Perched above Gun Cliff Walk overlooking the sea, Lyme’s theatre is a venue for a variety of entertainment throughout the year including comedy, musical and theatrical performances. The venue is also host to other community-led events including festivals, craft fairs and exhibitions.
The Marine Theatre has a long history despite its 1930s appearance with the original building constructed to house sea water baths with water pumped directly from the sea below. The baths were designed for medicinal purposes as bathing in sea water was thought to be good for health.
In his 1834 history of Lyme, George Roberts describes the baths as being ‘built at enormous expense by Mr Giles Davies, whose name they long retained’. The baths ‘were conducted so as to appear a rival establishment to assembly rooms. A daily paper was taken in and the reading room was well attended.’ Assembly rooms, like baths, were fashionable for the well-off who visited Lyme. All that remains of the baths are the pump house, which makes up one of the dressing rooms, and the cellar.
