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.

Today's Additions to the Archive

Two more files have been added today. Firstly a valuable resource for anyone even remotely interested in parish churches: Richard Wells, a long-standing member of the Museum's Research Team, has taken very clear photographs to illustrate a complete interior inventory of Lyme Regis' Parish Church, St Michael the Archangel. The inventory itself is based on that made by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments in 1952 (with permission from Historic England.)

Secondly, a timeline of the life of Molly Raison, a member of the well-known Wiscombe family, based on her recollections as given to Graham Davies in 2006, plus additional background research.