64-620: Minster is a town on the north coast of the Isle of Sheppey in Kent , south-east England. It is in the Swale administrative district, and within that, in the parish of Minster-on-Sea . According to the 2021 Census , the population of Minster was 17,389. The name of the town derives from the monastery founded in the area. There is some variation in the use of the name, with the local parish council being named Minster-on-Sea , while other sources, such as
128-718: A "cargo hold", he airlifted one small pig. The Eastchurch airfield was also the site, in July 1911, of the competition for the Gordon Bennett Cup for powered air racing, attended by flyers from all over the world, and won that year by the American pilot C. T. Weymann . A stained glass window in the south side of All Saints' Church, Eastchurch (built in 1432), was dedicated to Rolls and Grace, who were killed in July and December 1910 respectively. In July 2009, Eastchurch celebrated 100 years of aviation history associated with
192-733: A 130 vehicle pile-up on the Sheppey Crossing bridge and its northern approach in which eight people were seriously hurt and another 30 hospitalised. Four ferries previously connected the island to mainland Kent: the King's Ferry to Iwade , the Harty Ferry to Faversham , one from Elmley , and a passenger ferry connecting to the Port Victoria railway terminus on the Grain Peninsula . The most recently active of these,
256-529: A charter of free warren for his manor of Ufton, in the parish of Tunstall . He fought on the rebel baronial side at the Battle of Boroughbridge (1322), was captured, and was held for over a year in the Tower of London . On his release, he was appointed mayor of Bordeaux (1323–1324). A curious legend (first recorded in the 17th century) surrounds Sir Robert. It is said that he killed a priest, and resolved to ask
320-472: A day of local programming for each county from 6 am to 9 am, sharing the remainder of their output between 9 am and 7 pm, then joining with other stations in the BBC South and BBC South East regions at 7 pm. BBC South East also produces regional news and local radio pages for BBC Red Button and BBC Local websites for each county. It also provided regional information for
384-541: A dedicated South East operation was finally introduced on Tuesday 28 March 1989 with the launch of Newsroom South East from a dedicated news centre at the BBC Elstree Centre in Hertfordshire. Despite the changes throughout the decade, the large region and fewer regional operatives meant the service was still far from ideal. The size of the region was gradually reduced in stages, starting in 1993 when
448-505: A favourite of Anne Boleyn . He died in 1558 and was first buried in the chapel of Saint Katherine, which was demolished to allow construction of the east end of the chancel in 1581. Today the old abbey gatehouse is occupied by a museum run by the Sheppey Local History Society. The effigial monument of Robert de Shurland includes the sculpted head of a horse, and is closely associated with (and probably inspired)
512-533: A few kilometres the next year to Eastchurch where a new more appropriate aerodrome had been built for the club. The Eastchurch airfield played a significant role in the history of British aviation from 1909 when Frank McClean acquired Stonepits Farm, on the marshes across from Leysdown, converting the land into an airfield for members of the Aero Club of Great Britain. The Short brothers, Horace, Eustace and Oswald , built aircraft at Battersea to be tested at
576-461: A local legend in which Sir Robert killed a priest; swam on horseback to beg the king (on board a ship) to pardon him for the murder; but on his return to shore killed his horse because an old woman predicted that it would be the cause of his death. Later encountering its bones, he kicked them in scorn, only for a shard to pierce his foot, causing an infection from which he died. The tale takes elements from Italian, Slavic and Icelandic folklore (including
640-415: A naturalist. He discovered much of interest to the antiquarian, naturalist, geologist and zoologist, although there was little prior knowledge. In 1777, Jacob published a book about his various fossil finds, including what he called "the remains of an elephant". The island has an established scorpion population. Euscorpius flavicaudis has been resident since the 1860s, believed to have been imported on
704-462: A new regional TV service. Unlike ITV Meridian (East), it does not provide local news for southern Essex (received from a Bluebell Hill overlap), this area being part of the BBC London region instead. BBC South East's television output consists of the flagship regional news service South East Today and its main programme is broadcast weeknights at 6:30 pm, with short bulletins throughout
