Listed Building record MDO13133 - The Cobb, Lyme Regis

Stone sea-wall of medieval origin; Cobb shown in sixteenth century sketch. Before the end of the eighteenth century the wall was dry-built, and a small section of this kind of walling remains in the east face of the Victoria Pier. Complete rebuilding took place between 1783 and 1829 especially after the great gales of 1824, which destroyed a great part of the walls, leading to rebuilding in 1825-9 in ashlar). The Victoria Pier was added between 1842 and 1852, and the North Wall constructed in 1849. Described in the novel Persuasion by Jane Austen, published in 1817.

The Cobb, situated a half mile from the Parish Church, is a substantial stone sea-wall forming a harbour off the promontory to the SW of the town for shelter from south westerly gales. There was a Cobb here in the Middle Ages; a petition to Edward the III for dues describes it as a work of timber and stone decayed by heavy seas. (2) The Cobb was possibly constructed soon after 1284 when Lyme Regis was made a free borough and given merchants' guild. It is first recorded in a document of 1295 as 'la Cobbe'.(5)

Its history is one of recurring damage and repair, with the result that nothing of medieval date survives except the early layout which seems to have survived unmodified.. A sketch of 1539 shows a sea-wall wide enough for a walk, dog-legged in shape with a round tower with gun-embrasures at the seaward end. Roger North described it in c. 1680 as a demi-lune with a bar in the middle of the concave. (2) An account of eighteenth century shipping from Lyme is recorded by Jarvis. (7)
Prior to the end of the 18th century, the wall was dry-built. Following a storm in 1783 the Cobb was rebuilt in mortared masonry using the rounded ‘cobb stones’ of the earlier construction. In 1817 the Cobb was again damaged by storms, a section at the southern angle seems to have collapsed, this was repaired in Portland stone ashlar laid in mortar to the designs of Major Fanshawe. The ‘Great Storm’ of 1824 destroyed the whole of the Cobb from the southern angle to the shore, this was rebuilt during 1825 by Lt Colonel Fanshawe, his work of 1818 having escaped virtually undamaged. (8) Within the ‘gin shop’ an alcove surrounded by steps in the middle of the Cobb is the inscription

BY ORDER OF THE MASTER GENERAL AND BOARD OF ORDNANCE
The repair of this Cobb was commenced and finished under the direction of Lieut-Col. Fanshawe, Royal Engineers, by order of the Master General, dated April 2nd, 1825, and under the immediate superintendence of Captain Savage of the same corps.
Length of pier rebuilt, 232 feet, Length of parapet rebuilt, 447 feet, Amount of estimate £19,193 19s. 10d., Amount of expenditure £17,337 0s. 9¼d, Date of commencement of the work 19th April, 1825. Date of completion of the work, 18th November, 1825.

The Cobb carries a wide walk with protective parapet-wall and is approached along a short causeway. It leads in a direction generally SSE to a distance from the shore of approximately 200 yards where it bends sharply round to the NE for about 140 yards and then with an angular turn a further 50 yards east. This north easterly portion was extended eastward by the Corporation between 1842 and 1852 and it is named Victoria Pier. Shortly after the first bend a secondary pier neatly 100 yards long leads off spurwise to the East, this is mentioned first in Stukeley's description of 1723; it was considerably longer and the remains of the continuation of it, destroyed in 1783, are visible at low-tide. (2) Investigation of this area in 2002 suggested that there were at least two phases of construction here. The North Wall across the East side of the Harbour leaving a narrow entrance between it and Victoria Pier was built in 1849; the earlier bar was further West within the present harbour. The Cobb was joined to the shore in 1857 when a narrow gauge railway line was laid along a widened walkway. The oldest visible surviving work is some 40 yards of walling in the East face of Victoria Pier immediately South of the 1842-52 extension. (2)

The Cobb extends from SY 38819163 to SY 34029146, and in its present construction shows no trace of antiquity. A reproduction in the Town Clerk's office of the sketch of 1539 shows the Cobb as generally of a similar layout to the present one, constructed of wooden piles with stone infilling. <3>

The sea defences are clearly visible on aerial photographs and lidar and were digitally plotted during thw South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset). (9-11)

Davis, B, 2018, Watching Brief at The Cobb, Lyme Regis (Unpublished document). SDO21125.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1928 edition OS map (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 339915) The Cobb (NAT)

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West) (Monograph). SDO97.

