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The Royal Military Canal, Scanlon's Bridge to Town Bridge, is a defensive waterway constructed during the Napoleonic Wars in the early nineteenth century. The canal was built between 1804 and 1809 as part of a comprehensive coastal defence scheme intended to impede French invasion across the Romney Marsh and Walland Marsh areas of Kent. This section of the canal, bounded by Scanlon's Bridge and Town Bridge, retains the linear earthwork characteristics typical of military canal construction, including the substantial ditch and accompanying bank. The Royal Military Canal remains one of the most substantial and well-preserved examples of Napoleonic-era military engineering in Britain, serving as an important historical record of wartime preparedness during the Napoleonic period.
Royal Military Canal, Scanlon's Bridge to Town Bridge is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1005115. View the official record →
The Royal Military Canal, Scanlon's Bridge to Town Bridge, is a defensive waterway constructed during the Napoleonic Wars in the early nineteenth century. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1005115.
Royal Military Canal, Scanlon's Bridge to Town 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 1005115.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Royal Military Canal, Town Bridge to Twiss Road Bridge (0.5 km), Martello tower no 14 at Hythe Ranges (0.9 km), Martello tower no 15 at Hythe Ranges (1.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Royal Military Canal, Scanlon's Bridge to Town 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, Scanlon's Bridge to Town Bridge stands on Wealden Group, bedrock that formed in the Barremian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.