LYDNEY

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

Contents

Location

Transport

Education

Sport

Tourism

Organisations

Notable people

History

External links

Location

It is located on the west bank of the River Severn, near the Forest of Dean, at . 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.

Education

★ Lydney Grammar School 1903-1973

★ Whitecross School 1973-Present

Sport

The town is famous for Lydney Rugby Football Club (Rugby Union), based at Regentsholme and is considered to be the senior club in the Forest of Dean area[1]. The club enjoyed several successful runs in the John Player Cup during the 1980's, 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. [2]. 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 [3] 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. [4]
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.

Tourism

★ Norchard railway station is the home of the Dean Forest Railway [5]

★ The Forest of Dean Model Village [6] is located just outside Lydney.

Organisations

★ 614 (Lydney) Squadron Air Training Corp

Notable people

★ Herbert Howells - Composer

★ Steve James (cricketer) - Former England International Cricketer and Captain of Glamorgan CCC

History

★ Iron Age - promontory fort established at Lydney Park.

★ Early Roman period - The fort is used for iron ore mining

★ Late Roman period - A 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. [7]

★ 1723 - The Wintour family sold their Lydney estate to the Bathurst family [8]

★ In 1810, docks were constructed to capitalise on the town's location, close to the River Severn. The 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

★ August 31st 1962 - The Beatles play Lydney Town Hall [9]

External links

★ Information from the Royal Forest of Dean website.

★ Lydney RFC - Official Site

★ Lydney Cricket Club - Official Site

★ Lydney Hockey Club - Official Site

★ Lydney Grammar School - History Site

★ Whitecross School - Official Site

★ Dean Forest Railway

★ Whitecross Leisure Centre

★ 614 (Lydney) Squadron ATC