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#1732772841148768-692: A noble on such a humble vessel was the locally hated Jesuit Edward Petre and so took his money, watch and coronation ring. At length he was recognised by one of the assailants and the group took him in custody to Faversham , where he was detained. Bluetown hosts the history and Heritage Centre for the Isle of Sheppey. The Heritage Centre contains memorabilia and artefacts pertinent to the Sheppey's history, including displays on aviation, maritime, wartime activities, and island history and offers guided walks of Sheppey Isle and Bluetown. The present Heritage Centre
832-474: A population of 7860. On 1 April 1968 the parish was abolished to form Queenborough in Sheppey . Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey is located over two sites in the area, and is the only secondary school on the Isle of Sheppey. In 2009 eleven pupils were hurt by the collapse of a heating duct during an exam at its predecessor, Minster College. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from
896-591: A separate entity and Heathfield viewers rejoining Bluebell Hill and Dover in a new smaller BBC South East region, launched on Monday 3 September 2001 and based in Royal Tunbridge Wells . Following digital switchover in the south on 7 March 2012, the Whitehawk Hill transmitter in Brighton transferred from the BBC South region to BBC South East. The network had been broadcasting around
960-594: A ship. They have been found to be highly adaptable and hence have survived the relative cold by conserving energy and only acting for nutrition and reproduction. The last known colony in England of the British endemic subspecies of the Essex Emerald moth, at Windmill creek, died out as late as 1991. In 2008 palaeontologists published details of the fossil skull, found on the island, of a large flying bird from
1024-468: A significant feature of the Isle of Sheppey's economy, which includes the extensive export/import of motor vehicles, and a large steel works, with extensive railway fixtures. The island is, however, suffering from an economic recession and these industries are not as extensive as they once were. The area immediately outside the dockyard was occupied by dockyard workers, who built wooden houses and decorated them with Admiralty blue paint illegally acquired from
1088-491: Is an island off the northern coast of Kent , England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary , centred 42 miles (68 km) from central London. It has an area of 36 square miles (93 km ). The island forms part of the local government district of Swale . Sheppey is derived from Old English Sceapig , meaning "Sheep Island". Today's island was historically known as the "Isles of Sheppey" which were Sheppey itself,
1152-557: Is named after its first owners, the De Shurland family. In 1188 Adam de Shurland possessed a mill with more than 1,000 acres (405 ha) of mixed land, mostly marsh with a small meadow: he also let a number of cottages thereabouts. Sir Robert de Shurland (d. 1324), a member of the family, served in the Anglo-Scottish wars , including the siege of Caerlaverock (1300), where he was knighted; and shortly afterwards obtained
1216-559: Is on the site of two earlier establishments. Originally called the "New Inn", in 1868 the site became "The Royal Oxford Music Hall". The following year the building, which is situated a few doors down from the Bluetown court house, became the Criterion Public House, with a music hall called the "palace of varieties" situated immediately to its rear. In 1879 the building was replaced with a brick structure. On 5 June 1917
1280-534: Is the highest point on the island. The rest of Sheppey is low-lying and the southern part of the island is marshy land criss-crossed by inlets and drains, largely used for grazing. The economy is driven by a dockyard and port, the presence of three prisons, and various caravan sites. Sheppey is separated from the mainland by a channel called the Swale . In concert with the Wantsum Channel that once separated
1344-522: Is the only one of the BBC regions not based in a major city. The Tunbridge Wells studios are located in The Great Hall, a historic building previously used as public rooms, photography studios, a performance venue, a cinema, a dancing school and until 1980, a nightclub called Carriages . In 1980, the building was severely damaged by fire. It was renovated and bought and now contains an arcade of shops,
