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Royal Military Canal, Heron House to Appledore Bridge is a defensive waterway constructed during the Napoleonic Wars, specifically built between 1804 and 1809 as part of coastal fortifications against threatened French invasion. The canal extends through the Romney Marsh area of Kent and forms part of a wider defensive system that includes associated gun emplacements and earthworks designed to protect the vulnerable flat terrain of the marsh from amphibious assault. This stretch of the canal, running between Heron House and Appledore Bridge, retains its original linear earthwork character with substantial banks forming the distinctive canal profile. The monument represents an important early nineteenth-century example of military engineering adapted to landscape defence during a critical period of British history.
Royal Military Canal, Heron House to Appledore Bridge is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1005123. View the official record →
Royal Military Canal, Heron House to Appledore Bridge is a defensive waterway constructed during the Napoleonic Wars, specifically built between 1804 and 1809 as part of coastal fortifications against threatened French invasion. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1005123.
Royal Military Canal, Heron House to Appledore Bridge is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1005123.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Royal Military Canal, Iden Lock to Kent Ditch (4.4 km), Royal Military Canal, Iden Lock (4.8 km), Ring ditch and rectangular enclosure SE of Mockbeggar (7.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Royal Military Canal, Heron House to Appledore Bridge's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Royal Military Canal, Heron House to Appledore Bridge stands on Wealden Group, bedrock that formed in the Barremian. The rock here is sandstone and siltstone, interbedded.