78 



In Part I., page 87, of the Gentleman's 



Phenomenal Magazine, of 1784, the following note 



Low Tides. occurs ._ O n Saturdry morning, 3rd 



January, there was a lower ebb tide all along the Kentish 



coast than has been known for many years, and in the 



evening a very small flood. At Reculver, the Black Rock 



(as it is called) being left dry, the foundations of the 



ancient parish church were discovered, which had not 



been seen for forty years before." 



I am indebted to a friend for the following account of 

 an exceptionally low 7 tide, which disclosed for a short time 

 some of the secrets of the flats : " On the 3rd of March, 

 1896, owing to a heavy S.W. gale, which had blown with 

 much force all the previous night, the tide ebbed to the 

 lowest point that had been known within the memory of 

 the oldest inhabitant. Only those that availed themselves 

 of the sight can realise the varied formation of the soil, 

 consisting at places of large sand and cement stones, rock, 

 blue and yellow clay, among which might be seen the trunks 

 of large trees laying as they fell, showing that land once 

 extended far outside the present shore. At i^ miles from 

 Herne Bay shore, it w r as perfectly dry on the Weir Rand 

 (commonly pronounced ' Ware Rand '), and the long rows 

 of wooden stumps that were revealed showed the remains 

 of ancient fishing weirs, which, probably, were those that 

 paid tithes to the Parish of Herne centuries ago. Here and 

 there on the stumps were dredges, lost at various times by 

 flatsmen coming fast, and the warps breaking, perhaps, 

 in a strong breeze. 



"At Reculvers, the Black Rock dried entirely, and could 

 be walked to from the shore, and the rocks in Beltinge Bay 

 all dried out as far as the Stone Bank. Large quantities of 



