of the North Kent Marshes

With time in the field limited to the minimum needed for counts of late (thanks to a pulled back) I've had an excuse to lose myself in a new book out this past week, 'of the North Kent Marshes', by Ian Jackson and Keith Robinson. A history of the people, places and wildlife of our marshes. For birders of a 'certain age', it throws up some wonderful reading.

On randomly opening the book I was stunned to see a 'new' essay by the late Eric Gilham- 'Birds of the North Kent Marshes, additional records of the birds seen in the period 1947 to 1952 inclusive'. Many local birders still proudly own battered copies of 'Gillham and Homes', the seminal work on the North Kent Marshes published back in 1950. The first Kent Ornithological Society report was 1952, so this update to G&H provides welcome additional historic records from these 'missing' five years.

From my perspective of the Medway's southern shore, there is plenty to enjoy in the book especially, in my opinion, the essay on 'Mr Webb's Inclosures' (Greenborough, 1883), detailing the doomed attempts to fight tides and reclaim the crumbling island (beautifully illustrated with a hand-drawn map featuring several local names in use at that time that were new to me and will be resurrected by me in due course!).

Hoo features heavily; a quarter of the 205 page book is dedicated to a series of essays brought together under the title 'The road to Egypt Bay' (again, with a lovingly drawn map of the area). My favourite tale is the detailed account of the attempted White Stork re-introduction, started in the nests of the Northward Hill heronry, then continued at White Horse Farm, Hoo (including a photograph of the young birds on 'nests' on and about White House Farm cottage, from 1936). Other 'birdy' sections along the road include 'a history of the Nordowne duck decoy' and 'living at Swigshole Cottage' by the old RSPB warden Alan Parker.

Sheppey doesn't miss out, thanks in the main to the late 18th century 'blog' of 'Stephen Rouse- the Minster Diarist'. What birder couldn't enjoy historic 'letters from Sheppey' when they read like this?

'Sunday Morning May the 6 1787 about 8 oclock laing in my Garden There can from the East 59 of the Birds called Jays, (or as we call them Joys) and stopped for a few minutes in Mr Liddles Orchad, & then proceeded forward to ye North West. As they never before frequented this Island, and are as numerous all over Kent, it may be looked upon as a very bad Omium and a forerunner of something very extraordinary. Sickness & deseases I expect.'

'The South Side of the Swale' also features, care of John Bartlett's birding memories from the 1950s onwards.

For the ornithological bibliophile there is a biography of  the Victorian naturalist Denham Jordan, the foremost author on our North Kent Marshes (under the nom de plume of 'a Son of the Marshes').

Not just birds. For instance, cetaceans get in a look in, c/o an historic account of a Sei Whale at Gillingham Reach and a more recent tale of ' how not to dispose of a Fin Whale out on Grain.

Add to this essays on the exploitation (a.k.a. 'development') of the marshes, from prehistory through to the Norman Conquest, then right up to date (including along the way 'a description of the Sea Coasts of Kent; May 1724' by one Mr. Daniel Defoe).

There are very many personal accounts of the farming, the wildfowling, the day-to-day village life on the marshes.

Art features too, with a selection of recent sketches by Billy Childish, plus poetry, including Germander Speedwell's excellent piece on birding, 'Sightings', something I fell in love with when I first read it elsewhere a year or so ago.

This book really has something for everyone. The contributing editors have done a superb job capturing the spirit of the marshes as well as they do. For someone like myself, lucky enough to experience and appreciate the Medway on a daily basis, I can honestly say I haven't felt so much for a book in a long while.

Further details on this privately published work, which is limited to a first run of just 500 copies, highlight it as being available locally via the Heritage Hub in the Sittingbourne Forum or the Fleur de Lis in Preston Street, Faversham. Sadly I have no other information for any other outlets stocking it at the present time; but if you enjoy the North Kent Marshes this book really is worth the hunting down.