This series of articles

This series includes articles on various aspects of Romney March  history.  If you scroll down you will find pages  on  ‘the Fifth Continent’,  marsh formation and draining,  farming on the marsh, the Rhee Wall  and   also on Dungeness and its power station and lighthouses.   Next will come a feature on the Romney Marsh churches..  There will be more after that!

The Romney Marsh Research Trust

Much of the information is based on the work of the Romney Marsh Research Trust, and some articles have been provided by Jill Eddison.  The Trust supports the work of a team of archaeologists, historians and geographers who are working on the history of the Marsh.  It runs an annual programme of lectures, guided walks, and site visits for its members. For further information please apply to Terry Burke, Secretary Romney Marsh Research Trust, 41, Mermaid Street, Rye, Sussex. TN31 7EU ( 01797 – 224418 ) or E-Mail TerryBurke9@hotmail.com

A website devoted to Romney Marsh

 Did you know there is a whole website devoted to Romnay Marsh?  There are maps,  articles covering e.g. Man on the Marsh,  natural history, myths and legends…, recommended books….     Go to http://www.andrewleaning.com/index.php.

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Still Standing on the Marsh 

Fourteen medieval churches still stand on the Marsh. There were more but these have either vanished or fallen into disrepair. Examples of these are Blackmanstone Church, which appears in the Domesday Book, but has since disappeared, Orgarswick which is now a mound and the church at Broomhill which is now merely a heap of stones. Eastridge, Hope and Midley churches are in ruins but the rest are still standing even though many are in danger unless remedial work is done.

These churches are a vivid reminder of the wool trade that prospered on the Romney Marsh and enabled these churches to be built. The Romney Marsh is often used as generic term for what is in fact three main areas, the Romney Marsh itself, in the east, Walland Marsh in the west and Denge Marsh in the south. See the section on the history and development of Romney Marsh.

Brenzett

This church is dedicated to St. Easwyth, a Saxon princess who established a nunnery in Folkestone The church was heavily restored in 1876 and in 1902 the chancel and bell turret had to be re-built. However, a thirteenth century priest’s door remains in the chancel as well as some Norman masonry

.  

Brookland

The church is famous for its separate wooden bell tower. The tower is conical in shape and octagonal.   One of the bells dates from before the ReformationInside, the nave arcades and outer walls lean outwards. This is because of subsidence and this is still continuing. In 1964, a wall painting of St. Thomas a Becket was discovered on the south wall.The nave is unrestored and there is still a Georgian pulpit and box pews. The font is circular and made of lead, and is the most important of its kind in the country. It has the signs of the zodiac depicted upon it. 

Burmarsh

This church has Norman origins, yet there is only one fifteenth century window, near the porch. The rest of the windows are eighteenth century. The Georgian interior was removed when restoration work was done in 1876. The tower was re-built in the fourteenth century and had buttresses added to stop subsidence.
 

 Dymchurch 

The church is a Norman building, enlarged in 1821 by the remova1 of the north wall in order to widen the nave. At this time the tower was demolished. The legendary Dr. Syn, the Marsh smuggler, would have used this church.

East Guldeford

The church was built in 1505 by Sir Richard Guldeford. It is made of brick and has two pitched roofs, with a bell-cote sitting between them. It is a simple open design inside, and was much restored in the early nineteenth century. There are box pews and also a frieze depicting the seraphim with musical instruments.
 

Fairfield

 The church is dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket and the village of Fairfield no longer exists. A causeway was built in 1913, and until then the church was more often than not surrounded by water during the winter and spring. In 1912 the fabric was in a very poor state and a complete rebuilding within the timber framework took place.   However, the inside of the church was, fortunately, left untouched. It is Georgian, with a three decker pulpit, box pews and texts boards. The hepews are still painted white with black linings.

Ivychurch

This is a large church built between 1360 and 1370. During the thirteenth century there was a Priory on the site, which might account for the church being so big. The church has three parallel aisles, running the full length of the building, a total of 133 ft. The Chinese Chippendale screens are reputed to have come from Old Romney. The tall tower and fifteenth century chancel stalls are unusual for a village church. Some of the old glass survives in the western window of the north aisle and the eastern window of the south aisle. 

