IChurch · listed 1952Parish Church of St MichaelPhoto: Jim · CC BY 2.0
Parish Church of St Michael · Photo: Jim · CC BY 2.0A+History Grade
History of Lyme Regis · Historic England
209 listed buildings, 5 of them Grade I
On the Historic England list, all of them stand inside Lyme Regis’s built-up area, 559 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. 24% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 12 of its listed buildings and 1 old view of the town. Lyme Regis grades A+ for history: #4 of 30 in Dorset.
Listed buildings
209
559 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
5
exceptional interest
Grade II*
5
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
1
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
24%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Lyme Regis in 13 photos and old views
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed, and the town before 1950. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Buddle BridgeGrade I listed
The Cobb Piers and Walls Including North WallGrade I listed
Town Mills, Mill HouseGrade II listed
Rock Point HotelGrade II listed
Guildhall CottageGrade II listed+8See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.
Through time
Lyme Regis in old photos
1 old photo or postcard, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
c. 1797Public domain, from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server. Each credit opens the image’s page with its full description and history.
The map
Where Lyme Regis’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Grade IGrade II*Scheduled monument400 m from Bridge 15 Yards North East of Buddle Bridge
4 of 5Grade I buildings stand within 400 m of Bridge 15 Yards North East of Buddle Bridge, a five-minute walk. So do 149 of the 209 listed buildings.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
209 listed buildings by grade
5 Grade I5 Grade II*199 Grade II
Historic England lists buildings in three grades: Grade I for buildings of exceptional interest (about 2.5% of all listed buildings), Grade II* for particularly important buildings of more than special interest (about 5.8%), and Grade II for buildings of special interest (about 91.7%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.
Every entry on the National Heritage List for England whose point lies inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings.
Grade I
The 5 Grade I listed buildings in Lyme Regis
Buildings of exceptional interest, about 2.5% of all listed buildings; 4 of these stand within 400 m of Bridge 15 Yards North East of Buddle Bridge. 4 are photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
IWalls & gates · listed 1952Buddle BridgePhoto: Chris Talbot · CC BY-SA 2.0
IWalls & gates · listed 1952The Cobb Piers and Walls Including North WallPhoto: Chris Eaton · CC BY-SA 2.0
IWalls & gates · listed 1974Congregational Church Forecourt Wall at Congregational ChurchPhoto: Nilfanion · CC BY-SA 4.0
Walls & gates · listed 1952Bridge 15 Yards North East of Buddle Bridge
Grade II*
The 5 Grade II* listed buildings in Lyme Regis
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Every one is photographed.
II*House · listed 1953BelmontPhoto: Ballista · CC BY-SA 3.0
II*Church · listed 1974Roman Catholic Church of St Michael and St George. Presbytery.Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*House · listed 1952Shelby HousePhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*Public · listed 1952The GuildhallPhoto: Simon Harriyott from Uckfield, England · CC BY 2.0
II*Walls & gates · listed 1974Upper Cobb HouseOn the list as Upper Cobb House and pedestrian gatePhoto: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0
Historic streets
Broad Street has the most listed buildings
Streets by the listed entries with an address on them. One entry can be a whole terrace, so long rows count once.
Broad Street20 listed
Coombe Street14 listed
Church Street10 listed
Monmouth Street6 listed
Sherborne Lane5 listed
Of the 209 entries, 67 are named by a street address; the rest are named buildings such as churches, halls and bridges.
What’s protected
Most of Lyme Regis’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas152
Walls, gates & bridges23
Inns, shops & warehouses20
Public & civic buildings6
Churches, chapels & priories5
Street furniture3
152 entries (73%) are houses, terraces and villas. 5 are churches, chapels and priories, including 1 of the 5 Grade I buildings.
Buildings are sorted by words in each entry’s name (church, gate, inn, memorial…): the list’s open data has no building type. An entry named only by its address counts as a house.
Grade II
199 Grade II listed buildings
Most listed buildings are in this grade, which covers buildings of special interest. Open any building to read its official list entry.
