Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Lim (I hid' apud Lim…iuxta occidentale ripam fluminis illius quod vulgo lim vocatum est) 774 SherC 12

• aet lim (mansam unam iuxta ripam maris quem dicitur lim) 998 12 ib

• Lime 1086 DB 1264 Pat 1322 Cl 1535–43 Leland

• Lim 1125(12),1145(12) SherC a1166 CampbCh 1174–91 BMI 1191 Salis 1265 Pat

• Lim' 1252 Cl

• Lima 1259 Cl

• Line (sic) 1307 Cl

• Lym 1086 DB 1163 Dugd 1229,1244 FF 1249 Lib 1390 Fine

• Lyme 1244 Ass 1254,1258 Pat 1477 Cl

• Lymam 1254 ib

• Netherlym 1252,1281 FF 1338–40 Glast

• Nether Lym 1281 Cl

• Nether Lyme 1310 Pat 1795 Boswell

• Netherlyme 1397 HarlCh

• Nitherlim 1338–40 Glast

• Netherelym 1341–2 GlastF

• Nytherlym 1408 Pat

• Lym Rabeyne, Lym p'sone (tithings) 1268 Ass

• Lyme Regis 1285 Ch 1321 Cl 1438

• Lym Regis 1426 HarlCh 1436 ADI

• Kingeslyme 1558–79 ChancP

• South Lym' 1297,1298 Cl

• Lymme 1323 Pat

• Lym(e) Abbatis 1399 Cl 1422 Ct

• Lyme Abbot's (alias Sherbourne Holme) 1539,1544 Hutch3

• Lyme Abbas alias Sherborn Holme 1559 ib

• Netherlym in 1252 FF, 1281 ib, Cl

Etymology

Like Uplyme PN D 649, named from R. Lim, an old r.n. of British origin for which v. RNs.infra . The affixes Nether and South are in relation to Uplyme, v. neoðerra Tower', sūð . The affix Rabayne is manorial: Elias de Rabeyn , Rabayn held in Netherlym in 1252 FF, 1281 ib, Cl. The affix p 'sone is also manorial: it may be for ME  persone 'priest' or from the same word used as a surname, cf. unam hidam terre apud Lim quam Geri presbiter tenuit a1166CampbCh , burgagium Joh 'is Persone 1407HarlCh , Person 's home (sic)1584 Hutch3 239 (here identified with Lyme Abbot 's ) and Thomas Parsons 1664 HTax. Regis is Lat  regis 'of the king', hence also Kinges -: the place became a royal borough in 1284 (Hutch3 241), cf. Burgus de Lym 1316 FA, 1332 SR, Lym Burgus 1380Ct , villa de Burgh ' Lym 1407HarlCh . The affix Abbatis 'of the abbot', later Abbot 's , relates to the manor here held by the Abbot of Sherborne (v. 1316 FA iip. 45, Hutch3 238), hence also Sherbo (u )rn (e ) Holme (from home in the sense 'manor' as in Person 's home supra ) and Sherborne Lane infra : at a much earlier date, land in Lyme was granted to the church of Sherborne in the two Saxon charters of 774 and 998 cited from SherC .