Hythe, Kent
Encyclopedia
Hythe is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh
, in the District of Shepway
(derived from Sheep Way) on the south coast of Kent
. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place.
The town has medieval and Georgian
buildings, as well as a Saxon
/Norman
church on the hill and seafront promenade. Hythe was once defended by two castles, Saltwood
and Lympne
. The town hall, a former guildhall, was built in 1794, its fireplace designed by the Adam Brothers
.
Hythe's market once took place in Market Square (now Red Lion Square) close to where there is now a Farmers' Market every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Hythe has gardening, horse riding, bowling, tennis, cricket, football, squash and sailing clubs. Lord Deedes was patron of Hythe Civic Society, and the hounds of The East Kent Hunt are kennelled in nearby Elham.
Hythe is one of the Cinque Ports, but although it is beside a broad bay on the English Channel
, silting removed its harbour hundreds of years ago. Hythe was once the central Cinque Port, between Hastings and New Romney
to the west and Dover and Sandwich
to the east.
According to Hasted
, a French
fleet approached Hythe in 1293 and landed 200 men, but "the townsmen came upon them and slew every one of them: upon which the rest of the fleet hoisted sail and made no further attempt".
In 1348 the black death
afflicted Hythe, and in 1400 the plague
further reduced the population.
The Royal Military Canal
runs across the northern edge of the marsh, to Winchelsea
. Running under Stade Street, the canal, intended to repel invasion during the Napoleonic wars
of 1804 to 1815, gives central Hythe its character. Now shaded by trees, the canal, 30 feet (10m) wide passes into the marsh from the middle of the town. The canal begins at Seabrook and runs through Hythe and across Romney Marsh to Winchelsea. Its 26-mile length can be walked.
Also built around the same time as a defence against possible invasion by Napoleon were the Martello Towers. In total 74 of these towers were built between Folkestone
and Seaford
. The walls were up to 13 ft (4 m) thick, and each tower held 24 men and had a huge cannon mounted on the top. They were named after a similar tower at Mortella Point in Corsica
which the Navy had captured from the French. Although never needed for their original purpose they were later used to combat smuggling and also as signalling stations and coastal defences during the two World Wars. Three of the towers survive at Hythe; one was converted to a house in the 1930s and can be seen along West Parade, and the other two are on the beach and are owned by the Ministry of Defence
.
Geologically the town developed on a succession of non parallel terraces, rising from the level ground around the Royal Canal (previously named the royal military canal) towards the steep incline upon which the parish church of St Leonard was built. From the High Street, alleys lead up to the steeper levels of the town.
This publication may show the royal canal named as the royal military canal because that was its previous name.
The large 11th-century church is up the hill; the tower at its eastern end was destroyed by an earth tremor in 1739 and restored in 1750.
The chancel, from 1220, covers a processional ossuary
(a bone store, more commonly found on the continent) lined with 2,000 skulls and 8,000 thigh bones. They date from the medieval period, probably having been stored after removal, to make way for new graves. This was common in England, but bones were usually dispersed, and this is thus a rare collection.
Lionel Lukin
, credited with inventing the self-righting lifeboat
, is buried in the parish churchyard.
and Lympne
. Saltwood derives its name from the village in its shadow. During the reign of king Canute the manor of Saltwood was granted to the priory of Christ Church
in Canterbury
, but during the 12th century it became home of Henry d'Essex, constable of England.
Thomas Becket
had sought from King Henry II
restoration of the castle as an ecclesiastical palace. Henry instead granted the castle to Ranulf de Broc.
That the castle had been returned to Becket, as archbishop of Canterbury, and remained a church property until the reign of Henry VIII
, when Hythe and Saltwood were to be sequestrated to the Crown, suggests that some complicity by the baron Rranulf de Broc was possible in the murder of Becket. It was during this time at Saltwood, on 28 December 1170, that four knights plotted Becket's death the following day. Hugh de Moreville
was one of the knights, along with Reginald Fitzurse
, William de Tracey
, and Richard le Breton
.
