In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Lynmouth like this:
LINMOUTH, or LYNMOUTH, a village in Linton parish, Devon; on a small bay of the Bristol channel, at the mouth of the rivers East Lyn and West Lyn, 18 miles NE of Barnstaple. It is a beautiful and romantic place; is frequented for sea-bathing; and has a post office under Barnstaple, a hotel, salt-water baths, and excellent lodging-houses. ...
Munch of the older portion of it was overwhelmed and destroyed, in 1607, during a gale at spring tide. The bold promontory, called CountesburyForeland, flanks the E side of its bay; precipitous hills, falling abruptly to the water's edge, from a height of about 1,300 feet, are all around; and a highly romantic tract, comprising wild ridges, towering crags, subalpine valleys, and impetuous streams, and merging into Exmoor, forms the environs. Southey pronounces Linmouth the finest spot he ever saw, except Cintra and the Arrabida; and says, respecting its two rivers,-" Each of these flows down a combe, rolling down over huge stones like a long waterfall; and, immediately at their junction, they enter the sea, and the rivers and the sea make but one sound of uproar. Of these combes, the one is richly wooded,-the other runs between two high, bare, stony hills. From the hill between the two is a prospect most magnificent; on either hand combes, and the river before the little village, -the beautiful little Village. Ascending from Linmonth up a road of serpentining perpendicularity, yon reach a lane which, by a slight-descent, leads to the Valley of Stones, a spot which is one of the greatest wonders in the west of England, and would attract many visitors if the woods were passable by carriages." The streams afford prime angling; and the adjacent sea yields oysters and good fish.
Lynmouth through time
Lynmouth is now part of North Devon district. Click here for graphs and data of how North Devon has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Lynmouth itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Lynmouth in North Devon | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20364
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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