79-533: Milton Regis is a village in the district of Swale in Kent, England . Former names include Milton-next-Sittingbourne , Milton Royal , Middleton , Midletun and Middletune . It has a population of about 5,000. Today it is a suburb of Sittingbourne , although this has not always been the case. Until around 1800, Sittingbourne was a small hamlet and under the control of the Manor of Milton Regis. The ancient settlement
158-540: A confused stratigraphy. The topsoil yielded a silver penny of Henry VI issued in York between 1454 and 1460. The base layer contained green glazed pottery of the 13th–14th century. The extant earthworks are therefore no earlier than circa 1300. In 1798, the town was described as "... nor is it in any degree pleasant, the narrow streets, or rather lanes in it, being badly paved, and for the most part inhabited by seafaring persons, fishermen, and oyster-dredgers". The church has
237-633: A designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The borough borders the Medway unitary authority area to the west, the Borough of Maidstone to the south-west, the Borough of Ashford to the south-east, and the City of Canterbury to the east. The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at
316-511: A dispute which lasted over many years in respect of Earl Godwin's challenge and claim to the throne of England. The town was later rebuilt to its former eminence. Domesday Book of 1086 records the town as Middleton Terra Regis (Royal lands) the Kings town of Kent. It is noted as a town and a port of wealth, which William the Conqueror took into his personal possession and then gave into
395-538: A distinct breed. Some cross-breeding with Leicester sheep took place at around that time, to improve their characteristics. They are dual-purpose animals, producing good meat and quality wool. They are particularly adapted to wet conditions, being resistant to foot rot, while their fleeces stay healthy in the harsh conditions found on the Marsh. They are also resistant to the liver fluke parasite. Their wool has fibres which are finer than all other breeds of longwool sheep, and
474-520: A fortress or garrison near the remains of a Roman fort. In 680, the Queen Seaxburh of Kent, the widow of King Eorcenberht of Kent , passed the Kingdom of Kent to her eldest son Ecgberht of Kent at his coming of age, crowning him King of Kent at a grand ceremony held at the doors of Holy Trinity Church, Milton. There she became a nun: St. Seaxburh ... took the holy veil at the minster which
553-587: A large island, which now makes up a large part of the Denge Marsh, on which stood the ports of Lydd and the old Winchelsea . All these ports were affiliated to (as "limbs" of) the Cinque Ports . The Romney Marsh has been gradually built up over the centuries. The most significant feature of the Marsh is the Rhee Wall (Rhee is a word for river), forming a prominent ridge. This feature was extended as
632-455: A long history. It is believed to occupy what was originally a pagan site of worship. There was a Roman villa nearby, and Roman bricks are still visible in the church walls. The Cathedral records of Ely in 680 state that Seaxburh of Ely (Queen Sexburga, Abbess of Minster in Sheppey ) left her 'life' at the doors of 'Mylton' Church. This refers to her leaving her secular life by taking
711-659: A medieval canal that brought water from higher up the river Rother . The main road is the A259 from Rye , which is narrow and winding to Brookland and Brenzett, where it splits in two. One arm becomes the A2070 and runs parallel to the railway to link the Marsh to Hamstreet , Ashford and the wider world. The other, still the A259, is good only as far as the junction with Lydd Lane (B2075) and leads to New Romney , Dymchurch , Hythe and eventually, Folkestone . The local bus routes on
790-434: A shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of Mayor of Swale is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 2002 have been: Following the 2023 election , and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024,
869-530: A similar period, the area around Milton Regis and its marshlands was much involved with brick making , being rich in brick earth as a local resource. The yellow London stock brick required 64% brick earth, 25% ash, 11% chalk. Chalk was extracted from along the Medway, and the ash (or breeze as it was called) was a return cargo from London. Other components of the London rubbish provided the fuel needed to slow-fire
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#1732772862398948-404: A substantial facility just outside Lydd, where a mock urban 'townscape' complete with full-size houses, streets, etc., provides an appropriate environment for counter-terrorism and civil disorder training. Some of the lost communities on the Marsh are instances of the modern decline of the rural communities; others occurred over the centuries. In 1348, for example, many villages were decimated by
