Minster, Swale

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Minster
Minster Leas.JPG
Minster Leas
Kent UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Minster
Location within Kent
Area5.28 km2 (2.04 sq mi)
Population17,389 (2021 census) [1]
•  Density 3,293/km2 (8,530/sq mi)
OS grid reference TQ952729
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SHEERNESS
Postcode district ME12
Dialling code 01795
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Kent
51°25′16″N0°48′32″E / 51.421°N 0.809°E / 51.421; 0.809
The abbey today Minster-on-Sea abbey.jpg
The abbey today

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.

Contents

Toponymy

The name of the town derives from the monastery founded in the area. [2] There is some variation in the use of the name, with the local parish council being named Minster-on-Sea, [3] while other sources, such as the local primary school, use Minster-in-Sheppey, [4] in order to distinguish it from Minster-in-Thanet, also in the county of Kent. Both places are listed in the Ordnance Survey gazetteer as Minster. [5] Royal Mail identifies a locality of Minster on Sea in the ME12 postcode district. [6] Minster-on-Sea is a location mentioned in Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop .

Geography

The coast here consists of London Clay, and many fossil remains can be found along the beach after the waves have brought down the cliffs.

Religious sites

Minster, Isle of Sheppy, an 1830 engraving that appeared in Ireland's History of Kent. MinsterSheppy.jpg
Minster, Isle of Sheppy, an 1830 engraving that appeared in Ireland's History of Kent.

In around AD 670 King Ecgberht of Kent gave land at Minster for his mother Seaxburh of Ely to establish a Benedictine nunnery, but this was burnt down by the Danes in 855. [7] At some point before the Norman invasion the church was rebuilt and refounded as a Benedictine nunnery, incorporating elements of the original construction in the north chancel and nave. [8] Between 1123 and 1139 Archbishop Corbeil (Corbeuil) refounded it as an Augustinian nunnery. Corbeil is thought to be responsible for the unusual "semi-detached" arrangement of two churches next to each other: the Saxon church of the convent to the north and a parish church to the south for the villagers. They share a wall containing pointed arches and are now used as a single building. The abbey was dissolved in 1539, and along with Davington Priory near Faversham it came into the possession of Sir Thomas Cheney (Cheyney/Cheyne), a favourite of Anne Boleyn. He died in 1558 and was first buried in the chapel of Saint Katherine, which was demolished to allow construction of the east end of the chancel in 1581.

Today the old abbey gatehouse is occupied by a museum run by the Sheppey Local History Society. [9]

Burials at the abbey

The effigial monument of Robert de Shurland includes the sculpted head of a horse, and is closely associated with (and probably inspired) a local legend in which Sir Robert killed a priest; swam on horseback to beg the king (on board a ship) to pardon him for the murder; but on his return to shore killed his horse because an old woman predicted that it would be the cause of his death. Later encountering its bones, he kicked them in scorn, only for a shard to pierce his foot, causing an infection from which he died. The tale takes elements from Italian, Slavic and Icelandic folklore (including the story of Oleg the Wise, and that of Örvar-Oddr). It was greatly popularised in a version published in 1837 by Richard Barham ("Thomas Ingoldsby"), as one of the Ingoldsby Legends . [10]

History

In the early 20th century the island was hit by speculative builders and Minster suffered equally with Sheerness. After the Second World War the population of the village had swollen "from about 250 people in 100 homes to 5,500 people in 1,800 homes".[ citation needed ]

During the Second World War the Shoeburyness Boom, which ran across the Thames Estuary to protect shipping from submarine attack, ran from Royal Oak Point (near Minster) to Shoeburyness in Essex. [11] A similar structure was built along the same alignment in the early 1950s to protect against Soviet submarines. The Royal Oak Point end of the boom was demolished in the 1960s. [12]

In 1961 the civil parish called "Minster in Sheppey" had a population of 7860. [13] On 1 April 1968 the parish was abolished to form Queenborough in Sheppey. [14]

Education

Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey is located over two sites in the area, and is the only secondary school on the Isle of Sheppey. In 2009 eleven pupils were hurt by the collapse of a heating duct during an exam at its predecessor, Minster College. [15]

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from the Bluebell Hill TV transmitter. [16]

The town is served by county-wide radio stations: BBC Radio Kent, Heart South, Gold Radio. Community radio based stations are BRFM 95.6 FM, Sheppey FM 92.2 and Hospital Radio Swale which broadcasts from the Sheppey Community Hospital in the town. [17]

The Sheerness Times Guardian is the local weekly newspaper.

Minster Cricket Club

Minster Cricket Club pavilion Clubhouse.JPG
Minster Cricket Club pavilion

Minster Cricket Club play at Gilbert Hall near St. George's Primary School. The club was established in 1931 and is the largest on the Isle of Sheppey, fielding four senior teams for Saturday league cricket. The club also have a junior section with U16, U14, U12. Also U1 & U8 soft ball teams, two midweek cricket teams and a Sunday team. www.minstercricket.co.uk [18]

Related Research Articles

Minster may refer to:

<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">The Swale</span> Channel of the Thames Estuary in Kent, UK

The Swale is a tidal channel of the Thames estuary that separates the Isle of Sheppey from the rest of Kent. On its banks is a 6,509.4-hectare (16,085-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Sittingbourne to Whitstable in Kent. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Parts of it are a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, National Nature Reserves, a Kent Wildlife Trust nature reserve and a Local Nature Reserve.

