Lympstone

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Lympstone
Lympstone river frontage from clifftop: Peters Tower and the traditional washing poles on the beach are visible
Lympstone shown within Devon
Population	1,754(2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SX990839
District	East Devon
Shire county	Devon
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	EXMOUTH
Postcode district	EX8
Dialling code	01395
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
European Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	East Devon
List of places: UK • England • Devon

Coordinates: 50°38′46″N 3°25′47″W / 50.646, -3.4298

Lympstone is a village and civil parish in English county of Devon. It has a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia.^[1] The promontory to the north of the harbour is topped by a flat pasture, Cliff Field, that is managed by the National Trust and used for football matches and other local events.

Lympstone has rail services on the "Avocet Line" to Exmouth and Exeter from Lympstone Village railway station.

It is known locally for Peter's Tower, an Italianate riverfront brick clock tower built around 1885 by W.H. Peters as a memorial to his wife^[2], and for its tradition of residents drying washing on the foreshore.^[3] The village fronts directly on to the river, with no continuous seawall, and the passageways between houses to the foreshore are equipped with metal flood gates.^[4].

Near the village is the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM), the principal military training centre for the Royal Marines. The training centre has its own dedicated railway halt, Lympstone Commando, (not in public use) on the Exeter- Exmouth branch line.

Ralph Lane, equerry to Queen Elizabeth I, was born in Lympstone. He was a soldier who went with Sir Walter Raleigh on his second expedition to the New World in 1585. He founded a colony on Roanoke Island amidst great hardship and deprivation. He was later present at the defeat of the Spanish Armada.