Today, 20-21 Coombe Street sits beside the River Lym overlooking Gosling Bridge as if centuries of change hasn’t bothered it.
To many passers-by it is simply another building in one of Lyme Regis’ oldest streets, yet beneath its modern appearance lies a story stretching back hundreds of years.
The original building that stood on this site survived Lyme’s devastating fire of 1803 and may even have had Elizabethan origins.
Although no longer standing, local historians believe it occupied a significant position in the town’s early history.
Dr Wyatt Wingrave, the first curator of Lyme Regis Museum, recorded that the building had once been used as a town hall during the 17th century.
While documentary proof has never been found, more recent research suggests Lyme’s earliest town hall may indeed have stood close to Gosling Bridge, which was once one of the main entrances into the town.
Of course, this was long before modern roads, where travellers arriving from inland would have crossed the bridge after following the packhorse route alongside the River Lym.
The section of today’s Coombe Street leading to the bridge from The Ship Inn was once known as ‘Horse Street’, a reflection of its importance as a thoroughfare for both traders and travellers and aptly named as hundreds of horses traversed this street every single day.
Adding further mystery to the story of 20-21 Coombe Street, local historian Gulielma Lister referred to the building as the ‘Old Hospital’ in her scrapbook.
Census records from the 19th century mention a property known as ‘Hospital’ in the vicinity, which suggests the site may have served more than one purpose during its long history.
By the early 20th century, the building had been divided into two properties, numbered 20 and 21 Coombe Street.
One resident of the property was retired mariner Robert Hodder, whose daughter Margaret ran a laundry business from the house while also taking in lodgers for boarding.
Several local families have lived there over the years but by the outbreak of the Second World War the building had fallen into serious disrepair.
Following the war, local builder Cecil Quick acquired the property and rebuilt it, and the structure seen today dates largely from that post-war reconstruction.
Years later, the building became associated with another chapter of Lyme’s commercial history when it was used by Quick’s business venture, Freezerland.
Freezerland became a popular local grocery and freezer-food store and while it is no longer operating today, it is fondly remembered by locals for serving the community as a go-to shop for frozen goods and groceries.
Cecil Quick was a prominent figure in the town. He was a well-known local builder for more than 30 years and a dedicated community leader who notably served as the president of the local branch of the Royal British Legion.
The story of 20-21 Coombe Street is fascinating, as with many of the town’s buildings, and although the original, possibly Elizabethan, building has long since disappeared, its story reflects the changing fortunes of the town itself.
From possible town hall and hospital to family home, laundry business and commercial premises, this modest riverside site has witnessed centuries of town life beside the waters of the Lym.
Did you know?
The stretch of Coombe Street between the Ship Inn and Gosling Bridge was once known as Horse Street, named after the packhorses that travelled through Lyme Regis carrying goods between the coast and inland Dorset.
Gosling Bridge was once a gateway to Lyme. Long before today’s roads, travellers crossed Gosling Bridge to enter the town.
The original building on the site survived Lyme Regis’ devastating Great Fire of 1803, which destroyed many properties elsewhere in the town.
Dr Wyatt Wingrave, the first curator of Lyme Regis Museum, recorded that the building had been used as a town hall during the 17th century, although never conclusively proven.
The building you see today is largely a post-war reconstruction by local builder Cecil Quick, but the history of the site beneath it could stretch all the way back to Elizabethan times.