Meryl Streep dressed in a black cloak staring out to sea from the end of a windswept Cobb remains an iconic image from the 1981 five-time Oscar-nominated film The French Lieutenant’s Woman based on the novel by John Fowles.
Set in Victorian Lyme Regis, the story follows unconventional Sarah Woodruff, shamed and abandoned by a French sea captain, but defiantly refusing to be cowed.
John Fowles was born in Essex in 1926. His first two novels, the psychological thriller The Collector (1963), followed by Greece-inspired The Magus (1965) were both highly successful.
John Fowles moved to Underhill, a farmhouse to the west of the town in 1965 and while walking one day on Lyme’s imposing Cobb, Fowles was struck by the sight of a woman who ‘stood motionless, staring, staring out to sea’. The French Lieutenant’s Woman was born.
In 1969, Fowles moved to the grand Georgian mansion Belmont and completed The French Lieutenant’s Woman in his writing room overlooking the Cobb.
In the summer of 1980, Parlon Productions took over Lyme Regis for 6 weeks of filming with the principal characters played by Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.
During the filming Meryl Streep stayed at Haye House with her baby and bodyguards and Jeremy Irons stayed at Underhill Farm.
Both these houses were used as locations in the film, as were Ware House, Pinhay House, the Three Cups Hotel, the Royal Lion Hotel, the lower half of Broad Street, and of course the famous High Wall of the Cobb.
A part-built replica ship was constructed in the harbour to hide the modern boat. Ships masts mounted on wheels could be moved around to represent ships moving behind the wall.
The filming of the storm scene proved problematic. For the first five weeks of filming the weather was sunny and calm which led to attempts to artificially create a storm using the local Fire Brigade and wind generating machines, but it failed to look convincing and the storm scene was abandoned. However, during the last few days on location in Lyme, a storm miraculously appeared. It was so violent that it was too dangerous for the star, Meryl Streep, to stand on the top of the High Wall; Art Director, Terry Pritchard, put on her cloak and stood in for her while the famous scene was completed.
Broad Street was closed completely for three days with many buildings dressed for the period.
Some locals found temporary employment as extras.
To hide the modern boats in the harbour a set was built right across Cobb Road. When the 'gates' were closed, it looked like a row of cottages.
Thanks to Lyme Regis Marine Aquarium for some of the resources featured on this page.