Sheppey Where and what?

       Insula Ovinium, Scaepige, Sheppey

         The Roman Saxon and modern names for 

          Island on which Sheerness stands 

First impressions

Approaching the Isle of Sheppey along the A249 through Iwade and leaving the mainland of Kent behind him the traveller passed, on the left just before leaving the village, a pub called the Woolpack which gives a clue as to what the Isle of Sheppey was, and to some extent still is, famous for. Once he left the village he was confronted with a view which is a strange mixture of open marsh and industrial dereliction, giving an impression of space and solitude, yet spoiled by the worst aspects of modern industry .The marshes on the South side of the Swale start here and extend to the bridge straight ahead of him, which was aptly described, by John Newman in his book West Kent and the Weald as "like some great megalith".**** That and this site were written before the graceful new bridge was built which opened  July 2006 These marshes continue on the Sheppey side of the Swale until they reach a low range of hills which runs East and West attaining a height of about 250 feet and which look for all the world like a stranded hump-back whale.

 Even though the view is marred, and scarred, by parts of one of the largest board mills in Europe on the right, and a veritable regiment of electricity pylons marching in various directions there is still a sensation of space, coupled with a strange feeling that Sheppey has turned its back on the rest of Kent. As indeed, it has!  As you cross the bridge the marshes stretch as far you can see with only a few cottages in the foreground and some sparse, wind blown trees at Elmley to relieve the monotony of grass. Ditch and sky, with the sky seeming to dominate.

 In spite of the intrusion of the electricity cables looping across the scene there is still a feeling of timelessness enhanced by the remarkable clarity of the light on this southern aspect of the Island. The ubiquitous sheep, after which the island is named, can still be seen grazing on the rich, salt marshes and standing on the strange little hummocks that abound. These were once thought to be dolmen type burial places but the truth seems to be more prosaic in that they are simply there to help save the sheep in times of flood. However, there is very little sign of human habitation. True there are some large and unsightly modern factory units belonging to car importers on the left and in the distance you may catch a view of huge ungainly car carrying ships, of which no ship's designer can possibly be proud, berthed at the docks whose cranes can be seen silhouetted against the western skyline.

There is, again on the left, on Sheppey's southern bank of the Swale, a modern sewage treatment plant, which unfortunately only partially treats the sewage it pumps into the waters of the Swale. Apart from a few houses straggling up Barton’s Hill there is no sign of the population which requires the electricity carried by those four footed skeletons marching across the marshes, or which produces the effluent for which the sewage works were built. The visitor could be excused from wondering where the railway line which runs straight as an arrow beneath the road leads to-even where the road leads to. Is all the traffic playing at lemmings and going to drop off the edge of Sheppey straight into the sea?  The reason for this strange impression is that apart from one or two new developments all of the residential parts of Sheppey are on the North side of the escarpment looking over the murky greyness of the North Sea, and facing up to the keen North Easterly winds which can blow up the funnel which is the Thames Estuary with a rawness which has to be experienced to be believed. The prevailing wind is in fact South Westerly but it never feels like that, either to residents or visitors. The fact that all the towns and settlements are on the North side of the island adds to the feeling of isolation and gives solid ground for the impression amongst outsiders and newcomers that the island people are insular in every sense of the word. It is strange to reflect that although the island has a resident population of about 34,000, to which can be added another 30,000 or so chalet and caravan dwellers in the short summer holiday season there is so little sign of people as you make your approach .Indeed the southern slopes must look as they have done for hundreds of years, except that probably they were more wooded than they are now. The only trees now are strange straight pole-like ones with cross branches at 90 degrees that carry the domestic electricity  supply to the isolated farmhouses hidden in the depths of the marshes, farmhouses which once would have been lighted by tallow candles!..

The Medway                               

When we think of the history of Sheppey we must first of all consider the present geography and topography of the area and remember that in the time of Stone Age Man it was likely to have been very different from what exists now.

