Lyme Regis, South Coast, England

Man has inhabited the area for thousands of years building the Iron Age forts of Pilsdon Pen, Lamberts Castle, Blackberry Castle and Coney Castleand, and Lyme Regis on England's South Coast has a history going back over 1200 years. In the middle ages it was one of the most important ports on England's south coast. Today it has great importance as a gateway to the World Heritage Site the Jurassic Coast - Lyme Bay as seen in the picture above.

The Romans knew current day Lyme Regis as "Lym Supra Mare" and a Roman Villa has been found at the nearby village of Harcombe. The name comes from the river Lym which means a torrent of water. The Town is located in the Coombe formed by the river valley.

In 774AD the West Saxon King Cynewulf gave the land along the river Lym to the monks of Sherborne Abbey, who made sea salt.

Lyme Regis was mentioned in the Doomsday Book and received its Royal Charter from King Edward I in 1284, and saw action in the English Civil War - the Royalist forces laid siege in 1644 and the Duke of Monmouth landed here in 1684 in his attempt to gain the Crown.

To the east is the Majestic Golden Cap at 618 ft. which is the highest Cliff on the south coast of England. Westwards is the famous Under Cliff.

Lyme Regis' geology now means it is on the western edge of a World Heritage Site - the Jurassic Coast. 180 million years ago in the Jurassic period, a soft sedimentary rock layer called Blue Lias formed. It is this rock that all the fossils are found. One of the first recorded finds was when Mary Anning (born locally in 1799), excavated a fossil ichthyosaur.

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