| CINQUE PORT TOWN |
| In 1278 Edward I granted a charter to the Cinque
Ports and Confederate Towns, which included New Romney. The Cinque
Ports provided the Sovereign with a fleet of ships for defence which
also served as private transport for the King. The five original Head
Ports were New Romney, Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, and Hastings and they
enjoyed important privileges for over 200 years. |
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| THE GREAT STORMS |
| During the thirteenth century violent storms swept
the local coastline. New Romney was devastated by these ferocious
storms. The harbour was lost, shingle and mud were swept into the
town, severing its links with the sea and changing its fortunes forever.
|
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| PLEASE STEP DOWN |
| William the Conqueror’s half-brother Bishop
Odo, is believed to have started building St. Nicholas’ church
in 1080. Stone was imported from Caen and it took 50 years to build
the church – longer than the lives of many of its builders.
The western entrance to the church lies lower than the road. This
is testimony to the power of the thirteenth century storms which brought
huge amounts of sand and shingle into the town, raising local ground
level, and filling the harbour. |
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| BACK TO SCHOOL |
Opposite the church is the Old School.
The last pupils were taught in this building in 1974. The building
has been restored through a real partnership of local fund raising
efforts and grants received from the Heritage Lottery Fund, local
charities, Shepway District Council and Kent Rural Development Area
amongst others.
The Old School now holds local artifacts and is a place for educational
training. |
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| NEW INN |
| The churchyard is the final resting place of Lieutenant
Thomas Edgar who sailed the oceans in the company of Captain Cook.
Edgar was a skilled mariner in his own right whose survey of the West
Falkland Islands in 1786 gave rise to the naming of Port Edgar. His
tombstone now sits in the north chapel of the Church. Many local smugglers
are also buried at Lydd including Francis Sisley who smuggled silks
and laces with the help of his son Thomas based in France. Francis
was to become great-grandfather to the Impressionist painter Alfred
Sisley. |
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| THE GHOSTLY MAID |
| During the l8th century a young woman called Elizabeth
was found hanging from the staircase in the New Inn, rumoured sightings
of this mysterious lady walking the hallways and rooms of the inn
cannot be confirmed or denied! |
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| OPEN ARCADE |
| The Town Hall originally dates from the
sixteenth century when it had an open arcade at ground level for trading
livestock. It wasn’t until the early eighteenth century that
the building became the Town Hall. The adjoining jail, or ‘small
port’ as it was called, was built in 1750, with heavy wooden
doors and iron grated windows. |
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| TAKE IT AWAY |
| The Chinese takeaway on the corner of
Lydd Road was once The Victoria Hotel. This was the centre of a thriving
transport business run by Mr. Moody who operated services to Folkestone
at the turn of the twentieth century. |
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| John SOUTHLAND |
| Several of the houses in West Street
opposite the car park are thought to be part of the monastery and
are some of the oldest buildings in New Romney. Adjoining them are
cottages left by John Southland in 1610 as an abiding place for the
elderly of the town. The town’s school in Station Road is named
after him. |
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| ST. MARTIN’S FIELD |
| New Romney was once a prosperous town with five churches.
On St. Martin’s FieId, near the Human Sundial, is the site of
the oldest church in New Romney. St. Martin’s Church was built
by the Saxons to serve what was then a fishing village. By 1550 it
had fallen into a state of disrepair as the town could not afford
the upkeep of both St. Nicholas’, and St. Martin’s churches.
Its demolition was finally agreed by Archbishop Cranmer. |
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| FOREIGN GROUNDS |
| The priory building dates back to around
1270 and was probably attached to a home for lepers. As the priory
was a religious foundation rather than a parish church. It was technically
a foreign priory. Whenever France and England were in dispute the
priory was seized by the then King and restored on the return of peace. |
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| SHEEP FAIR |
| Romney sheep or ‘Kents’ are one of the
most ancient breeds in Britain. Vast flocks numbering up to 180,000
used to graze the rich pastures of the Marsh a century ago. The sheep
were brought into New Romney to market on Fairfield Road, near to
Fairfield House. The stock fair was held on the 2lst August and a
general fair for the locals was held the next day. Today the successful
New Romney Country Fair is usually held on the first Saturday of August. |
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| THE OWLERS |
| The wool of the Romney Marsh sheep is thick, dense
and of high quality, it was in great demand in France during the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. The high Custom and Export Taxes imposed
encouraged an illicit trade in the fleeces which were smuggled from
the Marsh to France. Most smuggling took place at night – the
eery calls that the smuggling men used gave them the local name of
‘the owlers’. In 1698 most of the fleeces of 160,000 sheep
shorn on the Marsh were smuggled to France. The smuggling peaked on
the Marsh in 1780. |
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| THE OLD FORGE |
| New Romney Library stands on the site of one of the
two town forges. The second forge was next to the Cinque Port Arms
pub at the other end of the High Street. |
