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Broomhill
(Swept away by the Storm)

General Details
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.
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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.
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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.
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