Lydd

Lydd is a small town on the Denge Marsh, which became a corporate member of the Cinque Ports Confederation in 1290. The church is the largest in Kent and the tower is 132 ft. high and was built in the fifteenth century. The original church was a Saxon basilica, parts of which can still be seen in the north aisleThe blocked window and the arches are the oldest parts of the building, and are indeed the oldest remaining church building on the Marsh. No Norman building work remains. The church was rebuilt and enlarged from the thirteenth century onwards. The east end was destroyed by bombs in 1940, but has been well restored. There are sixteenth and seventeenth century brasses.
 

Newchurch

The church was originally built in the thirteenth century with aisles being added later.

The tower suffered subsidence during its construction and for some time work stopped, It was later completed, correcting the tilt brought on by the subsidence, and this gives the tower its apparent ”kink”. The pulpit is Jacobean.
 

New Romney

The prefix ”New” was not used until the fifteenth century (see entry for Old Romney) and the town is one of the origina1 Cinque Ports. The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and is the only one to survive from the four churches that existed in the Middle Ages.

The building dates from the twelfth century and the tall tower is about 100 ft high. Originally there was a spire which acted as a landmark for shipping. This was taken away in the eighteenth century. The west doorway is Norman and the floor level is below the street.

This arises from the great storms of the late thirteenth century, which diverted the river Rother from flowing into the sea at Romney, to entering the sea at Rye. During these storms silt was built up outside the church. In the fourteenth century the church gained a Decorated east end chancel arch, two three bay arcades and three large East windows.

The church hs recently been reopened after extensive restoration work.

 Old Romney

”Old” is not really correct. It has become known as this because the town was originally all one, until the part nearest the sea became larger and the inland part declined until it was just a few houses and the church. The church of St, Clement was built in the twelfth century and later enlarged. The nave has massive moulded tie beams and crown posts. It has an unusual thirteenth century font of Purbeck marble and Caen stone supports. The Georgian minstral Gallery survives and it has been used in many films.
 

 St Mary in the Marsh

The Norman church tower, with its later shingled spire, is all that is left of the original church. Two of the bells are from before the Reformation. In the thirteenth century the church was enlarged and two narrow aisles were added.

The high Georgian box pews were removed, but the 1ow box pews seen today, could be the previous pews cut down. Quarry tiles make up the floor and the ones in yellow and green are from the fourteenth century.

The rest are from the late eighteenth century. E. Nesbit, the writer, is buried in the churchyard.

 Snargate

The church has a thirteenth century nave and aisles, with a fourteenth century chancel. The tower is early perpendicular.

In 1964 a terracotta coloured painting of a ship was discovered on the north wall. Because the church is in an isolated position, it was used by smugglers as a ‘hide’.

The eastern part of the north aisle was blocked off from the inside and entrance could only be gained from the outside.

 Snave

This church is dedicated to St. Augustine and is very remote. Most of the building is thirteenth century with the exception of the upper part of the tower. Many buttresses surround the building in order to avoid subsidence. Restoration took place in 1873. The church is now in the care of the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust

The work of the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust is acknowledged and more information about the Trust and its work can be obtained from:- The Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust, C/o Mrs E Marshall, Lansdell House, Rolvenden, Kent. TN17 4LW (01580 241529)

Backdrop to Romney Marsh

10,000 years ago the waves of the sea were eroding the Wealden hills and river valleys, creating the long curving coastline that is the backdrop to Romney Marsh, which includes Romney Marsh proper, Denge, Walland Guldeford and Pett Marshes and a number of Levels.

The geological structure of these hills is variable. In the south-west at Pett Level, steep cliffs of sandstone with clay capping occur at varying heights, but do not exceed 100 feet (30m). The hills extend north beyond Winchelsea, Rye, and Iden and include the former island of Oxney, with its very prominent headland. Three river valleys carve through the hills, the Brede, the Tillingham and the Rother, its northern arm embracing Oxney.  North-east wards beyond Ham Street are degraded slopes of Wealden clay; eastwards to Hythe the hills of clay-capped limestone rise once again to 300 feet (90m) a total length of 28 miles (7.8kms 

The Embryo Marsh

The bay lying beneath these hills may once have been covered by sea water at all states of the tide. At other periods low tide may have exposed extensive salt marshes, their seaward edges fringed with shingle made up of flint gouged out of the chalk cliffs of the South Downs, broken down by sea and driven eastwards by wave action generated by the prevailing south-west winds. This process, known as long-shore drift, formed a long thin shingle shore-line across much of the very early Romney Bay behind which the marsh could develop.

