Dungeness

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Typical view of Dungeness

Dungeness is a headland with a gravel beach in the area of Romney Marsh in Kent , England . At the same time, it is also the name of the artist community "Village", which lies along the beach, and the name of an important nature reserve.

Origin of name

The name Dungeness is probably derived from the Old Norse word nes (headland).

ecology

The lighthouse and nuclear power station at Dungeness

Dungeness has one of the longest pebble beaches in the world. The landscape is of great geomorphological importance, but the area is also important in terms of flora, the communities of invertebrates and wild birds. The landscape is under the observation of the National Nature Reserve (NNR) and is a " Site of Special Scientific Interest ", SSSI. The climate is very mild, the peninsula has more sunny days and two weeks less frost than the UK average.

The wild flora includes 600 different plant species (a third of all plant species in England), insects, moths, wild bees, spiders and beetles, many of which are very rare, some are only found here in the British Isles. Gravel hollows filled by the tide and filled with fresh and brackish water create a refuge for migratory and native birds. A number of rare lichens are also found on the peninsula.

Lighthouses

Dungeness Lighthouse

The Dungeness coast has been protected over the years by five lighthouses, the first of which consisted of just a beacon .

The first lighthouse was built in 1615 and replaced with a new one in 1635 when the coastline shifted. When more gravel was floating, another lighthouse was built in 1792. The fourth lighthouse followed in 1901; this was shut down when the fifth was built in 1961 and became a tourist attraction as The Old Lighthouse .

There are numerous wrecks on the coast, including a German submarine.

Nuclear power plant

There are two nuclear power plants in Dungeness, the first was built in 1965, the second in 1983. Both are located in the middle of a nature reserve, the construction was carried out with a special permit.

From 1961 to 1984 the converter station for the direct current cable through the English Channel was also located there .

Artist community "Village"

Derek Jarman's house in Dungeness

Dungeness is a hamlet, a scattered collection of individual houses. Most of them are small wooden houses, many along a narrow-gauge railway line, the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway , which is still in regular service today . The houses were inhabited by fishermen, later by artists and those seeking peace and quiet. The most famous resident was the artist and director Derek Jarman, who died in 1994 . After he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 , he retired to Prospect Cottage , where he designed the garden artistically using stones, driftwood and rust objects.

A Pluto-type bunker is now used as a chapel where Thanksgiving and Christmas services are celebrated.

Others

On January 22, 1873, the British clipper Northfleet , which was anchored off Dungeness, was rammed by a Spanish steamer and went down, killing 293 passengers and crew.

The cover photo of the Pink Floyd album " A Collection of Great Dance Songs " from 1981 was taken there by Hipgnosis .

Web links

Commons : Dungeness  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Derek Jarman, Keith Collins 1995. Derek Jarman's Garden. With Photographs by Howard Sooley . London, Thames and Hudson, 14
  2. ↑ Derek Jarman, Keith Collins 1995. Derek Jarman's Garden. With photographs by Howard Sooley . London, Thames and Hudson, 33
  3. ↑ Derek Jarman, Keith Collins 1995. Derek Jarman's Garden. With Photographs by Howard Sooley . London, Thames and Hudson, 61
  4. ↑ Derek Jarman, Keith Collins 1995. Derek Jarman's Garden. With Photographs by Howard Sooley . London, Thames and Hudson
  5. ↑ Derek Jarman, Keith Collins 1995. Derek Jarman's Garden. With Photographs by Howard Sooley . London, Thames and Hudson, 61
  6. ↑ [1]

Coordinates: 50 ° 54 ′ 51 ″  N , 0 ° 58 ′ 22.4 ″  E