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

Eastchurch is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Sheppey, in the English county of Kent, two miles east of Minster. The village website claims the area has "a history steeped in stories of piracy and smugglers".

<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.

<i>The Ingoldsby Legends</i> Collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poems

The Ingoldsby Legends is a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poems written supposedly by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, actually a pen-name of an English clergyman named Richard Harris Barham.

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

Queenborough-in-Sheppey was a municipal borough in Kent, England from 1968 to 1974. It contained the parish of Queenborough in Sheppey. It was created on 1 April 1968 by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Queenborough with Sheerness Urban District and Sheppey Rural District, and occupied the entire Isle of Sheppey. It incorporated the following parishes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaxburh of Ely</span> Queen of King Eorcenberht of Kent

Seaxburh, also Saint Sexburga of Ely, was an Anglo-Saxon queen and abbess, venerated a saint of the Christian Church. She was married to King Eorcenberht of Kent.

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

Harty is a small hamlet in the civil parish of Leysdown, on the Isle of Sheppey, in the Swale district, in the county of Kent, England. It consists of a few cottages, a church and a public house, the Ferry Inn.

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

Milton Regis is a village in the district of Swale in Kent, England. Former names include Milton-next-Sittingbourne, Milton Royal, Middleton, Midletun and Middletune. It has a population of about 5,000. Today it is a suburb of Sittingbourne, although this has not always been the case. Until around 1800, Sittingbourne was a small hamlet and under the control of the Manor of Milton Regis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leysdown-on-Sea</span> Village in Kent, England

Leysdown-on-Sea is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Sheppey, in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 936. The civil parish is Leysdown and includes the settlements of Bay View, Shellness and Harty. In 2011 it had a population of 1,256.

<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.

Tunstall is a linear village and civil parish in Swale in Kent, England. It is about 2 km to the south-west of the centre of Sittingbourne, on a road towards Bredgar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halfway Houses, Kent</span> Human settlement in England

Halfway Houses is a village on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in England. It derives its name from the pub in the village centre, with the same name, which was so named because it is halfway between Minster and Sheerness, before the coastal road was built along the north coast connecting Minster and Sheerness. It is bordered to the west by the town of Queenborough and the village of Minster-on-Sea, and to the east by the town of Minster. It is one mile south of the town of Sheerness. It is in the Queenborough and Halfway ward of Swale Borough Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minster-on-Sea</span> Civil parish in Swale, Kent, England

Minster-on-Sea is a civil parish in the English county of Kent. It is on the Isle of Sheppey and thus forms part of the borough of Swale. It was created on 1 April 2003. In 2021 it had a population of 17,392.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ely Abbey</span>

Ely Abbey was an Anglo-Saxon monastic establishment on the Isle of Ely first established in 673 by Æthelthryth the daughter of Anna, King of East Anglia. The first establishment was destroyed by the Danes in 870, but Edgar, King of England re-established the monastery in 970 as part of the English Benedictine Reform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Swale Borough Council election</span> 2008 UK local government election

The 2008 Swale Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Swale Borough Council in Kent, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/southeastengland/admin/swale/E04005079__minster_on_sea/ [ bare URL ]
  2. ↑ Hasted, Edward (1798). The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Vol 6. Victoria County History Series. pp. 216–229. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  3. ↑ "Minster-on-Sea Parish Council". Kent Parish Councils website. Kent County Council. 2008. Archived from the original on 5 May 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  4. ↑ "Minster-in-Sheppey Community Primary School". School website. 2008. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  5. ↑ "Gazetteer Search Results: Minster". Ordnance Survey. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  6. ↑ Royal Mail (2004), Address Management Guide (4 ed.), Royal Mail Group
  7. ↑ D. Stuart Hammond. "Kent Post Roman History Timeline". Family Threads. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Houses of Benedictine nuns: The priory of Minster in Sheppey". British History Online. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "Minster Gatehouse Museum" . Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Harris, Oliver D. (2023). ""Grey Dolphin" and the Horse Church, Minster in Sheppey: the construction of a legend". Archaeologia Cantiana. 144: 97–123.
  11. ↑ Platt, Len (2017). Writing London and the Thames Estuary: 1576-2016. BRILL. p. 92. ISBN   9789004346666. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  12. ↑ Historic England. "Cold War defence boom, Pig's Bay, Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea (1021091)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Population statistics Minster in Sheppey AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  14. ↑ "Sheppey Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  15. ↑ Walker, Peter; Weaver, Matthew (12 May 2009). "Eleven pupils hurt after heating duct collapses during exam". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  16. ↑ "Full Freeview on the Bluebell Hill (Medway, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Hospital Radio Swale" . Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Minster Cricket Club". Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
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