Reculver

Reculver is a popular summer resort situated about Vorlage:Convert east of Herne Bay, on the North Kent coast of England. Its main features are the remains of a Roman fort, or "castrum", a ruined medieval church within the fort, 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, on "a small knoll which, rising to a maximum height of 50 feet, is the last seaward extension of the Blean Hills." The ruins 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, navigable waters of the Wantsum Channel, which separated the Isle of Thanet from the rest of Kent, but recent archaeological excavation has shown that the site has been occupied since pre-historic times.

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 Vorlage:Convert 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.

Toponymy

Place-name authorities state that the name "Regulbium" was Celtic in origin, meaning "at the promontory", or "great headland", and that, in Old English, this became corrupted to "Raculf", sometimes given as "Raculfceastre", giving rise to the modern "Reculver".

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 around 210 AD. Towards the end of the century, 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. Archaeological evidence indicates that the fort was abandoned in the 360s.

A general map showing the situation of "Regulbium" in late Roman Kent. Of the places shown here, Regulbium, Rutupiae (Richborough), Portus Dubrae (for "Dubris"; Dover), Portus Lemanis (Lympne) and Anderida (Pevensey) were "Saxon Shore Forts" (note that "Regulbium" (Reculver) is marked here as "Reculbium")

After the Roman occupation of Britain ended in about 410, Reculver became a seat of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent. King Æthelberht of Kent is said to have moved there "with his court" from Canterbury in about 597, and to have built a palace on the site of the Roman ruins. A church was built on the same site in about 669, when King Ecgberht of Kent granted land for the foundation of a monastery there. 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". In 692 Reculver's abbot, Berhtwald, 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."

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. 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. Reculver remained an unusually large and valuable parish in the late 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, and this wealth led to disputes between lay and Church interests, over control of its benefice.

Reculver church is seen from the south east in this view from 1800, showing the twin towers topped by spires

Reculver towers in the early 20th century. The Trinity House wind vanes have been removed, but otherwise the ruins remain in a similar state today.

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 "in the early years of the 16th 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": Vorlage:Quotation

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: Vorlage:Quotation

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 at a date after 1928.

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. The vicarage was abandoned at the same time as the church. When the Hoy and Anchor Inn fell into the sea, the vicarage was used as a temporary replacement under the same name whilst the present King Ethelbert Inn was being built. The vicarage soon followed the original pub into the sea.

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.

Bouncing bombs

Prototype bouncing bomb recovered from Reculver in 1997, on display in Herne Bay Museum and Gallery. Reculver towers can be seen in the background of the accompanying artist's impression

During the Second World War, the Reculver coastline was one of a number of locations used to test Barnes Wallis's "bouncing bomb" prototypes. Different versions of the bomb, with inert filling, were tested at Reculver, leading to the development of the operational version known as "Upkeep". It was this bomb which was used by the RAF's 617 Squadron in Operation Chastise, otherwise known as the "Dambuster raids", in which dams in the Ruhr district of Germany were attacked on the night of 16-17 May 1943 by formations of Lancaster bombers, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 17 May 2003, a Lancaster bomber overflew the Reculver testing site to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the exploit.

On 6 June 1997 it was announced on the BBC World News that four of the prototype bouncing bombs had been discovered at Reculver. Each weighing approximately 4 tons (4.1 tonnes), attempts were made to salvage them, as a result of which, one prototype is displayed in Herne Bay Museum and Gallery, a little over 3 miles to the west of Reculver. Others are on display in Dover Castle and in the Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum at the former RAF Manston, on the Isle of Thanet.

Country park

Reculver Country Park, a small area of protected countryside, is situated Vorlage:Convert east of Herne Bay between Bishopstone and Reculver. The park is managed by Canterbury City Council in partnership with Kent Wildlife Trust and English Heritage. Since 2002 the site has gained a Green Flag Award and it is estimated that over 10,000 people visit the park each year including up to 3,500 students for educational trips.

The new Reculver Centre for Renewable Energy and Interpretation opened in July 2009, marking 200 years of the moving of Reculver village. The centre features a log burner fuelled by logs from the Blean woodland and solar and photo voltaic panels to convert sunlight to energy. Displays and information describing the history, geography and wildlife of the area are available inside the centre.

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 Vorlage:Convert away. The shingle beach has timber groynes giving way to sandy mudflats at low tide.

Wildlife

Reculver Country Park is internationally important for wildlife as a Special Protection Area (SPA) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to the thousands of birds that visit Reculver each year during their migrations 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 City of Canterbury 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.

Legends

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 numerous infant skeletons buried under the walls of Roman structures, probably barrack blocks, from which coins were recovered from between c. 270 and 300 AD.

Twin Sisters

A story which has been told many times, incorporating varying details, but following essentially the same course, concerns the origin of a byname for the Reculver towers, as the "Twin Sisters". According to this, late in the 15th century there were two orphaned daughters of Sir Geoffrey St Clare, twin sisters named Frances and Isabella. Frances became prioress of the Benedictine priory of Davington, near Faversham, while Isabella remained a ward of Abbot John of St Augustine's Abbey, in Canterbury, who was the sisters' uncle. 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 give thanks at the Shrine of Our Ladye Star of the Sea in Broadstairs.

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 a sandbank near Reculver called "The Horse". 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 vow to make offerings to the shrine at Broadstairs, and then restored Reculver church, also dedicated to St. Mary, adding spires to the towers, which thenceforth were known as the "Twin Sisters".

A re-invention of the story is in the Ingoldsby Legends, where two brothers, named Robert and Richard de Birchington, are substituted for the two sisters.

Parramatta cathedral

St Johns, Parramatta, NSW

The twin towers of St John's Cathedral, Parramatta in Sydney, Australia, which were added in 1817-1819, are based on the Reculver towers. A campaign to save Reculver church was raging when Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth left England in 1809. Mrs Macquarie showed Lieutenant John Watts, ADC of the 46th Regiment of Foot, a watercolour of Reculver church and asked him to design some towers for St John's in Parramatta. A watercolour of Reculver Church in the Mitchell Library section of the State Library of New South Wales has a note in Governor Macquarie's hand that he laid the foundation stone on 23 December 1818, and that Mrs Macquarie chose the plan and Lt Watts was responsible for implementing the design. A stone from Reculver was presented to St John's Cathedral by the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England (now English Heritage) in 1990.

See also

• Reculver Castle
• Regulbium
• Wantsum Channel

References

Stone from Reculver and commemorative plaque in St Johns, Parramatta, NSW

External links

• Church of St Mary at PastScape.org, English Heritage
• Reculver Virtual Fieldwork
• Reculver Visitor Centre and Country Park (Kent Wildlife Trust)