AROUND AND ABOUT
ROMNEY MARSH 

Revised 1966

ITINERARY IDEAS

A FEW WORDS ABOUT
WHAT THERE IS TO SEE AND DO
WHILST ON 

ROMNEY MARSH

 CONTENTS

PART I

Romney Marsh

 "What shall we do with ourselves on Romney Marsh, more especially should we have a wet day?"

This is a natural question which must flash through the minds of many who are strangers to this part of the country; one may be easily misled by the very word 'Marsh.'

What once was, is now no longer dark swampy squelchy bog land but rich pasture and arable country.

Should the climate of these parts be cause for any anxiety; let me say that while England is not so wet as Ireland none the less by virtue of its island position one cannot ever rely on the settled state of the weather for long periods. Kent and this little corner of south eastern England have the lowest rainfall of the British Isles, so that we can always say with some satisfaction if it is wet with us it must be worse elsewhere. In fact it is very rarely indeed that one is prevented by weather from going out and enjoying the country-side, at least for some part of the day.

I can say no more than come and see, for I am confident that you will never regret having been.

Let us examine what there is to do out of doors in this neighbourhood.

There is the sea shore where every childish imagination can be let loose to indulge itself to the hilt; sand castle building, paddling, bathing, collecting sea shells and odd shaped pebbles by the youngsters whilst their betters laze close at hand in the fresh air.

In these enlightened days however it may be thought by some to be educationally improper to indulge solely in such childish pursuits. To such may I say relaxation is good for old and young and often serves to inculcate a closer understanding between them.

 The shore also provides a pleasant school-room for those who care to avail themselves of the lessons provided free to teacher and pupil alike.

 To the westward of St. Mary's Bay lies Dungeness point with its lighthouse and life boat station, whilst to the eastward beyond Dymchurch and Hythe can be seen Folkestone harbour works jutting out into the sea below the white cliffs.

 To seaward one gazes out on an uninterrupted horizon of blue water varying in shade according to the colour of the sky above. Here can be seen ships bound west and also those heading for the Straits of Dover to the north-east. It is off Dungeness that pilots are picked up and dropped, and here for that purpose is stationed the "Pilot Ship." 

To walk a short distance inland enables one to get a very good idea of the network of water courses and the purpose to which the land is put. It is some of the most productive land in the Kingdom. Sheep are grazed with the greatest success and the Romney Marsh breed are world famous being exported to New Zealand, Australia, South America and the Falkland Islands, beside many other foreign countries.

The agricultural land is very fertile and yields in both root and other crops are outstandingly high.

You may possibly observe that the country looks barren and cheerless for lack of trees. The high winds which are so prevalent in these parts have largely been responsible for this, and consequently only small coppices appear on the landscape affording welcome windbreaks where ever they exist.

 Romney Marsh as it is more widely known comprises all the land from the hills in the distance to the sea, from Hythe on the east to Rye on the west.

 In the days gone by and still to some extent today this area was jealously divided up. The divisions are Walland Marsh, Denge Marsh, and Romney Marsh, and their respective inhabitants maintained independence of one another to no mean degree.

 This rich country possesses many ancient landmarks of history. Was it not at Bonnington that the Roman Legions landed, and at Portus Lemanus that they had their famous bridgehead with all the defences of Stutfall Castle to protect their dock and port installations that lay up the estuary of the river Lymane (later called Rother) that then flowed into the sea where now stands the modern redoubt, at the western extremity of the "small arms firing ranges" just off the Dymchurch-Hythe road some two miles before entering the town of that last name.

 To come to things of more modern flavour we have the ever enthralling feature of the smallest public railway in the world. The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway runs from Dungeness to Hythe via New Romney, St. Mary's Bay and Dymchurch and is a never failing source of attraction to all children and young people not to mention quite a few of riper years.

At night especially in the month of May the raucous croaking of the Marsh frogs will sound their warm welcome to spring from moist homesteads along the fringes of the dykes.

 To those who are strangers to Romney Marsh the sound is both eerie and tedious. In the silent hours this sound travels a long way and often echoes back again not unlike the "squeak squawk" of complaining spars in a sailing ship at sea.

 You may well ask what are and from where do these  curious frogs come.