1027-728: A variety of smaller industrial sites. The Roman Watling Street passed through the area, as witness the straightness of the A2 main road, now by-passed by the M2 motorway . There are two railway lines in Swale: the Chatham Main Line and the Sheerness line , which meet at Sittingbourne . Two adjoining bridges across The Swale link the Isle of Sheppey to the mainland: Kingsferry Bridge and
1106-420: A waterway in three stages from Appledore to New Romney in the 13th century. Sluices controlled the flow of water, which was then released to flush silt from the harbour at New Romney. Ultimately, the battle was lost: the harbour silted up and New Romney declined in importance. The Rhee kept part of the old port open until the 15th century. The wall at Dymchurch was built around the same time: storms had breached
1185-537: Is Milton Pipes, producers of pre-cast concrete drainage pipes. Starting in 2011, a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) funded community oral history project took place in Sittingbourne and Milton Regis recording the memories of people of the former industries along Milton Creek, mainly barge-building, brick and cement making, and the paper mills. Borough of Swale Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent , England. The council
1264-520: Is a long-distance footpath which starts at Gravesend , Kent . It traces the coast as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings , East Sussex . It is 153 miles (246 km) long, and its route crosses the northern edge of the Marsh. The idea for the path was conceived in the 1970s and it was officially opened on 22 June 1980 by the Archbishop of Canterbury . Throughout its history, the proximity of
1343-613: Is based at Swale House on East Street in Sittingbourne. Swale is a mainly rural borough, containing a high proportion of the UK's apple, pear, cherry and plum orchards (the North Kent Fruit Belt ), as well as many of its remaining hop gardens. Faversham has the Shepherd Neame brewery. Founded in 1698 it is claimed to be oldest brewery in the UK. Sheerness is a busy port and previously produced steel. Sittingbourne has
1422-580: Is based in Sittingbourne , the borough's largest town. The borough also contains the towns of Faversham , Queenborough and Sheerness , along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It includes the Isle of Sheppey and is named after The Swale , the narrow channel which separates Sheppey from the mainland part of the borough. Some southern parts of the borough lie within the Kent Downs ,
1501-575: Is called Milton in Kent. And the island in Sheppey belongs to Milton. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 893 records: "Then ... Haesten came with eighty ships into the mouth of the Thames, and made himself a fort at Milton Royal". This naval force was only part of a larger fleet of 250 ships, the remaining group under the command of Jarl Harald (Bloodhair) landing at Appledore in the Romney Marsh in
1580-436: Is particularly good for hand spinning. A flock book for the breed has been maintained since 1895. Romney sheep were exported around the world from the early 19th century onwards. The first flocks were sent to New Zealand, where they adapted to their new environment well, and are still the most prolific breed in the country. They have since been shipped to many parts of England, Australia, Patagonia , Canada, Brazil, Portugal,
1659-520: Is possible to find two or three lanes apparently leading to the same village. Many of these lanes are built on the remains of enclosures used to "in" the Marsh. There is a dramatic section near Brookland , where a lane linking the Woolpack pub to Lydd is perched 2 or 3 m above the surrounding farmland, on the "Hook" wall. The section of road between Brenzett and Lydd Lane end is built on the Rhee wall,
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#17327728623981738-702: Is still in place about a mile short of Dungeness. In the early 21st century, it is used to transfer spent fuel from the nuclear power plant. The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway , a 15 in ( 381 mm )-gauge miniature railway and the only miniature railway in the British Isles ever to have been incorporated under the Light Railways Act 1896 , has been operating along the Romney Marsh coast since 1927. It runs for 13.75 miles (22.13 km) from Hythe to Dungeness. The Saxon Shore Way
1817-523: The Black Death . The few survivors moved to other places. The villages, shown below with the modern Ordnance Survey map information on Sheet 189, were: The flat, almost empty landscape and numerous waterways created an ideal environment for smuggling from the 17th until the early 19th century. The traffic was two-way, since wool was smuggled from this area to the Continent. The main gangs on
