Herne Bay
Template:Infobox England place with map Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, England between six and seven miles north of Canterbury, and part of the City of Canterbury local government district.
History
The name Herne Bay is sometimes said to be derived from the herons that frequented the salt-water shallows between the town and neighbouring Whitstable. However, Herne Bay is etymologically a place on a "corner of land". It comes from the Old English hyrne ("angle, corner") and was first recorded in about 1100 as Hyrnan. This may relate to the sharp turn in the Roman Road from Canterbury to Reculver at Herne. The village, which gave its name to the parish, is two miles inland and in 1831 the parish (including Herne Bay) contained 1876 inhabitants. In the nineteeth century a smugglers' gang operated from Herne Bay, who in 1820 became involved with a series of fights, before finally being overpowered by the preventive service.
Herne Bay's heyday was during the late Victorian era when it came into prominence as a seaside resort and much of the resulting late Victorian seafront architecture is still in existence. Its shingle beach and "easy" tides have always been popular and, until the main iron pier of the town was destroyed on 12 January 1978, Herne Bay was popular with beach-pier fishermen.
From 1747 a passenger service by boat regularly landed on Herne beach from London. From Herne there was easy access across Kent by stagecoach to Dover or Thanet where further passage by boat could then be obtained across the English Channel.
In the 1830s, the Herne Bay Pier Company built the pier and promenade, extending three-quarters of a mile over the sands and sea; where steam packets and other vessels embarked and landed passengers and goods, at all times of the tide. In 1837 , at a cost of about £4,000 donated by Mrs Ann Thwaytes of London, a 75ft clock tower was added to the seafront. It is thought to be the first free standing purpose built clock tower in the world. Sir Henry Oxenden also gave a piece of ground for the site of a new church.
During the 1840s regular transport between Herne Bay and Canterbury left the seafront every morning at nine, summer and winter; coaches and omnibuses ran daily, and on the arrival of the steam packets, these would take passengers as far afield as Deal, Dover, Sandgate and Hythe. Conveyance by water was provided from London, Margate and Ramsgate with several steam vessels calling off Herne Bay daily.
The landward end of the pier and the seaward terminal are now separated by a half-mile stretch of water, two gaps having been cut by the Army as a counter-invasion measure at the beginning of World War II. Bridges to the seaward end were restored after the war, but the centre sectiion was torn down by a powerful storm in 1978,and has not been rebuilt since.
Thanet and Herne Bay both had a type of beach boat unique to the area, known as the Thanet wherry, a narrow pulling boat of about 18ft long much used for fishing and with the advent of tourism for pleasure trips.
Extensive seafront regeneration in the 1990s followed the creation of a sea defence jetty to protect low-lying areas of the town which were subject to flooding. Neptune's Arm, as it is called, lies a short way out to sea in the central area and has created a small harbour used by working and leisure boats. The Victorian gardens on the seafront were then able to be fully restored. Residents and businesses are campaigning for a full restoration of the pier.
The town museum contains many historic photographs on the effects of storms and flooding on the area. The Central Bandstand, built in 1924 and recently refurbished to its former glory after years of disrepair and closure to the public, is now home to the Herne Bay Information Centre.
Interesting facts
- Parts of the first series of Little Britain were filmed along the seafront of Herne Bay and inside one of the public houses on the seafront - The Bun Penny.
- In the early 1980s Herne Bay was the film location for the BBC comedy Cocklesea, starring, among others, Joan Sims.
- A wind farm has recently been constructed 8.5km north of the coast. The farm contains thirty 2.75MW wind turbines generating a total of 82.5MW of electricity for the local community.
- Reculver, near Herne Bay was the site of the testing of the bouncing bomb.
- Herne Bay was also the site of the 1960's film "French Dressing", a minor-comedy directed by Ken Russell set principally on the sea front and the inside of the Kent Tavern Pub.
- Part of an episode of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was filmed in Herne Bay.
- Herne Bay was used as a location in CBBC's "The Tweenies"
- Herne Bay was a location in "Upstairs Downstairs"
- Herne Bay was the main location for the 1970s French film "Blue Jeans"
- Herne Bay was the home town of characters Matt and Mandy in the BBC sitcom, Game On.
- Herne Bay is the home town of Popstars' Nikky Chapman and Eastenders' John Altman.
Affiliations
Herne Bay is twinned with the following towns:
Photos
Transport links
Herne Bay railway station is on the Ramsgate branch of the Chatham Main Line, which connects the stations between London Victoria and Ramsgate. Stations on this line include Bromley South, Rochester, Faversham, Whitstable, Margate and Broadstairs.
Herne Bay is on a triangular bus route with Whitstable and Canterbury. There is also a less frequest bus route between Herne Bay and Margate.
Tourist attractions and landmarks
- A seafront with a two mile shingle beach, a pier, a bandstand, a promenade, a clocktower, amusement arcades, rides for small children, cafes, guest houses, Victorian gardens, beach huts, a sea defence jetty, a sailing club, an off-shore World War II sea fort and an off-shore windfarm.
- Reculver Towers - the remains of a 12th Century church on the edge of the cliffs at Reculver, a village to the east of Herne Bay.
- Herne Mill - a traditional Kentish smock mill in Herne, a village to the south of Herne Bay. Open to the public at set times.
- A 100 foot tall concrete water tower overlooking Herne Bay from the top of Mickleburgh Hill on the east side of Herne Bay. Originally used as a resevoir, now used as a weather station.
- Wildwood - a woodland discovery park featuring over 50 species of native British animals such as deer, badgers, wild boar and wolves. Situated between Herne Bay and Canterbury.
- Herne Bay also has a memorial park with tennis courts, a two screen cinema, a swimming pool, a museum, a library, a market on Saturdays and a leisure centre on the pier with a roller skating rink, squash courts, a solarium and a gymnasium.
Schools
- Herne Bay High School - secondary high school specialising in sports education
- Herne Bay County Primary School
- Herne Junior School
- Herne Church Of England Primary School
- Briary County Primary School (Greenhill)
- Hampton County Primary School
- Reculver Church Of England Primary School