 In 1945 Mr. E. P. Smith (Esme Percy) the playwright who then lived in these parts imported 4 pairs of a species of frog known as Rana Ridibunda from the continent for a pond in his private garden to combat mosquitoes and gnats in the  summer time.

 This particular amphibian is closely related to the better known species Rana Esculanta commonly eaten in France as an especial delicacy.

 The animal is larger than the common frog upon whose tadpoles and larvae he freely feeds in the spring time.

 Unfortunately however the marsh frog is not so active or so general a pest destroyer as is his less fortunate, though more common, relative.

 Living close to water he is by nature very shy though you might not think so from the orchestration of his powerful vocal sacks which carry as much as half a mile on a still night.

 On the approach of humans and not infrequently before they are seen, these animals plunge to the safety of the water with an all too familiar 'plop.'  They are further provided with the ability to vary their colouring to enable them to blend in with the lights and shades of the banks of the water courses which they frequent.

 It is quite possible therefore to see a bright green marsh frog in one place and a dull grey green one elsewhere which fact before now has led to not a little controversy amongst young naturalists anxious to establish definite recognition of a ' real' 'Marsh Frog.'

The more fortunate naturalist who is privileged to watch this interesting creature will observe that before emitting this eerie sound the frog inflates two small sacks on his head which resemble miniature ping pong balls. The size of these bags in comparison with the rest of the body is both alarming and grotesque at the moment before the sound is given forth.

 The calls are most prevalent during the mating season and the courting antics of these frogs are quite entertaining.

They move with surprising alacrity over surface weed on the water as though upon a ballroom floor and perform the most striking figures and gestures not infrequently changing colour as they move from light to shade.

If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet,
Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street,
Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie,
Watch the wall, my darling, while the Gentlemen go by,

Five and twenty ponies,
Trotting through the dark,
Brandy for the Parson,
'Baccy for the Clerk,
Laces for a lady; letters for a spy,

And watch the wall, my darling, while the Gentlemen go by! 

From time immemorial the natives of Romney Marsh have been averse to the payment of taxes, no doubt due to the many concessions they received and the many privileges granted to them under the Royal Charter of the Cinque Ports.

 Perhaps to them the most loathsome of these taxes was the payment of excise duty on goods coming in or going out of the Country by sea. After all, the sea was as much their home as was the land, did they not man their boats in times of peril to protect our shores?  No doubt owing to the remoteness of Romney Marsh, the proximity of the French Coast, which can be seen on a clear day, and the lack of Revenue Officers it was soon found to be an easy matter to carry on illicit trading with the Continent  without let or hindrance. What could be easier than for English and French fishermen to meet in mid-channel under the cover of darkness and to exchange wares to their mutual advantage, albeit to the loss of the Revenue authorities!

One has always looked on the smuggler of old with a certain amount of affection, perhaps with some justification, as in every other way he was an honest and trustworthy citizen;  just one who revelled in a gamble agin the law. The extent of his contraband was small and the use of the 'goods' brought in confined to his own or his friends' household and though their activities were no doubt known to the Kings Men a blind eye was often turned in his direction. Smugglers had the support of the local population who felt they were a part of this  adventurous pastime.

Running round the woodlump if you chance to find.
Little barrels, roped and tarred, all full of brandy wine;
Don't you shout to come and look, nor take 'em for your play;
Put the brishwood back again, and they'll be gone next day! 

Many a bottle of good French wine has found its way into Marsh homes and no doubt many have been the boisterous toasts drunk to the French counterparts for their share in this  exciting game.

 So much for the lighter and more harmless aspect of smuggling as we like to think of it and now to the more serious  side.

 It is said that smuggling as a regular business began in the fourteenth century but contrary to general belief this was concerned with taking goods out of the country rather than bringing goods in, although it is highly probable that the latter continued as a side line.

 Over a long period of years wool was the most valuable cargo to export for save during brief interludes it carried a very high export duty and was always in great demand on the Continent as well as in this country. The very high export duty was levied by the Government in an endeavour to keep as much wool as possible in this country and at a reasonable price for our own clothiers.

 Most things start in a small way and no doubt as Romney Marsh was a sheep shearing area many fleeces of wool from these parts found their way across the Channel and later to Belgium and Holland where the Flemish weavers were able to make good use of it. Middleburg was one such centre.