1896-588: The Falkland Islands and the United States. However, for Downland sheep that were often taken to the marshes to be fattened before sale, 19th-century reports suggest the Romney pastures were highly likely to result in the animals becoming ill with liver fluke and thus their meat becoming contaminated. Whitlaw suggests that this was probably due to the cultivation of buttercups in the region during
1975-568: The Mapp and Lucia novels; Russell Thorndike , author of the Doctor Syn novels; and the children's writer Monica Edwards , author of Romney Marsh books. She changed the name of Rye Harbour to "Westling", Rye is renamed "Dunsford", and Winchelsea is known as "Winklesea". Rosemary Sutcliff 's 1955 historical novel Outcast depicts Roman efforts to build the Rhee Wall and reclaim land from
2054-776: The River Rother and the River Brede . Martello towers are fortifications that were built by the British Army for coastal defence during the early nineteenth century and the Napoleonic Wars . Seventy-four towers were built along the south coast; Tower 1 was at Folkestone, overlooking the harbour, and Tower 74 guarded the beach at Seaford in East Sussex . Six were built in pairs in Dymchurch to protect
2133-742: The Sheppey Crossing . In 2022, the council implemented a low-emission car club in the town of Faversham, in partnership with car sharing company Hiyacar. After a successful first year, the council expanded the Swale Car Club offering to the town of Sittingbourne. In terms of television, Swale is served by BBC South East and ITV Meridian (East) broadcasting from the Bluebell Hill transmitter. Local radio stations are: Local newspapers are Sittingbourne News Extra , yourswale , and Sheerness Times Guardian that serves
2212-583: The Thames estuary and allows inshore craft easy passage up to London and beyond. The eastern end of the Swale connects directly into the Thames estuary near Whitstable . Small coastal craft can navigate down the Thames into the North Sea and then by the short sea passage to Europe. Around a mile to the south of Milton is the old Roman road of Watling Street , linking London to Canterbury and Dover . One of
2291-454: The 1830s. In the 18th and 19th centuries, men known as lookers were hired to look after the large flocks of sheep in the expanses of Romney Marsh. The lookers' huts were their temporary accommodation and store for tools. A hut was about 10 feet (3.0 m) square with a tiled roof and a chimney, a small window and a fireplace. The hut was particularly important at lambing time: the looker's family would regularly visit him, bringing supplies for
2370-490: The 18th century. Due to its location, geography and isolation, it was important for smugglers between the 17th and 19th centuries. The area has long been used for sheep pasture: Romney Marsh sheep are considered one of the most successful and important sheep breeds. Featuring numerous waterways, and with some areas lying below sea level, the Marsh has over time sustained a gradual level of reclamation, both through natural causes and by human intervention. An electoral ward in
2449-461: The 18th-century Sussex smugglers. According to Norman Wright's book The Famous Five: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know , Rye's history inspired Enid Blyton when she wrote Five Go to Smuggler's Top. The 1947 British historical drama film The Loves of Joanna Godden , based on the novel by Sheila Kaye-Smith and directed by Charles Frend , is set in Romney Marsh. The 1963 a three-part television series entitled The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh,
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2528-485: The English Channel. They were important for both trade and defence. Romney and Hythe were two of the ports within the Romney Marsh; Rye and Winchelsea were later added as "Antient Towns". Rye replaced Romney as one of the main five when Romney's port was silted in. The Royal Military Canal stretches for 28 miles hugging the old cliff line that borders the Romney Marsh from Hythe in the north east to Cliff End in
2607-476: The Isle of Sheppey. Most of the borough is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Faversham, Queenborough and Sheerness take the style "town council". The former Sittingbourne and Milton Urban District is an unparished area , as is the Halfway Houses area on Sheppey, being the only part of the pre-1974 borough of Queenborough-in-Sheppey not to have been subsequently added to a parish. For
2686-519: The Marsh Link Line is the Ashford to Hastings line, with stations at Hamstreet , Appledore , Rye , and Winchelsea . The one-time branch to New Romney from Appledore (its small offshoot to Dungeness closed in 1937) was closed to passenger traffic in 1967. It was possible to travel directly from Dungeness to London, and the 2-hr journey time was quicker than by road and rail today. The line
