Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
in
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...
. It is north of
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
and east of
Whitstable
Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...
. It neighbours the ancient villages of
Herne and
Reculver
Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England.
It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent.
Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...
and is part of the
City of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury () is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. As well as Canterbury itself, the district extends north to the coastal towns of Whistable and Herne Bay.
History
The district was formed on 1 April 1 ...
local government district, although it remains a separate town with countryside between it and Canterbury. Herne Bay's seafront is home to the world's first freestanding purpose-built
Clock Tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
, built in 1837. From the late Victorian period until 1978, the town had the second-longest
pier
image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...
in the United Kingdom.
[Herne Bay Pier]
at www.theheritagetrail.co.uk (accessed 7 July 2008)
The town began as a small shipping community, receiving goods and passengers from London en route to Canterbury and
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
. The town rose to prominence as a
seaside resort
A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...
during the early 19th century after the building of a pleasure pier and
promenade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...
by a group of London investors, and reached its heyday in the late
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
. Its popularity as a holiday destination has declined over the past decades, due to the increase in foreign travel and to a lesser degree exposure to flooding that has prevented the town's redevelopment. In 2011 the town had a population of 38,563.
History
The town of Herne Bay took its name from the neighbouring village of
Herne, two kilometres inland from the bay. The word ''herne'', meaning a place on a corner of land, evolved from the Old English ''hyrne'', meaning corner. The village was first recorded in around 1100 as Hyrnan. The ''corner'' may relate to the sharp turn in the minor
Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
between Canterbury and
Reculver
Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England.
It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent.
Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...
at Herne.
One of the oldest buildings in Herne Bay is the late 18th-century inn The Ship, which served as the focal point for the small shipping and farming community that first inhabited the town. During this time, passenger and cargo boats regularly ran between Herne Bay and London and boats carrying coal ran from
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
. From Herne, there was easy access by road to the city of Canterbury.
![Herne Bay clock tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Herne_Bay_clock_tower.jpg)
The 1801 census recorded Herne Bay, including Herne, as having a population of 1,232.
During the early 19th century, a smugglers' gang operated from the town. The gang were regularly involved in a series of fights with the preventive services until finally being overpowered in the 1820s.
In the 1830s, a group of London investors, who recognised Herne Bay's potential as a seaside resort, built a wooden
pier
image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...
and a promenade on the town's seafront. This and the subsequent building of a railway station led to the rapid expansion of the town; between 1831 and 1841 the town's population grew from 1,876 to 3,041.
The London businessmen intended to rename the town St Augustine's, but the name was unpopular with residents and the name "Herne Bay" remained.
In 1833, an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
established Herne Bay and Herne as separate towns.
Local landowner Sir Henry Oxenden donated a piece of ground for the site of the town's first church,
Christ Church, which was opened in 1834.
In 1837, Mrs
Ann Thwaytes, a wealthy widow from London, donated around £4,000 to build a clock tower on the town's seafront.
It is believed to be the first freestanding, purpose-built clock tower in the world.
![Tower Gardens, Herne Bay - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Tower_Gardens%2C_Herne_Bay_-_geograph.org.uk_-_502978.jpg)
During the 1840s, steamboats began running between Herne Bay and London. There was a type of beach boat unique to Herne Bay and nearby
Thanet Thanet may refer to:
*Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England
*Thanet District, a local government district containing the island
*Thanet College, former name of East Kent College
*Thanet Canal, ...
, known as the Thanet
wherry
A wherry is a type of boat that was traditionally used for carrying cargo or passengers on rivers and canals in England, and is particularly associated with the River Thames and the River Cam. They were also used on the Broadland rivers of No ...
, a narrow pulling boat about long. These boats were mainly used for fishing; however, with the advent of tourism and the decline of fishing, they became mainly used for pleasure trips. A document dated 1840 records the town as having the following schools, all of which are now defunct: Haddington (boarding school), Oxenden House, The British School, Prospect Place and Herne Street School.
The village of Herne was often called Herne Street around this time. The same document also mentions the still-existing Rodney Head, The Ship and Upper Red Lion inns.
In 1912, the first "Brides in the Bath" murder by
George Joseph Smith
George Joseph Smith (11 January 1872 – 13 August 1915) was an English serial killer and bigamist who was convicted and subsequently hanged for the murders of three women in 1915, the case becoming known as the Brides in the Bath Murders. As w ...
was committed in Herne Bay. BBC scriptwriter Anthony Coburn, who lived in the resort, was one of the people who conceived the idea of a police box as a time machine for ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. During World War II, a
sea-fort was built off the coast of Herne Bay and Whitstable, which is still in existence. The coastal village of Reculver, to the east of Herne Bay, was the site of the testing of the
bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-deter ...
used by the "
Dam Busters" during the war.
The pier
The original wooden pier had to be dismantled in 1871 after its owners went into liquidation and sea worms had damaged the wood.
A shorter -long iron pier with a theatre and shops at the entrance was built in 1873.
However, it was too short for steamboats to berth at. The pier proved to be unprofitable and in 1896 construction began on a replacement iron pier which would be longer and feature an electric tram. At , this pier was the second longest in the country, behind only the pier at
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
.
