Lydney

Lydney is a town and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is on the west bank of the River Severn, in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester as the crow flies. The town has been bypassed since 1995 by the A48 road. The population was about 8,960 in the 2001 census,[1] reducing to 8,766 at the 2011 census.[2]

Lydney
Newerne Street, Lydney
Lydney Location within Gloucestershire
Population	8,766
OS grid reference	SO634032
Civil parish	Lydney
District	Forest of Dean
Shire county	Gloucestershire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LYDNEY
Postcode district	GL15
Dialling code	01594
Police	Gloucestershire
Fire	Gloucestershire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Forest of Dean

Railway lines in Lydney
For canal icons used below, please refer to waterways legend. Dean Forest Railway Severn and Wye Railway Mineral Loop Princess Royal Colliery Tufts Junction Tinworks Tufts Bridge Norchard High Level Norchard Low Level Engine Shed Middle Forge Junction Lydney Town St Mary's Halt Lydney Junction Severn Bridge Tunnel Severn Bridge Lydney Gloucester–Newport line Lydney Harbour Branch Pidcock's Canal Severn Railway Bridge (Dismantled 1970) Forges Lydney Canal Lower Docks Upper Docks River Severn Swing bridge over Gloucester & Sharpness Canal Locks onto River Severn River Severn Severn Bridge Railway

Lydney has a harbour on the Severn, created when the Lydney Canal was built. Adjoining the town, Lydney Park gardens have a Roman temple dedicated to Nodens.

History

St Mary's Church, Lydney

In the Iron Age a promontory fort was established at Lydney Park and later used for iron ore mining. In the late Roman period, a Roman temple to Nodens was built on the site of the fort.

In 1588 the Vice-Admiral of England Sir William Winter was granted the manor of Lydney in recognition of his services against the Spanish Armada.[3] In 1723 the Winter family sold their Lydney estate to the Bathurst family[3]

In 1810, docks were constructed to capitalise on the town's location, close to the River Severn. The River Lyd flows through the town and into the Severn.

In 1935, Charles Bathurst was created Viscount Bledisloe of Lydney upon his retirement as Governor-General of New Zealand.

On 31 August 1962, the Beatles played at Lydney Town Hall[4][5]

The Lydney Murder, 1964

In 1964 the town was the site of the Lydney Murder, a significant case in the history of the use of entomology to assist criminal investigations.[6][7][8] On 28 June 1964 a body was found in woods near Bracknell. By studying the maggots found on the body, forensic entomologist Professor Keith Simpson was able to establish a date of death of around 16 June 1964. Missing persons records for that date led the police to believe that the body was that of Peter Thomas, who had gone missing from his home in Lydney. Fingerprints confirmed the identification. William Brittle, a business partner of Peter Thomas, was convicted of the murder. The Lydney Murder was the subject of an episode of the Discovery Channel documentary: "Crime Museum UK with Martin Kemp".

Transport

The Severn Railway Bridge crossed just north of Lydney from Purton to Sharpness on the eastern bank. Built in the 1870s, it was damaged beyond repair by a pair of oil tanker barges in 1960. The barges hit Pier 17 bringing down two bowstring girders. There have been several plans to renew the link.[9]

Lydney railway station, run by Transport for Wales which serves the town, is located on the Gloucester to Newport Line, with connections from the town centre by the Dean Forest Railway. Lydney Canal was once an important harbour for shipping timber, coal and iron from the Forest of Dean. It is now a harbour for pleasure craft.

A map of Lydney from 1946

The original name of Mumford Body & Engineering Company Limited was changed to Lydney Coachworks Limited in 1947 to continue bus bodybuilding work. Orders came mainly from local companies such as Red & White, United Welsh and Newbury & District plus a surprise order from Leigh Corporation in Lancashire. After only a short time the coachworks closed down in March 1952, the uncompleted orders being transferred to Bristol TCC and Eastern Coach Works.

Government and politics

Lydney is covered by a three-tier system of local government. The upper authority is Gloucestershire County Council which is based in Shire Hall, Gloucester. The second tier being Forest of Dean District Council, based in Coleford which is a non-metropolitan district council.

The lowest tier of local government is Lydney Town Council which covers an area of approximately 8 square miles. The council was awarded "Quality Gold" standard in September 2015[10] in a national award scheme for local councils.

