Hampton-on-Sea
Where houses once stood
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| Location | North coast of Kent, England |
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| Address | Hampton Pier Avenue, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 |
| Coordinates | 51°22′14″N 1°05′53″E / 51.37056°N 1.09806°ECoordinates: 51°22′14″N 1°05′53″E / 51.37056°N 1.09806°E |
| Status | Drowned |
| Groundbreaking | 1864 (oyster fisheries) 1879 (Hampton-on-Sea Est Ass) 1888 (Land Co) |
| Constructed | 1864–1866 (oyster fisheries) 1879–1880 (Hampton-on-Sea Est Ass) 1888–1899 (Land Co and plotholders) |
| Destroyed | 1916 (abandoned) 1921 (demolished and drowned) 1934 (Hampton farmhouse lost) |
| Companies | |
| Developer | T.K. Freeman (Hampton-on-Sea Est Ass) F.F. Ramuz (Land Co) |
| Technical details | |
| Cost | Hampton Pier £28,000 Plots £3–32 |
| Buildings | 9 houses (oyster fisheries) 8 houses (Land Co) |
| No. of tenants | 17 (Land Co and plotholders) |
Hampton-on-Sea was a drowned and abandoned village in what is now the Hampton area of Herne Bay, Kent. It grew from a tiny fishing hamlet in 1864 at the hands of an oyster fishery company, was developed from 1879 by land agents, abandoned in 1916 and finally drowned due to coastal erosion by 1921. All that now remains is the stub of the original pier, the Hampton Inn, and the rocky arc of Hampton-on-Sea's ruined coastal defence visible at low tide. The site is notable for sharing its history with the eccentric Edmund Reid. Reid was previously the Metropolitan Police head of CID who handled the Jack the Ripper case. In retirement he chose to champion the plight of the beleaguered residents of the settlement.
Today Hampton, Herne Bay is the coastal west end of Herne Bay, Kent. The site of Hampton-on-Sea is now underwater due to coastal erosion, but it was on the west side of the northern end of Hampton Pier Avenue, between the 1959 sea defences and the remains of the sea wall which are exposed at low water in Hampton bay. When Hampton-on-Sea existed and until 1934, the Hampton-on-Sea site was under the jurisdiction of Blean Rural District Council, the boundary with Herne Bay Council running north-south along the line of the present-day Hampton Pier Avenue. In 1934, the area was transferred to Herne Bay Urban District Council, and in 1974 to Canterbury City Council.
On the sea-bed, offshore of this site, are remains of prehistoric and Roman activity.Hampton means "home farm", and before the development there were two farmhouses, a beerhouse, a few cottages containing the Mount and Quick fishing families, and the West Brook which was also known as Hampton Brook. The settlement had a reputation for a wild life, and Hill Farmhouse was said to have cellars or caves underneath for smuggling. Some cottages were built of old boats and wreckage; Hampton Farmhouse was then 300 yards from the sea and dated back to the 17th century. A low sea cliff made of soil edged the coast west of Hampton Pier, and coastal erosion was already an acknowledged problem for the farmers by 1836. Altogether the coastline at this site receded by 175 metres (574 ft) in the years between the completion of Hampton Pier in 1865, and the start of construction of modern coastal defences in 1958. Sea floodings have been officially recorded on this coastline since the great storm of 1897.
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Wikipedia