LYMPNE, a parish partly within the liberty of ROMNEY-MARSH, but chiefly in the hundred of STREET, lathe of SHEFWAY, county of KENT, 2 miles (W.) from Hythe, containing 467 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Canterbury, rated in the king's books at £9. 1.4., endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Archdeacon of Canterbury. The church, dedicated to St. Stephen, stands on the edge of a rock near the village, and is principally in the Norman style of architecture, with a tower rising from the centre: near it is Stutfall castle, now the residence of the Archdeacon, but formerly a strong hold or fort of the Romans; the walls are constructed of brick and flint. The parish takes its name from the ancient river Limene, now the Rother, a branch of which ran below it, and formed the ancient Roman haven called Portus Limanus. The place itself is generally considered to have been the Aimin of Ptolemy. The great military roadcalled Stane-street, still visibly straight for some miles, ran hither from the station Durovernum, or Canterbury. At Shepway Cross, about half a mile from the church, the Leminarcha, or Lord Warden of the cinque-ports, was sworn into office. Near the castle several Roman coins have been found. About 633, Ethelburga, a daughter of Ethelbert, built a nunnery here in honour of the Virgin Mary, which subsequently became an abbey, and continued till 964; but after the Danish invasion, it came into the possession of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Here are a small endowed school, and an almshouse comprising two dwellings. A fair for pedlary and toys is held on July 5th. The Shorncliffe and ,Rye canal passes through the parish.