Two quirky new additions

Lovely Lyme Regis (1930s) and Lyme Regis in the 1950s were both written by Jo Draper in her inimitably readable style in the early years of the 21st Century. Jo was employed in 1993 by the Museum as cataloguer prior to the building works of the mid-nineties, then became consultant curator until her retirement in 2008. (More details are given in this obituary written by Max Hebditch). In Lovely Lyme Regis (1930s),Jo compares the rather harsher reality as demonstrated in Council Minutes and other contemporary documents with the somewhat flowery language used in Lyme's promotional publications. Despite her light and sometimes humerous style, Jo's research is as meticulous as ever. Lyme Regis in the 1950s continues the theme of actual facts versus some of the articles being written about Lyme (whose charms were already being sung by the Sunday Times in 1950!) but also chronicles some of the lucky escapes Lyme had had from various scary modernisation proposals. Do dip in to these anything-but-dry booklets.

Missing the Regent Cinema?

These monthly programmes listing all the films shown there between July 1948 and December 1955 might make you feel worse, reminding you just how lucky Lyme was to have such up-to-date films each week...........but they are also interesting in their own right. A real glimpse into popular culture post WWII.

Glimpses inside Lyme homes in the 1880s

Once again, Sun Insurance documents, this time from October 1880 to June 1895, offer intriguing insights into the lives of some of those living in Lyme at the time. As well as giving the name and occupation, these records give the address and list those contents which are to be insured. There appear to be a surprising number of spinsters, and an even more surprising number of owners of "mathematical and philosophical instruments and apparatus." Apparently "philosophical" covered what would now be called "scientific", a term which was only just coming into use at the time. The whole term covered a very wide range of items, from clocks, watches, spectacles and thermometers through magic lanterns, barometers and basic telescopes to very complicated research instruments.