The first 150 of 199 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Alcove CafeAlexandra CottageAlison's CottageApple Tree CottageArgyleBay Cottage Premises Occupied by Jane's Cafe Royal Standard Public HouseBeach House CafeBell Cliff Retaining Wall and Railings and Steps Leading Up to Nos. 7 and 8 Broad StreetBenwick Cottage Harville Cottage Little Madeira Madeira CottageBoundary walls to the Leper's WellBradford House Newhaven HotelBraeside Spring CottagesBuildings on the Cobb Pier Occupied by Lyme Regis Sailing ClubBurleyBurton House St Agnes and OribiCharles Greenham, Butcher Nos 34 and 35, Including Premises of Charles Greenham, ButcherChurch ViewChurchyard Wall and RailingsClappentailCobb Cottage CourageCobb House FlatsColway HouseCoram TowerCuckoo CottageCustoms HouseDolphin CottagesDorset HotelDorset HouseFermaineFormer Stable Block to Burley and the Old VicarageGarden Wall to North of Jordan HouseGarden Wall to Old Vicarage and Burley Along Silver StreetGarden Wall to South of Jordan HouseGarden Wall to West HillGarden Walls to Haye HouseGatesfieldGosling's BridgeGuildhall CottageGuildhall HouseHarbour View HillsideHarmony CottageHaye HouseHigh Cliff HotelHillcrest Ware CornerHolme CraigHome CottageHorn BridgeHotel AlexandraHotel Buena VistaHotel MiramarJordan HouseK6 Telephone Kiosk Outside Number 4 (Quality Corner) the Square, Broad StreetK6 Telephone Kiosk Outside Regent CinemaKenmoreKerryKersbrook CottageLansdowne HouseLibrary CottageLilac CotttageLily CottageLittle Park CottageLondon Inn Public HouseLong Entry FlatsLower WareLym Guest HouseLyme Regis Baptist ChurchMalabarMariner's HotelNO6, Including RailingsNo 47 (White House) Boundary Wall, Piers and Gate at No 47 White HouseNo 50, Including Rear RangeNorman HouseNorth Boundary Walls to Hotel Buena VistaNorth East Boundary Wall to Little Place Along Silver StreetNorth Garden Wall to RosehillNorth Part of Tudor House HotelNos 4 to 6 Including Front Retaining WallOakley HouseOld LynchOld Police StationPackway WestfieldPeek Memorial ChapelPilot Boat HotelPortland LodgePortland ViewPremises Occupied by the Information BureauRaymond HouseRear Ranges at Nos 59 and 60 Royal Lion HotelRegent CinemaRock Point HotelRose CottageRosehillSea Walls at Gun CliffSeaviewShamien HotelSherborne BuildingsSherborne LodgeShire EndSilverleighSouth Part of Tudor House HotelSpringfieldStile House HotelSummerhouse at Upper Cobb HouseSundialTemple HouseThe Arched House the Conservative ClubThe Langmoor Wall and Railings at No 1The LawnThe Lepers' WellThe Little PlaceThe Monmouth HotelThe MuseumThe NestThe Old Bonded Store Flats and Shops BeneathThe Old VicarageThe Old Watch HouseTheos CottageThree Cups HotelTivoli CottageTown Mills, Mill HouseTudor CafeUmbrella CottageUndercliffValentine CottageVolunteer Inn Public HouseWall to Stile House HotelWeaver's CottageWest HillWestfieldWhite LodgeWoodmeadWoodville1, Coombe Street1, Monmouth Street1-3, George's Court11, Church Street12, Cobb Road14 and 15, Pound Street15, Coombe Street16, Coombe Street17, Coombe Street18 and 19, Coombe Street19-21, Mill Green2, Broad Street2, Monmouth Street22 and 23, Broad Street22, 22A and 23, Sherborne Lane22-24, Church Street25, 25A and 26, Sherborne Lane25, Church Street
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 16% of Lyme Regis
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Lyme Regis32 ha
32 hain conservation areas, of 200 ha inside the built-up area.
193 of the 209 listed buildings stand in one.
Historic England’s conservation areas layer, supplied by councils (incomplete in places, so a page fact, never graded). Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.
How the list grew
More than half of Lyme Regis’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1974
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1974 · 1431952 · 58
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 58 entries were listed in 1952, 4 of the 5 Grade I buildings among them. 143 came in 1974, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 1 has been added in the last 15 years.
Monuments & landscapes
Monuments, parks and gardens
Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.
World Heritage
| Dorset and East Devon CoastUNESCO World Heritage Site: the town touches its mapped area, which can include a buffer zone |
1 scheduled monument
Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Secretary of State, advised by Historic England.
History Grade
Lyme Regis grades A+ for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.
