 1284, the town earned the suffix -regis to its name. This charter was only confirmed in 1591 by Queen Elizabeth I however.
The town was the centre of a siege in 1644 during the English Civil War for about eight weeks when the parliamentarians there tried to remain in control. The Duke of Monmouth eventually landed there to begin the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685.
The town eventually grew, becoming a noteworthy port but it went into decline during the infamous Beeching Axe of 1965 when its only railway station was closed down. However, the town has now grown more prosperous, being home to a significant commercial centre.
Lyme Regis has a particularly famous historic harbour wall known as The Cobb. It also became a significant trading place with France although the most prosperous periods of the town’s history were during the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries.
Other landmarks in the city include the Town Mill, a fourteenth century watermill which has been restored and still produces flour and has a bakery and shop which is open to the public. The town also boast the quaint church of St Margaret’s and the famous Philpot Museum which is located on the site of Mary Anning’s place of birth.
