New Romney - (Cinque Port and Storm)

General Details

New Romney in Kent originally lay on the edge of the Rhee Wall in the Rother estuary, it now lies about 1/2 mile inland from the coast in the middle of the Romney Marsh . The first church built in New Romney was St Nicholas which was started by Bishop Odo half brother to William the Conqueror in 1080 and completed 50 years later in 1130. Old Romney and New Romney were linked, with the port at New Romney moving further away from the old town as the coastline spread into the English Channel. This creeping away of the harbour continued, until the 1100's when the distance between Romney and its harbour became too great, and the two villages separated. The Cinque Ports first mentioned in a Royal Charter of 1155 originally consisted of the 'Ports' of Hastings , New Romney , Hythe , Dover and Sandwich , so we know that New Romney had become the major village at this time.

During 1287 AD a severe storm hit the channel, and the movement of shingle from Dungeness blocked the outlet of the Rother at New Romney , the river changed its path to its current position to Rye and out into the sea. New Romney had its harbour devastated and shingle and mud flooded the town.

The prosperity of the village declined from the storm, and in 1550 only one church of the original five was left standing.

smuggling of wool ( owling ) was rife from the 1300's till 1724 when the French found they could obtain cheap wool from Ireland. The smuggling in the area continued till the 1840's when it was mostly stopped by the Excise men.

There is a local legend that in the late 1700's a young girl was found hanged in the New Inn and that her ghostly form can been seen walking the rooms and passageways.

On the 16th July 1927, the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway (RHDR) a narrow gauge railway was opened, New Romney is its base, where the engine sheds are located. The railway was built by Captain J. E. P. Howey and Count Louis Zborowski to serve the local population and tourist trade, it stretches for nearly 14 miles from Hythe through Dymchurch , St Marys Bay ,its base at New Romney ,Romney Sands and then to the fishermens cottages and lighthouses at Dungeness . It is still a major tourist attraction and well worth a visit. (Click here for the Official RHDR site) The railway was built by Captain J. E. P. Howey and Count Louis Zborowski to serve the local population and tourist trade.

St Nicholas at New Romney is one of those churches supported by the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust .

Views

New Romney in Kent is quite an attractive ancient village with many old buildings and much to see.

The Romney Hythe and Dymchurch railway with its narrow gauge steam trains is very interesting to visit.

Services

New Romney in Kent has quite a few shops as it is a small town, and has the usual small town services.

The nearest main shops are at Ashford about 20 miles to the north east.

The nearest trains run from Appledore about 5 miles north.

Map

New Romney is shown as the red symbol on the map.

Nearby Villages
(click on symbol to see the village page)