Lydd Kent - (The Cathedral of the Marsh) - a small English Town (UK)


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50°57'N
0°54'E

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Lydd
(The Cathedral of the Marsh)

Origin of Village Name

Lydd is derived from the Anglo Saxon with two possible derivations Hlid eg(Gate Island - possibly meaning the entrance to the Rother / Limen) or Hlida(a ford - possibly the shallow estuary at the mouth of the Rother / Limen ).

General Details

Lydd lies in the middle of Romney Marsh between Dungeness and Appledore .

Originally on the coast it was a famous port and fishing town lying on an island on the opposite side of the estuary of the river Rother to New Romney . Lydd was founded on an island in the marshes by the Saxons and was known as Hylda .

Edward I in the Cinque Ports charter gave the rights to Lydd so that it shared taxes with New Romney on the catches of fish landed in the area.

The stonework of All Saints church was started by the Saxons, and some of this original stonework is still visible by the font. The wealth of Lydd enabled the church to be enlarged until it is now the largest of the churches on the Romney Marsh and is known as the Cathedral of the Marshes . The church tower was raised to 132ft high by Cardinal Wolsey in the 15th century.

In 1287 the Great Storm hit the channel and blocked the mouth of the Rother, changing its course to run south from Appledore to Rye . This change turned the harbour at Lydd into farmland and marsh, and destroyed its main claim to fame.

As the land grew around the island so the fishermen moved with it to the sea, today at Lydd on Sea about 3 miles south.

Smuggling was rife in the area and Lydd was no exception with most of the population being either involved with fishing or smuggling or both until the mid 1800's.

During the late 1800's the land to the west of the town was taken over by the military and became Lydd Ranges, where tank and weapon designs were tested and proven. In 1888 the camp became the testing ground for Lyddite a picric acid based high explosive, the name came from its first testing ground.

The land is still in use today by the Army for tactical and light weapon training.

All Saints at Lydd is one of those churches supported by the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust .

Services

Lydd is a small town with small town services.

Its nearest major shopping centre is at Rye about 8 miles north west, and this is also where the nearest trains can be caught.

Lydd Museum is well worth a visit for its wealth of old photographs and local artifacts,

Views

The centre of Lydd is very pretty with its old buildings and roads.

The church is enormous for a marshland church showing that the island on which the town once stood was well founded.

All around the town is the flat landscape of the Romney Marsh . The west consists mainly of shingle and the east rich farmland.

Page Last Updated: 18:28 - 11/02/2010
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