From the moment Hythe came under Crown control, the senior official of the town was also a bailiff appointed by the Crown. This state of affairs (uniquely for a Cinque Port) remained until 1575 when Elizabeth I
gave the town control of its affairs.
The last Crown bailiff became the first mayor. His name was John Bredgman. A brass inscription bearing his name remains in the parish church, dated 1581.
Many think this monument marks where the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports held his court for Shepway, and it is referred to as the “Shepway Cross”. In fact the Shepway Cross is a civic war memorial erected in 1923. It was placed on the top of Lympne Hill because that was traditionally the site of the Court of Shepway.
Shepway Cross was paid for and unveiled in August 1923 by Earl Beauchamp, the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson, attended the ceremony. The memorial now shows signs of decay. The lettering denoting the monument's true purpose is hardly legible.
, running third-scale steam and diesel locomotives. The track runs parallel to coast through Dymchurch
and New Romney
to Dungeness. The founders were Captain J Howey and Count Louis Zborowski
. It opened in 1927. The trains run on a gauge of 15 inches (380 mm) in width, and the track is nearly 14 miles (23 km) long. During the Second World War the service transported the Operation Pluto
pipeline.
In August 1891 the band gave a notable public performance which prompted the following comment in the local press:
The Hythe Town Band played in front of the Sea View Hotel, Seabrook, last Tuesday from 8 - 10pm. This is the first time the band has appeared in uniform, which is very similar to the undress uniform of the East Kent Volunteers, excepting that it is a little neater!
In 1894 the band's name was changed to the Hythe Town Military Band.
At the turn of the century the band split up after disagreements and in September 1900 some musicians broke away to form the Hythe Excelsior Band.
By 1903 it would seem that whatever had caused the rift had been resolved and the two bands decided to amalgamate and during that year gave 89 public performances.
A successful period followed and by the 1920s the band had won an impressive list of competitions and medals. There had also been occasions when the band played to support public appeals, possibly the most notable being in 1912 when the band took to the streets to raise money for the relatives of the victims of the Titanic.
In 1939 the band voluntarily broke up as the 'call - up' took its toll. It was resurrected in 1945 and was able to be ready to play for the VE Day celebrations.
As the Hythe Town Military Band it continued to play until the early 1990s when the name once again changed to the current name: Hythe Town Concert Band.
Every two years, Hythe Corporation hosts the Hythe Venetian Fete
, when organisations and individuals create decorated floats which travel up and down the Royal Military Canal
.
Folkestone
and Hythe are represented in Parliament by Conservative
Damian Collins former advertising executive and Oxford alumnus.
owns the Tower Theatre
at Shorncliffe
. It is a charitable organisation which performs several shows a year.
(published by the KM Group
. Free newspapers for the town include the Folkestone and Hythe Extra, part of the KM Group; and yourshepway, part of KOS Media
. It also has a paid for monthly Magazine "Folkestone, Hythe & Romney Life"
. Hythe is also served by the county-wide stations Heart, Gold and BBC Radio Kent
.
Alison Chapman Television Antiques expert on David Dickinson's Real Deal and The Secret Dealer has a shop here.
Romney Marsh
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 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
, in the District of Shepway
Shepway
Shepway is a local government district in Kent, England. It includes the towns of Folkestone and Hythe and the Romney Marsh. It is named after the Jutish lathe of Shepway; the Royal Court of Shepway, which met near Lympne at a place called Shepway Cross, was the principal court of the Cinque Ports...
(derived from Sheep Way) on the south coast of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place.
The town has medieval and Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
buildings, as well as a Saxon
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...
/Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
church on the hill and seafront promenade. Hythe was once defended by two castles, Saltwood
Saltwood
Saltwood is a village and civil parish in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Within the parish are two other settlements: Pedlinge and Sandling; both being small hamlets.-Geography:...
and Lympne
Lympne
Lympne is a village situated on the former sea cliffs above the Romney Marsh in Kent. It lies approximately west of Folkestone, 2 miles west of Hythe and east of Ashford....
