Reculver Towers

The Reculver Towers are located in Herne Bay and are the remains of the church of St Mary, built on the site of a Roman fort. Most of the structure was demolished due to coastal erosion and later used as a daymark.

Until the Middle Ages, the Wantsum Channel separated the Isle of Thanet and the Kent mainland. During the Roman occupation, a small fort was built at Reculver in 43AD, and later, a larger fort was established, becoming part of a chain of Saxon Shore forts.

In 669AD, a monastery dedicated to St Mary was established at the Roman fort site.

As the Wantsum Channel silted up, coastal erosion destroyed many buildings along the shoreline, and by the late 18th century, the village of Reculver had been largely abandoned. The church of St Mary was demolished early in the 19th century.

John Rennie proposed a scheme to protect the cliffs and church, but in January 1808, it was decided to demolish the church, which was within 12 feet of the cliff edge by the following year.

Trinity House decided to intervene at this stage, as the Reculver towers were deemed useful as a navigation aid. In 1810, they bought the remains of the building for £100 and built groynes to protect the eroding cliff. The Environment Agency now manages this part of the coastline.

The inscription reads:

THESE TOWERS
THE REMAINS OF THE ONCE VENERABLE CHURCH OF RECULVERS,
WERE PURCHASED OF THE PARISH
BY THE CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE OF DEPTFORD STROND
IN THE YEAR 1810,
AND GROINS LAID DOWN AT THEIR EXPENCE,
TO PROTECT THE CLIFF ON WHICH THE CHURCH HAD STOOD.
WHEN THE ANCIENT SPIRES WERE AFTERWARDS BLOWN DOWN,
THE PRESENT SUBSTITUTES WERE ERECTED,
TO RENDER THE TOWERS STILL SUFFICIENTLY CONSPICUOUS
TO BE USEFUL TO NAVIGATION.
CAPTN. JOSEPH COTTON,
DEPUTY MASTER IN THE YEAR 1819.

English Heritage now manages the site of the church.