Reculver

infobox UK place

static_

static_image_caption= Remains of Reculver Church viewed from the west (photo 2005)
country = England
official_name= Reculver
latitude= 51.3790
longitude= 1.1995

population = 135 [ [http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=457352&c=CT6+6SU&d=15&e=16&g=457352&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&enc=1 National Statistics] Census 2001]
civil_parish=
shire_district= City of Canterbury
shire_county= Kent
region= South East England

constituency_westminster= Canterbury
post_town= CANTERBURY
postcode_district = CT6
postcode_area= CT
dial_code= 01227
os_grid_reference= TR224693

Reculver is a popular summer resort situated about convert|1|mi|km|0 east of Herne Bay, on the North Kent coast of England. Its main features are the ruins of a Roman fort, or "castrum", a ruined medieval church, and a country park, which includes an interpretation centre run by the Kent Wildlife Trust.

Owing to historic coastal erosion, the church ruins are now on the edge of a cliff. They form a backdrop to wide Thames-side marshes, and are sited within the remains of the Roman, Saxon Shore fort. Called "Regulbium", the fort guarded the north end of what were then the broad waters of the Wantsum Channel, which separated the Isle of Thanet from the rest of Kent, and was open to shipping. Recent archaeological excavation has shown that the site had been occupied in pre-historic times, and it is of interest that the name "Regulbium" is Celtic in origin, probably meaning "at the promontory", or similar. [Ekwall, E., "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names" (4th edition), Oxford University Press, 1960, "Reculver". See also Glover, J., "The Place Names of Kent", Batsford, 1976, "Reculver".] The place is elevated above the surrounding countryside, and it still sits on a slight promontory today. In Old English, the place-name became corrupted to "Raculf", ultimately giving rise to the modern "Reculver".

While the churchyard to the north of the church has long since been lost to the sea, together with a large proportion of the Roman fort, Reculver continues to be threatened by the retreating coastline. The cliffs between Reculver and Herne Bay, which rise up to convert|30|m|ft|0 in height, are highly vulnerable to erosion since they are composed of soft sand and clays, originally laid down in shallow seas about 60 million years ago. Consequently the coastline is receding extremely quickly, threatening residents and the local tourism industry. At present the area remains inadequately protected, and the provision of adequate sea defences is still under debate.

History

Archaeological investigation at Reculver has found evidence of a pre-historic settlement on the site of a well known Roman fort, or "castrum", which was built between 180 and 185 AD. About a century after the fort was built, a Roman naval commander named Carausius was given the task of clearing pirates from the sea between Britannia and the European mainland. In so doing he established a new chain of command, the British part of which was later to pass under the control of a "Count of the Saxon Shore". The "Notitia Dignitatum" shows that the fort at Reculver, then known as "Regulbium", became part of this arrangement. It was also the location for a lighthouse and watch tower, presumably because of its strategic position at the northern entrance to the important Wantsum Channel, and covering the mouths of both the River Thames and the River Medway. [For the archaeology especially, see Philp, B.J., "Report on the Excavations of Roman Reculver", Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, 2005.]

After the Roman occupation ended, Reculver became a seat of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent. A church was built on the site of the abandoned fort in about 669, when King Ecgberht of Kent granted land for the foundation of a monastery there. [See e.g. Garmonsway, G.N., "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", Dent, Dutton, 1972 & 1975, pp. 34-5.] Clearly Reculver quickly became an important Kentish house, since in 692 its abbot, Bertwald, a former abbot of Glastonbury in Somerset, was elected Archbishop of Canterbury. Bede, writing no more than 40 years later, described him as having been "learned in the Scriptures and well versed in ecclesiastical and monastic affairs." [Bede, "Ecclesiastical History", v, 8.] Further, King Hlothhere of Kent presided over a council at Reculver in 679, attended by Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury, at which he granted the monastery lands in the western part of Thanet. In the original, 7th century charter recording this grant, Reculver is referred to as a "civitas", or "city". [ [http://www.aschart.kcl.ac.uk/content/charters/text/s0008.html Anglo-Saxon Charter S 8 Archive Canterbury.] British Academy. ASChart project. Retrieved on June 8 2008. This charter is the earliest genuine Anglo-Saxon charter known to have survived.] Clearly this is intended to be figurative; nonetheless it indicates the importance then attached to the place.