2765-497: The Marsh are operated by Stagecoach in East Kent and link it to Ashford, Canterbury , Dover , Folkestone, Hastings , Northiam and Tenterden . National Cycle Route 2 passes through the area; the section between Rye and Lydd is mostly off-road. From Lydd to Hythe, it uses quiet lanes; from Hythe it is possible to cycle along the sea wall to Folkestone, and ultimately (off-road) to reach Dover. The main line railway known as
2844-732: The Marsh were the Hawkhurst Gang , the Mayfield Gang, and the Aldington Gang , known also as "the Blues". Smugglers on the Marshes were known as Owlers . The name was rumoured to be derived from the owl-like sounds they used to communicate at night. Romney Marsh has been represented in a distinguished literary history. Three authors who specifically used the marsh as settings for their works were E. F. Benson , author of
2923-428: The Marsh, in so far as Baldwin can inclose it against the sea"; Baldwin's Sewer (drainage ditch) remains in use. The marsh has since become covered by a dense network of drainage ditches that once supported large farming communities. These watercourses have been maintained and managed by internal drainage boards (IDBs) for sustainable water levels since the 1930s. In April 2001, the five drainage boards responsible for
3002-708: The Pipe Line Under The Ocean. It was to pass under the English Channel, and was intended to supply fuel to the Allied forces that would be involved in Operation Overlord (the 1944 invasion of Normandy). There are two military establishments on the Marsh: the Hythe and Lydd Ranges . The latter has a large danger area marked on maps south of Lydd towards the sea. The Metropolitan Police also have
3081-546: The RSPB were concerned about possible detrimental effects of the wind farm on bird populations, as the location is close to a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a European Union Special Protection Area (SPA), because if provides habitat for large numbers of migratory birds . Bewick swans and shovellers spend the winter there, while there are large breeding populations of common terns , little terns and Mediterranean gulls . The enquiry concluded that
3160-873: The Romney Marsh sluices from potential invading French forces. One of these, Martello Tower No. 24 is closest to its original condition, and has its cannon. It is open to the public during the summer months. The towers were built between 1805 and 1808, when Napoleon was a threat. Prior to World War II, experiments to detect enemy aircraft with huge concrete acoustic mirrors were conducted at Greatstone . The large concrete mirrors were built between 1928 and 1930 as an early warning system in case of approaching German aircraft. While they could detect slow moving aircraft before they were visible, they were less effective as aircraft got faster, and operators struggled to distinguish between aeroplanes and seagoing ships. They were superseded by radar technology in 1935, and abandoned in 1939. Germany's Operation Sea Lion plan included crossing
3239-460: The Rother had been changed to its channel today; most of the remainder of the area had now been reclaimed from the sea. Today, shingle continues to be deposited in the harbour. As a result, all the original Cinque Ports of the Marsh are now far from the sea. Dungeness Point is still being added to (especially near Dungeness and Hythe ), though a daily operation is in place to counter the reshaping of
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3318-533: The borough is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Following the 2023 election a coalition of Labour , local party the Swale Independents , the Greens and an independent councillor have formed the council's administration. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as
3397-403: The bricks. The water flow from the creek provided a power source for the paper mills at Milton Regis and Kemsley to operate and was an effective, safe and cheap method of transporting the materials in and the goods out. The long commercial and industrial history of Milton Creek generated a need for a large fleet of trading barges at that time, now passed. A major industry remaining in the area
3476-581: The centre. However, each time stones were moved from the old site to the new place, St Augustine came down and put them back overnight, because he had put the church where he wanted it to be and did not want it to be moved. In 1887, the area was heavily involved in the paper manufacturing industry, starting under the ownership of the Lloyd family (see Edward Lloyd ), wealthy newspaper publishers from London. The local mill ceased production in January 2007. During
3555-673: The composition of the council was: One of the independent councillors sits with local party the Swale Independents as the 'Swale Independents Alliance', which forms part of the council's administration with Labour and the Greens. The other independent councillor does not belong to a group. The next elections are due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 47 councillors representing 24 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The council
