| Dungeness | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Dungeness | |
  Dungeness Location withinKent | |
| Area | 12 sq mi (31 km2) |
| OS grid reference | TR0917 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Romney Marsh |
| Postcode district | TN29 |
| Dialling code | 01797 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www |
| 50°55′00″N0°58′00″E / 50.916667°N 0.966667°E /50.916667; 0.966667 | |
Dungeness (UK:/ˌdʌndʒəˈnɛs/ ⓘ,[1]UK:/ˌdʌndʒˈnɛs/) is aheadland on the coast ofKent, England, formed largely of ashingle beach in the form of acuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land,Romney Marsh. Dungeness spansDungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet of Dungeness, and anecological site at the same location. It lies within thecivil parish ofLydd.
Dungeness's name means "the headland at Denge", referring to nearbyDenge Marsh. The marsh is first mentioned in 774 asDengemersc. Its name may mean "marsh of the pasture district", from Old Englishdenn *gē mersc, or else "marsh with manured land", from Old Englishdyncge mersc.[2]
Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in Europe.[3] It is of international conservation importance for itsgeomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and bird life. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as anational nature reserve (NNR), aSpecial Protection Area (SPA), aSpecial Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of theSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) ofDungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.
There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plants: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find invertebrates such as moths, bees, beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.
The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, bothbrackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird reserve there, and every year thousands of bird watchers visit the peninsula and itsbird observatory.
One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as "the patch" or, by anglers, as "the boil". The waste hot water from theDungeness nuclear power stations is pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.[citation needed]
Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognisedcod fishing venue in the winter.
It has previously been reported that Dungeness had such low rainfall as to qualify as the only desert in the UK.[4] However, a spokesperson for the Met Office refuted this in 2015.[5]
The climate in Dungeness is mild and generally warm and temperate. There is significant rainfall throughout the year. The average annual temperature is 11.1 °C (52.0 °F). Precipitation averages 715 millimetres (28.1 in) annually. TheKöppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[6]
| Climate data for Dungenessweather station, 3mamsl (WMO identifier: 03888) 1991−2020 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.2 (46.8) | 8.3 (46.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 12.5 (54.5) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.8 (64.0) | 19.9 (67.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 18.9 (66.0) | 15.6 (60.1) | 11.6 (52.9) | 8.8 (47.8) | 13.9 (57.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.7 (42.3) | 5.7 (42.3) | 7.2 (45.0) | 9.4 (48.9) | 12.0 (53.6) | 14.8 (58.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 17.3 (63.1) | 15.7 (60.3) | 12.7 (54.9) | 9.0 (48.2) | 6.3 (43.3) | 11.1 (52.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) | 3.2 (37.8) | 4.5 (40.1) | 6.3 (43.3) | 9.0 (48.2) | 11.7 (53.1) | 14.0 (57.2) | 14.4 (57.9) | 12.5 (54.5) | 9.8 (49.6) | 6.4 (43.5) | 3.8 (38.8) | 8.3 (46.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 71.6 (2.82) | 48.9 (1.93) | 41.9 (1.65) | 51.9 (2.04) | 44.5 (1.75) | 46.1 (1.81) | 47.3 (1.86) | 56.6 (2.23) | 62.5 (2.46) | 80.1 (3.15) | 88.7 (3.49) | 75.0 (2.95) | 715.0 (28.15) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.9 | 9.3 | 9.8 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 8.8 | 12.2 | 12.1 | 11.1 | 114.6 |
| Source: Met Office (precipitation days 1981-2010)[6] | |||||||||||||
There have been sevenlighthouses at Dungeness, five high and two low, with the fifth high one still fully operational today. At first, only a beacon was used to warn sailors, but this was replaced by a wooden lighthouse in 1615 which was 11 m (35 ft) tall. As the sea retreated, this had to be replaced in 1635 by a new lighthouse nearer to the water's edge known as Lamplough's Tower which was around 34 m (110 ft) high.[7]
As more shingle was thrown up, a new and more up-to-date lighthouse was built near the sea in 1792 by Samuel Wyatt. This lighthouse was 35 m (116 ft) high and of the same design as the thirdEddystone Lighthouse. From the mid-19th century, it was painted black with a white band to make it more visible in daylight; similar colours have featured on the subsequent lighthouses here.[8] This lighthouse was demolished in 1904, but the lighthouse keepers' accommodation, built in a circle around the base of the tower, still exists.
In 1901, the building of the fourth lighthouse, the High Light Tower, started. It was first lit on 31 March 1904 and still stands today. It is no longer in use as a lighthouse but is open as a visitor attraction. It is a circular brick structure, 46 m (150 ft) high and 11 m (36 ft) in diameter at ground level. It has 169 steps and gives visitors a good view of the shingle beach.[7]
As the sea receded further, and after building the nuclear power station which obscured the light of the 1904 lighthouse, a fifth lighthouse,Dungeness Lighthouse was built.[8]
There are twonuclear power stations at Dungeness, identified as "A" and "B", the first built in 1965 and the second in 1983. They are within a wildlife sanctuary designated aSite of Special Scientific Interest, and birds flourish in the warmer water created by the station's outflow.[citation needed]
The older power station closed on 31 December 2006,[9] while the current ownerEDF Energy announced in June 2021 that the newer station would not resume operations, which had halted in September 2018, and would move into the defuelling phase with immediate effect.[10]
There is no longer a public visitor centre, and tours of the station are unavailable.
