Lyme Regis

Seaport and resort in Dorset, southern England; population (2001) 3,500. Tourism and fishing are the main industries, but employment in information technology is increasingly important. The town was formerly a major port, and the rebel Duke of Monmouth, claimant to the English crown, landed here in 1685. The Cobb (a massive stone pier) features in Jane Austen's Persuasion (1818) and John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969).

The Lias (Lower Jurassic) rocks nearby are rich in fossils and have yielded remains of ichthyosaur and plesiosaur dinosaurs. The first ichthyosaur was found by Mary Anning in 1811; and in 1995 the fossilized end of an ichthyosaur's body and tail was recovered, containing petrified traces of soft tissues, including the outline of the tail fin.

History The Cobb was first mentioned in the mid-13th century, when it formed an artificial harbour. Edward I gave Lyme Regis its charter in 1284 and it was incorporated by Elizabeth I. The port's most prosperous historical period was between 1500 and 1700 when trade flourished with the Mediterranean, West Indies, and Americas; even as late as 1780 it was larger than the port of Liverpool. During the English Civil War Lyme Regis withstood a Royalist siege, and 23 rebels were later hung and quartered on the beach.

The philanthropist Thomas Coram, founder of the Foundling Hospital in London, was born here in 1668.