The Romney Marsh
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In this section: the fifth continent --- marsh formation --- marsh drainage --- farming --- Dungeness power station --- Dungeness lighthouses --- churches --- Rhee wall

 

This section describes how it was done, and what the result is:

Reclamation (”Inning”), Sea Walls and Drainage

As soon as people occupied any part of the Marsh on a year-round basis, they needed to construct an earth bank to keep spring tides and storms out. They also needed to drain rain water away through a sluice, and to keep the drainage channels and ditches clear.

Over the centuries, more and more land was ”inned” in this way.
At the same time, the sea gradually moved the protective shingle banks away, and it became necessary to construct sea walls:

- The Dymchurch Wall was built before 1500
- The Broomhill/Camber Wall was built in 1600s
- The Pett Wall was built in the 1950s

Half the coastline is now protected by these walls.

Inland
The marsh is criss-crossed by an essential network of drainage channels and ditches. Every main drain (known as a ‘sewer’) has an outlet through a sluice to the sea at both ends. This means that if one outlet becomes blocked, or the sluice needs to be repaired, then water can still drain away through the other end.
The next page shows the present-day drainage system.

Jill Eddison