Lymington

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Template:GBdot Image:Lymington.jpg 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.

1 History
2 Lymington in Fiction
3 Sailing
4 Leisure Amenities
5 Transport Links
6 Nearby Towns and Villages
7 Famous Lymingtonians
8 Famous Visitors
9 Famous MP
10 Twin Towns
11 Links

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History

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.

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Lymington in Fiction

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.

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Sailing

Lymington 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.

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Leisure Amenities

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 and riding.

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Transport Links

Image:LymingtonTownStation.jpg The town in 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.

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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