ROMNEY MARSH
WAS known to the English Saxons, at first by the
name of Merscwarum, as appears by the Saxon chronicle. And in a grant of king Offa to archbishop Janibert, of about the year 795, it is called Merscware,
by which name Camden says, the inhabitants of it
were called, i. e. Viri Palustres, marsh or fen men.
When it came to be first known by the name of Rommene, or Romney, is uncertain, but the first mention
that I have seen of it is in the year 895, in a grant of
Plegmund the archbishop, of land called Wesingmersc, which is described to lie near the river called
Rumeneia. To reconcile the several names of this river, perhaps it might be conjectured as may be instanced in other rivers in this county and elsewhere,
that it had different names in different parts of it.
Thus near the source or spring head, it might be
called the Rother; lower down and along the branch
which separated at Apledore to Stutsall, the Limen;
and in this part near Romney, as above, Rumeneia;
and yet the whole river might be in general known,
[kat exokhen], by the name of Limen, from that principal
part of it where the Roman Portus Lemanis was situated; by which name only, this whole district, as well
as the principal town in it, seems from that time to
have been known. Different have been the opinions
of the origin of Romney Marsh, some asserting that it
was once wholly covered by the sea, and deserted
when that element had made its encroachments on
other distant parts; and others, that it was only a
large swamp, covered in many places by the tides at
times, and by the waters of the river Limen or Rother, (called, at least that part of it which was near
Romney, in archbishop Plegmund's grant beforementioned, Rumeneia,) which had then no banks to
confine the waters of it from flowing over the lands
adjoining to them, insomuch that both together made
the greatest part of it, an uninhabitable morass. The
river Limen, or as it has been of late times called, the
Rother, was in very antient times a large navigable
river, which rising in the county of Sussex, flowed
down to the town of Apledore, on the northern or inland side of this marsh, and thence separating into two
channels, one of which flowed south-eastward under
the hills of Rucking and Bilsington, on that side of
the marsh under Limne-hill by Stutsall-castle, where
the antient Portus Lemanis is supposed to have been,
into the sea by West Hythe; the other directed its
course south-eastward from Apledore across the Marsh
to Romney, where it formed a port or haven, and
emptied itself into the sea there, at which time the
tide flowed up much higher than Apledore, even above
Newenden, where so late as king Edward III.'s time,
it came up with such impetuosity, that the bridge
there was broken down and destroyed by it, and the
lands on each side overflowed and greatly damaged by
the salt water. So considerable was the channel of this
river, that in the time of king Alfred, the Danes, in
893, sailed up it as high as Apledore, with a fleet of
250 ships, and there entrenched themselves. The former branch of this river, which flowed by Limne, of
which notice has been already taken before, was probably soon after the departure of the Romans from
this island, first swerved up, so as to render it useless
higher than West Hythe, which became a noted haven at the mouth of it afterwards; but this stream
soon wholly failing, and directing its course another
way, and the sea deserting it likewise, the channel of
it became dry land, and though now a green pasture
for cattle to feed on, may yet very easily be traced
along the whole course of it, under the hills from West
Hythe to Apledore. The other branch of this river,
which flowed from Apledore to Romney, about the
space of four miles, seems, by being navigable for so
large a fleet, to have been of considerable size, and
by the failure of the other stream to have become still
more so, having a large and commodious haven at the
mouth of it, near the latter place; but when that
dreadful tempest happened in the reign of king Edward I. which by the overflowing of the sea, forced on
by the violence of the winds, overturned whole villages in these parts, destroying the inhabitants as well
as their houses and cattle, and changing the whole
face of the country, (fn. 1) then the waters of this river being forced out of their proper channel, and the mouth
of it being stopped up by the beach and sand driven
against it, formed another passage from Apledore
south-westward towards Rye, where it empties itself
at present, having been for many years a very small
and insignificant stream. The bed of the river from
Apledore to New Romney, though now most part of
it pasture land, is very plainly to be traced on the east
side of the Rhee wall, and shews it to have been a
large river, of considerable breadth and depth; but
long before this great change happened in the course
of the river Limen, the several proprietors of the adjoining manors and estates, fearing the safety of them,
began to embank it, and defend their lands from the
overflowing of the waters of it, as well as the sea tides;
for even as high as king Henry I.'s reign, the prior
and convent of Christ-church found it necessary to tie
up their tenants to repair and maintain them, these
inundations frequently breaking in and drowing the
neighbouring lands, and although every means was
afterwards used by frequent commissions for the purpose of the river's returning to its old channel, yet
that seems in king Edward III.'s reign to have been
given up; and the king granted to the archbishop
and others, the old trench or channel of it, leading
from an arm of the sea called Apuldre towards the
town of Romene with licence to obstruct, dam, and
stop it up, the same having, by reason of the sands
and other matter flowing in, been so filled up that
ships could not pass by it; and that there was another trench leading from the said arm to Romene
lately made by force of the sea, (most probably by
that great tempest which Lambarde mentions to have
happened here three years before,) by which ships
passed thither as they had before used to do by the former one, and was more proper and sufficient. But it
should seem that this new channel was of use but for
a small time, for the same violent irruptions of the sea
likewise, by the ports of Rye and Winchelsea, had
made way for the Limen or Rother's mingling its waters with that æstury, so that wholly breaking off its
usual course between Apledore and Romney, the haven and creek at the latter wanting the river's usual
help to scour and keep it open, was by the sand and
beach cast up by the sea soon obstructed and closed
up, and became dry ground, as it remains at this time.