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#17327728411481408-493: Is thought to be responsible for the unusual "semi-detached" arrangement of two churches next to each other: the Saxon church of the convent to the north and a parish church to the south for the villagers. They share a wall containing pointed arches and are now used as a single building. The abbey was dissolved in 1539, and along with Davington Priory near Faversham it came into the possession of Sir Thomas Cheney (Cheyney/Cheyne),
1472-596: The Bluebell Hill TV transmitter. The town is served by county-wide radio stations: BBC Radio Kent , Heart South , Gold Radio . Community radio based stations are BRFM 95.6 FM , Sheppey FM 92.2 and Hospital Radio Swale which broadcasts from the Sheppey Community Hospital in the town. The Sheerness Times Guardian is the local weekly newspaper. Minster Cricket Club play at Gilbert Hall near St. George's Primary School. The club
1536-634: The Eocene epoch called Dasornis in the deposits of the London Clay . From 1894 to 1968, Sheppey comprised the Municipal Borough of Queenborough , Sheerness Urban District and Sheppey Rural District (consisting of the civil parishes of Eastchurch , Elmley , Harty , Leysdown-on-Sea , Minster in Sheppey and Warden ). In 1968, all these units were abolished and simultaneously a new single Municipal Borough of Queenborough-in-Sheppey
1600-670: The Heathfield transmitter serving East Sussex was switched from BBC South East to BBC South. On 16 October 2000, the areas served by the Oxford transmitter were transferred from BBC South East to a new opt out service from BBC South's South Today . This service was concluded on financial grounds in December 2022. Following the BBC's South East Review of 2001, the London and South East arrangements changed, with BBC London split off as
1664-472: The Isle of Thanet from mainland Britain to the east (before it silted over in the late Middle Ages ), and Yantlet Creek at the Isle of Grain to the west, it was occasionally used in ancient times by ships navigating to and from ports such as Chatham and London to reduce exposure to bad weather in the Thames Estuary or North Sea . The Kingsferry Bridge was first built in 1860, thus eliminating
1728-588: The BBC Ceefax service until its closure in October 2012. Prior to 2001, London, and the whole of the South East had been considered part of the same editorial region by the BBC, and as a result, received a single regional service, including news programmes London Plus (1984–1989) and Newsroom South East (1989–2001). London had not been afforded the same 'regional' status as the other BBC regions as
1792-576: The Criterion was badly damaged by a German air raid. Shrapnel marks from the attack can still be seen in the dockyard wall opposite the building. After the air raid, the building was re-built in its present form retaining some of its original features. After a variety of other uses, the site became the Heritage Centre in January 2009. A special exhibition in 2014 commemorated the centenary of
1856-579: The Dutch took supplies, ammunition and guns, then burned everything that was combustible. Three miles (5 km) across the Swale lies Whitstable . The Swale channel was the point of departure selected by James II , when departing in some haste "from the Protestant deliverance of the nation" by William of Orange in December 1688. A hoy having been chartered, the fugitive king landed at Elmley , only to be mobbed by local fishermen. They thought such
1920-616: The First World War. Henry VIII , requiring the River Medway as an anchorage for his navy, ordered that the mouth of the river should be protected by a small fort. Garrison Fort was built in 1545. Sheerness is a commercial port and main town of the Isle of Sheppey and owes much to its origins, as a Royal Naval dockyard town. Samuel Pepys established the Royal Navy Dockyard in the 17th century. Sheerness
1984-798: The Harty Ferry, ceased operation at the start of the First World War , although there was a short lived attempt to start a small hovercraft service between the Harty Ferry Inn and Oare Creek near Faversham in 1970. The complex of causewayed enclosures at Kingsborough Manor attests to the importance of the island's high ground during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages . Later prehistoric, Roman and medieval occupation has been found by archaeologists in advance of development at Neat's Court and St Clements CofE Primary School in Leysdown. In
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2048-471: The Isle of Harty to the south east and the Isle of Elmley to the south west. Over time the channels between the islands have silted up to make one contiguous island, which is now linked by two bridges to the Kentish mainland. Sheppey, like much of north Kent, is largely formed from London Clay and is a plentiful source of fossils. The Mount near Minster rises to 250 feet (76 metres) above sea level and
