Hampton-on-Sea

Hampton-on-Sea
Where houses once stood
LocationNorth coast of Kent, England
AddressHampton Pier Avenue, Herne Bay, Kent CT6
Coordinates51°22′14″N 1°05′53″E / 51.37056°N 1.09806°E / 51.37056; 1.09806 (Hampton-on-Sea)
StatusDrowned
Groundbreaking1864 (oyster fisheries)
1879 (Hampton-on-Sea Est Ass)
1888 (Land Co)
Constructed1864–1866 (oyster fisheries)
1879–1880 (Hampton-on-Sea Est Ass)
1888–1899 (Land Co and plotholders)
Destroyed1916 (abandoned)
1921 (demolished and drowned)
1934 (Hampton farmhouse lost)
Companies
DeveloperT.K. Freeman (Hampton-on-Sea Est Ass)
F.F. Ramuz (Land Co)
Technical details
CostHampton Pier £28,000
Plots £3–32
Buildings9 houses (oyster fisheries)
8 houses (Land Co)
No. of tenants17 (Land Co and plotholders)

Hampton-on-Sea is 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.[1] In retirement he chose to champion the plight of the beleaguered residents of the settlement.[2]

  1. ^ Andrew Cook (2009). Jack the Ripper: Case Closed. Amberley Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-84868-327-3.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Easdown2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).