Hythe, Kent
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Hythe | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | HYTHE | |
Postcode district | CT21 | |
Dialling code | 01303 | |
Police | Kent | |
Fire | Kent | |
Ambulance | South East Coast | |
UK Parliament | ||
Hythe (
History
The town has
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.
As an important
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.
Hythe has no coat of arms; but the corporation seal represents an antique vessel with one mast, two men in it (one blowing a horn) and two men lying on the yard arm.[3]
Hythe was the home of the Mackeson Brewery, which after changes of ownership, closed in 1968. It was the birthplace of Mackeson Stout, a type of beer first brewed in 1909, which went on to become a national brand. Mackeson stout is no longer brewed locally but is produced under contract by one of the major national brewers.
Hythe Ranges is a military training ground that takes up a large section of the Hythe shoreline. Access to this section of the shore is restricted when red flags are showing.
Royal Military Canal and Martello Towers
The
Also built around the same time as a defence against possible invasion by Napoleon were the
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.
Castles at Saltwood and Lympne
Hythe was once defended by two castles,
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
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.
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.
School of Musketry
The
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
Hythe is the northern terminus of the
Governance
Folkestone and Hythe are represented in Parliament by the Conservative MP Damian Collins, elected in 2010.
Local places of interest
- Brockhill Country Park
- Centuries
- Port Lympne Wild Animal Park & Gardens
- St Leonard's Church
- Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
Sport and leisure
Hythe has a Non-League football club, Hythe Town F.C. who play at the Reachfields Stadium.
Theatre
Local media
Newspapers
Hythe has two paid-for newspapers, the "Folkestone and Hythe Express" (published by the KM Media Group) every Wednesday and the "Folkestone Herald" (published by Kent Regional News and Media). KentOnline.co.uk (published by the KM Media Group) also has a dedicated website for Hythe news. 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". A new free community/lifestyle magazine for Hythe, "Hythe Life Magazine" launched in the summer of 2014.
Radio
The local radio station for Hythe is KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country. Cinque Ports Radio 100.2FM is the community radio station for Hythe and Romney Marsh and has been broadcasting since 7th March 2022 replacing Shoreline FM, now an online service, which had been broadcasting on 100.2FM from January 2020.[5] Academy FM 105.9FM, the community radio station for Folkestone can also be received in parts of Hythe.[6]
Hythe FM on 95.1FM was a restricted service radio licensed station which broadcast for several years during the time of the Hythe Venetian Fete. The people behind Hythe FM have now started broadcasting online since May 2022.[7]
In popular culture
- Hythe is the setting of comedy-drama series Back to Life.[8]
Notable people
- The novelist Elizabeth Bowen spent her childhood in Hythe and retired to 'Carbery' on Church Hill, overlooking the parish church, where she died.
- Lord Deedes and later home to Lord Kenneth Clark, the art historian, and his son Alan Clark, Conservative minister, military historian and renowned diarist.
- The novelist Second World War.
- Colonel Gaddafi, leader of Libya, was trained by the British army in Kent[9]
- Edward Hulme (1812-1876), surgeon and hospital administrator in New Zealand, was born in Hythe
- Sir Henry Lucy was a parliamentary journalist who built (1883) 'Lucy's' on what is now Lucy's Hill in Hythe
- Lionel Lukin, credited with inventing the self-righting lifeboat, is buried in the parish.
- Ronald MacNab (1902–1962), cricketer
- Jimi Hendrix Experience, gave his first public performance at Hythe Youth Club.
- Monte Saldo, a strong man.
- Francis Pettit Smith, inventor of the marine screw propeller, was born and brought up in Hythe; a plaque is on the wall above The Post Office in the High Street.
- philanthropist, founder of the Castrol Oil Company, Lord Mayor of London, a great benefactor of Hythe who lived at 'The Links' overlooking the town (destroyed by fire during 1960s)
- Kenneth Colley, Actor from Manchester, known for playing many parts, specially Admiral Piett in Star Wars lives in Hythe.
See also
- Hythe, Alberta
- Short Hythe, variant of the Short Sunderland
References
- ^ "Town Population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "The Town Hall (1068981)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "British History Online: Hythe, Kent". Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
- ^ "Formation of the early School of Musketry" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
- ^ "Shoreline FM". Ofcom. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "105.9 Academy FM Folkestone". Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ Hythe Community Radio Archived 20 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Hit BBC drama Back to Life returns this month". 18 August 2021.
- ^ Blundy & Lycett 1987, pp. 49–50; Kawczynski 2011, p. 13; Bruce St. John 2012, p. 138
External links
- Hythe Town Council Archived 30 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- Website of the parish church of St Leonard, Hythe