Secondary education

• Lydney Grammar School (1903–1973)
• Whitecross School (1973–2012)
• The Dean Academy (2012 to present)

Sport, recreation and arts

The town's rugby football club plays rugby union and is based at Regentsholme. The club had successful runs in the John Player Cup during the 1980s, including a match against Sale F.C. which was televised on the BBC's Rugby Special. There is also a leisure centre which contains an indoor swimming pool, a gym and more.

Cricket is also popular within Lydney, with the local side running three teams in various leagues, as well as having a popular social scene located within the club. Former Glamorgan captain and England opening batsman Steve James began his career at the club. Lydney was also the first English club of England wicket-keeper Geraint Jones.

Lydney has an outdoor swimming pool, the Bathurst Swimming Pool built in the 1920s, open from May until early September. It is operated by volunteers (excluding the life guards).

Lydney Town F.C. is based at the town's recreation ground, they run a total of 4 sides playing Hellenic Football League, Gloucestershire Northern Senior League and 2 sides in the North Gloucestershire Football League.

Lydney Hockey Club (Field Hockey) and Lyndean Netball Club play their home games at Whitecross School.

Freedom Leisure Lydney is located at the Dean Academy, the local secondary school.

Lydney Golf Club was a nine-hole course located off Lakeside Avenue. The club has built a new course on a site located on the opposite side of the Lydney Bypass.[11]

Lydney Twonkers Scrabble Club play their home games at the town's library. The Twonkers were Western Area Scrabble League champions in 2001 and 2005 and were twice runners-up in the National Scrabble Club Knockout Tournament in 1999[12] and 2003.

Bathurst Park in the centre of the town (not to be confused with Lydney Park on the town's outskirts) is home to several senior and junior football and cricket teams.

Lydney Town Band operates as a non-competitive training band.

Lydney parkrun started on 2 January 2016 - the free 5k timed weekly run, starts near to the garage block at Lydney Boating Lake and comprises three laps.[13]

Tourism

• Norchard railway station is the home of the Dean Forest Railway[14]
• Lydney Park is the site of a Romano-British Roman Temple and was an Iron Age hillfort. It also has gardens which are open to the public for a limited period each spring.
• Taurus Crafts, which also occupies a section of the Lydney Park estate, is a Camphill community and popular visitor destination comprising a variety of craft shops and café.

Twinned towns

• Bréhal, Manche, northwest France

Organisations

• 614 (Lydney) Squadron Air Training Corps
• 586 (Lydney) Sea Cadet Corps[15]
• Lydney and District Dramatic Society

Notable people

• Charles Bathurst, Lord Bledisloe (1867-1958), Governor-General of New Zealand from 1930 to 1935, who became Viscount Bledisloe of Lydney in 1935
• Christopher Herbert (1944- ), Bishop of St Albans from 1996 to 2009
• Herbert Howells (1892-1983), composer
• Steve James, England cricketer and captain of Glamorgan CCC
• Lisa Rogers, television presenter
• Sir William Winter (died 1589), Vice-Admiral of Queen Elizabeth I
• Sir John Winter (died 1676), grandson of William, and prominent royalist during the English Civil War
• Andy Lewis, Rio 2016 Paralympic Triathlon Gold Medalist

See also

• Lydney power station

References

1. "Neighbourhood Statistics for Lydney". Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
2. "Town population 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2015". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
3. "Tudors and Stuarts". Archived from the original on 18 October 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2006.
4. http://www.macca-central.com Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Lydney Town Hall". Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
6. discoverychannel.co.uk
7. quincy.ca Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
8. "derekbentley.com". Archived from the original on 23 June 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
9. Cork, Tristan (1 February 2018). "Plans for a third Severn bridge unveiled". Bristol Live. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
10. "Town council joins 'gold' club". Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Review. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
11. "Lydney golfers move into new home". The Forester. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
12. http://archive.thisisbradford.co.uk
13. "Lydney". Park run. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
14. deanforestrailway.co.uk Archived 6 May 2003 at the Wayback Machine
15. "TS Royal Forest – The Forest of Dean Sea Cadets". Sea Cadets. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

External links

• Information from the Royal Forest of Dean website.
• Lydney Grammar School – History site
• Whitecross School – Official site
• Dean Forest Railway
• Historic pictures of the Lydney and area.
• British History page for Lydney
• Roman-Britain.org page for Lydney Park Temple Complex
• Photos of Lydney and area on Geograph