2112-614: The Second World War the Shoeburyness Boom , which ran across the Thames Estuary to protect shipping from submarine attack, ran from Royal Oak Point (near Minster) to Shoeburyness in Essex. A similar structure was built along the same alignment in the early 1950s to protect against Soviet submarines. The Royal Oak Point end of the boom was demolished in the 1960s. In 1961 the civil parish called "Minster in Sheppey" had
2176-629: The beach after the waves have brought down the cliffs. In around AD 670 King Ecgberht of Kent gave land at Minster for his mother Seaxburh of Ely to establish a Benedictine nunnery, but this was burnt down by the Danes in 855. At some point before the Norman invasion the church was rebuilt and refounded as a Benedictine nunnery, incorporating elements of the original construction in the north chancel and nave. Between 1123 and 1139 Archbishop Corbeil (Corbeuil) refounded it as an Augustinian nunnery. Corbeil
2240-449: The bulk of the national content was produced in the capital. This was reflected in the fact that since the launch of regional TV news bulletins in 1957, there was no specialist division within the BBC tasked with producing South East opt-outs. As a result, the region had fewer local bulletins. Town and Around , the BBC's first attempt at a South East news programme, was gradually integrated into Nationwide , whose production team produced
2304-600: The day and during the weekend. A half-hour opt-out during Sunday Politics is produced by an independent production company. In 2020, South East Today joined forces with BBC London News during the COVID-19 Pandemic to keep viewers in both regions informed with the developments about the virus in their areas, although it didn't affect their separate main evening programmes. The joint venture happened again in January 2021. BBC South East covers Kent , East Sussex and parts of West Sussex and Surrey . Due to
2368-473: The dockyard. This area was, and still is, known as Blue Town , though it is now mostly occupied by the Sheerness Steel complex. Beyond Blue Town, an outlying residential area overlooking the sea was chiefly designed for various government officials. This area became known as Mile Town because it is one mile (1.6 km) from Sheerness. About 200 shipwrecks are recorded around the coast of Sheppey,
2432-563: The end of WW2. The largest town on the island is Minster with a population of 21,319. Other towns include Sheerness and Leysdown-on-Sea . The whole north coast is dotted with caravan parks and holiday homes; there is also a naturist beach beyond Leysdown , towards Shellness. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds managed a portion of Elmley National Nature Reserve known as Elmley Marshes up until 2013, at which point it reverted to management by Elmley Conservation Trust, owners of
2496-477: The fringes of Brighton and Hove prior to switchover and has always been part of the region's remit since 2001; BBC South East now broadcasts terrestrially to the whole city extending along the coast into West Sussex as far as Worthing . The regional broadcasting centre is based in Tunbridge Wells , Kent with local radio studios and television bureaux located in Brighton and Guildford . BBC South East
2560-424: The island. SkySheppey brought together a number of associations and joined with many visitors to recognise the importance of British aviation history that started at Eastchurch. From March 2015 a new museum, The Aviation Museum Eastchurch, was set up at The Old Mill Green off Brabazon Way, HMP Standford Hill, to commemorate the pioneer aviators and the site as a long established RAF Station serving from WW1 through to
2624-594: The king for a pardon. Mounted on horseback, he swam out to the Nore (north of Sheppey), where the king's ship was anchored, and gained forgiveness. On his return, he met an old woman who predicted that the horse that had helped save his life would be the cause of his death. To defy the prophecy, Sir Robert killed his horse; but later encountering its bones, he kicked them in scorn, only for a shard to pierce his foot, causing an infection from which he died. The tale takes elements from Italian, Slavic and Icelandic folklore (including
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2688-525: The largest and fastest expanding ports in the UK. The Port of Sheerness contains at least one Grade II listed building, the Old Boat House. Built in 1866, it is the first multi-storey iron framed industrial building recorded in the UK. Decorated with ornate ironwork, it features operating rails extending the length of the building, for the movement of stores, much like a modern crane. A large ferry terminal
