Some events as reported in 1857 are still very familiar today.

They may have been written 166 years ago but some of the news items relating to Lyme Regis extracted here from the Pulmans Weekly News of 1857 could have been written about events today: examples include the results of the summer Horticultural show and reports on the Annual Regatta and the boats wrecked in the harbour by an October gale. Other items are more of their time - for example, a house-to-house collection in aid of the "suffering English" only 5 months after the beginning of the Indian Mutiny, which shows the news spread at a surprising rate; and some are just bizarre, such as the report of a trout being caught in "the little stream opposite Mill Green. There were 5 mice in its stomach".

A curious source of information.........

.....but a very useful one. This file from the Records of the Sun Fire Office lists the people and buildings insured in Lyme Regis for 1788-93 . So not only can you see who owned/lived in certain streets at the time, but the occupations listed give a clear picture of life in the town at the time. Very much more self sufficient than now, the town had a plethora of brewers and wine merchants, a couple of bakers, grocers, a fisherman and many more supplying essential goods. Most interestingly, there is a glimpse of Lyme's long-gone connection with the wool trade with John Peckett a "woolstapler" (ie a dealer in wool) of Horse Street (today's Coombe Street), and possibly with Valentine Clark, narrow cloth maker, of Church Street.

On the site of Cloverdale Court Flats...

Back in 1931, the ground on which the current retirement flats stand was just a piece of land belonging to the Henley Estate. Then along came "Fred" Halliday with £500 in his pocket. Find out more about the history of this corner on Charmouth Road. The link also gives you access to the information so far uploaded about other streets and buildings in Lyme.