. The town hall, a former guildhall, was built in 1794, its fireplace designed by the Adam Brothers
Adam Brothers
Adam Brothers may refer to:Scottish architects, three sons of William Adam:*John Adam *Robert Adam *James Adam French sculptors, three sons of Lambert Adam:...
.
Hythe's market once took place in Market Square (now Red Lion Square) close to where there is now a Farmers' Market every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Hythe has gardening, horse riding, bowling, tennis, cricket, football, squash and sailing clubs. Lord Deedes was patron of Hythe Civic Society, and the hounds of The East Kent Hunt are kennelled in nearby Elham.
Hythe is one of the Cinque Ports, but although it is beside a broad bay on the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, silting removed its harbour hundreds of years ago. Hythe was once the central Cinque Port, between Hastings and New Romney
New Romney
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 be silted up. New Romney was once a sea port, with the harbour adjacent to the church, but is now more than a mile from the sea...
to the west and Dover and Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
to the east.
According to Hasted
Edward Hasted
Edward Hasted was the author of a major county history, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent .-Life:...
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fleet approached Hythe in 1293 and landed 200 men, but "the townsmen came upon them and slew every one of them: upon which the rest of the fleet hoisted sail and made no further attempt".
In 1348 the black death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
afflicted Hythe, and in 1400 the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
further reduced the population.
The Royal Military Canal and Martello Towers
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh.-Construction:...
runs across the northern edge of the marsh, to Winchelsea
Winchelsea
Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...
. Running under Stade Street, the canal, intended to repel invasion during the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
of 1804 to 1815, gives central Hythe its character. Now shaded by trees, the canal, 30 feet (10m) wide passes into the marsh from the middle of the town. The canal begins at Seabrook and runs through Hythe and across Romney Marsh to Winchelsea. Its 26-mile length can be walked.
Also built around the same time as a defence against possible invasion by Napoleon were the Martello Towers. In total 74 of these towers were built between Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
and Seaford
Seaford, East Sussex
Seaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, on the south coast of England. Lying east of Newhaven and Brighton and west of Eastbourne, it is the largest town in Lewes district, with a population of about 23,000....
. The walls were up to 13 ft (4 m) thick, and each tower held 24 men and had a huge cannon mounted on the top. They were named after a similar tower at Mortella Point in Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
which the Navy had captured from the French. Although never needed for their original purpose they were later used to combat smuggling and also as signalling stations and coastal defences during the two World Wars. Three of the towers survive at Hythe; one was converted to a house in the 1930s and can be seen along West Parade, and the other two are on the beach and are owned by the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
.
Geologically the town developed on a succession of non parallel terraces, rising from the level ground around the Royal Canal (previously named the royal military canal) towards the steep incline upon which the parish church of St Leonard was built. From the High Street, alleys lead up to the steeper levels of the town.
This publication may show the royal canal named as the royal military canal because that was its previous name.
The 11th century parish church of St Leonard
Ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...
(a bone store, more commonly found on the continent) lined with 2,000 skulls and 8,000 thigh bones. They date from the medieval period, probably having been stored after removal, to make way for new graves. This was common in England, but bones were usually dispersed, and this is thus a rare collection.
Lionel Lukin
Lionel Lukin
Lionel Lukin Lionel Lukin Lionel Lukin (18 May 1742 (Great Dunmow, Essex, England) - 16 February 1834 (Hythe, Kent, England) is considered by some to have been the inventor of the lifeboat (although see William Wouldhave for the competing claim)....
, credited with inventing the self-righting lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
, is buried in the parish churchyard.
The castles at Saltwood and Lympne
Hythe was once defended by two castles, SaltwoodSaltwood Castle
Saltwood Castle is a castle in Saltwood village—which derives its name from the castle—1 mile north of Hythe, Kent, England.The castle is known as the site where the plot was hatched to assassinate Thomas Becket...
and Lympne
Lympne Castle
Lympne Castle is a mediaeval castle near the village of Lympne, Kent, above Romney Marsh.Today, it is used primarily as a venue for corporate events and weddings. It is generally not open to the public. The Estate Manager is Rod Aspinall....
