Romney Marsh
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 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.A 59.8 MW wind farm was constructed by Npower Renewables at Little Cheyne Court, 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) west of Lydd and commissioned in March 2009.English Nature and 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),[7] because it provides habitat for large numbers of migratory birds.[12] 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.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.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, a medieval canal that brought water from higher up the river Rother.The local bus routes on the Marsh are operated by Stagecoach in East Kent and link it to Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone, Hastings, Northiam and Tenterden.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.[23] Martello towers are fortifications that were built by the British Army for coastal defence during the early nineteenth century and the Napoleonic Wars.[24] Prior to World War II, experiments to detect enemy aircraft with huge concrete acoustic mirrors were conducted at Greatstone.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.[26] The miniature Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway was used by the government to run armoured trains during construction of Operation Pluto, known as 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).The Metropolitan Police also have 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.[28] 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.Rosemary Sutcliff's 1955 historical novel Outcast depicts Roman efforts to build the Rhee Wall and reclaim land from the sea.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).Conrad's daughter, Joan Aiken, set her children's book, Cold Shoulder Road, in Romney Marsh.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.Charles published The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, a historical romance set on Romney Marsh and featuring smuggling.
Romney Warren Country ParkWetlandsGrid positionEnglandwetlandEast SussexmalariaRomney Marsh sheepelectoral wardWilliam CamdenIngoldsby LegendsRichard Harris BarhamSnargateNew RomneyAppledoreWalland MarshEast GuldefordDenge MarshDungenessIsle of OxneyWinchelseaRiver RotherRomneyBodiamlagoonCinque PortsWilliam DugdaleRhee WallDymchurchOld WinchelseaPrioryCanterburyChrist Church, Canterburyinternal drainage boardsRomney Marshes Area IDBHigh Weald Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyTurfinglivestockLittle Cheyne Court Wind FarmNpower RenewablesKent County CouncilShepway District CouncilEnglish NatureRoyal Society for the Protection of BirdsSite of Special Scientific InterestEuropean UnionSpecial Protection Areamigratory birdsBewick swansshovellerscommon ternslittle ternsMediterranean gullsliver flukeflock bookPatagoniaFalkland IslandsbuttercupsBrenzettBrooklandlisted buildingRoyal Military CanalLast Glacial PeriodPlasmodium vivaxPrior AnselmAnopheles atroparvusBrookland, KentHamstreetAshfordFolkestoneStagecoach in East KentHastingsNorthiamTenterdenNational Cycle NetworksignpostNational Cycle Route 2Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch RailwayLight Railways Act 1896Saxon Shore WayGravesendArchbishop of Canterburythe RotherKing ArthurRoyal Staff CorpsNapoleonic WarsJohn RennieRiver BredeMartello towersSeafordacoustic mirrorsGreatstoneOperation Sea LionEnglish ChannelAuxiliary Unitsadvanced landing groundflying bombsOperation PlutoOperation OverlordLydd RangesFairfieldBlack DeathOrdnance Surveygrid referenceBonningtonHope All SaintsWorld War IIsmugglingHawkhurst Gangthe Aldington GangOwlersE. F. BensonMapp and LuciaRussell ThorndikeDoctor SynMonica EdwardsRosemary SutcliffOutcastThe Eagle Has FlownJack HigginsThe Eagle Has LandedMichael CaineDeal, KentHenry JamesDaphne du MaurierH. G. Wells