In addition to the power station and lighthouse, there is a collection of dwellings. Most are wooden weatherboard beach houses, but there are also around 30 houses converted from old railway coaches in the 1920s.[11] These houses are owned and occupied by fishermen whose boats lie on the beach. Closer to the main road, there is a large building – comprising five conjoined homes – previously tenanted by coastguards. There are more houses around the site of the power stations. There are two public houses: the Britannia and the Pilot, the latter being served bythe Pilot Inn railway station from 1928 to 1977. Fresh seafood can be purchased from several outlets across the shingle.
A notable house isProspect Cottage, formerly owned by the late artist and film directorDerek Jarman. The cottage is painted black, with a poem, part ofJohn Donne's "The Sunne Rising", written on one side in black lettering. The garden, reflecting the bleak, windswept landscape of the peninsula, is made of pebbles, driftwood, scrap metal and a few hardy plants.[11]
Dungeness is accessible by two roads, one along the coast fromNew Romney to the north, and another fromLydd to the north-west. Both roads converge near the Pilot public house, from where a single road runs a mile (1.6 km) south to the tip of Dungeness.[12]
Dungeness is also served by theRomney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, a15 in (381 mm) gaugelight railway that covers the 13.5-mile (21.7 km) distance fromHythe. The line, which had opened to New Romney in 1927, was extended toDungeness station a year later. It still provides a service for tourists.[12][13]
The peninsula has a second, standard gauge railway, but this is now truncated adjacent to the Dungeness Road and only used to carry waste from the power stations. It formerly linked Dungeness (and, via a separate branch, New Romney) to a junction with theMarshlink Line atAppledore. The Dungeness section was closed to passengers on 4 July 1937 and it was truncated on 6 March 1967.[12][14]
Lydd Airport, sometimes known as London Ashford Airport, lies just to the north-west of Dungeness. Despite opposition, largely due to its proximity to the unique landscape of Dungeness, the airport received permission in 2014 to extend its runway to allow it to handle fully loaded aircraft up to the size of aBoeing 737 orAirbus A319.
The beach and marshes have been used for military training and include marked "danger areas". In World War I Lydd Camp was here.
Denge, a formerRoyal Air Force site at the northern edge of the Dungeness headland, is the site of a set ofacoustic mirrors, known as the "Listening Ears". Built between 1928 and 1930, the three massive concrete structures formed an experimentalearly warning system that aimed to detect invading aircraft by focusingsound waves. The site was chosen as being one of the quietest in Britain. Their different forms are evidence of their experimental nature; they were not particularly effective and were abandoned whenradar became available. The site is now managed by theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds.[15]
In 1944, some of the world's first underwater oil pipelines were laid between Dungeness and France inOperation Pluto. The lines from Dungeness were part of a network called "Dumbo" and ran toAmbleteuse in France.
In 2022 the well-preserved remains of a 16th-century ship were found in Denge quarry at Dungeness.[16][17]
Dungeness appears quite often inmusic videos, album covers and adverts. It featured on the cover ofPink Floyd's 1981 albumA Collection of Great Dance Songs.[5] British band TheSoup Dragons shot the videos for their top 5 1990 hit '"I'm Free", and follow-up top 20 1991 hit "Mother Universe" on Dungeness; and there have also been several photo shoots by the band in the area.
The shingle beach and fishermen's shacks feature extensively in theLighthouse Family promotional video for their 1998 song "High".[5] Theacoustic mirror at Dungeness is featured on the cover of the albumEther Song by the British indie bandTurin Brakes. Dungeness appears on the covers of albums as diverse asSo Much for the City byThe Thrills andAled byAled Jones.The Prodigy's single "Invaders Must Die" video was filmed here and shows both the acoustic mirrors and the lighthouse. In 2011, the music video for the song Walk the River by British bandGuillemots was filmed on the headland. In 2012,Nicki Minaj's singleFreedom was filmed on the beach and with the acoustic mirrors.[18] The music video for Lithuanian DJTen Walls' hit singleWalking With Elephants was shot on the headland and in the surrounding sea and featured many of the areas prominent landmarks.[19] In 2016, The Wholls also filmed the music video for their single "X21". In 2020, the music video forNothing But Thieves's single Impossible was partly filmed on the beach.[20]
Athlete have a song on the albumVehicles and Animals called "Dungeness" which is about the area.Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly mentions Dungeness and the lighthouse in his song "Lighthouse Keeper". The Kent-basedhardcore punk band November Coming Fire released a 2006 album entitledDungeness, featuring a track called "Powerstation" which included a recording of waves on the beach, and Scottish folk bandTrembling Bells named their albumDungeness too.[21]
In television, the Dungeness landscape, the lighthouse and the power station have been used on digital channelE4 at the beginning and end ofadvertising breaks.[22] It was used as a backdrop for the ITV dramaThe Poison Tree.[23] The area featured in an episode of the BBC detective serialThe Inspector Lynley Mysteries and in March 2007 was the setting for a major part of anEastEnders special. Famously in January 1971 the BBC filmed the 4-partDoctor Who serialThe Claws of Axos in Dungeness. Starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, the story featured an alien space craft burying itself in the shingle of Dungeness beach.[24] The 1981 fantasy filmTime Bandits shot its "Time of Legends" sequence on the beach, and Dungeness was used to film a scene inDanny Boyle'sTrance.[25]
The lighthouse and railway station can be seen in the 1951 filmThe Dark Man.[citation needed] Much of theMichael Winterbottom's 1998 filmI Want You was set in and around Dungeness: the lead character's home was one of the wooden beach huts. TheDerek Jarman avant-garde 1990 filmThe Garden was set and filmed in Dungeness.[26]
