Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the regions of Kent as well as East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers regarding 100 square miles (260 km2). A selecting ward in the exact same name exists. This ward had a population of 2,358 at the 2011 census. The Romney Marsh has been gradually accumulated over the centuries. One of the most significant attribute of the Marsh is the Rhee Wall (Rhee is a word for river), developing a prominent ridge. This function was prolonged as a river in 3 stages from Appledore to New Romney in the 13th century. Sluices controlled the flow of water, which was after that launched to purge silt from the harbour at New Romney. Ultimately, the fight was shed; the harbour silted up and also New Romney decreased in importance. The Rhee maintained part of the old port open up until the 15th century. The wall at Dymchurch was developed around the same time; tornados had breached the tile obstacle, which had protected it till that time. It is a common mistaken belief that both these structures were constructed by the Romans. In 1250 and in the complying with years, a collection of storms appeared the coastal tile financial institutions, flooding considerable locations and also returning it to marsh, and damaging the harbour at New Romney. In 1287 water ruined the port community of Old Winchelsea (now located some 2 mi (3 km) out in Rye bay), which had been under threat from the sea because at least 1236. Winchelsea, the 3rd biggest port in England as well as a significant importer of white wine, was relocated on greater land, with a harbour containing 82 docks. Those exact same storms, nonetheless, aided to accumulate more roof shingles: such coastlines currently ran along practically the whole seaward side of the marshland. By the 14th century, a lot of the Walland and Denge Marshes had been redeemed by "innings", the procedure of vomitting an embankment around the sea-marsh and making use of the low-tide to let it run dry through one-way drains pipes established into the brand-new seawall, running into a network of dykes called locally "sewers" in 1462, the Romney Marsh Corporation was developed to install drainage and also sea protections for the marsh, which it continued to build right into the 16th century. By the 16th century, the course of the Rother had been changed to its network today; a lot of the remainder of the area had now been recovered from the sea. The shingle continues to be deposited. Consequently, all the initial Cinque Ports of the Marsh are now far from the sea. Dungeness Point is still being included in: although (particularly near Dungeness and Hythe) a day-to-day procedure remains in place to counter the improving of the roof shingles banks, using watercrafts to dredge and also move the drifting shingle. The Marsh became the home of the Priory of Canterbury in the 9th century, that granted the initial occupancy on the land to a guy called Baldwin, at some time in between 1152 and also 1167, for "as much land as Baldwin himself can confine and drain against the sea"; Baldwin's Sewage system (drain ditch) remains in use. The marsh has actually since become covered by a dense network of water drainage ditches and when supported big farming areas. These gutters are kept and also taken care of for lasting water levels by the Romney Marsh Area Internal Drainage Board. Romney Marsh is adjacent to the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is much less established than many various other areas in Kent and Sussex. The decrease in lamb prices meant that also the neighborhood stock (sold worldwide for reproducing for over 2 centuries) became unsustainable. Turfing had always been a minimal practice because of the meadow kept short by the sheep reared upon it, but farms are increasing in dimension to make up for the decrease in lasting livestock farming. Some view this as unsustainable due to the damages to dirt ecology of the Marsh. The only various other choice, given that 1946, has been for farmers to rely on cultivatable farming, changing the landscape from a patchwork of little family members farms to a couple of substantial arable manufacturing systems.