insideKENT Magazine Issue 97 - April 2020 | Page 23

TOWNSPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT ON
HYTHE
HYTHE, LOCATED PRETTILY ON THE FAMOUS KENT COAST, IS A TOWN WITH HEART. IT’S A TOWN WITH SOUL.
IT’S A TOWN THAT HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR, EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.
IN ESSENCE, HYTHE IS THE KIND OF TOWN THAT PEOPLE VISIT, RETURN TO AGAIN AND AGAIN AND, IN RECENT
TIMES AS PROPERTY EXPERTS C R CHILD WILL ATTEST TO, HAVE DEFINITELY CHOSEN TO LIVE. OF COURSE,
IF YOU LIVE THERE ALREADY YOU’RE WELL AHEAD OF THE GAME, AND YOU’LL ALREADY KNOW EXACTLY WHY
HYTHE IS A HOTSPOT FOR FAMILIES, COUPLES AND THOSE SEEKING SOME PEACE AND TRANQUILLITY WITH
A TOUCH OF COMMUNITY SPIRIT AND ACTIVITIES A-PLENTY THROWN IN.
HYTHE PIER
History in Brief
Hythe used to be called… Hithe (but you’ll find
it in the Domesday Book under Hede), and
although the reasons for the change in spelling
have been lost to the mists of time, the meaning
of that word has not; a ‘hithe’ is a haven in Old
English, and this is how Hythe was viewed
when settlers first arrived there. By 1036, Halden
– a Saxon thane – decided that Hythe was such
a precious spot that he gifted it to Christchurch
in Canterbury. It was, in other words, his most
prized possession, so he gave it away to the
church. Georgian era, there are Victorian buildings too
(when seaside holidays really came into their
own), and then there is the magnificent church
which is of both Saxon and Norman design.
Since then, Hythe has fallen into various hands,
usually as a gift or taken because of its location
and prominence. Evidence of all this change
can be seen in the buildings in the town; some
date from medieval times, some from the But no matter who owns it, what its function
is, or why people feel it is such a haven, Hythe
is definitely somewhere important and
interesting – and there is plenty to discover
there.
Hythe is one of the important Cinque Ports –
the central port, in fact – and it was instrumental
in stopping at least one French invasion. In
1293 it is said that around 200 French soldiers
landed at Hythe, but the cry went up and the
townsfolk came down to the beach, dispatching
all of them there and then.
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