ROMNEY MARSH is now a spacious level of marsh
ground, lying on the southern coast of Kent, between
the upland hills and the sea shore. It is about ten
miles in length from east to west, and at the broadest
part from north to south about four miles. Leland,
in his Itinerary, vol. vii. p. 142, says, "Rumeney
Marsch ys from Lymme hil upward a x myles yn
lenght and wher yt is most abowt v myles yn bredeth,
and that as I suppose now is abowt the towne of Rumeney. The Marsch of Rumeney encresith dayly yn
breede. But yt is not yn al places of like breede. For
yn sum place yt is ii myles, yn sum iii myles, yn sum
iiii and v myles over. It ys a marvelous rank grownd
for fedyng of catel, by the reason that the grasse groweth so plentefully apon the wose sumtyme cast up there
by these. The very towne of Rumeney and a ii
myles abowt yt was allway by lykelyhod dry land and
ons as yt is supposed the se cam abowte hyt or at the
lest abowt the greatest part of yt." It contains four
districts, all comprehended under the general name of
Romney Marsh, but under different jurisdictions and
constitutions, viz. Romney Marsh, strictly so called,
under the jurisdiction of the liberty of it, which extends westward as far as the Rhee-wall; Walland
Marsh, the next adjoining westward; Dengemarsh
with Southbrooks, southward; and Guildford marsh,
most of it in Sussex, which three are under the jurisdiction of separate commissioners of sewers. Romney
Marsh contains 23,925 acres, and the other three
districts 22,666 more. The whole of which, within
this county, contains within its bounds two corporate
towns and sixteen other parishes. The lands in it
are very different in fertility, some being very much
so, and others very poor and barren. There are very
few oxen fed in Romney Marsh, but mostly sheep,
which on an average are about three to each acre.
These are much larger than the Down or West Country sheep, but not near so large as those of Lincolnshire and some parts of Norsolk. There are very few
trees or hedges in it, the grounds being mostly separated by ditches and a rail fence. The roads, which
are wide, are only the marshes fenced off, the soil of
which being remarkably deep, makes travelling on
them very unpleasant after the least rain. Excepting
the villages, which consist of but a very few houses,
standing close round the churches, there are hardly
any others interspersed in it, and they are all but very
mean. The unwholesomeness of the air causes it to
be very thinly inhabited, for, as Mr. Lambarde says,
it is bad in winter, worse in summer, and at no time good,
only fit for those vast herds of cattle which feed all over
it. The inhabitants of these villages are but of very
mean condition, being mostly such as are hired to look
after the grounds and cattle, the owners and occupiers of which live in general in the neighbouring
towns or upland country. There is but little land
ploughed throughout it, but much more than used
to be.
This large tract of marsh-land was perhaps fenced
in from the overflowings of the sea, as early as any in
these parts of England, for the laws, statutes, and ordinances, for the conservation of it, are, like our common laws, without any known original, and as early
as the 35th year of king Henry III. they are called
antient and approved customs. Within this district
of the Marsh, the king had antiently neither waste
nor wrec, but the same were appropriated to such
manors as bordered upon the sea, on account of the
great charges in fencing and banking against the invasions of it. At the above time it appears that there
were twenty-four jurors, or jurats, as they are now
called, who were time out of mind elected by-the commonaltie, and sworn to do the best they could for the
preservation of the Marsh from such overflowings, and
they had, by custom and prescription, power to raise
a tax for that purpose; which was confirmed by the
same king's letters patent at Romney, in his 36th
year.
And in the same reign, several complaints being
made by those twenty-four jurors, that persons having
land in the Marsh did not pay their due proportions
towards the walls and banks, the king directed his precept to Henry de Bathe, a famous justice itinerant, to
enquire into and regulate them, who calling to his assistance Nicholas de Handloe and Alured de Dene,
held a sessions at Romenhalle in the 42d year of it,
the sheriff of the county being, by virtue of his office,
present, and having summoned so many and such
lawful men out of the adjoining bailiwics, by whom
those differences might be determined, they made the
laws and constitutions which are called the ordinances
of Henry de Bathe, from which laws the whole realm
of England take directions in relation to the sewers.
