Broomhill used to lie in the area of the current Lydd Army Ranges on the coast between Camber and Dungeness . It was located on an island on a spit of land on the western edge of the Walland Marsh which is now the western edge of the Romney Marsh . The name means Gorse Hill , a hill for the marsh area would only have been a few metres above sea level. The village or small town was a major fishing port in the area and had been known as Bromehill , Proomhill or Promehill . In 1155 a Royal Charter founded the Cinque Ports which originally consisted of the "Ports" of Hastings , Romney ( now Old Romney ) , Hythe , Dover and Sandwich. However most of the ports in the Romney Marsh area became associated with the founders, and Broomhill was no exception, joining in the late 1100's. In 1287 a severe storm hit hit the channel, and the movement of shingle blocked the outlet of the Rother at Romney, changing its path forever down to Rye and out into the sea. The Storm sweept away the ports of (P)Bromehill and Old Winchelsea and destroyed many ships. The Cinque ports were very badly hit as many of the fishing vessels and sailors were lost. Surprisingly the decayed remains of the church are shown on a map produced by John Norden in 1595.

Services

The village was never rebuilt after the storm, and therefore has no services. The nearest services are at Camber which lies about 2 miles north.

Views

The sands all along this coastline are very attractive, with the cliffs at Fairlight forming a very pretty backdrop. The area now is given over to the Army Ranges at Lydd which have no public access but further down the coast towards Dungeness lies a Nature Reserve.