ld april may

4
ASPECTS OF LYMINGTON
In a regular series Aspects of Lymington, Ray
Mayes provides a miscellany of views of
Lymington – its people, buildings, history and
development, and relationship to the coast and
the New Forest. This month he writes on what
road names can tell us about Lymington’s
history.
More stories from
Lymington’s road names
We can learn a lot about Lymington from its
road names such as its history and development
over time. The names of people or notable
events that have made an impact on our town
or influenced its growth are often
commemorated in a street name.
The name doesn’t necessarily need to be
famous today. A name that may once have been
notable may have become unrecognisable over
the passage of time. I said last month that the
origins of Daniells Walk were unclear to me. One
kind reader has pointed out that this is a
reference to Ralph
Allan Daniell (died
1849), the owner of
Fairfield House on what
was once part of the
substantial Fairfield
estate, one of the
former large estates
that dominated much of the area until the
middle of the last century.
My further meanderings this month include
some past Lymington people; a rapid run
through our charter history; and how the town
once celebrated peace with Russia.
People
The recent development Rashley Mews
commemorates the 19th century building firm
Rashley and Co., founded in 1859 with premises
in the High Street. Another court off the high
Street, Earley Court brings to mind Mrs Martha
Earley, whose munificence in her 1910 Will
enabled an impressive Town Hall building to be
built at 117-118 High Street, sadly replaced in
the 1960’s by the mundane Earley Court street
frontage. John Howlett is a name familiar to
many people and is immortalised in Howlett
largest employer and dominated the social and
economic life of the town for much of the last
century.
Charter origins of Courtenay Place
Going back a few centuries, the origins of
Courtenay Place can be found in Lymington’s
medieval development brought about by the
granting of charters.
During the period of
Lymington’s originating
charters, the town
changed from its
earliest original
quayside settlement
into initially ‘Old
Lymington’ and then
later added an area called ‘New Lymington’ to
become what we know as the Lymington today.
Lymington’s first charter, dating from about
1200, was granted by William de Redvers 5th
Earl of Devon. In 1256 Baldwin de Redvers 7th
Earl of Devon confirmed the terms and
conditions of this original charter. In 1271
Isabella de Fortibus (the last direct descendant
of the de Redvers line) granted a further charter.
Finally, in 1405 a third medieval charter was
granted to Lymington by Edward Courtenay
11th Earl of Devon, confirming the terms of
Isabella’s charter.
A cannon from Crimea
In May 1856,
Lymington celebrated
the welcome news of
peace with Russia after
the Crimean War (1853
-1856), the military conflict in which Russia lost
to an alliance of the United Kingdom, France,
the Ottoman Empire and Piedmont-Sardinia. In
January 1858 the town was gifted a captured
Russian cannon to celebrate.
Ray Mayes is the author of leaflets on Historic
Lymington (three town trail walks) and the Blue
Close. Howlett was the founder of Wellworthy,
Plaques Trail (describing the stories behind the
the engineering To advertise group email: that info@lymingtondirectory.co.uk, became Lymington’s or call 01590 town’s 643969 13 Blue / 07801 Plaques). 562358