Romney Warren Country Park

Last updated
Romney Warren
Romney Warren 13.jpg
TypeLocal Nature Reserve
LocationNew Romney, Kent
OS grid TR 078 261
Area10.9 hectares (27 acres)
Managed byRomney Warren Project

Romney Warren or Romney Marsh is a 10.9-hectare (27-acre) country park and Local Nature Reserve in New Romney in Kent. It is owned by Folkestone and Hythe District Council and managed by the Romney Warren Project, which is a partnership between Folkestone and Hythe District Council, Romney Warren Charitable Trust, Kent Wildlife Trust and Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership. [1] [2] [3] It is part of the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay Ramsar internationally important wetland site [4] and Site of Special Scientific Interest. [5]

New Romney town in Kent, England

New Romney is a small town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, with the harbour adjacent to the church, but is now more than a mile from the sea. A mooring ring can still be seen in front of the church. It is the headquarters of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.

Kent County of England

Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west. The county also shares borders with Essex along the estuary of the River Thames, and with the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. The county town is Maidstone.

Kent Wildlife Trust organization

Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1958, previously known as the Kent Trust for Nature Conservation. It aims to "work with people to restore, save and improve our natural spaces" and to "ensure that 30% of Kent and Medway – land and sea – is managed to create a healthy place for wildlife to flourish". In 2016 it had thirty-one thousand members and an annual income of £4 million. KWT manages fifty-four nature reserves, of which twenty-four are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, two are National Nature Reserves, nine are Nature Conservation Review sites, seven are Special Areas of Conservation, three are Special Protection Areas, seven are Local Nature Reserves, one is a Geological Conservation Review site, thirteen are in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and one is a Scheduled Monument.

Contents

History

The history of Romney Warren begins over two thousand years ago, when sand dunes were formed along the coast. As new sand dunes were formed, sea retreated. Plants then recolonised, the former sand dunes to make a unique plant life environment. [6]

Later, the reclaimed land of the Romney Marshes was used for grazing large numbers of sheep for many centuries. These wool fleeces paid for the large churches in the villages across the marshes. [6]

Romney Marsh wetland area in Kent and East Sussex, England

Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 square miles (260 km2).

In 1931 to 1945, sand and gravel was extracted from the land within the country park. These later were made into wildlife ponds. Later the land was then used as a transport depot. [7]

The Romney Warren Project was then established in 1995 with the aims of promoting awareness of the Romney Marsh as an historic landscape while providing training and employment for disabled and unemployed people. It is a partnership between Folkestone and Hythe District Council, Romney Warren Charitable Trust, Nelson Park Gardens (local care home) and Shepway Volunteer Centre, Romney Marsh Countryside Project and Kent Wildlife Trust. [8]

The main visitor centre was designed by the Baker-Brown McKay Partnership. The techniques and materials used mean the building has a life span of at least 100 years. The foundations are steel gabions filled with cobblestones from Lydd, these have been handpicked and filled. The main framework of the building is made of larch, from the West Country. This part was built first so that the roof could be added next, and so a cover was provided for the straw during the next building process. 350 straw bales were placed to form the walls, held together with chestnut poles. Even the roof has been designed with wildlife in mind, as it is covered in sedum as a green roof. The roof covers the building's entire footprint, replacing the habitat which would have otherwise been lost. [9] The building was 'Highly Commended' at the 2003 Kent Design Awards. [10]

Gabion

A gabion is a cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping.

Cobblestone natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings

Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.

Lydd town in Kent, England

Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on the Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a corporate member of the Cinque Ports, a "limb" of Romney. Actually located on Denge Marsh, Lydd was one of the first sandy islands to form as the bay evolved into what is now called the Romney Marsh. The name Hlyda, which derives from the Latin word for "shore", was found in a Saxon charter dating from the 8th century.

Facilities

Romney Warren Visitor Centre Romney Warren Visitor Centre.jpg
Romney Warren Visitor Centre

As a Site of Special Scientific Interest, it is a nationally important site for great crested newts. Species of special interest include great diving beetles, Small Red-eyed Damselfly and tree sparrow, along with a number of acid grassland plants. [6]

The Romney Warren Project granted a lease to the Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) to manage the Romney Marsh Visitor Centre. [11] It opened in 2004 and provides facilities for visitors to the Country Park including exhibitions, local information, a shop, toilets and refreshments. Three walking trails - dragonfly, rabbit and sheep – start from the Visitor Centre. There are regular family events held at the park and booked groups are welcome to use the visitor centre. [6]

The Romney Marsh Countryside Project has done a great deal to improve the landscape of Romney Marsh and Dungeness for wildlife and people. [12] Volunteers work at New Romney Warren Country Park to maintain footpaths and a pond created by the Romney Marsh Countryside Project. [12] Part of the site is used by Nelson Park Gardens and Shepway Volunteer Centre as a horticultural and landscaping training scheme for adults from local care homes and the unemployed; their produce is then sold at the Visitor Centre. Romney Marsh Countryside Project also assist with the conservation management and events on site. [8]


Related Research Articles

Folkestone town in the Shepway District of Kent, England

Folkestone is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Hythe, Kent town in Kent, England

Hythe is a coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the district of Folkestone and Hythe on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning haven or landing place.