First, where is this island?  It lies in the mouth of the Medway where it joins the Thames Estuary, and is surrounded on one side by the Medway; on its Southern side by a branch of that river called the Swale, not.., please, the river Swale ;and on the North side by the Thames Estuary which at this point is widening out to become part of the North Sea. In spite of the connection with the Thames estuary, most locals would say that it has greater affinity with the Medway, the largest river in Kent, than the Thames. Certainly, the frontage at Sheerness, which changed the course of its history, is on the River Medway. Although not one of the great rivers of England in terms of its length, the Medway has nevertheless had a major influence on the history of England with two Royal Dockyards having been sited on its banks at Chatham and Sheerness. The Romans called the river Fluminus Meduwaesias and it is known, from the discovery in 1962 at Blackfriars of a 3rd century Roman ship with Kentish ragstone still in her hold, that they used it to transport the building material for their city walls. King Alfred the founder of the navy knew the river as the Medwaeg when he fought the Danes at Rochester in 886.  Later the Normans built great castles on its banks at Rochester and Tonbridge, and also used it to transport ragstone for the building of the Tower of London. The red flag of revolution flew over the Medway for a short time during the mutiny at the Nore. H.M.S Victory was built at Chatham and in 1805 the body of Admiral Lord Nelson returned to Sheerness from Gibraltar preserved in a barrel of alcohol and later transferred to Chatham in a yacht before being taken on to Greenwich. More recently it saw the great ships of the navy anchoring in its estuary during both world wars. Now great power stations stand on its banks at Kingsnorth and at Grain and the former Royal Dockyards at both Sheerness and Chatham have been turned into bustling profitable modern commercial ports. Parts of the former dockyard at Chatham are being turned, by English Heritage, into a 'yuppies' paradise with expensive housing and marinas where once the pride of the British Navy used to ride. They are keeping parts of the dockyard open to the public as a museum

The river actually rises close to Turners Hill in East Sussex some 112 kilometres,70 miles, as the river flows, from Sheerness.

 It crosses the border into Kent near Ashurst but it is quite properly considered a Kentish river as the rest of its course is in the county as it meanders through the

Map of source of the Medway and the tributaries downstream to Rochester

The source of the Medway in Butchers Wood Turners Hill

Weald of Kent and Tonbridge, Maidstone, Rochester and Chatham on its course to the sea and Sheppey. Indeed, it is the dividing line between those who call themselves Men or Maids of Kent to the East and Kentish Men or Women to the West.  It is thought that this division originates from the way that Hengist and Horsa split the county between them.  

The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 6

Year published 1798 Author Edward Hasted

DescriptionThe histories of three hundreds in the lath of Scray: Faversham, Milton and Tenham. The volume includes accounts of the isle of Sheppey and the ville of Sheerness. It also gives addenda for this volume and for volume 5.

SHEERNESS.

THE VILLE OF SHEERNESS lies at the western part of the parish of Minster, at the north-west point of the Isle of Shepey. It was once esteemed as part of that parish, but it has been long since created a ville of itself, and is entirely Separate from it as to its civil jurisdiction, though as to its ecclesiastical jurisdiction it still continues part of it.

This part of the Island of Shepey, in the reign of king Charles I. was no more than a watry swamp or morass, on the point of which, after the restoration of king Charles II. there was mounted a small fort of twelve guns to defend the passage up the river Medway. In which situation it remained till the Dutch war broke out in that reign, when the general discourse of the whole kingdom turned on the importance of this place, and the erecting a royal fort on it, which might preserve the navy, and at the same time be a great security to the river.

The king took this charge upon himself, and in the beginning of the year 1667, made two journeys hither in the depth of winter, taking an engineer and some officers of the ordnance with him, and having seen the work begun, he left at it his chief engineer Sir Martin Beckman, whom he designed for governor of the fort, and committed the overlooking of the whole, that every expedition might be used, to one of the commissioners of the ordnance; notwithstanding which, very little or nothing had been done towards it, when the Dutch, that year, made their memorable attempt upon the royal navy in the river Medway, which was then in a most defenceless state, there being at that time, besides the twelve guns here as before mentioned, only four that could be used at Upnor, and scarce so many at Gillingham, for the defence of it.