 Forming the Foundations

Siltation has been a major feature in the development of the marshes. Most silt is carried in from the sea; on the top of the tide, with the water relatively stilled, the suspended silt settles along the outer margins of the river and back waters of the salt marsh; it settles too in the lee of the shingle fringe which provides protection from the waves of the open sea. To the sea-bourne silt must be added that carried down by the rivers swollen by winter rains.

Changing Sea Levels

As the bay evolved, the sea level could well have been some 70 feet (21m) lower than it is today; the bed rock of the marsh can be found as deep as 100 feet (30m). Sea levels have oscillated over time, rising and falling over thousands of years. Whatever nature created within the bay or out on the shore-line will have been washed away by the sea many times. A thousand years before the Romans came, the marsh was forested, with rivers and streams running from the hills to the sea.

The Roman Era

During the Roman period the marsh was again sinking; between Stone and Appledore the river was probably flowing eastwards to the sea at near West Hythe. Here successive shore-lines of shingle, curved landward, suggested a river mouth which could clearly be identified until evidence was removed by a shingle extraction company in the 1960’s. This was the outlet of the river Limen, with a Roman port and settlement established near the Lympne of today. Following the close of the Roman era, the Limen appears to have silted up or to have become blocked by the long-shore drift of shingle. Much of Romney Marsh proper and a large area west of the Rhee Wall in Walland Marsh, including Lydd, was probably of Saxon origin.

The Calm before the Storm

By the 12th century the vulnerability of sea walls within the marsh caused concern. Grants of land carried provision for tenants to maintain the walls and waterways from damage by tidal water. Laws were passed by the 13th century for the administration of the marsh to be carried out by 24 elected men who would enforce the paying of levies or ‘scots’ for the upkeep of waterways and embankments. The expression ‘scot free’ has its origins in exemption of a person having land above marsh level. The system of levies or ‘scots’ continued until the Land Drainage Act, 1930

The 13th Century Storms

The river (which we now call the Rother) made its way south east from Appledore across the marsh to an outfall into the sea at New Romney; by the 12th century this marsh river was converted into a canal 6 miles (9.7 kms) long to Old Romney. The 13th century was remarkable for a series of storms accompanied possibly by a rise in sea level. The first was in 1236 followed in 1250 when the town and port of Old Winchelsea were overwhelmed; there was a temporary recovery until it finally succumbed in the storm of 1287 by which time the new town of Winchelsea on the hill of Iham was being colonised. 

The Rother Changes its Course

During this period, the people of New Romney were increasingly concerned with the condition of the river or canal and consequently of their harbour which was being blocked by silt and shingle. A further 2.5 miles (4.1 kms), of cana1 were excavated to make a new outfall to the sea. It was to no avail; the river at Appledore now turned south flowing through the inundated lands to Rye and the sea. The Walland, Guldeford and Pett Marshes were covered with tidal water and for the next 500 years man took advantage of the siltation process and enclosed or ‘inned’ the salt marshes. The name ‘Walland’ marsh is as its name implies- ‘wa11-land’; Guldeford takes its name from the Gilford family who inned this marsh from 1478 to 1716, the last large scale innings took place along the fringes of Walland Marsh and the estuary of the Rother by the Salts Marsh Embankment Act 1833.

Wet Fences

Approximately 80% of the landscape features have evolved over many centuries with a pattern of fields formed of old salt marsh creeks connected with man made ditches, the farming community refer to the system as Wet Fencing. Centuries ago winter drainage of the land was a problem in those areas away from the tidal channels, with little gradient in the water courses, general water logging must have occurred. In summer, a simple system of artificially retaining water would have been devised. Fog and marsh mists being common place, in these conditions a form of malaria referred to as the ‘Marsh Ague’ was prevalent.

Farming

Sheep have grazed the marshes for centuries; the quality of its pastures, thanks to the alluvial deposits, is renowned. The sheep known as Kent or Romney pure breed are believed to have originated in Flanders; the fleece is long and close giving it the hardy qualities necessary to withstand the rigours of marsh winters. By 14th century England’s most important export was wool; tax provided a major source of revenue; the smuggling out of wool remained a clandestine trade into the 19th century. In l939 there were some 200,000 sheep on the marsh, but after five years of war, the sheep being sent away to the hill farmers in Yorkshire, the numbers were halved and arable farming had increased four-fold to 15,000 acres and remains roughly the same today.