. Saltwood derives its name from the village in its shadow. During the reign of king Canute the manor of Saltwood was granted to the priory of Christ Church
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, but during the 12th century it became home of Henry d'Essex, constable of England.
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
had sought from King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
restoration of the castle as an ecclesiastical palace. Henry instead granted the castle to Ranulf de Broc.
That the castle had been returned to Becket, as archbishop of Canterbury, and remained a church property until the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, when Hythe and Saltwood were to be sequestrated to the Crown, suggests that some complicity by the baron Rranulf de Broc was possible in the murder of Becket. It was during this time at Saltwood, on 28 December 1170, that four knights plotted Becket's death the following day. Hugh de Moreville
Hugh de Morville, Lord of Westmorland
Sir Hugh de Morville was an Anglo-Norman knight who served King Henry II of England in the late 12th century. He is chiefly famous as one of the assassins of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170...
was one of the knights, along with Reginald Fitzurse
Woodspring Priory
Woodspring Priory is a former Augustinian priory beside the Severn Estuary about north-east of Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset. It was founded in the early thirteenth century, and dedicated to Thomas Becket . After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the priory was converted into a farmhouse...
, William de Tracey
William de Tracy
Sir William de Tracy, Knt., was Lord of the Manor of Toddington, Gloucestershire, feudal Baron of Bradninch, near Exeter, and Lord of Moretonhampstead, Devon...
, and Richard le Breton
Richard le Breton
Sir Richard le Breton was one of the four knights who murdered Saint Thomas Becket.He was the son of Simon le Bret or Simon Brito of Sampford Brett in Somerset and a near neighbour of the FitzUrses of Williton...
.
From the moment Hythe came under Crown control, the senior official of the town was also a bailiff appointed by the Crown. This state of affairs (uniquely for a Cinque Port) remained until 1575 when Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
gave the town control of its affairs.
The last Crown bailiff became the first mayor. His name was John Bredgman. A brass inscription bearing his name remains in the parish church, dated 1581.
The Cinque port Court of Shepway
A monumental cross now indicates what was from 1358 a meeting place of the confederation of the Cinque ports, several miles west of Hythe, known then as "the Shepway crossroads". Shepway cross, erected in 1923, the monument to the Court of Shepway, is beside the Hythe to Lympne road (B2067). The lathe of Shepway was the Saxon name for south east Kent, roughly corresponding with the modern District of Shepway, comprising Folkestone, Hythe, Romney Marsh and nearby villages as far north as Elham.Shepway Cross was paid for and unveiled in August 1923 by Earl Beauchamp, the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson, attended the ceremony. The memorial now shows signs of decay. The lettering denoting the monument's true purpose is hardly legible.
The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
Hythe is the northern terminus of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch RailwayRomney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a gauge light railway in Kent, England. The line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St...
, running third-scale steam and diesel locomotives. The track runs parallel to coast through Dymchurch
Dymchurch
Dymchurch is a village and civil parish in the Shepway District of Kent, England. The village is located on the coast five miles south-west of Hythe, and on the Romney Marsh. It is typical of this part of the coast, having been a village which became larger during the 1930s...
and New Romney
New Romney
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 be silted up. New Romney was once a sea port, with the harbour adjacent to the church, but is now more than a mile from the sea...
to Dungeness. The founders were Captain J Howey and Count Louis Zborowski
Louis Zborowski
Count Louis Zborowski was a racing driver and automobile engineer.-Biography:His father, Count William Eliot Morris Zborowski was also a racing driver, and died in a racing crash, in 1903 at La Turbie Hillclimb in France near Nice...
