Lydney

Lydney is a town and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is on the west bank of the River Severn, in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester as the crow flies. The town has been bypassed since 1995 by the A48 road. The population was about 8,960 in the 2001 census, reducing to 8,766 at the 2011 census.
Lydney has a harbour on the Severn, created when the Lydney Canal was built. Adjoining the town, Lydney Park gardens have a Roman temple dedicated to Nodens.
== History ==
In the Iron Age a promontory fort was established at Lydney Park and later used for iron ore mining. In the late Roman period, a Roman temple to Nodens was built on the site of the fort.
In 1588 the Vice-Admiral of England Sir William Winter was granted the manor of Lydney in recognition of his services against the Spanish Armada. In 1723 the Winter family sold their Lydney estate to the Bathurst family
In 1810, docks were constructed to capitalise on the town's location, close to the River Severn. The River Lyd flows through the town and into the Severn.
In 1935, Charles Bathurst was created Viscount Bledisloe of Lydney upon his retirement as Governor-General of New Zealand.
On 31 August 1962, the Beatles played at Lydney Town Hall
=== The Lydney Murder, 1964 ===
In 1964 the town was the site of the Lydney Murder, a significant case in the history of the use of entomology to assist criminal investigations. On 28 June 1964 a body was found in woods near Bracknell. By studying the maggots found on the body, forensic entomologist Professor Keith Simpson was able to establish a date of death of around 16 June 1964. Missing persons records for that date led the police to believe that the body was that of Peter Thomas, who had gone missing from his home in Lydney. Fingerprints confirmed the identification. William Brittle, a business partner of Peter Thomas, was convicted of the murder. The Lydney Murder was the subject of an episode of the Discovery Channel documentary: "Crime Museum UK with Martin Kemp".