2752-467: The last 27 years of its existence. The island has a long history of aviation development in England. It was home to Lord Brabazon 's Royal Aero Club which formed in Leysdown in the early 1900s to popularise ballooning. The club took to the aeroplane with relish, and in July 1909 the Short Brothers established Shellbeach Aerodrome on nearby marshland to accommodate six Wright Flyers , moving
2816-426: The local bulletins, presented for many years by Bob Wellings . This issue was addressed to a degree with the launch of South East at Six on Monday 4 January 1982 and later, on Monday 3 September 1984, by London Plus – which saw the introduction of short daytime bulletins of the type seen in other BBC regions. Production teams based within the BBC's Current Affairs department continued to produce London Plus until
2880-623: The local primary school, use Minster-in-Sheppey , in order to distinguish it from Minster-in-Thanet , also in the county of Kent. Both places are listed in the Ordnance Survey gazetteer as Minster. Royal Mail identifies a locality of Minster on Sea in the ME12 postcode district. Minster-on-Sea is a location mentioned in Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop . The coast here consists of London Clay , and many fossil remains can be found along
2944-675: The most famous being the SS Richard Montgomery , a liberty ship loaded with bombs and explosives that grounded on sandbanks during the Second World War . As of 2004 plans were discussed with a view to removing the threat from the Montgomery . These include encasing the ship in concrete or removing the bombs; no firm decision has been made. New research commissioned by the Government in 2005–06 suggested that
3008-489: The need for ferries. Over time, there have been four bridges built over the Swale at this point. All bridges had to allow sufficient clearance for shipping heading to the commercial docks at Ridham . On 19 July 1860 the first bridge came into use. It was built for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway , to an Admiralty design. It had a central span raised between two towers. Trains and road traffic were able to use it, as with
3072-544: The next two bridges. On 6 November 1906 the second bridge, built for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway , replaced the first. It had a "rolling lift" design that was originally worked by hand, but later by electricity. In October 1959 Kingsferry Bridge , a lifting bridge , was completed, able to lift both the road and the railway line to allow ships to pass beneath. In May 2006 the Sheppey Crossing
3136-720: The site. BBC South East BBC South East is the BBC English region serving Kent , East Sussex (including the City of Brighton and Hove ), parts of West Sussex and Surrey . The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter (formerly part of the BBC South region) with the Bluebell Hill and Dover transmitters (from the then BBC London and South East region) to form
3200-441: The site; later Moore-Brabazon, Professor Huntington, Charles S. Rolls and Cecil Grace all visited and used the flying club's services. Wilbur Wright and his brother Orville came to the Isle of Sheppey to visit the new flying grounds of the Aero Club. In 1909, Moore-Brabazon made the first live cargo flight by fixed-wing aircraft, by tying a waste-paper basket to a wing strut of his Shorts-built Wright aircraft. Then, using it as
3264-458: The sixteenth century when it was sold by Sir Henry Cheyne. During the First World War troops were billeted at the Great Hall, and it suffered considerable damage as a result. Shurland Hall is a Grade II listed building . In 2006 a grant of £300,000 was made by English Heritage to restore the hall's façade. The Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust carried out the restoration work which
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#17327728411483328-584: The size of Surrey , the listenership of BBC Radio Surrey is covered by both BBC London , BBC South and BBC South East. The region is the controlling centre for BBC Radio Kent , BBC Radio Surrey and BBC Radio Sussex . Radio Kent carries local programming between 6 am and 7 pm from the Tunbridge Wells studio, then simulcasts networked programming along with stations in the BBC South and South East regions until 1 am every night. Radio Sussex and Radio Surrey each carry three hours
3392-533: The springtime, with Sheppey's minsters being used by the invaders as feasting halls or general headquarters. In 1016, Cnut the Great of Denmark and his forces are reported to have retreated to the Island of Sheppey rather than face King Edmund Ironside in battle during the winter. King Edmund gathered his forces during Lent and mounted an attack on Cnut shortly after Easter. Shurland Hall , near Eastchurch ,