. It opened in 1927. The trains run on a gauge of 15 inches (380 mm) in width, and the track is nearly 14 miles (23 km) long. During the Second World War the service transported the Operation Pluto
Operation Pluto
Operation Pluto was a World War II operation by British scientists, oil companies and armed forces to construct undersea oil pipelines under the English Channel between England and France. The scheme was developed by Arthur Hartley, chief engineer with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company...
pipeline.
Hythe Town Band
Very little is known about the band's formative years except that reference is made in a press article of August 1890 to the formation of a 'Brass and Reed Band' from the existing town band which had, at that time, been running for at least ten years.In August 1891 the band gave a notable public performance which prompted the following comment in the local press:
The Hythe Town Band played in front of the Sea View Hotel, Seabrook, last Tuesday from 8 - 10pm. This is the first time the band has appeared in uniform, which is very similar to the undress uniform of the East Kent Volunteers, excepting that it is a little neater!
In 1894 the band's name was changed to the Hythe Town Military Band.
At the turn of the century the band split up after disagreements and in September 1900 some musicians broke away to form the Hythe Excelsior Band.
By 1903 it would seem that whatever had caused the rift had been resolved and the two bands decided to amalgamate and during that year gave 89 public performances.
A successful period followed and by the 1920s the band had won an impressive list of competitions and medals. There had also been occasions when the band played to support public appeals, possibly the most notable being in 1912 when the band took to the streets to raise money for the relatives of the victims of the Titanic.
In 1939 the band voluntarily broke up as the 'call - up' took its toll. It was resurrected in 1945 and was able to be ready to play for the VE Day celebrations.
As the Hythe Town Military Band it continued to play until the early 1990s when the name once again changed to the current name: Hythe Town Concert Band.
Every two years, Hythe Corporation hosts the Hythe Venetian Fete
Hythe Venetian Fete
The Hythe Venetian Fete is a traditional "floating tableaux" that dates and derives back to the 1860s Hythe Cricket Week. It takes place on the third Wednesday in August, every two years, on the Royal Military Canal at Hythe in Kent, England....
, when organisations and individuals create decorated floats which travel up and down the Royal Military Canal
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh.-Construction:...
.
Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
and Hythe are represented in Parliament by Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Damian Collins former advertising executive and Oxford alumnus.
Local places of interest
- Brockhill Country ParkBrockhill Country ParkBrockhill Country Park is in Saltwood, near Hythe in Kent, England.A former estate with landscaped gardens, now house used by a school and gardens and lake, now part of the country park.-History:...
- CenturiesCenturies, HytheThe house named Centuries in Hythe, Kent, England is the birthplace of Hamo de Hethe, b.1275, who became the Bishop of Rochester in Kent, England in 1330. The original house was built in 1107 by a family named Noble, believed to be Hamo's ancestors...
- Port Lympne Wild Animal Park & GardensPort Lympne ZooPort Lympne Wild Animal Park near the town of Hythe in Kent, England is set in and incorporates the historic mansion and landscaped gardens designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker for Sir Philip Sassoon during World War I....
- Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch RailwayRomney, Hythe and Dymchurch RailwayThe Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a gauge light railway in Kent, England. The line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St...
Theatre
The Folkestone & Hythe Operatic & Dramatic SocietyFolkestone & Hythe Operatic & Dramatic Society
Folkestone & Hythe Operatic & Dramatic Society, FHODS, is a charitable organization that holds performances and events at its theatre in Shorncliffe, the Tower Theatre...
owns the Tower Theatre
The Tower Theatre (Folkestone, Kent)
The Tower Theatre is a theatre in Folkestone, Kent that has been converted from the garrison church of Shorncliffe Camp barracks. The venue is owned by Folkestone & Hythe Operatic & Dramatic Society, . FHODS is a charitable organisation that has been running in Folkestone and Hythe since 1902. It...
at Shorncliffe
Shorncliffe
Shorncliffe can refer to:* Shorncliffe, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane in Australia** Shorncliffe railway line, to the suburb** Shorncliffe railway station, Brisbane, in the suburb...
. It is a charitable organisation which performs several shows a year.
