Lympne
Lympne (pronounced 'limm') village is situated on the once sea cliffs above the
Romney Marsh in
Kent. It lies approximately 11 km (7 miles) west of
Folkestone, 2 miles west of
Hythe and 17 km (11 miles) east of
Ashford. There was a
Saxon fort, Stutfall - meaning "Stout wall" - here and its remains are situated at the bottom of the south-facing cliffs. The saxon fort was built on the location of a previous
Roman fort. The Romans occupied the area, too, it being known at that time as "Portus Lemanis". The village lies at the end of the Roman road from
Canterbury, known as Stone Street. According the
Notitia Dignitatum Occidentis, the roman fort was garrisoned by a
numerus Turnacensium[Notitia Dignitatum Occidentis, XXVIII, ed. A. W. Byvanck, Excerpta Romana. De bronnen der romeinsch geschiedenis van Nederland, t. I, La Haye, 1931, p571.], a garrison of soldiers from the town
Tournai in the Northern
Gaul.
St. Stephens church and
Lympne Castle overlook Romney Marsh, the church being significantly older and closeby Lympne hill figures in the
Doctor Syn stories.
Lympne has a village shop, hairdresser's and public house (County Members) and straddles the B2067 road from
Hythe, Kent to
Aldington,
Hamstreet and
Tenterden. The nearest railway station is at
Westenhanger. Lympne is also well known for John Aspinal's
Port Lympne Zoo which occupies the ridge of hills upon which the village stands. Nearby
Newingreen is reputedly the site of England's first motel on the A20.
*
A comprehensive history of the village
