OLD ROMNEY

 The old name probably refers to the River Rother, which before 1287 emptied into the sea at New Romney. That's before the Great Storm of 1287 altered the course of the river to exit at Rye. It was originally navigable to Old Romney, but as it gradually silted up, New Romney was built as the local port, and Old Romney was left  two miles inland

Another miniscule Marsh Parish. However, St. Clement's Church is an absolute delight, both in its' location and internally.

Old Romney lies a couple of miles inland from New Romney, on what was once an island in the middle of the Rother Estuary, before the river changed direction. It was noted in Roman times as Vetus Rumellenum, but by the time of the Domesday Book, New Romney had been established.

In 791 King Offa granted a court to Romney, possibly heralding in the start of the Cinque Ports , and at the time it was a prosperous fishing and trading port. 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 Old Romney had been superceeded by this time.
The decline of Old Romney started at this point, but the natives continued to reclaim the land from the Rother Estuary and the marshland to provide rich and fertile farmland .

Old Romney reverted to a farming community , providing sheep and wool for the wool industry in Flanders . Around 1300 Edward I set up a customs duty on the export of english wool, which was in great demand in Europe. This was the first permanent customs system established in England, and until it was set up all trade in and out of England was free. Up to this point Old Romney was shipping most of its wool abroad from its harbour at New Romney . The trade continued after customs were set, and much wool was shipped out of the country with a return traffic of brandy and tobacco.

1614 the export of all wool was made illegal, so the smugglers became more violent and with the introduction of the death penalty in 1661 most became armed. In 1698 the government decided to take action. An Act was passed stopping people within 15 miles of the sea from buying any wool, unless they guaranteed that they wouldn't sell it to anyone within 15 miles of the sea.
Also any farmers within 10 miles of the sea had to account for their fleeces within 3 days of shearing, all of this effected Old Romney .
With the decline in smuggling in the 1730's the area continued to be a farming centre, the number of people declined until today when there is only the church and a handful of houses to mark the village.

Although one of the oldest churches in Kent, St. Clement's church has remained relatively untouched, but with the addition of pink painted box pews and a Georgian minstrels gallery. The pews were painted pink, when filming was taking place in the church. The white pews didn't work on film, so the pews were dulled down with pale pink paint. The film company promised to re-paint them white afterwards, but the parishioners voted to keep them pink!

It has featured in several films, with the money gained being useful for its' upkeep and protection 

In 1967, during restoration, a workman came across a large flat stone half-buried by the porch. Thinking it was probably a long-lost memorial stone, he got permission to dig it up. It turned out to be the pre-reformation altar table.

Such items of church furniture had been banned in 1550, so it had presumably been buried to prevent its' destruction. A wooden frame was constructed, and it was returned to serve the purpose for which it had originally been installed.

The large Royal Arms of George III are dated 1800 - the lion has a particularly smug expression! 

The church was built on an artificial mound, to protect it from flooding

Wander over to the far corner of the graveyard, and you will see the Wallingham Sewer - one of the original drainage channels of the Marshes. Old Romney lies just off the main A259, which was built on top of the Rhee Wall, one of the original 'innings' or walls behind which drainage channels were dug to drain the malarial swamps and reclaim the land. This is why the A259 is slightly raised above the level of the fields on either side. Despite being usually just called 'Romney Marsh', it is actually several 'inned' areas, such as Romney Marsh, Wallend Marsh, Denge Marsh and Pett Level.  

This particular sewer, or dyke if you're a local, is lined with some very old pollarded willows, whose striplings are still used for basket making etc.