![The landward end of Herne Bay pier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/The_landward_end_of_Herne_Bay_pier.jpg)
The town's heyday as a seaside resort was during the late Victorian era; the population nearly doubled from 4,410 to 8,442 between 1881 and 1901.
Much of the resulting late Victorian seafront architecture is still in existence today. In 1910, a pavilion was added to the landward end of the pier.
By 1931, the town's population had grown to 14,533. At the beginning of World War II, the army cut two gaps between the landward end of the pier and the seaward terminal as a counter-invasion measure. The pier's two gaps were bridged for pedestrians after the war.
1963 marked the end of steamboat services from the pier. In 1970, a fire destroyed the pier's pavilion and plans were made to replace it with a sports centre, which was opened in 1976 by former Prime Minister
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
.
The centre section of the pier was torn down by a storm in 1978, leaving the end of the pier isolated in the sea.
It has not been rebuilt due to the cost; however, residents and businesses in the town have campaigned for its restoration. The sports centre was demolished in 2012, leaving a bare platform.
Governance
Since 1983, Herne Bay has been in the
North Thanet
North Thanet is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1983 creation by Sir Roger Gale, a Conservative.
History
North Thanet and South Thanet were created by a rearrangement of the former Th ...
constituency, represented by
Roger Gale.
Herne Bay, along with Whitstable and Canterbury, is in the
City of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury () is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. As well as Canterbury itself, the district extends north to the coastal towns of Whistable and Herne Bay.
History
The district was formed on 1 April 1 ...
local government district
The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...
, although it remains a separate town, with countryside between it and Canterbury. The town contains the five electoral
wards of Heron,
Herne and Broomfield
Herne and Broomfield is a civil parish and electoral ward within the City of Canterbury. The parish is situated to the north of Canterbury in Kent. The seaside town of Herne Bay is the other side of the A299 road, Thanet Way that marks the northe ...
, Greenhill and Eddington, West Bay and Reculver. These wards have thirteen of the fifty seats on the
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
City council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
. As at the
2011 local elections, twelve of those seats were held by the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
and one by the
Liberal Democrats.
Geography
Herne Bay is in northeast Kent, on the coast of the
Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Limits
An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
. The town is east of the town of
Whitstable
Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...
and
north by east of the city of
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
. The village of Herne is about to the south, and the village of
Reculver
Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England.
It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent.
Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...
is about to the east. The town's suburbs are
Hampton
Hampton may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia
*Hampton, New South Wales
*Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region
* Hampton, Victoria
Canada
* Hampton, New Brunswick
*Ha ...
,
Greenhill and Studd Hill in the west,
Eddington and
Broomfield in the south, and
Beltinge
Beltinge is a low cliff-top suburb of Herne Bay in Kent, England. It forms the easternmost part of the urban area of Herne Bay and is just west of the small settlement of Reculver, which had an important Roman Fort and a channel which served to ...
and
Hillborough in the east. The drowned settlement of
Hampton-on-Sea once existed beside what is now Hampton.
The landscape of the town has been largely influenced by the Plenty Brook, which flows northward through the centre of the town and into the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. It is thought to have been a much larger stream in
ancient times
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...
. The coastline has two distinct bays, separated by a jut of land created by silt from the outflow of the brook into the sea. The first buildings in the town were built along the east bay, a short distance from the brook outflow, where the road from Canterbury met the sea. The town has since spread across both bays, across the Plenty Brook valley and onto the relatively high land flanking both sides of the valley. The land to the east of the valley reaches a height of
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
and to the west reaches . Cliffs are formed where this high land meets the sea.
![The seaward end of Herne Bay pier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/The_seaward_end_of_Herne_Bay_pier.jpg)
The rising land beside the coast, between the valley and the eastern cliffs, is known as 'The Downs' (no relation to the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
or
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...
). This area has been named a Site of Scientific Interest and a
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...
for birds. The whole of the north-east Kent coast has been designated a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
. The geology of the town consists mainly of
London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...
, overlaid with brickearth in the west. The sand and clay of The Downs are subject to
landslip
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...
s.
The Plenty Brook passes through the town's
drainage system, allowing buildings to be built over the top.
The brook has been prone to flooding during heavy rain, especially in inland areas, which regularly causes problems for people living in the Eddington area in southern Herne Bay.
Stormy weather can cause the sea level by the coast to rise by up to two metres. In the past, this has caused disastrous flooding in the town, the worst in the town's history being in 1953.
Coastal defences
Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...
were subsequently constructed including
groyne
A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concre ...
s,
sea wall
A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
s and
shingle beach
A shingle beach (also referred to as rocky beach or pebble beach) is a beach which is armoured with pebbles or small- to medium-sized cobbles (as opposed to fine sand). Typically, the stone composition may grade from characteristic sizes ranging ...
. In the 1990s, these defences were deemed to be inadequate and an offshore
breakwater
Breakwater may refer to:
* Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour
Places
* Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
* Breakwater Island
Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...
, now known as Neptune's Arm, was built to protect the most vulnerable areas of the town.