The high prices offered for wool on the Continent proved a continual temptation for this trade to expand and later the "owlers', smugglers so called who worked at night as do owls, went farther inland in quest of supplies and many are the tales of running battles fought over the Marshes between the 'owlers' and the 'Kings men.'

There is no question that the Revenue Authorities were seriously handicapped in their work of prevention not only in having so few men available to patrol the Marsh and the coast but also the support of the local population either by collaboration or fear was very much weighed against them. Frequently when a capture was effected juries refused to convict, thus frustrating any effort to cope with this problem.

 If you meet King George's men, dressed in blue and red,
You be careful what you say, and mindful what is said,
If they call you 'pretty maid' and chuck you 'neath the  chin.
Don't you tell where no one is, nor yet where no one's been!

From small and perhaps more or less harmless beginnings smuggling grew into what became a ruthless and serious threat to the law and order of the countryside spreading terror around the entire coasts of Kent and Sussex.

 In the middle of the eighteenth century this part of Kent was dominated by some of the most wicked and ruthless crooks in the annals of crime who would stop at nothing to achieve their ends. The place of the jovial fishermen was now taken by escaped convicts, highwaymen and a motley crowd of desparados who though they had no longer the support of the local population could run their nefarious schemes without interference owing to fear and threat of reprisals.

 One such gang, known as the 'Hawkhurst' gang and led by a desparado named Arthur Gray could muster at the peak of their power 350 horsemen as well as a considerable body of infantry. For many years they terrorised the countryside and it  15 was only when they quarrelled amongst themselves over the spoils and fought an internecine battle in the main street at Wingham that some of the leaders were caught. Gray escaped and later led a daring raid on Newgate and rescued those captured from under the very noses of the prison authorities. Some time later Gray was captured when attempting a similar exploit on Maidstone goal and so ended the adventures of the Hawkhurst gang.

 An ex-member of this gang, one Thomas Kingsmill was the leader of the next band of cut throats to terrorise the countryside. He waged a ruthless war against the Revenue Officers and anyone else who came up against him whilst engaged in running contraband down to the coast. An ex-soldier named Thomas Sturt who returning from the wars was appalled at the serious state of affairs in his native village trained all the able bodied inhabitants into a local Home Guard! 

Kingsmill endeavoured to break this local force and often threatened them with what he would do; he even boasted the date he would attack and murder every living soul in Goudhurst. Sturt using his military experience however dug in and so deployed his forces that he was able to meet the attack and smash the gang in the 'Battle of Goudhurst.'

During the Sturt period 'owling' was rampant and it appears as though the land forces of the Revenue Authorities were quite incapable of stopping this trading.

 In the reign of Charles II the Customs hired vessels to cruise along the coast in an effort to catch the 'owlers' from the seaward side and later during the reign of William III a regular watch was kept along the coast from the North Foreland to the Isle of Wight.

 So serious had the export of wool become that farmers within ten miles of the coast had to declare the weights of fleeces and give details as to their disposal within three days of shearing.

 Round about this time the North Kent gang was proving troublesome but their efforts at smuggling were more or less thwarted by 'Flogging Joe' M'Cullock who was in charge of the seaward watch and who gave short shrift to anyone falling into his hands.

Another tough and ruthless gang were the 'Blues' so called from the colour of the lights they used at night as signals.

They operated from Aldington, and were perhaps the toughest of the gangs who terrorised the Marsh. They too were also eventually broken up by the warriors of the martinet Captain 'Flogging Joe' after a running fight across the Marsh through Lydd culminating in the 'Battle of Brookland.' 

By 1826 one George Ransley, an ex-member of the 'Blues' had reformed the gang based on a large house at Aldington Frith. After causing the authorities much trouble and anxiety the ruthless 'Flogging Joe' again came to the rescue and smashed the gang for good and all.

 About this time owing to the high Customs duty on spirits, tea, silks, tobacco and so on smuggling on taxed imports began in earnest and the 'export' of wool became of less importance.

 The demand in this country for luxury goods increased and whole fleets were built on both sides of the Channel for carrying contraband in cunningly concealed places. Ankers of gin and brandy, bags of tea and bundles of silk were brought across in ships with faked bottoms, hollow masts and bowsprits. The spoils were carried inland by gangs numbering one or two hundred strong with pack horses and were well guarded. These gangs were composed of merchant seamen, agricultural labourers and anyone else who was willing to take part. The pay ranged from 7/6 to 15/- a night. These gangs were strong and lusty and defied attack. Owners of horses were paid well in money or kind, the horses being removed after dark and replaced before daylight.

