Eastry, Ham and Finglesham historical thoughts

I am fascinated by the low-lands between Deal and Sandwich, with marshes fed by streams which rise at Eastry, Northbourne and Great Mongeham. These chalk streams make their way to the Stour and thence to the sea, via a maze of dikes (correct local spelling), sewers and gutters through Ham Fen and Worth Marshes. The water from Northbourne's North Stream was drawn along Roaring Gutter, the Pinnock Wall and the Delf Stream to supply Sandwich (1).

If the sea level were to be say 3m higher than today, these streams would presumably have been navigable towards these villages which, with the good sources of food from the marshes, would have attracted a sizeable population.  The map below illustrates this scenario, with thanks to Jim Dickson for his modelling (2).  Archaeological finds in the area have indicated settlements in the Iron Age and before, on the higher ground around what are now the villages of Worth, Eastry, Ham and Sholden, as well as evidence of Anglo-Saxon occupation in later centuries.  

A strangely-shaped field edge on the map led us to an interesting rabbit hole, on the banks of the streams of Ham Fen. This seems to form part of an embankment system that lines the banks of the North and South Streams between Eastry and the outflow at Hacklinge, presumably protecting settlements on the higher ground; to the south is the hamlet of Ham with a (now damaged) church on a bluff, and to the north-west is the site of a Romano-British temple which seems to have been built over an earlier Celtic(?) shrine. 

Unsurprisingly given the geographic location close to the continent and to bountiful marshes, there have been finds of palaeolithic, Iron Age and Roman artefacts in the area.  When the Eastry by-pass was being built, archaeological work was done at the points where the earthwork crossed the road and found a small number of late Iron Age implements (3).

"A cemetery at Eastry and the objects found at Great Mongeham suggest that each arm of the inlet had its early Anglo-Saxon settlement, and their position gives useful information about the condition of the coast in the fifth and sixth centuries. Clearly the silting had not advanced far enough to cut off the tidal flow in the inlet and this in its turn indicates that there still was water in the outer lagoon, at least at high tide. 

The inlet was, in fact, a perfect natural haven, protected by ridges of high ground on the seaward side and by the down behind. From it, one may suppose, there was access by sea both to the other settlements of the Wantsum channel and the two branches of the River Stour." - Mrs Hawkes

Nearby Finglesham is also well-known for its Anglo-Saxon buckle, found in a cemetery which was used between 525 and 725 CE and discovered when a hill-top chalk pit was dug in 1929 (Hawkes, 4). The buckle was found in grave 95.

The artefacts uncovered by the excavation were divided between the archaeologists and the local landowner, Lord Northbourne, the latter of whom kept the finer jewellery, and the chalk pit is now filled in. 

In a fascinating analysis of grave orientation, Mrs Hawkes identifies the earliest (northernmost) inhumations to be facing north of the mid-summer azimuth, in line with West Street where she suggests the homestead may have been situated at the head of its creek, while the (later) majority of graves lie between the points of the rising sun at mid-summer to mid-winter, with a majority facing due east. The later change may indicate a cultural change brought by conversion to Christianity in the early seventh century.

It seems reasonable to think that the village of Eastry, an important power base in Anglo-Saxon times, would have held an Iron Age settlement as well, but there is little firm evidence of this (5). There are many instances of new locations being established in the Migration Period (6), and a move to Eastry from nearby Iron Age and Romano-British sites may be another example.

A report (7) on the archaeological implications of a planning application in 2024 provides a good summary of the history of Eastry and recommends that "Given the high archaeological potential in the area and that there are many questions remaining to be answered regarding Eastry origins from the Prehistoric period onwards as well as the importance of the PDS as part of a large manorial estate farmstead, it is recommend that there be a programme of archaeological works devised in consultation with the statutory authorities to mitigate any potential impact. Any further groundworks should be monitored." 

1. The Sandwich Delf - Dr Stephen Fuller
2. Ham's Secret Water - Land Elevation Data and Historical Sea Levels near Eastry Kent - Jim Dickson
3. Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit
4. Finglesham cemetery
5. Anglo-Saxon Eastry recent investigations
6. Mongeham Anglo-Saxon cemetery
7. Eastry Court Farm planning application - Archaeology report

Intro & Summary

 It's tricky to provide a splash page in Blogger so for new readers I'll try to keep this to the fore (welcome).

This is a blog that I started way back when I first became (seriously) interested in birds and local wildlife, in the early 2000s. I was watching my son play football in Ramsgate and was distracted by some bright green, noisy birds. A little research told me that :

• they are rose-ringed parakeets, and
• the internet held a thriving birding community hosted by a forum known as Planet Thanet.

Living just south of Thanet, I was able to piggy-back their sightings, views and arguments and quickly learned a lot about birds to complement what I had learned in my youth. I also learned to steer clear of obsessions about loafing larids and autumn leaf warblers.

I directed my interest at my local area, and specifically the Kingsdown rifle range which appears occasionally in the blog. On the downs and cliffs between Kingsdown and St. Margaret's I met a loose team of locals named the Bockhill Birders who took bird identification to new heights, literally in the case of confidently naming passerines flying high above our heads.

This area is bird-rich during migration periods but not so good in summer, so time was spent with butterflies and later with plants, which subsequently became my main fascination. As can be seen in the blog. 

So from about 2010 I spent more time looking down instead of up, and realised that where we live is a great place of many habitats - cliffs, chalk downland, arable (yes, an arable weed hotspot), dunes, marshes and woodlands. 

Contact with the vice-county botanical recorders has dragged me into plant recording, learning a huge amount very quickly, mostly about what I still don't know, and retirement has brought volunteer work with KWT and a local conservation group. 

The local area is rich in history, and when it rains or is cold my thoughts turn to the archives where I started my first, short-lived career. Alan Everitt's books on Change and Continuity in Kent had a strong influence on my university work and it's good to pick up the subject again now I have time to concentrate on it.  Living where we do, the impact of coastline changes is clear especially around the East Kent marshes, and these are forming an increasing amount of my time, in the library poring over tithe maps, and in ditches looking for wetland plants. 

Living the dream. With many thanks to those who have helped me along the way.