A MYSTERY AT APPLEDORE?
On Mill Hill in Appledore at GR TQ959305 there is a substantial mound,
shown diagrammatically below with approximate dimensions and angle of
slope. I calculate that it contains some 1500 tons of material. It is at a height
of 26 metres above sea level and commands a view across the Romney marsh
from Hythe to Fairlight.
Two things can be said with certainty, that is man-made and that it was not a
mill platform, being much too big. Various suggestions have been put
forward as to what it might be, but none seem very convincing:
1. A round barrow (John Newman in Pevsner’s Buildings of England series)
2. A Roman earthwork (Igglesden, A Saunter through Kent)
3. A Roman signal station as part of the Saxon Shore defences.
4. A fort erected by the Danes during their occupation in 892.
5. A fort constructed by Alfred after ejecting the Danes.
6. A Norman motte.
7. A base for a lighthouse or beacon.
8. A late- or post-mediaeval domestic viewing mound for the adjacent
Horne’s Place.
What I find surprising for such a prominent feature is that, apart from the two
sources above, the site is not mentioned in any books on Kent, nor is it
identified on OS maps or the Sites and Monuments Record.
I very much hope that someone can provide some further opinions but, best of
all, be inspired to investigate the site and solve the mystery.
John Lindsay, Appledore Local History Society.