Sea Stacs : what are they and why are they?

[hvered]

Remember, Canterbury was a port, the River Stour opened onto the Wantsum Channel, a navigable sea lane.

The Isle of Thanet has a cluster of ports, seemingly purpose-built. Between Ramsgate and Margate there is an inviting-looking landing place, Kingsgate Bay.



A 'gate' is the name given to a cliff-gap or passage. The very striking rock arch at Kingsgate has a ring of rocks around it visible at low tide, hard to say whether this is natural or man-made. Perhaps it could be twinned with Etretat in Normandy.

[Ajai]

The name 'Thanet' is corruption of the Celtic teine-arth "high fire", suggesting that there may have been a lighthouse or beacon on the island.

A potentially very profitable business for even the most barren of islets as long as not too many people have to be paid and the beacon is near a harbour from where ships can be charged tolls.

[Donna]

Mention of Ramsgate makes me wonder if there is/was a connection between the Isle of Thanet and Ramsey Island which is also a non-island but presumably was detached once. Osea Island, a causewayed island in the Blackwater estuary, came up in a programme about Essex and looking at the map the Dengie peninsula looks decidedly megalithic.

For starters, there is only one route leading to the tip of Ramsey Island which turns sharp north at Beacon and ends at a pub called The Stone on the northern edge of St Lawrence. The village of St Lawrence is also known as Stone. There are two St Lawrence churches, one on a hill overlooking the Blackwater and the other, St Lawrence and All Saints, at Steeple, just south-west of St Lawrence. Seems superfluous to have two churches so close together, perhaps this was a busy thoroughfare and fares were charged.

On the north-west of Ramsey Island is Stansgate Abbey Farm, a moated farm built on the site of Stansgate Abbey, a former Cluniac house. It belongs to Tony Benn of the Wedgewood-Benns (Wedgewood was a leading light in the Lunar Society). There's something pleasing about Mr Benn keeping this place in the family.

[Mick Harper]

This St Lawrence is certainly starting to get about. Two unutterably irrelevant points (probably):

1. A certain Chevalier Ramsey was a moderately important figure in the European Masonic movement in the 18th century (worth looking up) and
2. The Benns are (as far as I know and even including peers) the first instance of three successive generations of Cabinet ministers. Benn Senior was India Minister under Churchill, our own dear Tony did various jobs and his son Hilary was something or other (Aid? Environment?) under Blair/Brown.

I have never seen this latter 'fact' mentioned so I claim prior discovery if it turns out to be both true and original. The Benns were (are?) a printing family which may I suppose be a modern version of the Beerage that plays a bit part in The Megalithic Empire.

[Rocky]

It's also interesting to look at the north side of the Blackwater estuary, beyond Tollesbury. There's an island called Mersea Island where the Colne and Blackwater rivers converge at Brightlingsea Reach. Mersea Island is connected to the mainland by a thin causeway, the Strood, which is covered at high tide.

The Colne is navigable at least as far as Colchester, which isn't far upstream. Judging by the names of the marshlands e.g. Geedon Saltings, Abbott's Hall Saltings, Tollesbury Wick Marshes, Wick Marsh etc. etc. there were plenty of salt-flats or salt pans hereabouts.

[Boreades]

Re Stansgate Abbey, a former Cluniac house (a priory)
This reminds me of Christchurch Harbour, with its priory and Stanpit.
I wonder how many other pairings like that we can find?

The Wedgewoods and the Lunar Society are a great part of the history of The Industrial Revolution, as a group of English scientists, inventors and natural philosophers interested in "English Liberty". They seem to have had a sympathy and connections with the American Revolution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Soci ... Birmingham

e.g. Benjamin Francklin was connected with the Lunar Society. Here he is in a curiously "John The Baptist" posture.

[hvered]

This St Lawrence is certainly starting to get about.

He's the patron saint of librarians, archivists and tanners indicating a leather connection.

He sometimes gets conflated with St Vincent, both saints being from Huesca in Aragon. Vincent is portrayed with a cross, raven and/or gridiron, the latter being Lawrence's trademark.

[Maribel]

St Vincent is the patron saint of vintners. The alliance between the British and the Portuguese is said to be the oldest trade alliance and the trade was port wine. Maybe this apparent confusion between the two saints is connected to the trade, if so it could explain the maddening similarities between Welsh, Breton, French and Cornish saints.

[Boreades]

.. the maddening similarities between Welsh, Breton, French and Cornish saints.

These Celtic saints seem to have a habit of being hermits/surveyors/navigators in more than one place as well.

[Ajai]

It's also interesting to look at the north side of the Blackwater estuary, beyond Tollesbury. There's an island called Mersea Island where the Colne and Blackwater rivers converge at Brightlingsea Reach. Mersea Island is connected to the mainland by a thin causeway, the Strood, which is covered at high tide.

Strood or strand is an indeterminate area between sea and land and Hermes, famously the god of (straight) roads, is also associated with thresholds, boundaries, crossing places.

Wiki says causeway, a raised road, 'ultimately derives from the Latin calyx, meaning heel' because the path was trampled down which ties in nicely with Hermes and lame heroes. However this kind of causeway, formerly causey or cauce, is underwater and out of sight, to be navigated with caution.