Protected heritage, for its size and in all (226 points, 604 per 10,000 residents)More than 96% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (24%)More than 71% of UK towns
Two measures, each ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, with protected heritage counting twice as much as the age of homes. Protected heritage counts each listed building by its grade (Grade I three points, II* two, II one), each scheduled monument and battlefield two, and each registered park or garden by its grade; it is ranked both per 10,000 residents and as a total, so a village with one fine church doesn’t outrank a historic city. The second measure is the share of homes built before 1919, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records. History is a character grade: it describes the town and isn’t part of the overall grade.
Homes by age
24% of Lyme Regis’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
22%
Before 1900
1.6%
1900–18
6.9%
1919–29
6.9%
1930s
10%
1945–54
6.5%
1955–64
6.9%
1965–72
8.6%
1973–82
6.9%
1983–92
5.7%
1993–99
6.5%
2000–08
2.9%
2009–15
8.2%
2016–25
Lyme RegisEngland & Wales
22% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1945–54, which added 10% of today’s homes.
Valuation Office Agency, council tax stock of properties by build period, 31 March 2025, for the neighbourhoods (LSOAs) that make up the town, split by where their residents live. Homes with no recorded build period (30 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Born here
9 notable people born in Lyme Regis before 1900
Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
George Somers
Thomas Larkham
Thomas Coram
Mary Anning
John Gould
Eliza Grey
Percy Gilchrist
George Elers
Bessie Bangay
155016001650170017501800185019001950
Mary Anning1799–1847 · British fossil collector and palaeontologist (1799–1847)
John Gould1804–1881 · English ornithologist (1804–1881)
Thomas Coram1668–1751 · English sea captain and philanthropist
George Somers1554–1610 · 16th/17th-century English admiral
PG
Percy Gilchrist1851–1935 · British chemist (1851–1935)
GE
George Elers1867–1927 · Cricketer (1867-1927)
Eliza Grey1823–1898 · British botanical collector and wife of a colonial politician (1822-1…
Thomas Larkham1602–1669 · American minister
Everyone born in Lyme Regis → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Lyme Regis has the 11th most Grade I buildings of 1,093 towns its size
Places of 2,000–6,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Lyme Regis5
#12 of 1,093for listed buildings per resident (559 per 10,000). Sandwich, Tenby and Dolgellau lead.
Only Melbourne, Sandwich, Dartmouth, West Malling, Thaxted, Wilton, Barnard Castle, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Clare and Repton have more. Lyme Regis is level with Battle, Tisbury and Coningsby and Tattershall. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Lyme Regis
In brief
Lyme Regis in brief
Few towns are as rich in listed heritage as Lyme Regis: per resident it has more than 96% of UK towns. In all there are 209 listed buildings, 5 of them Grade I, including Parish Church of St Michael. Its housing is old: 24% of homes date from before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. Only 10 of the 1,093 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
Broad Street alone has 20 listed buildings. A conservation area protects part of it. Of the whole list, 73% are houses, terraces and villas. The rest is about typical: it also has a scheduled monument.
Questions about Lyme Regis’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Lyme Regis?
Historic England lists 209 buildings inside Lyme Regis’s built-up area: 5 Grade I, 5 Grade II* and 199 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Lyme Regis?
5, including Bridge 15 Yards North East of Buddle Bridge, Buddle Bridge, Congregational Church Forecourt Wall at Congregational Church, Parish Church of St Michael and The Cobb Piers and Walls Including North Wall.
Which street in Lyme Regis has the most listed buildings?
Broad Street (20), Coombe Street (14) and Church Street (10) have the most listed entries named by an address. One entry can be a whole terrace.
Are there scheduled monuments in Lyme Regis?
Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Remains of bridge in cellar of No 2 Bridge Street.
Is Lyme Regis a World Heritage Site?
Part of Lyme Regis lies within the area Historic England maps for Dorset and East Devon Coast, which can include a buffer zone around the site itself.
How many conservation areas are there in Lyme Regis?
1, covering about 32 hectares of the town. The largest is Lyme Regis.
When were Lyme Regis’s buildings listed?
The first in 1952; the most, 143, in 1974.
Are there old photos of Lyme Regis?
Yes: 1 public-domain photo or postcard from 1797 to 1797, all on this page.
Who was born in Lyme Regis?
Among people born before 1900: Mary Anning (1799), John Gould (1804), Thomas Coram (1668), George Somers (1554) and Percy Gilchrist (1851).
How old are the homes in Lyme Regis?
24% of homes were built before 1919 and 38% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).
© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The National Heritage List for England is the official, up-to-date register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England; check an entry on Historic England’s website before relying on it.
Sources: Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only · Historic England conservation areas (supplied by local planning authorities; October 2026). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.