Lynmouth Park
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Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the
West Lyn The West Lyn is a river in England which rises high in Exmoor, Somerset, and joins the East Lyn at Lynmouth in Devon. The upper reaches have been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, because of the geomorphological landforms c ...
and
East Lyn The East Lyn is a river which rises high in Exmoor, in the English county of Somerset. It flows through the East Lyn Valley in Devon. Watercourse The river is formed as the Upper East Lyn at Malmsmead from two minor tributaries, the Oare Wa ...
rivers, in a
gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
below Lynton, which was the only place to expand to once Lynmouth became as built-up as possible. The villages are connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, which works two cable-connected cars by gravity, using water tanks. The two villages are a civil parish governed by Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council. The parish boundaries extend southwards from the coast, and include hamlets such as
Barbrook Barbrook is a village in Devon, England. It is close to the source of the West Lyn River The West Lyn is a river in England which rises high in Exmoor, Somerset, and joins the East Lyn at Lynmouth in Devon. The upper reaches have been desig ...
and small moorland settlements such as East Ilkerton, West Ilkerton and Shallowford. The
South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...
and Tarka Trail pass through, and the
Two Moors Way The Two Moors Way is a long-distance trail mostly in Devon, UK, first established in 1976. It links Dartmoor and Exmoor and has been extended to become a Devon Coast-to-Coast trail. History The Two Moors Way was the brainchild of Joe Turner ...
runs from Ivybridge in South Devon to Lynmouth; the
Samaritans Way South West Samaritans Way South West is a Long-distance footpath in South West England. It was officially opened on 21 April 2004 by the Ramblers Vice Chairman, the Samaritans (charity) Chief Executive and a farmer from Gloucestershire who headed the Farm ...
runs from Bristol to Lynton, and the
Coleridge Way The Coleridge Way is a long-distance trail in Somerset and Devon, England. It was opened in April 2005, and the route links several sites associated with the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge starting from Coleridge Cottage at Nether Stowey. Origi ...
from
Nether Stowey Nether Stowey is a large village in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills (England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), just below Over Stowey. The parish of Nether Stowey ...
to Lynmouth. Lynmouth was described by Thomas Gainsborough, who honeymooned there with his bride Margaret Burr, as "the most delightful place for a landscape painter this country can boast". The Sillery Sands beach is just off the
South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...
and is used by naturists.
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
, his wife Harriet and his sister-in-law Eliza stayed in Lynmouth between June and August 1812. Shelley worked on political pamphlets and on the poem "
Queen Mab Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', where "she is the fairies' midwife". Later, she appears in other poetry and literature, and in various guises in drama and cinema. In the play, her activity i ...
". He was delighted with the village.


Lynmouth Lifeboat

A lifeboat station was established in Lynmouth on 20 January 1869, five months after the sailing vessel ''Home'' was wrecked nearby. The lifeboat was kept in a shed on the beach, until a purpose-built boat house was built at the harbour. This was rebuilt in 1898 and enlarged in 1906–07. It was closed at the end of 1944 because other stations in the area could provide cover with their newer motor lifeboats. The boat house was then used as a club, but was washed away in the flood of 15 August 1952. It has since been rebuilt, and now includes a public shelter. At 7:52 pm on 12 January 1899, the 1,900 ton three-masted ship ''Forrest Hall'', carrying thirteen crew and five apprentices, was in trouble off Porlock Weir on the north Somerset coast, owing to a severe gale that had been blowing all day. She had been under tow, but the tow rope had broken. She was dragging her anchor and had lost her steering gear. The ship's destruction was probable. The alarm was raised for the ''Louisa'', the Lynmouth lifeboat, to be launched to assist. However, launching was impossible because of the terrible weather. Jack Crocombe, the coxswain of the ''Louisa'', proposed to take the boat by road to Porlock's sheltered harbour, around the coast, and launch it from there. The boat plus its carriage weighed about 10 tons, and transporting it would not be easy. 20 horses and 100 men started by hauling the boat up the 1 in 4 Countisbury Hill out of Lynmouth. Six of the men were sent ahead with picks and shovels to widen the road. The highest point is above sea level. After they had crossed the of wild Exmoor paths, they had to descend the dangerous Porlock Hill, with horses and men pulling ropes to stall the descent. During this, they had to demolish part of a garden wall and fell a large tree to make a way. The lifeboat reached Porlock Weir at 6:30 am, and was launched. Although cold, wet, hungry and exhausted, the crew rowed for over an hour in heavy seas to reach the stricken ''Forrest Hall'' and rescue the thirteen men and five apprentices with no casualties. However, four of the horses employed died of exhaustion. The ''Forrest Hall'' was towed into
Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
, Wale

The feat was immortalised in C Walter Hodges' 1969 children's historical novel ''The Overland Launch'', and was re-enacted 100 years after the event, in daylight, on today's much better roads.


