Hythe Town Walk

You’ll like Hythe…

We invite you to read this ‘potted history’ of our ancient town, and take a walk round it.  The first part (about 11/2 hours), is ‘on the flat’ and takes in some interesting places on the High Street, the Royal Military Canal, and the Oaklands Local History Room; then - for those prepared for the climb - up to the 11th Century Church of St Leonard, ‘the Church with the Bones’, and back to the High Street via Centuries, the oldest house in Hythe. You can join a Guided Walk in summer (Thursdays 1030am, from the Town Hall), or go round yourself, at your own pace, following the Map. Whichever you do, you are welcome.

At various points on your walk you will see Heritage Trail Notice Boards which tell the story of Hythe in the ‘Front Line’ of the defence of Britain since Roman times. There is a separate free Leaflet on this Trail, and another describing Walks and Cycle Routes around Hythe which will take you further afield. There is also a free Leaflet on the Cinque Ports (pronounced ‘sink’, the medieval way), which explains the unique historical Confederation of Ports and former Ports which marked the beginnings of British maritime power.

For more advice and other free Leaflets, call in at the library at Oaklands, at En Route in Red Lion Square, at the Light Railway Station, or at the One Stop Shop (158, The High Street )

Funding for this leaflet has been received from SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) and from Hythe Civic Society.

In Roman times the town of Hythe lay three miles to the West, at Port Lympne. There on the calm inland waters rode fishing boats and merchantmen, and warships to protect this important coast. When entrances to that harbour silted up, a new harbour and a new town grew on the present site.

In the years after William the Conqueror’s invasion of 1066, many castles, cathedrals and churches were built including a magnificent new church in the Norman style at Hythe. It was the town’s good fortune to stand not only on an important trade route, but later also on the Pilgrim Route to the Shrine of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury.

In later centuries, Fire, Plague, Storm and a Shipwreck with much loss of life, brought economic disaster to Hythe; there was even a mini-earthquake in 1580. The ‘new’ Harbour silted up and got shallower just as shipping was becoming larger. Frantic efforts were made to keep it clear, but In 1588 Hythe could send only one ship against the Spanish Armada, and a Map of Hythe dated 1685 shows no trace of a harbour .

A century of stagnation (and smuggling!) followed, until Napoleon threatened invasion - Hythe was in the Front Line, and defensive projects were set in train which brought in money and work. The Royal Military Canal was dug, the Martello Towers and Barracks built and garrisoned; shops and trades (and especially the Brewery! ) prospered.

Napoleon planned to row his Army across the Channel in barges. As he approached and disembarked, his men would be engaged by fire from the Martello Towers with their 2.5 ton cannon, capable of putting a 24lb shot a mile out to sea. One idea to stop the enemy advance inland was to flood the whole Marsh - but who would pay compensation for loss of crops? Suppose there were a false alarm?

And the land would be sterile for years! The Canal was a better solution. It was built to military standards with guns at intervals, so that when the bridges were burnt, it would impose delay and give the French real problems in getting their Horses, Cannon and Baggage Train across under fire.

The defences were ready, but the invader never came, and in later years the Towers became Signalling Stations, Look-outs for the Preventive Service against the smugglers, and even homes. But in 1914 they were once again sentinels on the front line. And in 1940, after Dunkirk, both Towers and Canal featured in the defensive plan when we stood alone against Hitler.

The threat was such that most of the children were evacuated, and those adults with no special duty to remain were encouraged to leave. The population fell to 3,000 (it is nearly 16,000 today) and whole streets stood empty, houses locked, gardens overgrown, while the beach and approach roads sprouted obstacles, barbed wire and pill boxes. Bombs, shells and ‘Doodle Bugs’ destroyed property and took many lives. After the War, to ensure that the re-building would reflect Hythe’s former character, townsfolk set up a Society, now the Hythe Civic Society, to protect and enhance Hythe’s amenities.

