A lifetime of Islands: Island 133

Foulness is the largest island in the Thames Estuary. The perimeter of the island is over 14 miles and it covers 2,430 hectares, half of which is farmed. The rest is used by the Ministry of Defence. It is currently managed by the private company Qinetiq. The island is located to the north east of Great Wakering and Shoeburyness. It is surrounded by the Rivers Crouch and Roach and the North Sea. It is accessed via a hydraulic lifting bridge over the Havengore Creek. You cross first on to Havengore Island and then New England Island before reaching Foulness. The first bridge across to Foulness was built in 1922. Before that the only access other than by boat was across an ancient raised track called the Broomway, which was only accessible at low tide.

Foulness Island is extremely flat. It is also extremely difficult to visit if you don’t know someone who lives there. The Heritage Centre at Churchend is open on the first Sunday of the month between April and October from 12pm-4pm. That is only 6 afternoons a year. I think it is also probably open at other times by prior arrangement to organised groups. You have to stop at the barrier just beyond Samuel’s Corner and give your name, address and car registration number. You are then given a pass and told to drive directly to Churchend. You are not allowed to stop anywhere else or take photos of any military installations. You are not allowed access to the hamlet of Courtsend.

The earliest known occupants of Foulness and its neighbouring islands were the Romano-British. A civilian settlement dated to the late 1^st- late 3^rd centuries AD has been discovered at Little Shelford in the South West of the island. Finds included cremation urns and domestic pottery. The people who lived there were farmers and fishermen, including the cultivation of oysters but the production of salt seems to have been the main occupation. The settlement was then abandoned due to rising sea levels.

The first recorded reference to sea walls was in the Charter Rolls of 1271. From the late 14^th century there were 7 phases of land reclamation, the last of which was on the southern side of the island in 1833. In Medieval times the island was inhabited by shepherds and fishermen. There was also some arable farming and the island became well known for its dairy produce. There were 3 main phases of building – mid 16^th century, late 17^th/early 18^th century and late 19^th/early 20^th century.

The population increased from the 16^th century due to the development of arable farming and by the late 19^th century almost 800 people lived there. The current population is around 200. The decline was due to mechanisation of agriculture, demolition of some houses to make way for firing ranges, the 1953 floods left some houses unfit for human habitation, the MOD has increased rents in recent years, some people no longer wanted to live with the military restrictions that exist and moved elsewhere, families are now generally much smaller in size and the MOD no longer employs as many people as it once did.

The George and Dragon public house has closed in the last few years, as there was no passing trade and the number of people working on the island has been reduced. The Village Hall has also recently closed in recent years, so community social gatherings now have nowhere, except the Heritage Centre to meet. There is still a small shop and post office but without any passing trade it isn’t very profitable.

In 1283 a chapel was built on the island. This was replaced in the Tudor period by a wooden church, which was replaced by the present church built of Kentish ragstone – St Mary the Virgin, St Thomas and All Angels, which was opened in 1853. However the church is now closed, as it is in a dangerous condition.

In 1846 the Church of England primary school was built to take 120 children. It was extended in 1872 to take an additional 52 children but was closed in 1988 by which time the number of pupils had fallen to 11. It remained empty for 13 years until it was renovated and turned into the Heritage Centre by the Foulness Conservation and Archaeological Society. The Heritage Centre was very busy on the afternoon I visited in August 2011, so it was difficult to see all the exhibits. It is certainly crammed full of artefacts and articles about life on Foulness in times gone by. They were also selling a cup of tea and an excellent cupcake for 50p each.

The island was owned by a succession of Lords of the Manor until 1915 when it was sold to the War Department. The housing is all owned by the MOD and the land is rented by 6 farmers. Most of the island is good quality arable land and wheat, barley, oil seed rape, linseed peas and beans are grown. The low lying land is drained by a complex system of drains and ditches. Cows and sheep are grazed on the areas unsuitable for arable crops.

The island was badly flooded in January 1953 when the whole of the east coast from Lincolnshire to Kent suffered a storm surge. 2 people drowned and many animals were lost but the farmland recovered within a few years.

The presence of the MOD on the island means that crime is virtually non-existent. Their ownership has also benefited the wildlife, as the island has not been developed and the areas that aren’t farmed are relatively undisturbed – apart from when the firing range is operating! It is home at various times of year to wading birds such as oystercatchers, avocets, little egrets and brent geese. I’m told that there is a beach made of cockleshells on the island but it isn’t in the area that you can visit.

In 1973 the government planned to build London’s 3^rd airport on the Maplin Sands to the south east of the island. However the plans were cancelled in 1974 much to the relief of the residents of the island and of Southend, as the plans also included a motorway along the seafront at Southend and a high speed rail link.