The Siege of Lyme
Mary Tudor called Lyme 'that heretic town' and stopped an annual grant for maintenance of the Cobb. The town seems often to have been a thorn in the side of sovereigns: certainly it had a reputation for radical thinking on religious as well as political matters.
So it’s no surprise to find Lyme stoutly defending itself again in 1644 against the army of Prince Maurice, nephew of King Charles I. Lyme was staunchly Parliamentarian.
The defence of Lyme was organised by Colonel (later Admiral) Robert Blake and the women of the town played an important part by helping to dig trenches, man earthworks and load muskets.
The brave defence was crucially supported from the sea, and after a five-week siege from April till June, Prince Maurice withdrew after heavy losses, defeated by 'this little vile fishing town defended by a small dry ditch'.
Rebellion
When in 1685 James, Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II, sailed from Holland with the purpose of claiming the throne from his Catholic uncle James II, he chose Lyme as his landing place because of its Protestant sympathies. He landed on 11 June 1685, collected an army of volunteers, and began to march towards London.
His untrained army, some 3,000 strong, was defeated at Sedgemoor near Taunton on 5 July. The Government sent the Lord Chief Justice, Baron Jeffreys, to make sharp retribution: in the Bloody Assizes which followed, hundreds were condemned to death or transportation. Ninety-nine men from Lyme were arrested, and twelve of them were executed at Lyme on the beach where Monmouth had landed.
Image: Carved head-board from the bed slept in by the Duke of Monmouth when he landed at Lyme Regis to claim the throne in 1685. Copyright: Lyme Regis Museum.
Lyme Regis Museum’s exhibits on these subjects include a superb carved bed head from the bed slept in by the Duke of Monmouth when he landed at Lyme Regis in order to claim the throne from James II in 1685; and a cannonball from the Siege of Lyme.
Other interesting exhibits include a pamphlet from June 1644 from the Earl of Warwick to the speaker of the house of 'peeres' (Lords) describing how he arrived by sea to help support the town; a portrait of Lord Chief Justice Baron Jeffreys (Judge Jeffreys) who was sent down from London for the bloody assizes in 1685; and a Commonplace book containing a diary by Edward Drake, who witnessed the Siege of Lyme.
Further information
More information on the Lyme Regis Museum, including admission prices and visiting times, is available on the Lyme Regis Museum website
Image at page top: A Commonplace book containing a diary by Edward Drake, who witnessed the Siege of Lyme. Copyright: Lyme Regis Museum.