User:Chzz/Reculver

Reculver
The twin towers of St. Mary's Church
Reculver Location within Kent
Population	135 [1]
OS grid reference	TR224693
District	City of Canterbury
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CANTERBURY
Postcode district	CT6
Dialling code	01227
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Canterbury
List of places UK England Kent 51°22′44″N 1°11′58″E / 51.3790°N 1.1995°E / 51.3790; 1.1995

Reculver is a hamlet and coastal resort situated about 3 miles (5 km) east of Herne Bay in southeast England. It is a ward of the City of Canterbury district in the county of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location at the western end of the Wantsum Channel, between the Isle of Thanet and the Kent mainland. This led the Romans to build a small fort, probably at the time of their conquest of Britain in 43 AD, and, starting late in the 2nd century, they built a "castrum" called Regulbium, which later was part of the chain of Saxon Shore forts. The military connection continued in World War II, when Barnes Wallis' "bouncing bombs" were tested in the sea off Reculver.

Reculver retained its importance after the Romans left, as an Anglo-Saxon palace may have been built in the ruins of the Roman fort before a "preaching cross" and monastery were built there. During the Middle Ages the twin spires of the church became a landmark for mariners known as the "Twin Sisters", supposedly after daughters of Geoffrey St Clare. The facade of St John's Cathedral in Parramatta, Australia, is a copy of that at Reculver.

Reculver declined in importance as the Wantsum Channel silted up and coastal erosion claimed many buildings constructed on the soft sandy cliffs. The village was largely abandoned in the late 18th century, and most of the church was demolished. Protecting the ruins and the rest of Reculver from erosion is an ongoing challenge.

The 1930s saw a revival as a tourism industry developed and there are now three caravan parks. Reculver Country Park is a Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest; it has rare clifftop meadows and is important for migrating birds. 135 people were recorded by the 2001 census, nearly a quarter of whom were in caravans.