Climate
Herne Bay experiences an oceanic climate (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
Cfb).
The nearest Met Office station is at
Manston, 10 miles east.
In
east Kent
Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation.
Prehistoric Kent
Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Fordwich and Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe sku ...
, the warmest time of the year is July and August, when maximum temperatures average around 21 °C (70 °F); the coolest months are January and February, when minimum temperatures average around 1 °C (34 °F).
East Kent's average maximum and minimum temperatures are around 1/2 °C higher than the national average.
Herne Bay is sometimes warmer than other parts of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
as it is backed by the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...
to the south, causing a
Foehn effect when winds are from a south or south westerly direction. Between 1999 and 2005, Herne Bay recorded the highest daily temperature in the United Kingdom nine times. East Kent's average annual rainfall is about 728 mm (29 inches), the wettest months being October to January.
This was lower than the national average annual rainfall of 838 mm (33 inches),
and recent droughts have led to
hosepipe ban
An outdoor water-use restriction is a ban or other lesser restrictions put into effect that restricts the outdoor use of water supplies. Often called a watering ban or hosepipe ban, it can affect:
*irrigation of lawns
* car washing
* recreation ...
s by Mid Kent Water.
The highest temperature recorded in Herne Bay was in August 2003 when the temperature hit during the
2003 European heatwave and the lowest temperature being in January 1940 with recorded during a notably cold winter that affected the UK.
Demography
As of the
2001 UK census, Herne Bay area
wards had a population of 35,188 and a population density of 11.3 persons per hectare.
Of the town's 14,732 households, 48.7% were married couples living together, 8.4% were
cohabiting
Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...
couples and 8.3% were lone parents. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.5% had someone living alone at pensionable age. 27.7% of households included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education. The average household size was 2.74.
The ethnicity of the town was 98.5% white, 0.6%
mixed race
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% black and 0.3% Chinese or other. The place of birth of residents was 96.3% United Kingdom, 0.6% Republic of Ireland, 0.3% Germany, 0.6% other Western Europe countries, 0.2% Eastern Europe, 0.6% Africa, 0.3% Far East, 0.3% South Asia, 0.2% Middle East, 0.2% North America and 0.2% Oceania. Religion was recorded as 77.3% Christian, 0.3% Muslim, 0.2% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.1% Jewish and 0.1% Sikh. 14.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 7.4% did not state their religion.
For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. The age distribution was 6% aged 0–4 years, 14% aged 5–15 years, 4% aged 16–19 years, 29% aged 20–44 years, 25% aged 45–64 years and 22% aged 65 years and over. The town had a high percentage of residents over 65, compared with the national average of 16%. As a seaside town, Herne Bay is a popular retirement destination; many modern retirement complexes are located near the seafront.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 36% in full-time employment, 13% in
part-time
Part-time can refer to:
* Part-time job, a job that has fewer hours a week than a full-time job
* Part-time student, a student, usually in higher education, who takes fewer course credits than a full-time student
* Part Time
Part Time (styliz ...
employment, 9%
self-employed
Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return n ...
, 3% unemployed, 2% students with jobs, 3% students without jobs, 18% retired, 7% looking after home or family, 6% permanently sick or disabled and 2% economically inactive for other reasons. This was roughly in line with the national figures, except for the number of people in retirement. This figure nationally was significantly lower at 14%. Of the town's residents aged 16–74, 12% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 20% nationwide. According to
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002 the average gross weekly income of households in the Herne Bay area was £516 (£26,906 per year).
Economy
![Guest houses on Herne Bay seafront](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Guest_houses_on_Herne_Bay_seafront.jpg)
The advent of overseas travel and changes to holiday trends eventually caused the town's economy to decline after the 1960s; regular flooding of the Plenty Brook prevented redevelopment of the town centre.
However, extensive seafront regeneration in the 1990s followed the creation of the Neptune's Arm sea defence jetty. The jetty has created a small harbour used by leisure boats and from where tourists can take
sailing yacht
A sailing yacht (US ship prefixes SY or S/Y), is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applie ...
trips to a seal-watching site in the Thames estuary. The Victorian gardens on the seafront were then able to be fully restored. The
Central Bandstand, built in 1924, was refurbished after years of disrepair and closure to the public. A swimming pool and cinema were added to the town centre in the early 1990s. In 2005, a wind-farm with thirty 2.75 MW
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s was built off the coast of Herne Bay and
Whitstable
Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...
, generating a total of 82.5 MW of electricity. The recent upgrades by the Council have helped improve the image of the town and raise its profile. It is hoped this will attract new investment in tourism and business by the private sector, and lead to the regeneration of the town's economy.
In 2006, Canterbury City Council began a public consultation to discuss the regeneration. A concern raised by the council is that the shopping centre is incoherent and fails to attract the tourists who come for the seafront. Other issues raised are the lack of holiday accommodation,
car parks
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...
and clear pedestrian routes between the three main attractions in the town: the seafront, Memorial park and shopping centre. The council is considering relocating the sports centre from the pier and replacing it with other
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
s.
