Seasalter Levels

In the extreme west, Seasalter Marshes were inundated. Thus from Blue Anchor Corner, the shoreline dipped sharply south to follow the line of Favesham Road to Seasalter Cross. 

The Inner Shoreline

Moving east from Blue Anchor corner, that "red" shoreline pretty much mapped the high ground of Whitstable's clay slopes. Thus, it progressed along the line of Preston Parade, Joy Lane and West Cliff. In the east, it trimmed Old Bridge Road before heading north along the line of Clare Road and Northwood Road to Tankerton Slopes. 

The Outer Shoreline - The Islands

North of this inner shoreline, there was an area of land which may have formed two islands - Upper and Lower Island. These now support the "modern day"  locations of Island Wall, Horsebridge and Sea Wall. In fact, Island Wall probably grabbed its name from these geographical features. 

The islands are thought to have been separated from each other - possibly at "Marine Gap". Even today, older natives still refer to the eastern section of Island Wall as "Upper Island" and the western section as "Lower Island.

The Salts and The Gorrell Delta

Between the Islands and the Inner Shoreline, there were two "floodable" areas - the Salts and the Gorrell Delta.  Brian suggests that these probably varied from complete sea coverage to swampy marshland - depending on seasons, weather and tide. 

The Salts are now occupied by  Seasalter golf course, Nelson Road, Cornwallis Circle and Waterloo Road.

The Gorrell delta was the flood plain of the seemingly insignificant Gorrell stream which flowed across the marshy area to Long Beach. Nowadays, it is occupied by such roads as Westgate Terrace, Cromwell Road, Reservoir Road, Westmeads Road, Station Road, Diamond Road and Railway Avenue. 

The Gorrell stream was eventually truncated and redirected into a backwater at Westgate Terrace. During the twentieth century, the entire lower course of the stream was hidden away - beneath the Stream Walk pathway that runs from Belmont Road to the junction of Cromwell Road and Woodlawn Street. Finally, the backwater was also covered - by the concrete of the Gorrell tank car park. However, the stream still exists - out of sight and waiting to cause mischief.

The Isthmus

Between The Salts and the Gorrell Delta, a narrow piece of raised ground reached out towards the islands - pointing towards the modern day locations of Horsebridge and Sea Wall. 

There is some debate as to whether this "isthmus" actually connected with the islands via a natural causeway. Even if it didn't, it seems likely that our ancestors eventually built a shingle link or even a wooden bridge in order to access the landing site that later developed at the Horsebridge.  Either way, the natural or man-made link between the "mainland" and "islands" probably gave rise to the name "Horsebridge". 

(Note: The shallow waters of the Salts and Gorrell delta would not have been suitable for larger boats. Thus, any substantial landing site needed to be built on the outer shoreline - ie on one of the islands. That in turn necessitated a link to the mainland - one that was capable of supporting horses and carts. Remarkably, use of the Horsebridge beach as a landing site continued until the mid-twentieth century).

In 1287, the isthmus was unpopulated. However, by the 16th century, it had been used to create a settlement known as Whitstapl Street. This fishing community eventually expanded into the town of modern day Whitstable. Current day Oxford Street and High Street actually follow the line of the Isthmus to the old landing site of the Horsebridge. 

Although now accepted as "just another town centre road", the raised Middle Wall was actually part of an inner sea wall - built in 1583 and originally known as Valley Wall. This protected the isthmus and its inhabitants from floodwater encroaching from The Salts. We suspect that the road was actually called "Inner Wall" at one time.

The Islands

The flood virtually cut off the Island Wall area and returned it to its original "island" status. However, the long lost gap between Upper and Lower Islands was NOT re-established. Thus, we had one "island" rather than two!

The Salts 

West of Middle Wall, sea water submerged Seasalter Golf Course, Nelson Road, Waterloo Road and Cornwallis Circle. This re-established the floodable swamplands of the "Salts" and the original "inner" shoreline along the clay bank of West Cliff.

Of course, back in 1287, water could ebb and flow freely across this area and the Salts therefore varied from full water coverage to marshland. This was not the case in 1953. The man-made sea defences actually prevented the sea from draining back to its proper place! Thus, the area filled like a bath tub - to around 5 or 6 feet.

East of the High Street, the flood re-established some of the old swamplands of the Gorrell delta.

In 1287, the swamp extended south to the general line of Old Bridge Road. In 1953, the flooding also reached Old Bridge Road.... but only along the actual banks of the mischievous stream itself. Much of the flooding  ended at or near Diamond Road. 

The Isthmus

Perhaps the most fascinating feature of our map is that it provides some evidence of the original isthmus wedged between the Salts and the Gorrell delta. Thus, Oxford Street (and parts of both Middle Wall and High Street) remained "dry" during  the 1953 flood and provided an artery for aid and rescue. 

A number of our readers have also drawn attention to a curious "dry" island in the vicinity of St Peters Road back in '53. This could have been a remnant of the isthmus of 1287. However, there may be other, more recent explanations. 

Brian tells me that some parts of central Whitstable were "built up" from time to time. For example, it is known that soil was removed from the top of Borstal Hill in order to reduce the severity of the slope and then deposited in parts of central Whitstable. (This gave rise to a local joke that people in the town centre actually lived on top of Borstal Hill). 

Another possibility is that, over the centuries, parts of  the old  swamplands rose quite naturally as a result of the process of draining and drying. 

Although not shown on our flood map, the sea reclaimed Seasalter Levels in 1953 and recreated a temporary shoreline similar to that of 1287. The deluge was sufficiently severe to cut the main rail link between Whitstable and Faversham/London.