Counter Invasion Measures

In 1940 the Pett Marsh suffered a temporary disaster, lasting 4 years; it was deliberately inundated by the sea as a counter invasion measure, the then sea wall was breached, flooding almost its total area, only being retained on its landward edge by the western bank of the Royal Military Canal, its purpose was to stop aircraft landing invasion forces, whereas in all other areas of the marshes and river valleys, individual fields were planted with thousands of 20 foot (6 m) poles cut from the local woodlands.

The Rhee Wall

The major feature of the Romney Marsh today is the Rhee Wall, which literally dissects the marsh, Romney Marsh proper to the east and Walland Marsh to the west, following the line of the original embanked canal, in the 12th century attached to the rising ground on the western edge of Appledore village, today its line resumes on the south side of the Royal Military Canal, a classified road the B2080 leads south to Brenzett joining the A259, passing Old Romney to Hammonds Corner where it ceases to be defined as it crosses the fields to the site of its ancient outfall.

Coastal Areas

The shore-line of the marsh has over the centuries been split into three specific areas by accumulations of shingle due to long-shore drift; east of Pett Marsh to the River Rother Mouth; east of Walland Marsh at Jurys Gap to Dungeness point, curving north to Greatstone; and finally an area north of the Redoubt beyond Dymchurch to Hythe. Between these areas the marshes have been exposed to the sea, they consist of Pett, Walland and Romney Marsh proper. Originally only having the natura1 protection of a shingle fore-shore and crest, they were prone to move landward, and creep onto the marsh unhindered. Today these marshes are protected by sea-walls.

 Sea Defences

Early attempts were made to stem this advance by building earth walls behind the shingle crest, which were then thatched with faggots, (bundles of brushwood) cut from the local woodlands. It proved quite resistant to the sea in the short term.

Faggots in the form of thick sticks referred as bats were dug in to the shingle at right angles to form groynes to trap the eastward drifting shingle.  In the long term it made little difference to the problem, until seawalls were constructed of stone and subsequently concrete, because the natural long-shore drift continued moving shingle eastwards.

Shingle Recycling

In the last 30 years the local authority has resorted to shingle recycling. The practice is to move it from areas of accumulation, this is always to the east, and transport it back to the west,to recharge the shore, leaving the long-shore drift to redistribute it eastwards. A shingle covering on the walls acts as an absorbent sponge to the waves. This prevents the over topping of the wall, and gives protection to the wall’s structure. A case of harnessing nature to solve a problem.

Conclusion

Global warming now presents a serious threat to the marsh, as it is all below high tide level, at an average of almost 5ft (1.5m). The present authority is working on a rise of 2ft (60cm) although other predictions give a figure of 3ft 3” (1m) in 100 years. In the shorter term shingle recycling will continue. The Romney Marsh coastline is an isolated pocket separated by the Fairlight Cliffs to the west and the Folkestone cliffs to the east, and within this area extensive shingle deposits exist. This may well provide shingle for replenishment to top up the recycling process.

It may be contentious to refer to specific areas where likely shingle deposits could be extracted, as much of these are owned by the Ministry of Defense and also included in these are other areas where Nature and Bird Reserves exist. Either the sea will eventually take over, the marsh, or the shingle could be extracted in a systematic way. Removing it from along the whole length of the shore edge its visual loss would be imperceptible, on these open natural shores, erosion still continues, its crest-line being naturally raised as the sea rises, and this happens when a gale on a high tide is experienced at present. It is difficult to imagine that nothing will be done in say 50 years time. In 500 years time the sea may have taken back that which it gave up.

By Jill Eddison

is one of the three great marshlands of England. Nearly all this 100 square miles of flat land lies below the level of high tides. It is flanked on south and east by the sea.
 

 Origins

The Marsh has been formed in the 10,000 years since the last Ice Age. After the ice melted, sea leve1 rose quickly up to 6,000 years ago. The whole area of Romney Marsh was a wide sandy bay and, as sea level rose, the sea piled in layer upon layer of sand until it was about 10 metres deep.