As of the 2001 census, the industry of employment of residents of Herne Bay was 19% retail, 14% health and
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
, 11% manufacturing, 10% construction, 9% real estate, 8% education, 8% transport and communications, 5%
public administration
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
, 5% hotels and restaurants, 4% finance, 1% agriculture and 5% other community, social or
Personal Services
''Personal Services'' is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland, about the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, ...
. Compared to national figures, the town had a relatively high number of workers in the construction and health/social care industries and a relatively low number in manufacturing and real estate.
Many residents commute to work outside the town. As of the 2001 UK census, 14,711 of the town's residents were in employment, whereas there were only 8,104 jobs within the town.
One of the largest employers is the centrally located supermarket, which as of January 2006 was considering further expansion. It is one of the major attractions to the town's shopping centre, however there are fears that its expansion could lead it to become too dominant, at the cost of smaller shops in the town.
Apart from tourism and retail, many jobs are also provided in the
manufacturing industry
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a rang ...
, mainly located in
industrial estates
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...
on the outskirts of the town, which produce goods such as kitchen furniture and factory machinery. A high number of construction jobs have been created by redevelopment of the seafront, which is expected to continue with the proposed regeneration of the town centre.
The elderly population of the town has led to many
Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care (often abbreviated to ''HSC'' or ''H&SC'') is a term that relates to services that are available from health and social care providers in the UK. This is a generic term used to refer to the whole of the healthcare provision ...
jobs at local care homes and at the town's Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital.
As of the 2001 census, 1.9% of the town's population resided in a medical or care establishment, compared with the national average of only 0.8%.
Landmarks
The seafront has a shingle beach, which has been awarded a European Blue Flag and the yellow and blue Seaside Award for its safety and cleanliness.
The seafront features a Victorian bandstand and gardens, amusement arcades, and children's play areas. Landmarks by the seafront include the
Clock Tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
, the sea defence jetty, the
off-shore World War II sea fort and the off-shore
wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...
. There are seaside cafés, fresh seafood restaurants, guesthouses, beach huts and numerous water-sports facilities.
The Memorial Park, situated near the centre of the town, incorporates a children's play area, a large shallow
duck pond
A duck pond is a pond for ducks and other waterfowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for water fowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink.
Typically, such ponds are round, oval or kidney-shaped. An example is the lily pond in th ...
often used for
remote control
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
boats, basketball and tennis courts and a large expanse of grass for field games. The park has a monument and an 'Avenue of Remembrance' as memorials to the town's residents killed during the two world wars.
Reculver Country Park is about east of Herne Bay, and is home to the cliff-top remains of
St Mary's Church, Reculver
St Mary's Church, Reculver, was founded in the 7th century as either a minster or a monastery on the site of a Roman fort at Reculver, which was then at the north-eastern extremity of Kent in south-eastern England. In 669, the site of the for ...
, with its distinctive twin towers, sited within the remains of a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
fort; a
visitor centre
A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors.
Types of visitor center
A visit ...
offers information on the local geology, history and wildlife.
Wildwood Discovery Park
Wildwood Discovery Park now known as the Wildwood Trust, is a woodland discovery park in Herne, near Canterbury Kent, England. It features over fifty species of native British animals such as deer, badgers, wild boar, wolves and brown bear. It i ...
is about south of Herne Bay on the
A291 road
List of A roads in zone 2 in Great Britain starting south of the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest r ...
between there and
Sturry
Sturry is a village on the Great Stour river situated northeast of Canterbury in Kent. Its large civil parish incorporates several hamlets and, until April 2019, the former mining village of Hersden.
Geography
Sturry lies at the old Roman junc ...
, and features over 50 species of native British animals, such as deer, badgers,
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
and wolves.
Herne Mill, a late 18th-century Kentish
smock mill
The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This type ...
overlooking the village of Herne from a hilltop, is usually open to visitors on Sunday afternoons between April and September. A concrete funnel-shaped
water tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
overlooks Herne Bay from the top of Mickleburgh Hill. This water tower is now used as a base for
radio transmitters
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
.
Transport
Herne Bay railway station
Herne Bay railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Herne Bay, Kent. It is down the line from and is situated between and .
The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern. ...
is on the
Chatham Main Line
The Chatham Main Line is a railway line in England that links London VictoriaQuail Map 5 – England South ages 2–13Sept 2002 (Retrieved 14 December 2011) and Dover Priory / Ramsgate, travelling via Medway (of which the town of Chatham is ...
, which runs between
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
in East Kent and
London Victoria
Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...
. It is also served by
Southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
high speed services to
London St Pancras
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...
. Other stations on these lines include
Broadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 of ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
,
Whitstable
Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...
,
Faversham
Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...
,
Gillingham,
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
,
Bromley South,
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
and
Stratford International. Herne Bay is around 1 hour and 40 minutes from London Victoria and 80 minutes from St Pancras. A selection of trains run to London's
Cannon Street
Cannon Street is a road in the City of London, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, about north of it, in the south of the City.
It is the site of the ancient London ...
and
London Blackfriars, primarily for business commuting.