Subsequent to which several commissions were granted
by the succeeding kings, for viewing the banks, and
enquiring into the defaults in the repair of them, and
several new ordinances were made, but they all proceeded as Henry de Bathe and his associates had done
before; all which were confirmed by the king's letters patent. (fn. 2) King Richard II. out of his special care
of the safety of the Marsh, confirmed by inspeximus
the above charters and ordinances, and further granted
that the bailiff and jurats of the Marsh should be exempt from serving at any assize, jury, inquisition, or
any recognizance, as well within the county of Kent
as without it, except such as related to the king; nor
to be shrieve, bailiff, nor any other officer to him, lest
by their absence the whole Marsh might be overflowed in a very short time, and so utterly lost and
destroyed. All which in like manner, with the like
recitals at large, were again confirmed by Henry IV.
and VI.
These instances sufficiently shew with what continual care and assiduity the several kings of this realm
watched over the safety and prefervation of this great
and fertile marsh, and how highly they estimated the
value of it; which induced king Edward IV. in his
first year, at the request of all the commonaltie and
inhabitants within the Marsh, for the preservation of
it, to grant to them, that they should be one body in
substance and name, and one commonaltie perpetually, consisting of one bailiff, twenty-four jurats, and
the commonalty of Romney Marsh, having a continual succession, and impowering them to purchase
lands and tenements, to have a common seal, and to
hold a court every three weeks, and all pleas of action, real and personal, civil and criminal, and to chuse
four justices of the peace of their own yearly, besides
their bailiff, who should have the same authority, and
to have the return of all writs, the benefit of all fines,
forfeitures and amerciaments, the privileges of leet,
lawday, and tourn, the exemption from toll and theam,
and from so many other charges, that hardly any other
place in England had the like; and this, as the letters patent mention, was granted to invite men to
inhabit the Marsh, which was then much deserted, on
account of the danger they were subject to from foreign invasions, and the unwholesomeness of the soil
and situation. (fn. 3)
By this charter of incorporation, the district now
called the liberty of Romney Marsh, which contains
nine parishes, besides three others, the churches of
which are demolished, is at this time governed by a
bailiff, twenty-four jurats, and the commonaltie, the
justices of it being justices of this jurisdiction exclusive of all others, but they are no ways concerned in
the repair of the walls or drainage of it. To manage
and direct which, the power has been by antient custom, time out of mind, vested in the lords of twentythree manors, in and adjoining to the Marsh, who,
with the bailiff and jurats of the corporation of the
Marsh, who have one vote, are usually called lords of
the Marsh. The manors are those of
Aldington,
Blackmanstone,
Bilsington super.
Ditto infer.
Bonnington,
Burmarsh,
Craythorne,
Eastbridge,
Eastwell,
Falconhurst,
Horton,
Honychild,
Kenardington,
Newington fee,
Orlestone,
Packmanstone,
Ruckinge,
Snave,
Street,
Tinton,
Warehorne,
Court at Wick,
and,
Willop.
These appoint a bailiff, as chief supervisor of the
works, who is generally approved of and appointed
bailiff likewise of the corporation of the Marsh, the
jurats of which are likewise appointed jurats by the
lords above-mentioned, for the view of the repairs,
&c. of the walls, the management of the drainage and
sewers, the taxation of the scots, and other accustomed
matters relating to that business.
For the above purposes, the Marsh,
and the corporation likewise, hold the courts called
the lath, at Newhall, in Dimchurch, a general lath
being held by them yearly on Whit-Thursday, at
which the annual accounts are passed, differences regulated, and every other business relating to the walls
and drainage, as well as all the scots levied, is then
transcted by them; and there are two other meetings held there usually in March and at Michaelmas
yearly, the latter to settle the expenditor's accounts,
and the former for making contracts for materials,
and any such other necessary business as may occur
at the time.
The Marsh is defended against the sea by an artificial wall, of great strength, called Dimchurch-wall,
extending in length 1060 rods, which is the sole
barrier that prevents the sea from overflowing the
whole extent of the level; and as it is for the common
safety, so it is supported, as well as the three grand
sluices through it, which are for the general sewing
of the Marsh, by scots levied over the whole of it.
But the interior drainange, which is portioned out
into a number of divisions, called waterings, is sewed
and maintained at the expence of the respective lands,
by a scot raised separately on each, for the purpose of
their own watering.