The Swale

Harty is a small hamlet on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent consisting of a few cottages, a church and a public house, the Ferry Inn (a Grade II listed building). It is part of the civil parish of Leysdown.

Uplees is a remote hamlet north of Faversham, Kent in southeast England. It was a key part of the Faversham explosives industry during World War I, with the Cotton Powder Company importing raw materials via the deepwater channel of the Swale, and the associated Explosives Loading Company exporting completed bombs and shells. Employees came to work from Faversham on the Davington Light Railway of which Uplees was the northern terminus. It is in the civil parish of Oare. At 2.20pm on Sunday 2 April 1916, a huge explosion ripped through the gunpowder mill at Uplees, when 200 tons of TNT ignited. The blast killed 105 people and many were buried in a mass grave at Faversham Cemetery.

Oare Marshes is a 71.4-hectare (176-acre) Local Nature Reserve north of Faversham in Kent. It is owned and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of The Swale Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, National Nature Reserve, Ramsar internationally important wetland site, Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Faversham, in Kent, England, has claims to be the cradle of the UK's explosives industry: it was also to become one of its main centres. The first gunpowder plant in the UK was established in the 16th century, possibly at the instigation of the abbey at Faversham. With their estates and endowments, monasteries were keen to invest in promising technology. Faversham was well placed. It had a stream which could be dammed at intervals to provide power for watermills. On its outskirts were low-lying areas ideal for the culture of alder and willow to provide charcoal, one of the three key gunpowder ingredients. The stream fed into a tidal creek where sulphur, another key ingredient, could be imported, and the finished product loaded for dispatch to Thames-side magazines. The port was also near the Continent where, in time of war, demand for gunpowder was brisk.

Oare Meadow is a 2-hectare (4.9-acre) nature reserve in Oare, north of Faversham in Kent. It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of The Swale Site of Special Scientific Interest.This small site has a pond and bog, which are fed by a spring. Wetland plants include ragged-robin and yellow iris. There is also a meadow which supports grassland plants.The site is open to the public.

The Church of St Thomas the Apostle in Harty on the Isle of Sheppey in the county of Kent is a Grade II* listed building. The date of founding cannot be fixed with certainty. The official listing dates it to late 11th or early 12th century. In their guide book to the church, Patience & Perks start by reporting the raid by Harold in 1052 and then note that ""The date ascribed to the church of 1089 would be consistent with a re-building following damage by the Danes". However, on the next page they discuss the narrow walls which are indicative of Saxon builders and note that in 1989, when a shallow trench was excavated in the south wall, traces of Saxon work were found. Tufa stone was rarely used after the early Norman period, and so the use of it in a window in the north wall would indicate a date of no later than the end of the 11th century. Patience & Perks observe that the "date of AD 1089 is ascribed to the Norman work, which may well have been the re-building of an earlier structure desecrated by the Danish invaders".After 1200 the north aisle was built and the original north wall pierced to form the existing arcade. The now blocked off south door was cut at about this time. In the head of the jamb is a scratch dial or primitive sundial. A little later the chancel was rebuilt, extended to create the sanctuary and the porch to the north door constructed. At what point the Norman chancel arch was removed is unclear, possibly at the time of the rebuilding but certainly prior to the erection of the rood screen. The 14th century saw the construction of the vestry, Lady chapel and buttressing of the south and west walls. The existing rood screen probably dates to this period. There is no rood loft but the stairs leading to one are still visible. The stairs lead out of what is now the vestry but was originally the north chapel. This was a 14th-century extension of the north aisle eastwards. Within the vestry is the remains of an aumbry or secure cupboard for holding books and valuable plate. The 19th and 20th centuries have also left their marks. The former saw heavy restoration including a complete reroofing of the nave (including reraftering) and heavy pointing of the exterior. The later has seen necessary restoration to the west end which was damaged by a bomb during World War II.To the north of the high altar there is a niche which may have held a figure of St Thomas. Traces of a 14C painting therein have been obscured by a 15C one. There is also a niche for a figure in the Lady chapel, recently (c.1999) filled by a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham. Against the western wall of the lady chapel is a 14th-century oak muniment chest, the front of which is carved with a representation of a joust. In 1987 it was stolen and recovered from Phillips auction rooms. To protect it, the lady chapel arch is filled with an iron screen. It was during the installation of this screen that the shallow trench referred to above was dug.The church is unusual that there is no electricity or running water. Lighting in the nave is provided by hanging paraffin lamps and by wall mounted lamps with reflectors. The parish is within the Diocese of Canterbury and deanery of Sittingbourne. There is one bell hung for swing chiming of approximately 4 long hundredweight (450 lb; 200 kg).