Newspapers
Hythe has two paid for newspapers, the Hythe Herald (published by Kent Regional News and Media) and the Kentish ExpressKentish Express
The Kentish Express is a weekly newspaper serving southern Kent. It is published in four editions - Ashford, Folkestone, Hythe and the Romney Marsh, and Tenterden. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.-History:...
(published by the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...
. Free newspapers for the town include the Folkestone and Hythe Extra, part of the KM Group; and yourshepway, part of KOS Media
KOS Media
KOS Media is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England. The company operates local newspapers and internet sites throughout the county.-History:...
. It also has a paid for monthly Magazine "Folkestone, Hythe & Romney Life"
Radio
The local radio station for Hythe is KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs CountryKMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country
KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country is an Independent Local Radio serving the districts of Dover and Shepway and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group....
. Hythe is also served by the county-wide stations Heart, Gold and BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...
.
Notable people
- The novelist Elizabeth BowenElizabeth BowenElizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen, CBE was an Irish novelist and short story writer.-Life:Elizabeth Bowen was born on 7 June 1899 at 15 Herbert Place in Dublin, Ireland and was baptized in the nearby St Stephen's Church on Upper Mount Street...
spent her childhood in Hythe and retired to a house on Church Steps (overlooking the parish church) where she died. - The novelist H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
built Spade House at nearby SandgateSandgate, KentSandgate is a village in the Folkestone and Hythe Urban Area in the Shepway district of Kent, England. In 2004, the village re-acquired civil parish status....
. - Saltwood CastleSaltwood CastleSaltwood Castle is a castle in Saltwood village—which derives its name from the castle—1 mile north of Hythe, Kent, England.The castle is known as the site where the plot was hatched to assassinate Thomas Becket...
was the ancestral home of Lord Deedes and later home to Lord Kenneth ClarkKenneth ClarkKenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
, the art historian, and his son Alan ClarkAlan ClarkAlan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
, Conservative MP, military historian and renowned diarist. - The novelist Daphne du MaurierDaphne du MaurierDame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
lived with her family at Hythe in the early years of World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
- Francis Pettit SmithFrancis Pettit SmithSir Francis Pettit Smith was an English inventor and, along with Frédéric Sauvage and John Ericsson, one of a number of people with a claim to having been the inventor of the screw propeller...
, inventor of the marine screw propellerPropellerA propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
, was born and raised in Hythe; a plaque is on the wall above Paydens Chemist in High Street. - Charles Wakefield, 1st Viscount WakefieldCharles Wakefield, 1st Viscount WakefieldCharles Cheers Wakefield, 1st Baron Wakefield , was a British businessman.-Early life:Wakefield was born in Liverpool, in 1859, the son of John Wakefield, and his wife Margaret, née Cheers, and was educated at the Liverpool Institute.-Business career:Wakefield patented the Wakefield lubricator for...
, philanthropistPhilanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
& founder of the CastrolCastrolCastrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications...
Oil Company. - Michael HowardMichael HowardMichael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
was Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for FolkestoneFolkestoneFolkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
& Hythe; he lives at nearby LympneLympneLympne is a village situated on the former sea cliffs above the Romney Marsh in Kent. It lies approximately west of Folkestone, 2 miles west of Hythe and east of Ashford....
. - Noel ReddingNoel ReddingNoel Redding was an English rock and roll guitarist best known as the bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Biography:...
(1945–2003), bassist with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, gave his first public performance at Hythe Youth Club. - Tim Murton, fine artist, former scenic artist; emigrated to Canada in the 1970s but returns every year to paint.
Alison Chapman Television Antiques expert on David Dickinson's Real Deal and The Secret Dealer has a shop here.
See also
- Hythe, AlbertaHythe, AlbertaHythe is a village in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately 54 km west of Grande Prairie, the nearest major urban centre, on Highway 43. It is located in the centre of the Peace River Country, and supports a rural agricultural economy. It has an elementary school and a junior high...
- Hythe, variant of the Short Sunderland