There was a company or two of soldiers indeed here, under excellent officers, but the fortifications were so weak and unfinished, and all other provisions so entirely wanting, that though the best defence was made, yet the Dutch fleet no sooner appeared within distance, but with their cannon they beat the works flat, and drove the men from their ground, and then with their boats landed their men, as if they had resolved to fortify and keep it; after which, sailing up the river, they broke through every means made use of to oppose them, and having done considerable damage to the shipping, (a full account of which has already been given in a former part of this history (fn. 1) ) they fell down the river again without any further molestation, and having taken away all their men from Sheerness, they sailed away for the coasts of Essex and Suffolk.

This bold attempt gave such an alarm to the nation, as well for the safety of the royal docks and magazines at Chatham, as for the navy itself, from the defenceless state of the river Medway, and the easy access of the enemy to it, that this fort of Sheerness was immediately afterwards increased to a regular fortification, and became a royal fort, having a line of large and heavy cannon mounted on it. Besides which, there were other smaller forts built on each side of the river, higher up, for the future defence of it. Great improvements have been made from time to time to the fort of Sheerness, and of late years elpecially, it has been greatly augmented and strengthened, insomuch that no fleet, however formidable, can in future attempt to pass it, without the hazard of being torn to pieces, and left any danger might in future happen to it, in 1782 an act passed for the more effectually securing of it.

The fort and garrison of Sheerness is under the command of a governor, a lieutenant governor, a fort-major, and other inferior officers. The present governor is general Francis Craig, the lieutenant-governor Sir James Malcolm. The salary of the former is 300l. per annum, and of the latter 182l. 10s.

Some years since the building of a fort here, a royal dock has been made adjoining to it, intended chiefly for the repairing of ships which may have met with any sudden accident, and for the building of smaller ships of war, such as 5th and 6th rates, small frigates, yachts, and such like vessels, though sometimes ships of a larger size have been built here, but this has not been often. This yard, in time of peace, is under the inspection of the commissioner of the navy residing at Chatham, who has a clerk of the cheque and a storekeeper resident here under him. But in time of war, from the great increase of business, an extra commissioner is always appointed, who constantly resides here; and the office of ordnance has a branch likewise established here.

The numbers of persons necessarily attendant both on the fort and dock-yard, has occasioned the building of a town of several streets in and near it, which is exceedingly populous, many of the buildings being crouded with several families together in one house; but the great scarcity of fresh water had always been most severely felt by the inhabitants of this place, this induced government in 1782 to try if it could not be procured by the sinking of a well here; their trial at the neighbouring one of Queenborough some years before, giving them hopes of equal success here, nor were they disappointed, for when the workmen under the direction of Sir T. Hyde Page, of the corps of engineers, had dug to about the depth of twenty feet, the augur dropt in, and the water instantly flew up, and quickly rose to two hundred and sixty-five feet, which was within sixty-three feet of the top of the well. From the first, the taste of the water was soft and pleasant, and though at first very thick, yet it soon became clear and fit for use, and still continues so, affording, jointly with that of Queenborough, a constant and plentiful supply, not for only the inhabitants, but for the shipping, and various departments of government here, the former before trusting mostly to their savings of rain water, and the latter, (the well at Queenborough not being fully sufficient for the supply of the shipping) having it fetched weekly, at a very heavy expence to government, in vessels from Chatham for that purpose.

The old ships of war stationed here are termed break-waters from their breaking the violence of the tides, the hulls are occupied by 60 or 70 families, and chimnies of brick are raised from the lower gun decks, which give them the odd appearance of a floating town.

There is a chapel erected here at the expence of government, for the use of the garrison, &c. but all christenings, marriages, burials, and other ecclesiastical rites, are performed at the mother church of Minster, which has the entire ecclesiastical jurisdiction over this ville. The chaplain is appointed by government to the cure of this chapel.

A market is held at Sheerness weekly on a Saturday.

From: 'The ville of Sheerness', The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 6 (1798), pp. 229-233.