Then a great change took place, which altered the area for ever. A massive supply of flint pebbles (known as shingle or, commercially, as gravel) which had been eroded out of the Chalk of Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex during the Ice Age, began to arrive from the south-west, and built out a great bank towards Hythe. Behind this barrier, the sandy bay became salt marsh, with fresh-water swamp in the valleys.  

Since then the outer coastline, consisting of massive barriers of shingle, has been continually changing, and so have the tidal inlets which once provided harbours near Hythe, Romney and Rye.

How this Happened

You can see the sea and the wind at work today, building up and altering the coastline, just as happened in the past:

1. Shingle is moved along by the waves. Go down to any shingle beach and watch what happens when a wave breaks on the shingle. Pebbles will be thrown up the beach, probably at an angle. In a storm, when the waves are high, and you will see great quantities of the beach being moved along.
 

2. Salt marshes are built up by the inter-action of plant-growth and deposition of sediments. The English Channel looks dirty. This is because it carries great quantities of fine- grained sediment suspended in the water. The tide flows in round the end of the shingle banks, or up river estuaries, into calm water behind. At high tide the movement of the water ceases, and the load of sediment is deposited. When this has built up sufficiently, plants specially adapted to grow in salt water flourish. Their leaves trap more sediment, and thus help to built the surface up above the level of all but the highest tides. At this stage, the twice-daily flow of the tides is limited to channels winding around clumps of plants.

3. Sand Dunes The oldest dunes at Camber are only 200 years old, and parts are still growing out to sea. As the tide goes down the wide sandy beach dries out. If the wind is blowing onshore, it picks up some of that sand, and blows it inland to form the dunes. As a result the coastline near the coastguard cottages east of Rye Golf Club has grown outwards by 100 m. in the last 20 years. This can be seen happening especially in winter gales.

Nature built up and altered the Marsh in these ways.

The Roman Marsh

Scattered archaeologica1 evidence indicates that the Marsh was still a salt-marsh in Roman times. Burnt clay (briquetage) and broken pots provides evidence of a widespread salt-extraction. Professor Barry Cunliffe has suggested that men would have lived on the Marsh in summer, using the excellent pasture for sheep and cattle, and evaporating salt (a very valuable commodity) from sea water at the marsh edge.
In winter these people probably retreated to the surrounding upland. There is no known evidence that the Romans built defences to keep out the incoming tides.

In about A.D. 350, a marsh inlet was guarded by massive shore fort on the hillside below Lympne. This was a base for the Roman fleet, the Classis Britannica, which was attempting to ward off Saxon invaders.

Thus, except for the shingle barriers, most of the marsh was under water until at least Saxon times. It was a changing kaleidoscope of land and water, changing from high to low tide, from season to season and from century to century.

Reclamation and Occupation

The whole Marsh is sub-divided into several different smaller marshes, each of which was reclaimed at a different time.
The map shows the division into Romney Marsh proper, Walland Marsh, Denge Marsh, Pett Level, and the Rother Levels.

Denge Marsh

Saxon land-charters show that Denge Marsh, which was surrounded on three sides by massive shingle banks, was occupied in Saxon times.
 

Romney Marsh Proper

The Domesday Book shows that by 1086 the whole of Romney Marsh Proper was occupied. Domesday recorded most of the churches now known there (and a few which cannot be identified now). At this time, that area was still protected from the sea on the east by a great shingle bank. So it is unlikely that any major sea-walls were needed. To the south lay salt-marsh which probably provided fish and sea-birds to augment the local diet, and reeds and rushes for houses.

Walland Marsh

None of the churches on Walland Marsh are mentioned in Domesday Book, and it was only to cope with the demand for new land caused by a sharply rising population that the frontier of colonisation moved south-west across Walland Marsh.
In the 13th century the sea broke down the shingle barrier which had previously extended across the present area of Rye Bay, from Fairlight to Dungeness. This defended the south side of the Marsh against the sea. The old town and port of Winchelsea (which stood on the shingle barrier somewhere off the present mouth of the Rother) was washed away between 1249 and 1280, and in 1280 king Edward I, ordered three senior officials to establish a new town on ”the hill of Iham”.

This is the town of Winchelsea we know today.
Sea-floods in the 1200s and 1300s checked southward colonisation, and the Black Death in 1349 brought demand for new land to an end. Then, between 1400 and 1700 salt-marshes were reclaimed for sheep pasture in connection with the Wealden woollen industry, so that by 1700 the map of Walland Marsh was similar to that of today.

