Lydney

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.7286
longitude= -2.5285
official_name= Lydney
constituency_westminster=
post_town=
postcode_district =
postcode_area=
dial_code=
os_grid_reference= SO6303
population= 8,960 (2001 Census)
shire_district= Forest of Dean
shire_county = Gloucestershire
region= South West England

Lydney is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire.

Location

It is located on the west bank of the River Severn, near the Forest of Dean, at gbmapping|SO634035. The town lies on the A48 road, next to the Lydney Park gardens, famous for its Roman temple in honour of Nodens. The Royal Mail postcode begins GL15.

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 an oil tanker in 1960. The tanker hit pier 17 bringing down 2 bow spring girders. There have been several plans to renew the link, most recently in the late 1990s as a millennium project.

Lydney Railway Station, 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.

Education

* Lydney Grammar School (1903 - 1973)
* Whitecross School 1973 - Present

port, Recreation and Arts

The town is famous for Lydney Rugby Football Club (Rugby Union), based at Regentsholme. The club enjoyed several 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.

Cricket is also popular within Lydney, with the local side running three teams in various leagues, as well as having an extremely popular social scene located within the club. [http://www.lydneycricketclub.org.uk/] . 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 town has an outdoor swimming pool open in the summer months.

Lydney Town F.C. is based at the town's recreation ground.

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

Whitecross Leisure Centre [http://www.fdean.gov.uk/content.asp?Language=&id=7245] is located at Whitecross School

Lydney Golf Club is a nine hole course located off Lakeside Avenue. Plans are in place for the club to relocate to a new site on the opposite side of the Lydney Bypass. [http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=138514&command=displayContent&sourceNode=138497&contentPK=14737882&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=filtersearch]

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 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 [http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/lydmetlydney/home_page2.htm]

Tourism

* Norchard railway station is the home of the Dean Forest Railway [http://www.deanforestrailway.co.uk/station_norchard.html]
* The Forest of Dean Model Village [http://www.forest-model-village.co.uk/] is located just outside Lydney. (Currently closed)
* Lydney Park is the site of a Romano-British Roman Temple and previously was an Iron Age hillfort. It also has gardens which are open to the public for a limited period each spring.

Twinned Towns

* Bréhal, Manche, N/W France

Organisations

* 614 (Lydney) Squadron Air Training Corps

Notable people

* Christopher Herbert - Bishop of St Albans
* Herbert Howells - Composer
* Steve James (cricketer) - Former England International Cricketer and Captain of Glamorgan CCC

History

* British Iron Age - promontory fort established at Lydney Park.
* Early Roman period - the fort is used for iron ore mining.
* Late Roman period - a Roman temple to Nodens is built on the site of the fort.
* 1588 - Vice-Admiral of England Sir William Wintour was granted the manor of Lydney in recognition of his services against the Spanish Armada. [http://www.fweb.org.uk/dean/deanhist/tudor.htm]
* 1723 - The Wintour family sold their Lydney estate to the Bathurst family [http://www.fweb.org.uk/dean/deanhist/tudor.htm]
* 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.
* 1935 - The title of Viscount Bledisloe of Lydney was created and awarded to Charles Bathurst upon his retirement as Governor-General of New Zealand
* 1961 - The Lydney Murder, a significant case in the history of the use of entomology to assist criminal investigations [http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/crime/forensic_scientists/entomologist/index.shtml]
* August 31st 1962 - The Beatles play Lydney Town Hall [http://www.macca-central.com/macca-calendar/today_beatle_history.cfm?aDate=08/31/06] [http://www.lydneytownhall.info/]

External links

* [http://www.fweb.org.uk/dean/towns/lydney.htm Information] from the Royal Forest of Dean website.
* [http://www.lydneyrfc.co.uk Lydney RFC] - Official Site
* [http://www.lydneycricketclub.org.uk/ Lydney Cricket Club] - Official Site
* [http://www.lydneyhockey.org.uk/ Lydney Hockey Club] - Official Site
* [http://www.sungreen.co.uk/Lydney/LGS_Book/EarlyGoverners.htm Lydney Grammar School] - History Site
* [http://www.whitecross.gloucs.sch.uk/ Whitecross School] - Official Site
* [http://www.deanforestrailway.co.uk/station_norchard.html Dean Forest Railway]
* [http://www.fdean.gov.uk/content.asp?Language=&id=7245 Whitecross Leisure Centre]
* [http://www.btinternet.com/~doug.burgum/atc0.html 614 (Lydney) Squadron ATC]
* [http://www.sungreen.co.uk Historic pictures of the Lydney and area.]
* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=23251 British History Online page for Lydney]
* [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/lydney.htm Roman-Britain.org page for Lydney Park Temple Complex]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3686916 photos of Lydney and surrounding area on geograph]