St Clement in Old Romney
St Clement in Old Romney is a Church of England parish church and one of the oldest churches in Kent.
It was originally constructed in the 12th century although there is some evidence of an original structure on the site dating back to the 8th century. The church with the Georgian minstrels' gallery and box pews retaining their rose pink colour was featured in the Doctor Syn film of 1962. [ The legendary Doctor Syn was a 18th century smuggler. The film was based on book A Tale of the Romney Marsh by Russell Thorndike. (1915). The boxed pews were painted pink and stayed pink.]
The earliest record of Romney dates from 791 AD. The name, once thought a corruption of Roman-ney, is now believed to derive from the Saxon "rumnea", meaning marsh water.
By 1140 it was a flourishing port extending along the north bank of the River Rother to form the "Longport". But as the harbour silted up, activities centred at the seaward end. Old Romney diminished in importance, while New Romney grew.
Due to the isolation of the area, its low lying marshland, and being close to France, the marsh churches are unusual, leading to the suspicion that one of their primary uses was smuggling. The marshes and the small villages were dominated by smugglers or 'owlers' where smugglers swapped local wool for brandy from France. There were pitched battles between smugglers and the revenue officers in most towns. Some reports speak of 200 smugglers regularly using an inn when the revenue men had a day off!
St Clement in Old Romney
St Clement in Old Romney is a Church of England parish church and one of the oldest churches in Kent.
It was originally constructed in the 12th century although there is some evidence of an original structure on the site dating back to the 8th century. The church with the Georgian minstrels' gallery and box pews retaining their rose pink colour was featured in the Doctor Syn film of 1962. [ The legendary Doctor Syn was a 18th century smuggler. The film was based on book A Tale of the Romney Marsh by Russell Thorndike. (1915). The boxed pews were painted pink and stayed pink.]
The earliest record of Romney dates from 791 AD. The name, once thought a corruption of Roman-ney, is now believed to derive from the Saxon "rumnea", meaning marsh water.
By 1140 it was a flourishing port extending along the north bank of the River Rother to form the "Longport". But as the harbour silted up, activities centred at the seaward end. Old Romney diminished in importance, while New Romney grew.
Due to the isolation of the area, its low lying marshland, and being close to France, the marsh churches are unusual, leading to the suspicion that one of their primary uses was smuggling. The marshes and the small villages were dominated by smugglers or 'owlers' where smugglers swapped local wool for brandy from France. There were pitched battles between smugglers and the revenue officers in most towns. Some reports speak of 200 smugglers regularly using an inn when the revenue men had a day off!