There is
Stagecoach South East bus services Triangle/6/36 running to neighbouring Whitstable and to Canterbury, where many Herne Bay residents go to work and shop. The 36 bus route runs to Margate, another popular seaside resort Also an infrequent bus service 7 formerly linked Herne Bay to Canterbury but Triangle/6 routes were more frequent, quick and direct. The 7 was shortened significantly in June 2022. The
A299 road
The A299, better known as the Thanet Way, is a major road of in the county of Kent, England, and runs from Brenley Corner near Faversham (where it merges into the M2) to Ramsgate via Whitstable and Herne Bay.
The road provides access for ...
, also known as the Thanet Way, runs between Ramsgate and Faversham via Herne Bay and Whitstable. The road merges with the
M2 motorway This is a list of roads designated M2:
Europe
* M2 motorway (Great Britain), a motorway in England
* M2 expressway (Hungary), a motorway in Hungary
* N2 road (Ireland)#M2 motorway, a motorway in the Republic of Ireland
* M-2 highway (Monteneg ...
at Faversham. In the late 1990s, the road was converted into a
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
and redirected to avoid passing through urban areas of Herne Bay and Whitstable.
Education
Herne Bay's secondary school is the
modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
Herne Bay High. It is a mixed ability
foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools.
Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framework A ...
with about 1,500 students. In 2002, Herne Bay High was designated a
specialist school and
Sports College
Sports Colleges are senior secondary schools which promote sports alongside secondary education.
United Kingdom
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The programme enabled seco ...
. In 2005, 14% of the school's pupils gained at least five
GCSEs
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
at grades A*–C including English and maths, ranking it 107th out of Kent's 120 secondary schools. Many students commute to schools in other nearby towns, especially to the
grammar schools
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school, ...
in Faversham, Ramsgate and Canterbury.
Herne Bay Junior School, situated in the town centre, has about 500 students. It was originally established in the late Victorian era and was formerly joined with the neighbouring Herne Bay
Infant school
An infant school is a term used primarily in England and Wales, for the education of children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular area. It is sometimes a department in a larger primary school ...
. In 2006, Herne Bay Junior School's
Key Stage 2 results ranked 139th out of Kent's 386 state primary schools.
The village schools are Herne Primary School, Herne
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
Junior School, Herne Church of England Infant and Nursery School, Briary Primary School in Greenhill, Hampton Primary School and Reculver Church of England Primary School. The Church of England schools are
voluntary controlled
A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...
(that is, owned by the church) but, like the other schools, are run by
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...
. In 2006, Reculver Church of England Primary School achieved the best Key Stage 2 performances of the schools in the Herne Bay area, ranking 133rd out of Kent's 386 state primary schools.
Canterbury College @ Herne Bay is a branch of
Canterbury College Canterbury College may refer to:
* Canterbury College (Indiana), U.S.
* Canterbury College (Waterford), Queensland, Australia
* Canterbury College (Windsor, Ontario), Canada
* Canterbury College, Kent, England
* Canterbury College, Oxford, England ...
in Herne Bay
town centre
A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...
, which provides a range of short information technology courses to adults. Whitstable
Adult education
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...
Centre runs adult learning courses at various Herne Bay locations.
Religion
![Kent-Anon - Herne Church - 1842](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Kent-Anon_-_Herne_Church_-_1842.jpg)
The Church of England has two parishes in Herne Bay: Christ Church with St Andrew's, and St Martin's with St Peter's. The
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is in Clarence Road. There are
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
churches in Spenser Road and in Reynolds Close. There is a United (
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
and
United Reformed
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
Origins and history
The United Reformed Church resulte ...
) Church in Mortimer Street. There is also a United Reformed Church in The Meadows, Broomfield. Herne Bay
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
Corps is based in Richmond Street. The Canopy Church is in South Road. The Beacon Church meets at Briary School, Greenhill, Herne Bay. Herne Bay Evangelical Free Church meets in Sunnyhill Road. Herne Bay Christian
Spiritualist
Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century
The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...
Church is in Avenue Road.
Culture
![Herne Bay Memorial Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Herne_Bay_Memorial_Park.jpg)
Herne Bay Festival happens every August with ten days of almost every event being free, including
live music, performance, creative commissions, cultural treats, family fun, workshops, competitions, walks, talks, exhibitions and family entertainment.
Other summer events include Happy Days, a programme of bandstand concerts and family entertainment, Herne Bay Carnival through the town centre, a travelling funfair at the Memorial Park and Herne Bay Bus Rally. Each summer, the council runs a gardening competition, "Herne Bay in Bloom", which encourages residents and businesses to keep the town looking well presented.
The town is home to the Herne Bay Little Theatre, a playmakers drama society and member of the
Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain
The Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain (''LTG'') is an Umbrella organisation promoting and supporting independent amateur theatre companies which have control over their own premises and produce drama of a high quality for the benefit of thei ...
who have a 72-seat theatre in Bullers Avenue. In 2007, the theatre won a large grant from the
Big Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for "good causes". Since 2004 it has awarded over £9 billion to ...
to renovate and extend their building and provide improved disabled access. The theatre also has an active youth theatre and between them, they put on at least eight productions every year including a
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
. Theatrecraft, a local theatre group, produce three shows a year including an annual pantomime at the
King's Hall theatre. Other groups and touring companies often put productions on at the open-air 'Theatre in the Park' on the grounds of Strode Park House in Herne. Between the 1960s and the 1990s The Herne Bay Operatic Society contributed to the town and its cultural life, performing regularly at The King's Hall and also at The
Marlowe Theatre
The Marlowe Theatre is a 1,200-seat theatre in Canterbury named after playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. It was named a Stage Awards, 2022 UK Theatre of the Year.
