| Minster | |
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Minster
Minster shown within Kent |
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| OS grid reference | TQ952729 |
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| Parish | Minster-on-Sea |
| District | Swale |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SHEERNESS |
| Postcode district | ME12 |
| Dialling code | 01795 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Sittingbourne and Sheppey |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Minster is a small town on the north coast of the Isle of Sheppey and in the Swale district of Kent, England.
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The name of the town derives from the monastery founded in the area.[1] There is some variation in the use of the name, with the local parish council being named Minster-on-Sea,[2] while other sources, such as the local primary school, use Minster-in-Sheppey,[3] in order to distinguish it from Minster-in-Thanet, also in the county of Kent. Both places are listed in the Ordnance Survey gazeteer is Minster.[4] Royal Mail identifies a locality of Minster On Sea in the ME12 postcode district.[5] Minster-on-Sea is a location mentioned in Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop.
In about AD 670 the widowed Kentish queen, Seaxburh of Ely, built the monastery here - one of the first in Kent. In AD 670 another monarch - King Ecgberht of Kent gave land for his mother to establish a Benedictine nunnery at Minster. In AD 835 the Danes overran Sheppey and made it their base camp. They remained there until the Norman conquest. Alnod Cilt (aka Jordanus de Scapeia or Sheppey), of Swedish and Danish descent, the reputed oldest son of King Harold II of England and Edith the Fair, took refuge with his mother at Minster Abbey during the reign of William.[6] At the Reformation Sir Thomas Cheyney was given possession of the site.
Today the remains of the old Abbey gatehouse is a museum and the remaining tower is being restored.
Minster has a fine parish church, which includes Norman work with Roman tiles, and 15th Century choir stalls.
The coast here consists of London Clay. and many fossil remains can be found along the beach after the waves have brought down the cliffs.
In the early 20th century the island was hit by speculative builders and Minster suffered equally with Sheerness. After World War II the population of the village had swollen "from about 250 people in 100 homes to 5500 people in 1800 homes". (taken from the external link)
The new Thames Estuary airport, if built, will be built on a manmade island just north of the village.
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