It seems that monastic life had ceased at Reculver by the early 10th century, though whether or not this was due to the attentions of Vikings is unclear. [Cf. Kerr, Nigel & Mary, "A Guide to Anglo-Saxon Sites", Granada, 1982, pp. 192-94, Brooks, N.P., "The Early History of the Church of Canterbury", Leicester University Press, 1984, pp. 203-4, and Medeshamstede. See also [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38194 "A History of the County of Kent: Volume 2", Page, W. (ed.), 1926.] British History Online. Retrieved on June 7 2008.] The minster subsequently became St. Mary's parish church of Reculver: a charter of the mid 10th century records its gift by King Eadred into the possession of Canterbury Cathedral, at which time the estate included the later parishes of Hoath and Herne. [Brooks, N., 'The creation and early structure of the kingdom of Kent', in Bassett, S. (ed.), "The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms", Leicester University Press, 1989, p. 72.] No doubt this lies behind the unusual size and wealth of Reculver's parish in the 13th century, when it included chapels of ease at St. Nicholas-at-Wade and "All Saints" (no longer in existence, but between St Nicholas-at-Wade and Birchington), as well as at Hoath and Herne. In 1291, the "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas IV put the total income due to the rector and vicar at about £130. This wealth led to disputes between lay and Church interests, over control of its benefice. [http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Pub/ArchCant/Vol.057%20-%201944/01/01.htm 'Sidelights on the Rectors and Parishioners of Reculver from the Register of Archbishop Winchelsey', Graham, R., "Archaeologia Cantiana" vol. 57, 1944.] Kent Archaeological Society. Retrieved on June 7 2008.] Probably this wealth should be seen as a distant reflection of Reculver's former status as a monastery, since ' [it] is certain that by the close of the 7th century the church had become a major land-owner, particularly in north-east Kent, where to the original foundations of St Augustine's Abbey and Christchurch there had been added those of Reculver [etc.] , with considerable estates attached.' [Witney, K.P., "The Kingdom of Kent", Phillimore, 1982, p. 117.]

Over time, the church gained a number of structural additions: principally, the towers were added in the 12th century, and, according to local legend, they were topped with spires around the end of the 15th century, since when they have been known locally as the "Twin Sisters". However it retained many prominent Anglo-Saxon features, and on a visit to Reculver in 1540 one of these raised John Leland to 'an enthusiasm which he seldom displayed':

Due to coastal erosion, the village surrounding the church was mostly abandoned around the end of the 18th century, and a new church was planned a little to the west and further inland, at Hillborough. Consequently, the old church was no longer required:It was through the intervention of Trinity House that the towers were preserved as a navigational aid. In 1810 it bought what was left of the structure, and built the first groynes, designed to protect the cliff on which it stands. A storm destroyed the spires at a date prior to 1819, and Trinity House replaced them with similarly shaped, open structures, topped by wind vanes. These structures remained until they were removed between 1925 and 1931. So thorough was the demolition of this "shrine of early Christendom" and exemplar of Anglo-Saxon stone architecture and sculpture, that it is now represented only by the minimal ruins on the site, some fragments of the cross which had so enthused Leland, and the parts of two massive stone columns. The cross fragments and column parts may be viewed in the crypt at Canterbury Cathedral. [For the early church at Reculver, see Kelly, S., 'Reculver Minster and its early Charters', in Barrow, J. & Wareham, A. (eds.), "Myth, Rulership, Church and Charters Essays in Honour of Nicholas Brooks", Ashgate, 2008. The church at Hillborough also incorporates material from Reculver in its fabric. A contemporary image of the church's destruction is at Witney, K.P., "The Kingdom of Kent", Phillimore, 1982, Plate 7. An aerial view of the ruins is at "ibid.", Plate 8.] The vicarage was abandoned at the same time as the church, but it was briefly used as a public house known as "The Hoy and Anchor", while the present King Ethelbert Inn was being built to replace the original Hoy and Anchor, which had fallen into the sea a few years before. The vicarage soon followed it.

Today the site of the church is managed by English Heritage. New sea defences were built in the 1990s, but the struggle to protect the towers from the sea continues. A visitor centre in Reculver Country Park, just west of Reculver church, highlights the significant archaeological, historical, geological and wildlife conservation value of the area.