Folkestone & Hythe District Non-metropolitan district in England

Folkestone & Hythe is a local government district in Kent, England, in the south-east of the county. Its council is based in the town of Folkestone. The authority was renamed from Shepway in April 2018, and therefore has the same name as the Folkestone and Hythe parliamentary constituency, although a somewhat narrower area is covered by the district.

Dungeness (headland) Headland in Kent

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet of Dungeness, and an ecological site at the same location. It lies within the civil parish of Lydd.

Dymchurch village and civil parish in the Shepway district of Kent, England

Dymchurch is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. The village is located on the coast five miles (8 km) south-west of Hythe, and on the Romney Marsh.

Royal Military Canal defensive canal in southern England

The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles (45 km) between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh, which was constructed as a defence against the possible invasion of England during the Napoleonic Wars.

Icklesham village in United Kingdom

Icklesham is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located about six miles (10 km) east of Hastings, on the main A259 Hastings to Rye road.

Romney Warren Halt railway station is a station on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Kent, England. It has also been known as Warren Halt and Warren Bridge Halt.

Greatstone-on-Sea village in United Kingdom

Greatstone is a beach-side town, the third town up from the "point" of the Romney Marsh area of Kent. It is situated near the largest town there, New Romney in Kent, England. Permission was given in the 1920s for a company to construct large numbers of homes and facilities; only a small number were built. There was widespread development in the 1960s and 1970s, however, leading to a sizable community. The church of St Peter's, built in the 1960s, is a daughter church of All Saints, Lydd, in which parish half of Greatstone is situated. It is in the civil parish of Lydd. There is a small group of shops at one end of the town, and the other end simply melds into Lydd-on-Sea. The local school is the Greatstone Primary School, from which most students either go on to The Marsh Academy, the Folkestone School for Girls or the Harvey Grammar School.

Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay

Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay is a 10,172.9-hectare (25,138-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from New Romney in Kent to Winchelsea in East Sussex. An area of 5,129.5 hectares is a Special Protection Area, an area of 3,141.1 hectares is a Special Area of Conservation, and an area of 6,377.6 hectares is a Ramsar Site, a wetland site designated of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Part of the site is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, parts are Geological Conservation Review sites, part is a Local Nature Reserve, and part is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve, and part is a National Nature Reserve.

East Cliff and Warren Country Park

East Cliff and Warren Country Park is in Folkestone, in Kent, England. This country park is formed of the East Cliffs of Folkestone, the sandy beaches of East Wear Bay and the land-slipped nature reserve land between the cliffs and the sea.

The White Cliffs Countryside Partnership was established in 1989, to help landowners care for the special coast and countryside of Dover and Folkestone and Hythe districts. This includes the only two stretches of Heritage Coast in Kent; the Dover-Folkestone Heritage Coast and the South Foreland Heritage Coast between Dover and Kingsdown near Deal.

These awards were created to celebrate design excellence in Kent and were first staged in 2003 and are usually held every two years. They were then renamed 'Kent Design and Development Awards' in 2012. Then have stayed as the 'Kent Design and Development Awards' in 2014.

Rye Harbour LNR

Rye Harbour LNR is a 325.4-hectare (804-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Rye in East Sussex. The site is part of the 465-hectare (1,150-acre) nature reserve managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust. It is also part of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay Ramsar site, Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest and Dungeness Special Area of Conservation.

References

  1. ↑ "Romney Warren". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "Map of Romney Warren". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "Romney Marsh Visitor Centre". Kent Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 2018-01-03. Retrieved 11 February 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
  4. ↑ "Designated Sites View: Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay". Ramsar Site. Natural England. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Designated Sites View: Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 [ dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-09-28.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-11-10.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2011-11-10.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ↑ "Romney Marsh Visitor Centre". Ecolibriumsolutions.co.uk. 2003. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-11-12.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. 1 2 "New Romney Online – Just That". Newromneyonline.co.uk.

Coordinates: 50°59′49″N0°57′36″E / 50.997°N 0.96°E / 50.997; 0.96

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