3634-536: The council's first four years it had a chairman rather than a mayor. The chairmen were: From the grant of borough status in January 1978 onwards the chairman of the council has taken the title of mayor. The mayors have been: Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 square miles (260 km ). The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until
3713-542: The end of the Last Glacial Period , around or before the time of the Roman occupation. The strain responsible was most probably Plasmodium vivax , as records and texts describe agues or fevers at three or four-day intervals. Prior Anselm , of nearby Canterbury, recorded in the 1070s and 1080s a case that had every appearance of malaria. Although five indigenous mosquito species are capable of being hosts for
3792-469: The flat marsh during an invasion across the English Channel . The government planned to flood the area to prevent troops and equipment from crossing the area. Thousands of concrete pillboxes were built in Kent; 6,500 of the crumbling structures remain standing to this day. The ancient Royal Military Canal was well guarded with troops, pillboxes and barbed wire. Training was provided in the area for
3871-453: The grassland kept short by the sheep reared upon it, but farms are increasing in size to compensate for the decline in sustainable livestock farming. Some view this as unsustainable due to the damage to soil ecology of the Marsh. The only other alternative, since 1946, has been for farmers to turn to arable farming, changing the landscape from a patchwork of small family farms to a few extensive arable production units. A 59.8 MW wind farm
3950-478: The hands of his half-brother Odo for safe keeping, also appointing a portreeve , Hugh de Port, to preside over the town. Later, he was to become the shirereeve or Sheriff of Kent. Edward Hasted notes that a document of 21 Edward I (1259–60) records the hundred as being the King's hundred. Queen Philippa was given the hundred by her husband King Edward II . A document of 1 anno Richard II (1367–68) exempts
4029-544: The malarial parasite, only the Anopheles atroparvus species breeds in sufficient numbers here to act as an efficient vector. However, P. vivax likes brackish waters and, with the recreation of the old coastal wetlands coming into favour, this could expand the future malarial parasite host reserve. Together with the average temperatures in England increasing due to climate change, English malaria may become re-established in
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#17327728623984108-542: The marsh amalgamated to form the Romney Marshes Area IDB . Romney Marsh is adjacent to the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , which is less developed than many other areas in Kent and Sussex. The decline in sheep prices meant that even the local stock (sold around the world for breeding for over two centuries) became unsustainable. Turfing had always been a lesser practice due to
4187-460: The marsh to the European mainland meant that this area was in the front line whenever invasion threatened. In AD 892, one such invasion was successful. The Danish fleet of 250 ships sailed right into the Rother and took the fortress at Appledore (allegedly built by King Arthur ), which they destroyed. The importance of the Cinque Ports was in their strategic location at the narrowest part of
4266-409: The marshes. Roads across the Marsh have always been narrow and winding. This is partly because of the hundreds of sewers and smaller drainage ditches, and because the grazing land is far more important than the roads. The lack of road signs and few villages can make navigating across the marsh very confusing for outsiders. Several minor roads have no finger posts at junctions at all and at others, it
4345-496: The men of the hundred from "all watch and ward" on the sea coasts; excepting Sheppey, most of which was within the hundred itself. Local folklore has assigned the origins of Castle Rough to the Iron Age, Romans, Hengist and Horsa, Haestan and to a medieval fortified manor house. In order to investigate it further, the 1982 dig put in a trench on the southern side of the mound. Various layers of dumped material were identified, giving
4424-474: The past, people who lived in the marsh frequently suffered from malaria , then known as ague or marsh fever , which caused high mortality rates until the 1730s. It remained a major problem until the completion of the Royal Military Canal in 1806, which greatly improved the drainage of the area. This disease probably arrived here with mosquitoes as soon as the weather became warm enough after
4503-478: The process of throwing up an embankment around the sea-marsh and using the low-tide to let it run dry by means of one-way drains set into the new seawall, running off into a network of dykes called locally "sewers". In 1462, the Romney Marsh Corporation was established to install drainage and sea defences for the marsh, which it continued to build into the 16th century. By that time, the course of
