Lyme Regis, Dorset : Historical writing

Descriptive gazetteer entries

These other entries in our collection of descriptive gazetteers are also about Lyme Regis. You may be able to find further references to Lyme Regis in the descriptive gazetteers by doing a full-text search here.

Place Type of entry Source
Lyme Regis municipal borough Bartholomew
LYME-REGIS a town and a parish Imperial
LYME (THE) a rivulet Imperial

This additional information from our descriptive gazetteers is for locations within the parish or parishes associated with Lyme Regis.

Place Type of entry Source
COLWAY a tything Imperial

Travel writing

This website includes the complete texts of books describing journeys around Britain, written between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries. Selecting one of the links below will take you to the first reference to Lyme Regis within the selected text. This will not always be a description of a visit: travellers often mention places other than where they are, for example as a basis for comparison.

Traveller Section No. of Refs.
Celia Fiennes Wiltshire and Dorset 5
Daniel Defoe Letter 3, Part 2: Salisbury and Dorset 2
William Camden Dorset and Somerset 1
Daniel Defoe Letter 13, Part 1: Fife and Perth 1
Daniel Defoe Letter 13, Part 2: Dundee, Aberdeen and the Highlands 1
Celia Fiennes 1697 Tour: Hull to Chatsworth 1
Celia Fiennes 1698 Tour: Exeter to London 1

This website includes two large libraries, of historical travel writing and of entries from nineteenth century gazetteers describing places. We have text from these sources available for these places near your location:

Place Mentioned in Travel Writing Mentioned in Historical Gazetteer
Middle Mill 0 1
Uplyme 0 2
Charmouth 1 2
Monkton Wyld 0 1
Catherston Leweston 0 2
Wootton Fitzpaine 0 2
Combpyne 0 2
Stanton St Gabriel 0 2
Rousdon 0 3
Whitechurch Canonicorum 0 3
Musbury 0 2
Axmouth 0 2
Axminster 9 3
Ashe 0 2
Lambarts Castle 0 2
Hawkchurch 0 2
Chideock 0 2
Marshwood 0 2
Whitford 0 2
Colyford 0 2

Names from historical writing

The following appear as names for Lyme Regis. Follow the links for what the author actually said:

Name Author Source
LIME William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).
Daniel Defoe A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies (London: JM Dent and Co, 1927).
Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
LYME John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
LYME REGIS John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
LYME THE John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
THE LYME John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).

NB: These variant names come from our collections of historical travel writing and descriptive gazetteers:

  • The above links take you to the first reference to this particular version of the name within a book of travel writing, or to the relevant gazetteer entry.
  • Some names may derive from research by antiquarian writers such as William Camden and Thomas Pennant into the Roman, Saxon and medieval names of places. Their claims are not always supported by modern place-name researchers.
  • References by travel writers to the place using its "normal" name are not included. Descriptive gazetteer entries are included only if the name does not appear anywhere else.