3456-523: The story of Oleg the Wise , and that of Örvar-Oddr ). It was greatly popularised in a version published in 1837 by Richard Barham ("Thomas Ingoldsby"), as one of his Ingoldsby Legends . Sir Robert died in 1324 leaving as his heir a daughter Margaret, who married William, son of Alexander Cheyne of Patrixbourne . To William passed the manor of Shurland. It remained in possession of the Cheyne family until
3520-526: The story of Oleg the Wise , and that of Örvar-Oddr ). It was greatly popularised in a version published in 1837 by Richard Barham ("Thomas Ingoldsby"), as one of the Ingoldsby Legends . In the early 20th century the island was hit by speculative builders and Minster suffered equally with Sheerness . After the Second World War the population of the village had swollen "from about 250 people in 100 homes to 5,500 people in 1,800 homes". During
3584-596: The threat has passed and that constant surveillance should ensure the safety of the immediate community. In 1629 the first recorded botanical visit was paid to the island by the apothecary Thomas Johnson and colleagues. They were thought to be foreigners so were arrested and imprisoned in Queenborough Castle before being released by the Mayor. Edward Jacob (1710–1788) purchased the little Manor of Nutts, Isle of Sheppey, in 1752. There, he pursued his hobby as
3648-432: The year 835, Viking invaders attacked Sheppey. It is the first known account of a major Viking raid in Southern England. Sheppey would go on to suffer from subsequent raids, its vulnerable coastal monasteries providing a convenient target for the Danes. In 855, Sheppey as part of the kingdom of Wessex , became the winter camp of an occupying Viking force, presumably the raiders from prior attacks. Raiding continued in
3712-478: Was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway at Queenborough Pier in 1876 and operated a nightly service to Flushing ( Vlissingen ) in the Netherlands , as well as a German mail service. These services ceased during the First World War; the terminal was used for military traffic. The small port was closed and dismantled in the 1930s. A passenger, car and lorry service was operated by Olau Line from 1974 to 1994. The dockyard and port at Sheerness today are
3776-421: Was completed and opened on 3 July. This four-lane road bridge rises to a height of 95 feet (29m) at mean high water springs above the Swale, and carries the A249 trunk road. Pedestrian, animal and bicycle traffic, as well as the railway, are still obliged to use the lifting bridge, which still provides the most direct link between the island and the Iwade / Lower Halstow area. On 5 September 2013, fog caused
3840-407: Was completed in 2011. The house was put on the open market for £1.5 million, and was sold. Sheppey is one of few parts of what is now the United Kingdom to have been (temporarily) lost to a foreign power since William the Conqueror 's invasion in 1066 . This was in June 1667, when a Dutch fleet sailing up the Thames Estuary for the Medway captured the fort at Sheerness. The fort at the time
3904-403: Was created, covering the entire island. In 1974, this local government unit was abolished and Sheppey then came within the newly created Swale district. In parliamentary terms, Sheppey has been in the constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey since 1997, a Conservative-Labour marginal seat; prior to this it was in the Faversham constituency , also a marginal but held by the Conservatives for
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#17327728411483968-434: Was established in 1931 and is the largest on the Isle of Sheppey, fielding four senior teams for Saturday league cricket. The club also have a junior section with U16, U14, U12. Also U1 & U8 soft ball teams, two midweek cricket teams and a Sunday team. www.minstercricket.co.uk Isle of Sheppey 51°23′28″N 0°49′52″E / 51.391°N 0.831°E / 51.391; 0.831 The Isle of Sheppey
4032-467: Was incomplete and the garrison underfed and unpaid, so resistance to the heavily armed Dutch Navy (which, according to Samuel Pepys 's diary, was also to a large extent composed of deserters from the English Royal Navy) was hardly enthusiastic. Pepys, then secretary of the Navy Board , described Sheerness as lost "after two or three hours' dispute". The Dutch quickly overran and occupied the whole island for several days before withdrawing. Prior to leaving,
4096-437: Was the focus of an attack by the Dutch Navy in June 1667, when 72 hostile ships compelled the little "sandspit fort" there to surrender and landed a force which for a short while occupied the town. Samuel Pepys at Gravesend remarked in his diary "we do plainly at this time hear the guns play" and in fear departed to Brampton in Huntingdonshire. The dockyard served the Royal Navy until 1960 and has since developed into one of
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