 If you see the stableyard setting open wide,  If you see a tired horse lying down inside,  If your mother mends a coat cut about and tore,  If the linings wet and warm, don't you ask no more.

 Special distilleries were built on the other side of the Channel solely in the interests of this illicit trading with England.

 Many were the running fights that took place across the Marshes when contraband was being conveyed to the inland hide out. It is said that many churches in the Marsh held their quota and even on one occasion that morning service had to be cancelled as there was insufficient room for the congregation.

 Local traders and Merchants found much of the capital needed to finance this trade and went shares in the spoils.

Rumour has it that many a large house and estate in these parts was founded on the contraband trade, and that local gentry, squires and even parsons were involved.

 Tea clippers coming from the far east soon found that trading with the smugglers boats lying up in the Downs was profitable thus causing more worry to the Revenue Officers.

This was later stopped by the organisation of an escort to accompany tea clippers up channel, in an effort to see that cargoes reached the correct port of destination untouched.

 In 1805 Revenue Cutters sighted a big lugger in the Channel which at once beached itself at Dungeness. It was dark and the crew after making signals left the lugger and escaped.

A thousand casks of spirit and a hundred bags of tea were found aboard. In a short time a large gang on horse and foot returned with firearms and bludgeons and fought a bloody battle. The Kings men were forced to retire but only to collect the Lancashire Regiment quartered in the neighbourhood. Another fight ensued in which the smugglers were beaten, some were killed but none captured alive. A reward of two hundred pounds was offered for information which would lead to the capture of the leaders but none dare give it. Nine years later the leaders, natives of Lydd, were discovered and arrested, but in spite of ample evidence all were acquitted by the local justices!

If you do as you've been told, likely there's a chance,
You'll be give a dainty doll, all the way from France,
With a cap of Valenciennes, and a velvet hood,
A present from the Gentlemen, along o' being good !

Five and twenty ponies,
Trotting through the dark,
Brandy for the Parson,
'Baccy for the Clerk.

Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie,
Watch the wall, my darling, while the Gentlemen go by.

A question which must invariably arise in everyone's mind sooner or later is 'what' and 'why' are the "Cinque Ports?"  As the name indicates there are five though seven places are involved and almost inextricably so.

 The five ports are Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, Sandwich, with the two limbs of Rye and Winchelsea which were added at a subsequent date.

 To these parent ports if we may so describe them were attached corporate and non-corporate members as time went on. The former enjoyed practically all the liberties of their parent bodies within their own jurisdiction.

 The inception of the Cinque Ports had its origin in the then ever growing necessity for the provision of seaward defence of our southern coast as far back as the reign of Edward I.

 The Great Charter granted to each of the ports in the 6th year of that reign refers to still earlier documents of the time of Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror.

 In return for services in defence of these shores by the provision of ships and men to man them certain rights and privileges were granted amongst which were the following:— 

1. Exemption from "tax and tallage." 

2. "Sac and Sos." The right to handle all criminal and civil proceedings within their own "Liberties." 

3. "Blodwit and Fledwit." The right to punish those who shed blood or had fled the law to escape punishment for such crime elsewhere.

 4. "Pilory and Tumbril." The right to inflict such punishment involving their usage.

 5. "Infrangertheof and Outfrangertheof." The right to imprison or execute felons wherever they be taken whether within or without their own "liberties." 

6. "Flotsam Jetsam and Ligan." The right to claim ail articles as might he brought ashore by the sea and wrecks within their "liberties." 

7. The right to impose and levy taxes.

8. Lastly the " Honours at Court" by which privilege the Barons, or representatives of the Cinque Ports were to bear the Canopy over the Sovereign's head in the Coronation Procession from Westminster Hall to the Abbey as typifying their responsibility for the safety of this realm and island.

 Much more might be said about the many ancient customs and privileges attaching to the Cinque Ports such as the Courts of Brotherhood and Guestling held at Dover in traditional style, but this would be departing from the object for which this small pamphlet has been prepared.