The Marlowe Trust, a not for profi ...
, Canterbury. As theatrical tastes changed the society morphed into The Herne Bay Musical Theatre Society.
The town's only cinema, the Kavanagh, is part of a Greco-inspired building that incorporates the Heron's swimming pool and the council offices. There are a number of drinking venues, especially in the town centre and on the seafront. There are nightclubs,
social clubs
A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity. Examples include: book discussion clubs, chess clubs, anime clubs, country clubs, charity work, criminal ...
and many pubs, including one in the recently renovated seafront bandstand.
Sports
The town is a popular destination for
water sports
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...
; it has clubs for sailing, rowing and yachting. The town has hosted the Zapcat powerboat racing championships.
Fishing is popular on the pier and Herne Bay Angling Association competes nationally in beach and boat fishing competitions.
Herne Bay Hockey Club, Greenhill Gymnastics Club, Herne Bay
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
Club and Herne Bay Youth Football Club are located at
Herne Bay High School
Herne Bay High School is a mixed ability Academy, with designated Sports College status, situated in Herne Bay, Kent, England. There are 1506 students in the school aged 11 to 18. The principal as of March 2022 is Mr Jon Boyes.
In September 2000 ...
, a specialist sports college, and also the new sports arena called The Hub. The hockey club runs a ladies' team and five men's team, the highest of which plays in the Kent Sussex Regional 1st XI League. Herne Bay Cricket Club runs two junior teams, a men's Sunday team and two men's Saturday teams; the Saturday teams play in the Kent Cricket Feeder League East.
![Herne Bay water in December 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Herne_Bay_water_in_December_2007.JPG)
Herne Bay Youth Football Club has 22 teams, and more than 320 players aged 6 to 18. Four teams play in the Kent Youth League and the remainder in the East Kent Youth Mini Soccer & 11 Side Leagues.
Herne Bay Tennis Club is situated on the outskirts of town and runs multiple teams in the Kent League, East Kent League and Dover & District League. Their facilities include four all-weather courts (two floodlit), up to six astroturf courts and a purpose-built clubhouse. The club offers junior coaching and runs regular club nights for players of all ages and abilities.
Herne Bay Basketball Club has teams for men, women and juniors in the East Kent Basketball League. Herne Bay
Golf Club
A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety ...
has an eighteen-hole course on the outskirts of the town.
The Memorial Park contains a sports field, eight tennis courts and a
basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...
which can be used free of charge. Herne Bay Bowling Club is situated next to the Memorial Park and hosts several lawn
bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...
Open Tournaments each year.
There is a council owned sports centre, The Bay Sports Arena, opened in September 2011. There is another privately owned gymnasium in the town centre. Herne Bay Judo Club is located near the railway station and the same venue also holds clubs for table tennis and badminton. There are also two other table-tennis clubs in the town. Bujinkai karate classes are held at Herne Bay Junior School.
Herne Bay Football Club
Herne Bay Football Club is a football club based in Herne Bay, Kent, England. Affiliated to the Kent County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Winch's Field.
History
The club was established in 1886. The firs ...
, based at Winch's Field, play in the
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.
Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
Division One South. They were Kent League champions in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998 and 2012. Also playing at Winch's Field is
Canterbury City F.C.
Canterbury City Football Club is a football club based in Canterbury, Kent, England. They are currently members of the and currently play at Sittingbourne's Woodstock Park ground. Affiliated to the Kent County Football Association, the club r ...
The town is the founder of the
Roller Hockey sport with the "''Herne Bay Roller Hockey club''" being the first to exist in the world.
[Herne Bay Roller Hockey Club]
at www.thebayrollerhockey.co.uk (accessed 20 May 2008)
Herne Bay Judo Club, located next to the town's railway station, has been active in the town since the 1960s. The club originated underneath the old St Marys college on station road until it moved into the purpose-built dojo where it still resides.
Media
There are four local weekly newspapers: YourCanterbury, the paid-for ''Herne Bay Gazette'', providing news related only to the town, and the free ''KM Extra'' and ''Canterbury Adscene'', providing news on the wider Canterbury district area. The
KM Group
KM Media Group is a multimedia company in the county of Kent, England which originated as the publisher of the Kent Messenger. The Group now produces local newspapers, radio stations and websites throughout the county. Iliffe Media acquired KM ...
owns ''Herne Bay Gazette'' and ''KM Extra'', while
Trinity Mirror owns ''Canterbury Adscene''.