Today you can stroll peacefully through the medieval streets. The attractive High Street with the Town Hall at its centre, offers traditional shopping and varied opportunity to take refreshment. A Festival of music, culture, sport and fun is held in the first week of July in even-numbered years, and the world-famous Venetian Fete on the third Wednesday in August in odd years.

Do join in...........................you’ll like Hythe

Starting from the Town Hall:

The Council used to meet in the Church, but in 1794 the TOWN HALL  (1) was completed; the UNDERCROFT(*) below was the old Town Market, and on an oak panel in the Council Chamber are recorded Bailiffs from 1349 and Mayors from 1575; the Moot Horn and the Arms of the Cinque Ports and Seals of the Town and Jurats of Hythe are displayed. The CLOCK was added in  1871, lighted by gas.

Walk EAST along the HIGH STREET to the KINGS HEAD* (2) and St JOHN’S ALMS-HOUSE (3) then down Sun Lane. Cross the main road to the ROYAL MILITARY CANAL; it is now a pleasant walk beside the Canal (note the Mayors’ Stand opposite, used in the famous Venetian Fete) to the WAR MEMORIAL* (4). (There are additional Boards here describing the role of the Canal).

Many old elms were lost along here to Dutch elm disease, but the Hythe Tree Campaign has provided replacements.

Cross the Footbridge to the BOWLING CLUB (5) and entrance to LADIES WALK, laid out in 1792. (You can walk to the SEA that way.) Otherwise turn into the grounds of OAK-LANDS* (6), the fine house donated by Dr Randall Davis in 1932, which now houses the Council Offices, TOWN LIBRARY and LOCAL HISTORY ROOM - do spend a little time here. You can then turn into STADE STREET ( another route to the SEA - ‘stade’ means landing place, and passengers from Boulogne had to land here after the Harbour silted up).

Or go RIGHT from Oaklands, past the ‘TIN CHURCH’ (1893) and cross the Canal again at the TOWN BRIDGE (7) built in 1956 to replace the Bailey Bridge which itself had replaced one damaged by enemy action.

A short cut past the METHODIST CHURCH leads back to the High Street, or a LEFT TURN takes you into RED LION SQUARE * (8) long ago called Market Square but re-named after the big PUB, now re-named, formerly a Mackeson House, which stood right opposite the Brewery, home of the famous MILK STOUT.

Brewing ceased in 1968, and the same year saw also the removal of the Army’s SMALL ARMS SCHOOL nearby - hence MUSKETRY PARK (9), behind the EN ROUTE OFFICE. These were serious losses economically at the time.

Also in RED LION SQUARE is a splendid Drinking Fountain (1896) , and a couple of Tramlines - here was the Terminus of the horse-drawn Tram Service to Sandgate.

Returning to the High Street past No 1-3, a fine 18^th Century building, and the MALT-HOUSE ARCADE (10) you reach No 31/33, site of the first home of Francis Pet tit  Smith who invented the ‘Screw Propeller’ (sic) for ships, and then the magnificent Tree in the Town Square - once the garden of a fine house. Note the MILESTONE on The SWAN INN (11) and pass the WHITE HART where Mr Pitt planned the defence of Britain with the Duke of Wellington, and FM Lord Montgomery stayed, planning for a later war.

If you don’t mind the climb, extend your walk up to the CHURCH AND CRYPT OF St LEONARD * (12) (You can pick up a GUIDE there. ) En route, you pass the 17^th Century MANOR HOUSE (13) where Saxon and Norman remains have been found. The ancient ‘Listed’ WALLS you pass mark the boundaries of medieval properties.  The pleasantest way down from here is via OAK WALK (where the STOCKS once stood) and CHURCH HILL, once the ‘main road’ from the Harbour to Saltwood. Note the PLAQUE recording the home of Elizabeth Bowen, the Novelist. Finally, before returning to the High Street, look at CENTURIES * (14) an Historic Building of Kent; Bishop Hamo of Rochester, born here in 1275 founded the Almshouse which moved here in 1683 and exists still in St JOHN’S (3).

Text last updated May 2005.