Reculver legends

The Crying Baby

According to legend there is often heard the sound of a crying baby, in the grounds of the fort and among the ruins of the church. Archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s within the fort revealed several infant skeletons buried under the walls of Roman barrack blocks, which are estimated to have been built between approximately 200 and 250 AD.

The Twin Sisters

Late in the 15th century there were two orphaned daughters of Sir Geoffrey St Clare, twin sisters named Frances and Isabella. Frances became abbess of the Benedictine priory of Davington, near Faversham, while Isabella remained a ward of Abbot John of St Augustine's Abbey, in Canterbury. Isabella was then betrothed to Henry de Belville, but unfortunately he was fatally wounded when fighting for Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, in 1485. Isabella then joined her sister, 'took the veil', and became a nun. Fourteen years later, Frances was taken ill. The sisters made a vow that, if Frances recovered, they would go on pilgrimage to make offerings at the Shrine of Our Ladye Star of the Sea, in Broadstairs, to give thanks. Frances recovered, so they set off on their promised pilgrimage. They sailed from Faversham, but their ship was caught in a storm and ran aground on the Columbine Sands, for lack of any visible landmark.

Frances was soon rescued, but Isabella was left on the wreck until daylight. Though she too was then rescued, she died of exposure in her sister's arms. Frances completed the pilgrimage alone, and on foot. In memory of her sister, Frances then restored Reculver church and added two spires to the existing towers, which thenceforth were known as the "Twin Sisters".

The story has been retold and reinvented many times, perhaps the best known example being in the "Ingoldsby Legends", where two brothers, named Robert and Richard de Birchington, are substituted for the two sisters.

Barnes Wallis explosives found in the Thames

The Reculver coastline is where Barnes Wallis was able to test the "bouncing bomb" used during the Second World War and is often cited for its connection with the "Dambusters" - 617 Squadron. It was in the shadow of the Twin Sisters that prototypes of Barnes Wallis's famous 'bouncing bombs' were secretly tested, which were to be used so successfully in the Dambusters raids. The final versions of these bombs were dropped on the Ruhr Dams on 17 May 1943, by a formation of Lancaster bombers led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson (for which he was awarded the VC).

On 6 June 1997 It was announced on the BBC World News that four of the prototype "bouncing bombs" had been discovered washed up and sitting in the mud offshore. Fortunately as prototypes they contained no explosive material. Four of these "bombs", each weighing approximately four tons were thereafter subject to an attempted salvage, one of which is on display in Dover Castle. One prototype is displayed in the Herne Bay Museum & Gallery, another in the Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum in Manston.

A 60th anniversary fly over of Reculver took place on 17 May 2003, when a Lancaster overflew the site to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the exploit.

Reculver Country Park

Reculver Country Park, a small area of protected countryside, is situated convert|1|mi|km|0 east of Herne Bay. Due to the natural rates of erosion which are high a lot of work has been done to try and manage this section of coast with varying degrees of success. The coast at Reculver is eroding approximately 1 to 2 metres a year. When the Romans built the fort the sea was convert|2|km|mi|0 away. The shingle beach has timber groynes giving way to sandy mudflats at low tide.

Wildlife

Annually many thousands of birds visit Reculver during their migrations back and forth from the Arctic. In winter Brent Geese and wading birds such as Turnstone may be seen, whilst during the summer months Sand Martins nest in the cliffs. The grasslands on the cliff top are amongst the few remaining cliff top wildflower meadows left in Kent, and home to butterflies and Skylarks.

The soft cliff slopes at Reculver and nearby Bishopstone Glen have a rich insect fauna, including UK Nationally Scarce species such as the Digger wasp "Alysson lunicornis", and the cuckoo bee "Nomada fucata" - a cleptoparasite of the mining bee "Andrena flavipes".

Millennium Cross

The stone cross at the entrance to the car park was commissioned by Canterbury City Council to commemorate two thousand years of Christianity. The cross was carved from Portland Stone by the cathedral stone masons. The design is based on the original Reculver Cross, fragments of which survive in Canterbury Cathedral.

External links

* [http://www.georesources.co.uk/recintro.htm Reculver Virtual Fieldwork]
* [http://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=124 Reculver Visitor Centre and Country Park] (Kent Wildlife Trust)
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References

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