Barton's Point Coastal Park

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Barton's Point Coastal Park
Barton's point Canal - geograph.org.uk - 1019326.jpg
Barton's point Canal (between Barton's Point and Queenborough)
Barton's Point Coastal Park
Coordinates 51°26′16″N0°47′06″E / 51.4379°N 0.7850°E / 51.4379; 0.7850
Area40 acres (160,000 m2)
Created1971 (1971)
Operated by Kent County Council,
OpenAll Year, 7 days a week, dawn until dusk
Website
Kent UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
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Barton's Point Coastal Park shown within Kent (grid reference TQ936746 )

Barton's Point Coastal Park is on the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent, England. It lies between Minster and Sheerness. Within the park is a former military ditch/canal from Marine Parade (beside the coast) heading south-westerly towards West Minster (a suburb of Sheerness).

Contents

History

After the Dutch Navy, attacked the blockhouse, built to protect Sheerness Royal Navy dockyard from attack in the Raid on the Medway. In 1667, a plan was drawn up to defend the landward side of the dockyard. A flooded ditch between two demi-bastions (a half-bastion, which has one face and one flank). They were then named 'Queenborough' and 'Minster'. They were started in 1667 and completed in 1685. [1] In 1782, the ditch was further extended, now heading from the Medway (on the west) to the Thames (on the east). [1]

After the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom in 1860, which decided that the Dockyard needed more defensive works on its landward side. Due to economic pressures the simplest means was to build an earthwork defensive line across the Sheerness peninsula, 1 km south-east of the earlier bastion-trace defences of the Sheerness Lines. These were called the 'Queenborough lines'. [2]

Lands were then acquired under Defence Act, 1860. [3]

The lines were completed in 1868, they are 3.5 km long. The rampart (defensive wall) is constructed of earth and shingle and measures between 15.5 m to 17m wide and between 1.9m and 2.5m high. [2] A bridge lead over the lines from Halfway into Sheerness and the dockyard.

Between 1889 - 1891, Barton's Point Battery was built, to defend the mouth of the River Medway from attack. Initially, plans were drawn up that forts were to be built either end of the canal. But only the Barton's Point battery was ever built. [4] Then in 1895, four cannons were installed. 2 x 9.2inch breech loaders and 2 x 6inch breech loaders. [4]

In 1899, a rifle range was created in front of the canal. [5]

In 1905, 2 hotchkiss machine guns were installed on vavasseur mountings. [4] By 1914, the battery was unused and partially demolished. [5] In 1926, all the guns were removed and the battery became a training base instead. [4]

Along the canal, four air raid shelters were built during World War II. [2] These are currently sealed. [4]

In June 2012, the Queenborough Lines became a listed ancient monument. No.1404499. [2] Later the battery site was used as a holiday camp. [5] The Queenborough Lines now known locally as 'Canal Bank'. [6]

Coastal Park

The park is used for various outdoor leisure activities, including cycling, water sports [7] and walking (with walking trails along the canal).

The lake is available for fishing, sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and canoeing, and fishing permits can be purchased from The Boat House Café. [7]

In 2013, dead fish were found on the bank of the lake. The Environment Agency investigated, [8] but no harmful effects of the water could be found, and the fish deaths were blamed on seasonal effects. [9]

The Sheerness Way cycling route runs through the park and along Queenborough Lines towards Sheerness.

The Park is also home to the 'Sheppey Model Engineering Society' [10] which offers miniature steam train rides on a Model 0-4-0T Steam Locomotive No.93 'Janine' [11] (based on a Hudswell Clarke Steam locomotive). Within the park is a field for flying model aeroplanes, used by the 'Bartons Point Model Flying Club',. [12]

In 1954, Sheppey Sea Cadet Unit No 301 moved to the park, they were part of the Navy League Sea Cadet Corps since 29 June 1942. [13] [14]

In 2011, a large children’s Adventure Play Area was opened. It was designed by children from The Isle of Sheppey Academy and built with funding (£87,000) from the Big Lottery. [15]

In May, a funfair was in the park, in June, the Harmony Folk Festival took place. [16] Then in July, Minster Rotary Club managed the Island raft race. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Sheppey</span> Island off the coast of Kent, England

The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred 42 miles (68 km) from central London. It has an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. Sheppey is derived from Old English Sceapig, meaning "Sheep Island".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queenborough</span> Town in Kent, England

Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Swale</span> Non-metropolitan district and borough in England

Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. The council is based in Sittingbourne, the borough's largest town. The borough also contains the towns of Faversham, Queenborough and Sheerness, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It includes the Isle of Sheppey and is named after The Swale, the narrow channel which separates Sheppey from the mainland part of the borough. Some southern parts of the borough lie within the Kent Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheerness</span> Town in Kent, England

Sheerness is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town of Minster which has a population of 16,738.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrison Point Fort</span>

Garrison Point Fort is a former artillery fort situated at the end of the Garrison Point peninsula at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Built in the 1860s in response to concerns about a possible French invasion, it was the last in a series of artillery batteries that had existed on the site since the mid-16th century. The fort's position enabled it to guard the strategic point where the River Medway meets the Thames. It is a rare example of a two-tiered casemated fort – one of only two of that era in the country – with a design that is otherwise similar to that of several of the other forts along the lower Thames. It remained operational until 1956 and is now used by the Sheerness Docks as a port installation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Amherst</span> Fortification in South East England