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.

Farming on the Marsh through the Ages

1. Land-use in the Saxon period must have been use of salt-marsh as pasture, which would have continued after parts of the Marsh had been ”inned”.
2. Around 1200, the demands of a dense and rising population meant that much of the Marsh was used as arable.
3. After the Black Death and later epidemics of the Plague, the Marsh reverted to pasture once again. This continued until the Second World War.
4. In World War II food was in short supply, and some of the Marsh was ploughed up. This showed how fertile the Marsh was.
5. As a result, from 1960  the Marsh was increasingly ploughed, so that now only about 10% remains as pastu re.

                                                                   �
In 1965 the first nuclear power station at this site , Dungeness A, was in operation. By 1983 Dungeness B, an advanced gas cooled reactor was producing power for homes, schools and factories. On a typical day, the power stations now produce 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity – enough to power the whole of South East England.

 Surrounded by a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which extends to land within the perimeter fence of the station, the Power Station is very aware of the needs for environmental protection and complies with all statutory requirements, as well as enhancing environmental awareness through active involvement of staff and public.

 In conjunction with English Nature, nature trails allow controlled access to the shingle ridges, and herbicides are no longer used, so that wildlife is conserved. Built on Dungeness, the Power Stations are on the largest surface area of shingle in Europe -some 12km by 6km in extent. This great mass of shingle ridges has taken more than 5,000 years to develop. Some 100,000 cubic metres of stones are carried round Dungeness Point every year, creating a ’ness’, nose, or cuspate foreland. 

Wave action from the SW carries shingle eastward; erosion of shingle on the south shore threatens to undermine the power stations, so it is necessary for a great fleet of lorries to constantly carry the shingle, built up on the eastern shore of the foreland, back to the western side. From here it is washed by sea action, round the point again, ready to be picked up and transported again…and again…and again.

 Water circulation–and bird life

Sea water for the power stations is drawn in at a rate of 100m litres per hour. Fish, seaweed and other debris is removed by filters and the water passes to condensers. The water circulates through tubes in the condensers and steam passes over the tubes, and condenses back into water before returning to the reactors’ boilers.
 

The water returning to the sea is about 12°C warmer, and emerges in upwellings or patches which attract many birds seeking food and roosting sites.

Folkestone and Dover Water Services Ltd abstract water from the aquifer of Dungeness to provide water to the coastal communities between Lydd and Hythe. Increased demand for water – some 2 million gallons a day, has resulted in a 370% increase in abstraction since 1960. The freshwater accounts for the exceptional biodiversity of Dungeness – so maintaining a balance between wildlife and human requirements, is essential.  

There are no rivers or streams in the area; rainwater drains quickly through the shingle so there are few areas of natural surface water. Gravel extraction has created areas of open water in the old gravel pits, and there is now close cooperation between the gravel extractors and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), to produce ’natura1’ habitats for wildlife.
 

On Dungeness, the RSPB manage close on 1,000 hectares, of which they own 650 hectares. Different habitats – freshwater wetlands, seashore, ancient and recent shingle ridges mean there is a wide variety of plant and animal life within the Reserve.

At least 300 bird species are listed with 180 bird species recorded annually. Some 430 plant species, 250 species of moths and butterflies (including the rare Sussex Emerald Green butterfly), more species of bumble bee than elsewhere in Britain, the largest colony of medicinal leeches, a wide variety of insects and thousands of invertebrates are all to be found in this unique area.

 By the 1600’s Dungeness was a huge foreland of shingle, extensive enough to cause numerous shipwrecks, with much loss of life and cargo.

It is thought that a Rye Jeweller , John Allen, first suggested a warning light be set up on the point, but he lacked the necessary funds, and the idea eventually took effect in 1615, under the direction of Sir Edward Howard, who held senior office in the Admiralty. The first lighthouse was 35 feet high and had a coal brazier at the top, the fuel being hauled up by a basket and pulley. 

The shingle of the ness continued to build up and in 1792, Trinity House demanded a new lighthouse, and a 116 foot tower, designed by Samuel Wyatt was constructed. Similar in design to Smeatons’ Eddystone light, this new one was seven stories high, tapering toward the top and with the lantern fuelled by oil burners.

Ships passing the point were expected to pay a halfpenny for every ton, but this was difficult to collect, so Sir Edward made over his rights officially to William Lamplough, and dues were collected by Customs when ships docked.