Faversham Without is a former civil parish, located around Faversham in the Swale district, in the county of Kent, in southeast England. It was founded in 1894, and over the next 70 years was reduced in size as the borough of Faversham expanded and other areas were transferred to Graveney, Luddenham, Oare and Sheldwich. In 1961 it existed as a series of exclaves. It was abolished in 1983 when the parish of Graveney with Goodnestone was formed.

Oare is a village and civil parish north of Davington, Faversham in southeast England. It is separated from Faversham by the Oare Creek. To the north of the village are the Oare Marshes, and the Harty Ferry which once linked to Harty on the Isle of Sheppey. Kent Wildlife Trust manages a nature reserve that is an important stopping place for migratory birds. According to Edward Hasted, in 1798, it was part of the hundred of Faversham. It was once anciently recorded as 'Ore'. Meaning fenny or marshy place in the Saxon language.The manor of Oare belonged to Odo, Earl of Kent (as the Bishop of Bayeux) and was noted so in the Domesday book. After Odo's trial for fraud, the manor passed to the Arnulf Kade who gave it to the Knights Hospitallers.During Edward VI's reign, it passed to Lord Clinton (a relative of Edward Clinton, Lord Clinton). Historically, Oare was the southern terminus of the Harty Ferry, which ran across the Swale channel between the then Isle of Harty and the mainland.The village has a church, on the outskirts dedicated to St Peter. The 13th century-built church, is Grade I listed.The village also has two public houses, the Grade II-listed, Shepherd Neame-run Three Mariners Inn and The Castle.

Luddenham is a widespread hamlet or small village north-west of Faversham in Kent, England, with many long-distance views across the Swale and the Isle of Sheppey. It is on the edge of Luddenham Marshes and is also home of Luddenham School. Oare Gunpowder Works are on the edge of the village. It had, according to Edward Hasted in 1798, 396 acres of low flat arable land and 200 acres of meadow and pasture, although half of those are marsh. It is in the civil parish of Norton, Buckland and Stone. It was once called Cildresham, at the time of the Domesday survey.The Manor of Cildresham belonged to Odo, Earl of Kent, (as the Bishop of Bayeux) and was noted so in the Domesday Book. After Odo's trial for fraud, the manor then passed to the Fulbert de Dover (of Chilham) who helped the King defend Dover Castle. Then William de Luddenham became owner the Manor of Luddenham in 1212 and during the reign of Henry III, it passed to Sir Roger de Northwood.It has the Grade I listed Church of St Mary, beside the Grade II listed Luddenham Court (built in the 15th century).Also within the scattered hamlet, is the Nash estate which includes the grade II listed Nash's Farmhouse.It used to have one of the most remote public houses in the area, The Mounted Rifleman, which closed in the early 1990s.

St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Luddenham, Kent, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in a farmyard some 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Faversham.

HM Prison Elmley is a local Category B/C men's prison, located close to the village of Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. The term 'local' means that this prison holds people on remand to the local courts. Elmley once formed part of the Sheppey prisons cluster, which included HMP Standford Hill and HMP Swaleside; it is now a stand-alone establishment. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.

HM Prison Swaleside is a Category B men's prison, located close to the village of Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. Swaleside forms part of the Sheppey prison cluster, which also includes HMP Elmley and HMP Standford Hill. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.