KMFM Canterbury
KMFM Canterbury is an Independent Local Radio serving the City of Canterbury and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is the Canterbury region of the KMFM radio network (owned by the KM Group), containing local advertisements ...
is a radio station on frequency 106FM which serves Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay. The station was founded in September 1997 as ''CTFM'', but was rebranded after a takeover by the KM Group. Cabin FM is the town's radio station aimed at Herne Bay listeners. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to the town and surrounding villages on 94.6 FM and around the world on the Internet. On 15 June 2016, OFCOM announced that Cabin had been successful in their bid to obtain a Community Radio Licence. They began broadcasting on FM, in April 2017.
In popular culture
Due to the town's traditional seaside appearance, Herne Bay has often been used as a setting for television programmes and films. The seafront has been featured in programmes such as the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
period drama ''
Upstairs, Downstairs'', the 1984 BBC seaside comedy
''Cockles'',
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
's ''
The Tweenies
''Tweenies'' is a British live action Puppet children's television series created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan. The programme is focused on four pre-school aged characters, known as the "Tweenies", playing, singing, dancing, and learning ...
'' and
the BBC
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
comedy ''
Little Britain''. The town's railway station was seen in an episode of the 1970s comedy ''
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, including two Christmas special ...
''. The town has featured in films such as
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
's ''French Dressing'', and ''The Medusa Touch'', starring
Richard Burton
Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
. In fiction,
Jeeves
Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie W ...
from the stories by
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
regularly holidays at the town, spending much of his time there fishing.
Herne Bay was the hometown of the three
main characters
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
in the 1990s BBC sitcom, ''
Game On''. To celebrate
Anthony Coburn
James Anthony Coburn (10 December 1927 – 28 April 1977) was an Australian television writer and producer, who spent much of his professional career living and working in the United Kingdom. He is best remembered for writing the first ''Doctor ...
's contribution to the ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' series,
BBC South East
BBC South East is the BBC English region serving Kent, East Sussex, most parts of West Sussex and southern parts of Surrey.
The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter (formerly part of the BBC ...
celebrated 50 years of ''Doctor Who'' by screening the first ever episode ''An Unearthly Child'', at the Kings Hall theatre on 22 November 2013. Beach scenes for the 2022
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series
Heartstopper were filmed in Herne Bay.
Twin towns
Herne Bay is
twinned with the towns of:
*
Wimereux
Wimereux (; vls, Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the b ...
in
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cala ...
, France;
*
Waltrop
Waltrop is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approximately 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund.
Division of the town
The tow ...
, Germany.
Since 1994, the Herne Bay/Wimereux Twinning Association has aimed to promote friendship between the people of the two towns by organising activities, such as cycling trips and quiz evenings. Herne Bay and Waltrop have been twinned since 1976, although as at February 2007, their twinning association was not in operation. However, Herne Bay
Rowing club
A rowing club is a club for people interested in the sport of Rowing. Rowing clubs are usually near a body of water, whether natural or artificial, that is large enough for manoeuvering the shells (rowing boats). Clubs usually have a boat house wi ...
promote friendship with the Waltrop rowing club by organising rowing events and visiting in each other's towns.
Notable people
The actor and presenter
Bob Holness
Robert Wentworth John Holness (12 November 1928 – 6 January 2012) was a British-South African radio and television presenter and occasional actor. He presented the British version of '' Blockbusters''.
Early life
Holness was born in Vryheid, ...
lived in the town as a child and attended Herne Bay Primary School until moving to
Ashford.
Nicki Chapman
Nicola Chapman, known professionally as Nicki Chapman (born 14 January 1967) is an English television & radio presenter, talent show judge and public relations agent who previously worked in the British pop music industry.
Chapman was a judg ...
, the judge on the UK television series ''
Popstars
''Popstars'' is an international reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Realit ...
'' and ''
Pop Idol
''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...
'', was born and raised in the town. Originally from London,
Daniel Tammet
Daniel Tammet (born Daniel Paul Corney; 31 January 1979) is an English writer and savant. His memoir, ''Born on a Blue Day'' (2006), is about his early life with Asperger syndrome and savant syndrome, and was named a "Best Book for Young Adu ...
, the subject of the UK documentary ''The Boy with the Incredible Brain'', has now moved to the town. He is an
autistic savant
Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...
with outstanding abilities in mathematics, sequence memorising and
language learning
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to ...
.
Lydia Cecilia Hill (1913–1940), known as Cissie Hill, lived at Westcliff; she was a favourite of
Ibrahim of Johor
Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al-Masyhur Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah (17 September 1873 – 8 May 1959) was a Malaysian sultan and the 22nd Sultan of Johor and the 2nd Sultan of modern Johor. He was considered to be "fabulously ...
and former dancer. The Yorkshire-born writer
Will Scott
William Scott (1893–1972) was an English footballer and football manager who managed in England in the 1940s and 1950s.
Scott began his career as an amateur with South Shields prior to the First World War, but joined the Navy in 1914. He gue ...
lived and wrote in Herne Bay until his death in 1964.