In 1635 Lamplough replaced the rather ineffectual light by a tower 110 feet high, built nearer the sea. This also had a coal beacon, and the two keepers, who were provided with living quarters at the base of the lighthouse, had to haul the 400 tons of coa1 annually up the tower to keep the light burning. This proved to be a problem during strong gales.

The lighthouse was eventually inherited by the wife of Thomas Coke of Holkham, Norfolk, and the ownership remained in the Coke family but run by Lydd men, until Trinity House bought out all the leases of the lighthouses in 1836.

Wyatt’s lighthouse used 900 gallons of oil annually, coming from sperm oil, then vegetable oil and finally petroleum, but to prevent the oil from congealing in winter, a coal stove was necessary. This third lighthouse had 17 Argon lamps each with silvered concave reflectors 20 inches in diameter

However by 1818 the foundations were threatened by decomposition, as the mortar had been mixed with seawater. Strong buttresses had to be erected round the base, and after a violent storm in 1821 other repairs had to be made to strengthen the tower. 

The lighthouse was painted in red and white stripes so that it was visible by day, and by 1890, living quarters and cottages were added.

 The first permanent use of electricity in lighthouses was at Dungeness in 1862, and it operated for 13 years before being considered inefficient and too expensive. Oil light was restored, and a new lamp with 850 candlepower and surrounded by glass prisms, could be seen for 16 miles.

Since 1635, fog whistles and bells were used to warn ships, but in 1860 a fog trumpet was installed next to the 1792 lighthouse, and this was operated by a steam engine.

Shingle continued to build up so that by the late 1880’s the light was a long way from the sea. A smaller Low Light was placed nearer the shore. This bright, revolving light flashed every 5 seconds and could be seen for 10 miles. A siren foghorn was housed here too.
 

 Still the shingle collected. A new lighthouse was built in 1904, 150 feet high with 169 steps. Using paraffin oil, this flashing light could be seen 18 miles. 670 glass prisms gave a magnification of 164,000 candle power, but the mechanism for turning the light was still hand wound.

1904 Light

Below the main light a red light showed that could only be seen in East Bay; red and green lights were visible in West Bay.

In 1932 the Low Light and fog signal were replaced by a white cylindrical tower, producing a flashing light using acetylene gas and the foghorn sounded 3 blasts every 2 minutes. This was pulled down in 1959 when the new Dungeness lighthouse was planned.

In 1959 electricity was again in use, successfully this time, but in 1961 it was decided to build a fully automated lighthouse, 130 feet ta11, and 12 feet in diameter.

Four banks of 4 x 200 watt Aga sealed beam lamps – (1920,000 candle power) gave a range of 24 miles. The inbuilt foghorn with automatic fog detector, sounds three times every 30 seconds, and there are sti1l red and green lights.

Lighthouse Remains 1904

Today the new, slim lighthouse stands close by the Old Lighthouse.  It is possible to climb to the top of the stairs of the old one (now privately owned) froom whence an excellent view of Dungeness is obtained.   The white house nearby is the base of the old 1792 lighthouse.

Lighthouse 1861

The so-called Rhee Wall crosses the whole width of the Marsh, running 7.5 miles from Appledore to New Romney . It consists of two parallel earth banks some 50 metres apart east of Snargate, widening to about 100 metres apart west of that. The ground between these banks is raised well above the marsh on either side.

The name Rhee meant ‘watercourse’ in Old English and, although it has not contained water since about A.D.1400, it was indeed constructed as a channe1 to convey water from Appledore to wash away the silt being deposited by the sea in the harbour at Romney.

In 1258 an already ‘ancient’ watercourse (perhaps no more than 50 years old) existed as far as Old Romney, and the King gave instructions to extend it to New Romney. One sluice was made to take in water at Appledore and two others were built to control the flow at Snargate and New Romney.

For over 100 years the flow was maintained, but the sea brought in its load of silt, which blocked and raised the channe1. As the silt grew higher, the walls had to be built even higher to prevent the water overflowing on to the marsh. By about 1400 the channel had dried out, and the Rhee ‘wall’ was left as a tract, usefully raised above the marsh and possible floods.  It is now followed by the Appledore to Romney road.

NOTE: There is NO evidence to support an old suggestion that the Rhee was a Roman sea wall!