} 
RATE OF EROSION OF THE SEA-COASTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES. 441 
19. Sheerness. 
By Colonel LE MESURIER, R.E., Sheerness. 
1. Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey. 
2. Foreshore, about half-tide, of London Clay. Formerly salt marsh, now protected 
by clay, sea-wall paved with Kentish rubble rag, grouted with Portland 
cement, shingle at foot of wall. a. Cliffs of clay and loam from Warden 
Point to Scrapsgate Minster b. (1) 150 feet; (2) 100 feet; (3) 15 feet. 
3. East and west. 
4. Hast and north-east. 
5. a. Hast. b. West and north-west. ec. East. 
6. From the north-east. 
7. (1) a. 17-6; b. 12°6. (2) Opposite Sheerness, about 1,320 yards. 
8. Mud and shingle. 
9. a. About 70 feet and 120 feet. b. Between high and half-tide marks. e¢. Hast 
to west. d. About 7” x 4” = 51bs. ec. One continued slope. 
20. In some places one tide might take it all away if not retained by groynes. In 
others it is accumulating ; owing to the groynes it is generally accumulating. 
11. Diminution is due partly to artificial abstraction, partly to want of groynes. 
12. a. Generally in a north-east direction. The west-direction groynes now run out 
at right angles to the sea-wall for about 50 feet, and thence towards the 
north-east. b. From 50 to 150 feet. The principal groynes are being 
lengthened to 200 feet; at salient portions of the coast the minimum distance 
is necessary, at re-entering portions the maximum is sufficient. e¢. From 50 
to 300 feet. d. 1 foot 10 inches above the surface, and 1 foot 10 inches 
below—i.e. of four 11-inch planks. As the shingle accumulates to windward, 
planks are fixed one at a time. If the groynes are put near enough there 
need not be a greater difference of level than 2 feet, except on extraordinary 
oceasions. Sometimes there is scarcely any difference. e. Oak-framed 
uprights, 11’ x 11”, sills bedded in concrete 8 feet apart, 3-inch fir planks 
bolted to these uprights. f. They catch and retain the shingle, forming an 
artificial beach or half-tide reefs, and thus protect the toe or foot of the sea- 
wall. 
13. a. Near mean high-water mark. »b. For concrete work and building require- 
ments, footpaths, &c., by local builders and the War Department and Admiralty 
contractors. e. The Lord of the Manor of Marine Town, sea frontage, and of 
the land adjoining the boundary of Sheerness and Minster, east of the 
4 Co-operative Coal Pier. d. In some parts of the coast such half-tide reefs 
exist, and do so act. In other parts they have been removed, but whether by 
the increased force of the tide, owing to the removal of the cliff to the east- 
} ward, or by artificial abstraction appears a question. 
14. Yes. a. The entire length of the island from Sheppey-Landsend, Warden Point, 
to Garrison Point Fort. wb. Cliffs of loam and clay about 100 feet high from 
Warden Point to near Scrapsgate Minster, thence to Garrison Point. Clay 
and mud foreshore with more or less beach or shingle. e. No record in Royal 
! Engineers’ office. The parish of Warden has lost upwards of 220 acres within 
220 years. d. It is understood that the Mayor or Corporation of Queenborough 
possesses a map of Sheppey dating from the reign of Elizabeth. e. Nearly so; 
the loss is greatest at the north-east part of the island, called Warden Point. 
Here the coast is quite bare of shingle. 
15. No. 
16. There is no increase whatever now. The area covered by shingle is becoming 
less every year. a. Nil. b. Much of the lowlands or marshes of Sheppey have 
; been regained from the sea within the past 300 years. 
17. No. 
48. The earliest map of the coast-line adjoining Sheerness that we have in the 
Royal Engineers’ office goes back only 150 years—it does not extend beyond 
a mile to the east of Garrison Point. 
