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Royal Military Canal, Town Bridge to Twiss Road Bridge

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005116
Date first listed:: 17-Dec-1986

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005116
Date first listed:: 17-Dec-1986

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Kent
District:: Folkestone and Hythe (District Authority)
Parish:: Hythe
National Grid Reference:: TR 16400 34656

Summary

A 692m length of the Royal Military Canal from Town Bridge to Twiss Road Bridge.

Reasons for Designation

The Royal Military Canal was a massive coastal defence work constructed between 1804 and 1809. Its purpose was to separate the expected landing and deployment of Napoleon's troops upon the coast of Romney Marsh and Walland Marsh from the interior of the country. The Government initially considered flooding the marsh but favoured the canal, which was the idea of Lt. Col. Brown, the Assistant Quartermaster-General. He carried out a survey and work commenced in 1804 at the height of the invasion scare, with John Rennie as consulting engineer (until 1805). The canal ran a total of about 28 miles from Shorncliffe Camp via Hythe inland to Appledore, to join the Eastern River Rother at Iden lock, from where it became part of first the Rother and then the River Brede, turning into a canal again from Winchelsea to Cliff End on the coast. Excavated earth formed the banquette and parapet on the landward side of the canal and behind this was an army supply route, the Royal Military Road. On the opposite side were the tow path and wharves. It also included a back and a front drain. The canal and parapets were so built that gun positions could be provided at the end of each length to flank the crossings. However by the time the canal was completed in 1809, the threat of invasion had passed, following Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar, and it was to some extent obsolete. In 1810, the canal was opened for public use and tolls were also collected for use of the Royal Military Road. In the later 19th century public use declined. The last toll was collected at Iden Lock in December 1909. Today Iden lock is a sluice, so the main part of the canal is isolated. The eastern section of the canal is still in use for pleasure boats.

The Royal Military Canal was an important element in the Napoleonic defences of south-east England and is the only military canal in the country. It is a unique defensive work that bears significant testament to a period when modern Britain faced the most serious threat of invasion prior to the major conflicts of the 20th century.

Despite some disturbance and development, the 692m length of the Royal Military Canal from Town Bridge to Twiss Road Bridge survives relatively well. It will contain archaeological information relating to its construction and use.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 12 August 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a length of the Royal Military Canal, an early 19th century defensive work, situated on low-lying ground in Hythe. It curves east to south-east to ENE for 60m from Town Bridge before maintaining a straight course ENE for the remaining 632m to Twiss Road Bridge.

The length of canal is water-filled and the surviving features include the parapet, a bank on the north side, and the Royal Military Road which largely survives as buried remains.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: KE 396 S
Legacy System:: RSM - OCN

Sources

Websites
Romney Marsh Countryside Project: Royal Military Canal website, accessed from http://www.royalmilitarycanal.com/pages/index.asp
Other
NMR LINEAR38. PastScape 1042908.,

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.