1952 Lynmouth flood

On 15 and 16 August 1952, a storm of tropical intensity broke over South West England, depositing of rain within 24 hours on an already waterlogged Exmoor. It is thought that a cold front scooped up a thunderstorm, and the
orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discipl ...
effect worsened the storm. Debris-laden floodwaters cascaded down the northern escarpment of the moor, converging upon the village of Lynmouth. In particular, in the upper West Lyn valley, a dam was formed by fallen trees and other debris; this in due course gave way, sending a huge wave of water and debris down that river. The River Lyn through the town had been
culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...
ed in order to gain land for business premises; this culvert soon choked with flood debris, and the river flowed through the town. Much of the debris was boulders and trees. Overnight, over 100 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged along with 28 of the 31 bridges, and 38 cars were washed out to sea. In total, 34 people died and a further 420 were made homeless. Similar events had been recorded at Lynmouth in 1607 and 1796. After the 1952 disaster, the village was rebuilt, including diverting the river around the village. A
conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
has circulated that the 1952 flood was caused by secret
cloud seeding Cloud seeding is a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical p ...
experiments conducted by the RAF. Weather historian Philip Eden has described this theory as "preposterous". The small group of houses on the bank of the East Lyn River called Middleham, between Lynmouth and Watersmeet, was destroyed and never rebuilt. Today, a memorial garden stands on the site. A memorial hall dedicated to the disaster is on the front toward the harbour; it contains photographs, newspaper reports and a scale model of the village, showing how it looked before the flood. A further photo and information display is found in St John the Baptist parish church.


Twinning

The town of Lynton and Lynmouth is twinned with Bénouville in France.


Cultural references

In her poetical illustration ''Linmouth'', to an engraving of a painting by Thomas Allom, Letitia Elizabeth Landon describes the beauties of rural nature but ends with the words: 'Aye beautiful the dreaming brought By valleys and green fields; But deeper feeling, higher thought, Is what the city yields.' and in the footnote she speaks of her great love for London. Another of her poetical illustrations, again to a Thomas Allom picture but in a different vein, is The British technical modern rock band InMe make recurring references to the Lynton/Lynmouth area in their lyrical material. Lynton is mentioned in "In Loving Memory" on their third album ''
Daydream Anonymous ''Daydream Anonymous'' is the third studio album by InMe and was released on 10 September 2007. It is the first album to feature Greg McPherson (Dave's younger brother) on bass. Following the release the band got back out on tour starting at ...
'', and Lynmouth is mentioned in "Saccharine Arcadia" on '' Phoenix: The Very Best of InMe''. Lead singer Dave McPherson also has a song entitled "Sunny Lynton" on his EP ''
Crescent Summer Sessions InMe are an English rock band originally formed in Brentwood, Essex in 1996. InMe have released seven studio albums, two EPs, one "bootleg" album, one best-of compilation, one live album, one live EP and an acoustic album. A DVD of the band' ...
'' and refers to Watersmeet in "Waltzing in a Supermarket" on ''I Don't Do Requests''. The village of Hollow Bay in ''
The Secret of Crickley Hall ''The Secret of Crickley Hall'' is a 2006 supernatural thriller novel by the British writer James Herbert. Synopsis 2006 Gabe Caleigh, his wife Eve, and their children, Loren, Cameron and Cally, live in London. One day Cameron goes missing ...
'' by James Herbert is based on Lynmouth; Devil's Cleave is based on the East Lyn Valley and Watersmeet. The book brings together two stories, that of child evacuees during the Second World War and that of the 1952 flood disaster that devastated Lynmouth. Suzanne Goldring's novel ''The Girl Without a Name'' features a woman who disappears during the 1952 Lynmouth flood while on holiday with her married lover. Like ''The Secret of Crickley Hall'', part of the plot revolves around World War II child evacuees from London.


Transport

Lynmouth is served by the following bus services: *309/310 Lynton & Lynmouth - Barnstaple (Filers)


Sport

The Lynton & Lynmouth Cricket Club, founded in August 1876, meet at the
Valley of the Rocks The Valley of Rocks, sometimes called Valley of the Rocks, is a dry valley that runs parallel to the coast in north Devon, England, about to the west of the village of Lynton. It is a popular tourist destination, noted for its herd of fer ...
.


See also

*
List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom This is a list of natural disasters in the British Isles. See also *List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll *Climate of the United Kingdom *Geology of Great Britain *Geology of Ireland * Tsunamis affecting the British I ...
*
Myrtlebury Myrtlebury is an Iron Age enclosure or 'spur' hill fort situated close to Lynmouth in Devon, England. The fort is effectively the north east of a hillside forming a spur or promontory above the steep valley of the East Lyn The East Lyn i ...


Notes


References


External links

*
The Lynmouth Flood of 1952
– Exmoor National Park Authority account
Possible connections with cloud seeding
( BBC News, 30 August 2001)
On this day
16 August 1952 ( BBC News)
Lynmouth Foreland Lighthouse
{{authority control Exmoor Villages in Devon Seaside resorts in England Beaches of Devon Populated coastal places in Devon Ports and harbours of the Bristol Channel Lynton and Lynmouth Nude beaches