Lymington
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Cobbled streets in Lymington town centre. |
Lymington is a port on the
Solent, in the
New Forest district of
Hampshire,
England. It is to the east of the
Bournemouth conurbation, and faces
Yarmouth on the
Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by
Wightlink. The town has a population of about 40,000 (source:www.reference.com) and has a large tourist industry, based on proximity to the
New Forest and the harbour. It is a major
yachting centre with a two
marinas.
The town has many shops, catering for tourists and
sailing enthusiasts alike. There is a local market every Saturday, which takes place in the main High Street. The market is fairly typical for southern England, selling a selection of cheap general household items, craft items and a selection of food produce from the local area.
The earliest settlement in the Lymington area was at the Iron Age fort at Buckland known as Buckland Rings. The hill and ditches of this fort still remain.
Lymington itself began as a Saxon village. The Saxons, probably of Justish origin arrived in what is now South West Hampshire in the 6th century. They founded a settlement called limen tun. The Saxon word tun means a farm or hamlet. Limen is believed to be a Celtic name meaning either elm river or possibly, marshy river.
The town is recorded in the
Domesday book of 1086 as "Lentune". About 1200 the lord of the manor, William de Redvers gave the town its first charter and the right to hold a market.
From the middle ages to the nineteenth century Lymington was famous for making salt. This was done at the part of the town now known as The Salterns.
During the hundred years war (throughout the 14th and 15th centuries) the French attacked and burned Lymington twice. Once in 1338 and again in 1370. In 1346 Lymington was required to provide King Edward III with 9 ships and 159 men to fight the French. The French attacked and burned the town for the third time in 1545.
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century Lymington possessed a military depot that included a number of foreign troops. At the time of the Napoleonic War the Kings German Legion was based here. As well as Germans and Dutch, there were French émigrés, and French regiments were raised to take part in the ill fated
Quiberon bay expedition (1795), from which few returned.
From the late seventeenth century it had a thriving
shipbuilding industry. Much of the town centre is
Victorian and
Georgian, with narrow cobbled streets, giving an air of quaintness. The wealth of the town at the time is represented in its architecture.
Lymington is particularly famous for its
smuggling history, and under the High Street are smuggler's tunnels which run from the old inns to the town quay. These are no longer open to the public, as they are deemed to be dangerous.
Lymington is mentioned in 'The Children of the New Forest' by
Captain Marryat and also features in the historical novels of local writer Warwick Collins (namely 'The Rationalist' and 'The Marriage of Souls').
Lymington also occasionally featured in the 1980s series Howards Way.
Bold text
Insert non-formatted text hereLymington is also famous for its
sailing history, and in recent years, has been home to world famous
regattas such as the Royal Lymington Cup,
Etchells Worlds, Macnamara's Bowl, and Source Regatta. The strong
tides make it a challenging race track, and together with the shallow depth of the river, has resulted in Lymington losing a lot of regattas to the Central Solent, principally run from
Cowes. Nevertheless, Thursday Evening Racing takes place with up to 100 boats registered to race every thursday night during the summer, hosted by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. Started in the 1990s, it has continued to become more and more popular.
There are two Sailing Clubs in the town, both active. The Royal Lymington Yacht Club, founded in the 1920s as the Lymington River Sailing Club, now has over 3000 members, and now plays host to major
keelboat and
dinghy events. The Lymington Town Sailing Club, founded in 1946, plays host to the popular Lymington Winter Series known as the Solent Circuit.
The town's leisure amenities include; several parks, two sailing clubs, a community centre, a library, the St Barbes Museum and Gallery, two swimming baths (one is an open air sea water baths dating back to the 1830's), a sports centre and a very small cinema/theatre. Lymington, being near the New Forest, is also a good location for walking, cycling and riding.
Rail
The town is connected to the national rail network by a branch line to
Brockenhurst. Services are currently operated by
South West Trains, and are unofficially known as the
"Lymington Flyer". This branch line is one of the last places in the country that old
"slam-door" trains can be seen in operation, as a "heritage" service.
Roads
The
A337 road links Lymington to Lyndhurst and the
M27 motorway to the north, and to New Milton and the
South East Dorset conurbation to the west.
Ferries
Three
Wightlink ferries have run from Lymington to Yarmouth since the 1970s, named after Anglo Saxon Kings:
Cenred,
Cenwulf and
Caedmon. The ferries on average run every 20 minutes.
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Brockenhurst*
Beaulieu, Hampshire*
Boldre*
Burley*
Christchurch*
East Boldre*
Hordle*
Keyhaven*
Lyndhurst*
Milford on Sea*
New Milton*
Ringwood*
Sway*
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight*
Southampton*
Bournemouth*
Adamski (Pop musician)
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Ben Ainslie (Olympic Sailor)
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William Allingham (Irish Poet)
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Thomas Blakiston (19th Century Explorer - born in Lymington)
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Caroline Bowles (Writer and wife of Robert Southey)
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Charles Burrard (Naval Officer and artist)
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Harry Burrard Neale (18th and 19th Century Sailor/Admiral and MP)
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Warwick Collins (Novelist)
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Clare Francis (Novelist and Yachtswoman)
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Tom Johnstone (Smuggler)
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Henry Lyte (Curate and Hymn Writer)
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Jenni Murray (Broadcaster - used to live in Lymington)
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Coventry Patmore (Poet)
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Jonathan Raban (Writer - lived briefly on the outskirts of Lymington)
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Nick Rogers (Olympic Sailor)
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Ken Russell (film director lived in nearby village of East Boldre)
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Robert Southey (Writer and former Poet Laureate - author of 'The Three Bears')
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John Tutchin (17th Century Poet, Journalist and radical Whig)
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Dennis Wheatley (Writer)
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Russell Perrett (Luton Town Footballer)
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David Stride (ex Chelsea Footballer)
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Johnny Depp (Hollywood actor)
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Edward Burne Jones (Pre-Raphaelite Artist)
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Adair Crawford (18th Century Chemist, died in Lymington)
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Daniel Defoe (Writer)
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Celia Fiennes (Writer)
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Jane Goodall (The UK HQ for the Jane Goodall Institute was based in Lymington)
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William Morris (Artist)
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Thomas Rowlandson (Artist and Caricaturist)
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G. O. Smith (19th century footballer, died in Lymington)
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Alfred Lord Tennyson (Poet)
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George III (Monarch)
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Paul Verlaine (French Writer briefly taught in Lymington)
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James Wolfe (18th Century British General)
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Edward Gibbon (Author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire)
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Vitré (
France)
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Lymington dot com - Lymington's Magazine, Business Directory and Portal*
Sir Charles Burrard *
Sir Harry Burrard Neale Info*
Hampshire Local Pages (Lymington)*
Lymington Obelisk - memorial to Sir Harry Burrard Neale*
Smugglers Britain Website - includes long article on Lymington smuggler Tom Johnstone*
More from Smugglers Britain website*
Local Histories.org (Lymington)*
Lymington.org website*
New Forest Online (Guide to Lymington)*
Old Towns of England (Lymington)*
St Barbe Museum (Lymington)*
The two Lymingtons of Tasmania*
Lymington Workhouse*
Welcome to Lymington (Chamber of Commerce site)