Fort Amherst, in Medway, South East England, was constructed in 1756 at the southern end of the Brompton lines of defence to protect the southeastern approaches to Chatham Dockyard and the River Medway against a French invasion. Fort Amherst is now open as a visitor attraction throughout the year with tours provided through the tunnel complex

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minster, Swale</span> Town on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England

Minster is a town on the north coast of the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, south-east England. It is in the Swale administrative district, and within that, in the parish of Minster-on-Sea. According to the 2021 Census, the population of Minster was 17,389.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheppey Light Railway</span>

The Sheppey Light Railway was a railway on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England, which ran from Leysdown to Queenborough, where it connected with the South Eastern and Chatham Railway's Sheerness Line. It was engineered by Holman Fred Stephens and opened in August 1901 and closed on 4 December 1950. Originally there were stations at Sheerness East, East Minster on Sea, Minster on Sea, Eastchurch and Leysdown. Two halts were opened in 1905 at Brambledown and Harty Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheerness line</span> Railway line in Kent, England

The Sheerness line is located in Kent, England, and connects Sheerness-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey with Sittingbourne on the mainland, and with the Chatham Main Line for trains towards London, Ramsgate or Dover Priory. It opened on 19 July 1860.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queenborough railway station</span> Railway station in Kent, England

Queenborough railway station is on the Sheerness Line, on the Isle of Sheppey in northern Kent, and serves the town of Queenborough. It is 49 miles 22 chains (79.3 km) down the line from London Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sittingbourne and Sheppey (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Sittingbourne and Sheppey is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Kevin McKenna, a Labour politician and qualified nurse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queenborough Castle</span>

Queenborough Castle, also known as Sheppey Castle, is a 14th-century castle, the remnants of which are in the town of Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent in England. The castle and the associated planned town were built on the orders of King Edward III from 1361 and named in honour his wife, Queen Philippa. It was the first concentric castle to be built in England, and the only royal castle to be new-built in England during the Late Middle Ages. Overlooking the Swale, then an important waterway approaching the River Medway, Queenborough Castle formed part of the country's coastal defences until 1650 when it was declared to be unfit for use and was almost completely demolished shortly afterwards. The site is now a public park and the only visible remains are some low earthworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmley</span> Human settlement in England

Elmley is the local name for the Isle of Elmley, in the civil parish of Minster-on-Sea, part of the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale district, in the county of Kent, England. It was also the name of a very late 19th century industrial village on the isle. Edward Hasted describes, in 1798, the isle as two-eighths of the Isle of Sheppey estimated as 11 miles by 8 miles. Its present national nature reserve covers more than the easily traceable area of the former isle by extending to the east, over Windmill Creek, one of two Sheppey inlets, former internal tidal channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Town</span>

Blue Town is a suburb of the town of Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. It sits on the A249 Brielle Way which runs from Queenborough to Sheerness. It sits just outside the dockyard wall which marks the boundary of Sheerness proper and today is largely industrial in nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheerness Dockyard</span> Former Royal Navy Dockyard in Kent, England

Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grain Tower</span> 19th-century English gun tower

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey</span> Academy in Minster-on-Sea, Kent, England

Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located over two sites in Minster-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey in the English county of Kent. It is currently managed by the Oasis Community Learning Multi-academy Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lines Heritage Park</span>

The Great Lines Heritage Park is a complex network of open spaces in the Medway Towns, connecting Chatham, Gillingham, Brompton and the Historic Dockyard. The long military history of the towns has dominated the history of the site and the park. The Great Lines Heritage Park, consists of Fort Amherst, Chatham Lines, the Field of Fire, Inner Lines, Medway Park together with the Lower Lines.

The National Cycle Route 174 is part of the National Cycle Network in the United Kingdom. Part of it is known as The Sheerness Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheerness Dockyard railway station</span> Former railway station in England

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References

  1. 1 2 "Sheerness". www.fortified-places.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Historic England (22 June 2012). "Queenborough Lines (1404499)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "'Cheyney Rock and Queenborough Line of Defences. Lands acquired under Defence Act, 1860'". nationalarchives.gov.uk. 1869. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Ali, Kevin (2007). "Barton's Point Battery and Military Canal". www.sheppeywebsite.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Moore, David (6 June 2012). "Barton's Point Battery" (PDF). www.victorianforts.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "Barton's Point Coastal Park". www.kent.gov.uk. 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 "There's something for everyone now at Barton's Point Coastal Park in Sheerness". Times Guardian. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  8. ↑ Grove, Emma (5 July 2013). "Warning against using lake at Barton's Point Coastal Park in Sheerness after dead fish found on banks". Times Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "Water at Barton's Point in Sheerness is now safe to use after all clear test results". Times Guardian. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Sheppey Miniature Engineering and Model Society Railway - Kent". www.waymarking.com. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  11. ↑ "Model 0-4-0T Steam Locomotive No.93 'Janine'". www.flickr.com. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  12. ↑ "Bartons Point Flying Club - Isle of Sheppey Kent". www.modelflying.co.uk. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  13. ↑ "Who We Are". www.sea-cadets.org. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  14. ↑ Dyson, Lewis (6 January 2014). "Sheppey Sea Cadets, based at Barton's Point Coastal Park in Sheerness, are set to make a splash with cash thanks to Tesco Charity Trust". Times Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "Academy kids help with Sheerness play area plan". Times Guardian. 7 April 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  16. ↑ Constable, Gemma (29 August 2013). "Harmony festival at Barton's Point, Sheerness, replaces Donkey Derby". Times Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
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