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).

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