'(38) COBB, ½ m. S.W. of the parish church, is a substantial stone sea-wall forming a harbour off the. promontory to the S.W. of the town for shelter from south-westerly gales. There was a Cobb here in the Middle Ages; a petition to Edward III for dues describes it as a work of timber and stone decayed by heavy seas. Its history is one of recurring damage and repair, with the result that nothing of mediæval date with certainty survives except, perhaps, the early layout which seems to have persisted without substantial modification. A sketch of 1539 shows a sea-wall wide enough to carry a walk, dog-legged in shape with a round tower with gun-embrasures at the seaward end; Roger North describes it in c. 1680 as a demi-lune with a bar in the middle of the concave. Prior to the end of the 18th century the wall was dry-built; the present building materials consist mostly of Portland stone ashlar on the face with infilling of roughly squared stones laid in mortar; this form of construction is the result of a number of major repairs amounting almost to complete rebuilding undertaken between 1783 and 1829.
The Cobb carries a wide walk with protective parapetwall and is approached along a short causeway. It leads in a direction generally S.S.E. to a distance from the shore of approximately 200 yards where it bends sharply round to N.E. for about 140 yards and then with an angular turn a further 50 yards E.; this north-easterly portion was extended eastward by the Corporation between 1842 and 1852 and is named Victoria Pier. Shortly after the first bend a secondary pier nearly 100 yards long leads off spurwise to the E., this is mentioned first in Stukeley's description of 1723; it was considerably longer and the remains of the continuation of it, destroyed in 1783, are visible at lowtide. The North Wall across the E. side of the harbour leaving a narrow entrance between it and Victoria Pier was built in 1849; the earlier bar was further W., within the present harbour. Since 1853 no major work on the sea-defences has been undertaken. The oldest visible surviving work is some 40 yards of walling in the E. face of Victoria Pier immediately S. of the 1842–52 extension.'

<3> Swatridge, G C, Various, Field Investigators Comments GCS, F1 GCS 11-FEB-55 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

<4> Department of the Environment, 31 Jan 1974, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Borough of Lyme Regis 1974, p29 (Scheduling record). SWX1213.

<5> Taylor, C C, 1972, Dorset (1972), 183 (Monograph). SWX1196.

<6> Cox, Jo, 1996, The Cobb at Lyme Regis, Dorset: a sideways look at vernacular materials and techniques (Article in serial). SWX881.

<7> Jarvis, R J, 1970, Eighteenth Century Dorset Shipping (Article in serial). SWX923.

<8> Le Pard, G F, 1999, The Great Storm of 1824. (Article in serial). SWX7729.

<9> Channel Coastal Observatory, 23-MAR-2008, Lidar (Photograph). SDO12878.

<10> Royal Air Force, 25-APR-1951, RAF 58/654 3241-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12977.

<11> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13181.

<11> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 4501-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12978.

<12> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 149-50 (Monograph). SDO97.

a(38) Cobb, ½ m. S.W. of the parish church, is a substantial stone sea-wall forming a harbour off the. promontory to the S.W. of the town for shelter from south-westerly gales. There was a Cobb here in the Middle Ages; a petition to Edward III for dues describes it as a work of timber and stone decayed by heavy seas. Its history is one of recurring damage and repair, with the result that nothing of mediæval date with certainty survives except, perhaps, the early layout which seems to have persisted without substantial modification. A sketch of 1539 shows a sea-wall wide enough to carry a walk, dog-legged in shape with a round tower with gun-embrasures at the seaward end; Roger North describes it in c. 1680 as a demi-lune with a bar in the middle of the concave. Prior to the end of the 18th century the wall was dry-built; the present building materials consist mostly of Portland stone ashlar on the face with infilling of roughly squared stones laid in mortar; this form of construction is the result of a number of major repairs amounting almost to complete rebuilding undertaken between 1783 and 1829.
The Cobb carries a wide walk with protective parapetwall and is approached along a short causeway. It leads in a direction generally S.S.E. to a distance from the shore of approximately 200 yards where it bends sharply round to N.E. for about 140 yards and then with an angular turn a further 50 yards E.; this north-easterly portion was extended eastward by the Corporation between 1842 and 1852 and is named Victoria Pier. Shortly after the first bend a secondary pier nearly 100 yards long leads off spurwise to the E., this is mentioned first in Stukeley's description of 1723; it was considerably longer and the remains of the continuation of it, destroyed in 1783, are visible at lowtide. The North Wall across the E. side of the harbour leaving a narrow entrance between it and Victoria Pier was built in 1849; the earlier bar was further W., within the present harbour. Since 1853 no major work on the sea-defences has been undertaken. The oldest visible surviving work is some 40 yards of walling in the E. face of Victoria Pier immediately S. of the 1842–52 extension.

<13> Green, C, Hennessy, B, and McConnell, R, 2015, The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Dorset. A Programme of Archaeological Monitoring and Recording (Unpublished document). SDO14446.

<14> National Record of the Historic Environment, 449795 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 15 2024 10:46AM