4582-416: The project would not adversely affect the conservation areas, and the two organisations entered into a formal agreement with Npower Renewables to monitor and manage the area, with Npower funding the programme. Sheep have formed an important part of the economy of Romney Marsh for over 700 years. Romney Marsh sheep were bred from European white face, long-tailed sheep, but by 1800 they were considered to be
4661-750: The rise and fall of a smuggling gang leader in Deal, Kent , a notorious smuggling town further down the coast. Many other well-known writers have been associated with the area: Henry James lived in Rye; Daphne du Maurier lived in Hythe for a few years during World War II; H. G. Wells , Joseph Conrad , Ford Madox Ford , Stephen Crane , Radclyffe Hall , Noël Coward , Edith Nesbit , Rumer Godden , Malcolm Saville , and Conrad Aiken also lived in marsh towns. Conrad's daughter, Joan Aiken , set her children's book, Cold Shoulder Road, in Romney Marsh. Rudyard Kipling and his poem, "A Smugglers' Song", are also associated with
4740-446: The same name exists. This ward had a population of 2,358 at the 2011 census. Romney Marsh is flat and low-lying, with parts below sea level. It consists of several areas: The River Rother today flows into the sea below Rye , but until 1287 its mouth lay between Romney and Lydd . It was tidal far upstream, almost to Bodiam . The river mouth was wide with a huge lagoon , making Rye a port at its western end. That lagoon lay behind
4819-399: The same time: The new district was named Swale, after the waterway which divides the mainland part of the district from the Isle of Sheppey. The district was awarded borough status on 20 January 1978, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. Swale Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council . Most of
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#17327728623984898-409: The sea since at least 1236. Winchelsea, the third-largest port in England and a major importer of wine, was relocated on higher land, with a harbour consisting of 82 wharfs. Those same storms, however, helped to build up more shingle; such beaches now ran along practically the whole seaward side of the marshland. By the 14th century, much of the Walland and Denge Marshes had been reclaimed by "innings",
4977-456: The sea. A fictitious Romney Marsh estate near Charbury is a key setting in The Eagle Has Flown (1991) by Jack Higgins , the quasi-sequel to The Eagle Has Landed . Both are related to World War II. The latter novel was adapted as a successful motion picture starring Michael Caine . Modern-day novelist George Chittenden captures smuggling on the Kent coast in his highly praised debut children's novel, The Boy Who Led Them (2012). It follows
5056-422: The secret Auxiliary Units , men who would be deployed in case of an invasion. Four advanced landing ground airstrips were built on Romney Marsh in 1942, for use by fighters and light bombers; these were used for flights in 1944 against the German flying bombs . The miniature Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway was used by the government to run armoured trains during construction of Operation Pluto , known as
5135-459: The shingle banks, using boats to dredge and move the drifting shingle. Much of the Marsh became the property of the Priory of Canterbury in the 9th century, when the lands owned by the double minster of Lyminge were transferred to Christ Church, Canterbury . Prior Wilbert granted a tenancy on their land in Misleham, now part of Brookland parish, to a man called Baldwin, sometime between 1155 and 1167, for "all their land in Misleham which lies in
5214-516: The shingle barrier, which had protected it until that time. It is a common misconception that both these structures were built by the Romans. In 1250 and in the following years, a series of violent storms broke through the coastal shingle banks, flooding significant areas and returning it to marsh, and destroying the harbour at New Romney . In 1287, water destroyed the port town of Old Winchelsea (now located some 2 mi (3 km) out in Rye bay), which had been endangered because of its proximity to
5293-457: The site is speculative based on geography and the few remains found. An excavation at Castle Rough to the north of Milton Regis in 1972 uncovered around a hundred Mesolithic flint artifacts. They were present in disturbed material, but indicate an unknown flint factory was in the vicinity. Slightly further north, beyond the modern Kemsley village, there used to be a Neolithic site from which worked stone implements have been retrieved. The site
5372-403: The small hills in the area is occupied by Holy Trinity Church, and the area below this, between the hillock and the creek, was the original site of the town. The area is prone to flooding, and after the sack of 1052 the town centre was moved atop the next hillock south, where it remains to this day. The old site is now the northern part of the Milton Creek Country Park . The very early history of