During the late 1960s, many rock and jazz bands were formed around the city of Canterbury, creating a subgenre of music known as the
Canterbury sound. Some of these musicians were residents of Herne Bay, including
Dave Sinclair
David Sinclair (born 24 November 1947) is a British keyboardist (organ, piano, harpsichord, electric piano, Mellotron, Davolisint, etc.) associated with the psychedelia/progressive rock Canterbury Scene since the late 1960s. He became famous ...
and
Richard Coughlan
Richard Coughlan (2 September 1947 – 1 December 2013) was an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Caravan. He was one of the founding members of Caravan in 1968 and remai ...
of
Caravan, and
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...
of
Soft Machine
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...
.
George W. M. Reynolds
George William MacArthur Reynolds (23 July 1814 – 19 June 1879) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British fiction writer and journalist.
Reynolds was born in Sandwich, Kent, the son of Captain Sir George Reynolds, a flag offi ...
, one of the most popular British authors of the early Victorian era, moved to Herne Bay in 1854 and became one of the town's Improvement Commissioners. The children's writer
Evelyn Whitaker
Evelyn Whitaker (1844–1929) was an English children's writer, whose work was described as charming, pure and wholesome. She displays strong sensitivity to poverty and to illness. Her books were published anonymously.
Background
Whitaker was bo ...
was born there in 1844.
Héctor García Ribeyro, the Mayor of
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
in Peru during the 1950s, had part of his schooling at the now defunct Herne Bay
International school
An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...
. Colin Dixon, the depot manager held hostage with his family during the £53 million
Securitas depot robbery
The 2006 robbery of Securitas depot in Tonbridge, England, was the UK's largest cash robbery. It began with a kidnapping on the evening of 21 February and ended in the early hours of 22 February, when seven criminals stole almost £53million. T ...
of February 2006, lived in Herne Bay at the time.
Frederick Christian Palmer, known professionally as Fred C. Palmer, was the main public photographer of Herne Bay in the early years of the 20th century. He photographed the detective
Edmund Reid
Detective Inspector Edmund John James Reid (21 March 1846 – 5 December 1917) was the head of the CID in the Metropolitan Police's H Division at the time of the Whitechapel murders of Jack the Ripper in 1888. He was also an early aeronaut.' ...
, who had hunted for
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
and who also lived in the town.
Ann Thwaytes paid for the construction of the Clock Tower.
F. W. J. Palmer, Surveyor to Herne Bay Urban District Council 1891–1915, designed both phases of
The King's Hall in 1904 and 1913.
Gabrielle Davis
Gabrielle Davis (born ca.1941), Sheriff of Canterbury 2009–2010, is a former Conservative councillor for Canterbury City Council. She is notable for volunteering to head the "defence of our heritage" movement against a vote by Canterbury ...
was
Sheriff of Canterbury 2009–2010 and helped to save local museums from closure in 2010.
William Matthew Scott
William Matthew Scott (30 September 1893 – 7 May 1964), pen name Will Scott, was a British writer of stories and books for adults and children, published from 1920 to 1965. Towards the end of his life he was best known for ''The Cherrys'' seri ...
(1893–1964) was a local author living at High View Avenue, and architect
Ernest Trevor Spashett lived next door to him between 1959 and 1965.
William Sidney Cooper painted local scenes and is buried at
Eddington cemetery.
H. Kempton Dyson
Herbert William Charles Kempton Dyson, M.I.Struct.E. (1880–1944), known professionally as H. Kempton Dyson, was an English structural engineer, civil engineer, architect, editor and author who specialised in reinforced concrete structures. He ...
designed the Central Bandstand.
The fictional character Jeeves, from the ''
Jeeves and Wooster
''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a Britis ...
'' stories by
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
, stated in the stories that he took his holidays in Herne Bay.
See also
*
Herne Bay Museum and Gallery
The Seaside Museum Herne Bay is a local museum in Herne Bay, Kent, England. It was established in 1932 (as the Herne Bay Museum) and is notable for being a seaside tourist attraction featuring local archaeological and social history, for featu ...
References
Bibliography
* Bundock, M., ''Victorian Herne Bay'': Herne Bay Past Series 6 (Herne Bay Historical Records Society, 1 February 2011)
* Gough, H., ''Herne Bay's Piers'': Herne Bay Past Series 1 (HBHRS, October 2008)
* Gough, H., ''Mills and Milling in the Herne Bay Area'': Herne Bay Past Series 3 (HBHRS, April 2010)
* Fishpool, J., ''A Town at War: Herne Bay in the Second World War'': Herne Bay Past Series 5 (HBHRS, 3 December 2010)
* Fishpool, J., ''Herne Bay's Hotels and Public Houses'': Herne Bay Past Series 2 (HBHRS, August 2009)
* Fishpool, J., ''Schools and Colleges in the Herne Bay Area'': Herne Bay Past Series 4 (HBHRS, August 2010)
* Gough, H. and Fishpool, J., ''Smuggling in and Around Herne Bay'': Herne Bay Past Series 7 (HBHRS, October 2011)
External links
*
Canterbury City CouncilEnglish Heritage, Aerial Photo Explorer(Enter "Herne Bay" in search box)
{{Authority control
Towns in Kent
Beaches of Kent
Populated coastal places in Kent
Seaside resorts in England
Unparished areas in Kent
City of Canterbury