5451-443: The south of Kent. It has long been supposed that this fort was at Castle Rough, but modern archaeological research has thrown doubt on the identity. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also records Godwin, Earl of Wessex , a powerful nobleman at the time, burning the town to the ground in 1052. This was one of several Royal towns and property possessions belonging to King Edward the Confessor that were destroyed by Earl Godwin's army, during
5530-426: The south west. It was conceived by Lt-Col Brown of the Royal Staff Corps of field engineers in 1804, the time of the Napoleonic Wars , as a way to ensure that an invasion by the French could not use the marsh as a bridgehead. John Rennie acted as consultant engineer, and the work was completed in April 1809. A military road was built on the inland side of the canal, which consisted of two parts, joined by sections of
5609-406: The thickest-walled Norman towers and to be one of the oldest churches in Kent. For such a large tower, the ring of bells is surprisingly light. A ring of five bells was recorded in 1681, tenor 12 long cwt 15 lb (1,359 lb or 616 kg), The tenor was recast as 11 long cwt 1 qr 24 lb (1,284 lb or 582 kg) in 1890. In 1934, the whole ring
5688-644: The veil as a nun. The present church is of Augustinian foundation, though with substantial additions and rebuilding in the Saxon and Norman periods. Other parts added were a family chapel and chancery by the local Barons (the Norwode (or Norwood) family) in about 1420. In the 13th century, Stephen de Northwode built a manor in the Parish of Milton. The house was known as "Norwood without Sheppey" and also known as "Norwood Chasteners." The church claims to have one of
5767-546: The week. There were 356 lookers' huts recorded in 1870; the practice of living out on the Marsh at certain times of the year was ending in the 1930s, and few are now left. A hut at Cold Harbour Farm near Brookland , built about 1900, is a Grade II listed building . There is a reconstructed hut at the Visitor Centre in Romney Warren Country Park . The Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership
5846-586: Was constructed by Npower Renewables at Little Cheyne Court, 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) west of Lydd and commissioned in March 2009. There were objections to the planned development from Kent County Council , Shepway District Council , English Nature and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and so a public enquiry was held to consider the application and objections. English Nature and
5925-413: Was destroyed by brick earth digging in the 1880s. The 1972 dig at Castle Rough also revealed sherds of Romano-British pottery in the disturbed layers. The Romans noted the quality of the barley and the oysters from Milton and established the town. Local tradition records that princes Hengist and Horsa , during their takeover of the kingdom of Kent from the local sub King Vortigern in circa 449, built
6004-591: Was formerly part of the Sittingbourne and Milton urban district. The area occupied by Milton Regis is low-lying, often marshy, land along the banks of Milton Creek. The creek is a drying arm of the River Swale which divides the Isle of Sheppey from the mainland. The Swale connects in the west with the lower reaches of the River Medway and was the main transport route to the cities and towns of Rochester , Chatham and Maidstone . The Medway drains into
6083-412: Was near the church, and the current Milton Regis dates back only to 1052. There are still many timber-framed houses and buildings, including a Medieval Court Hall (a seat of Justice and Administration) that dates back to 1450. The town and Manor of Middleton Regis , as it was called then, was recorded as the largest and most powerful manor in the lathe of Scraye (in the centre of Kent). Milton Regis
6162-474: Was retuned and rehung, the tenor again recast, and a new treble added. In 2019, two new trebles were added, bringing the ring up to eight bells with a tenor of 10 long cwt 3 qr 13 lb (1,217 lb or 552 kg) in G hung in the English style for full circle ringing . Local legend tells that after the village had moved to its current location, the church was going to be rebuilt in
6241-601: Was set up in June 1996, as a sister project to the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership. With the help of volunteers, it manages and maintains various sites across the Marsh. The non-profit organisation aims to care for the special landscape and wildlife of the Romney Marsh and Dungeness while encouraging people to enjoy and understand the countryside through volunteer work, guided walks, cycle rides, countryside events and children's activities. In
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