Shepway

Shepway is a local government district in Kent, England. It includes the towns of Folkestone and Hythe and the Romney Marsh. It covers roughly the same area as the Lathe of Shepway, which contained the hundreds and liberties of Aloesbridge, Bircholt, Folkestone, Ham, Heane, Longport, Loningborough, Lydd, Newchurch, New Romney, Stouting, Street and Worth. Pop. in 1861, 51,826. The Lathe originated in Jutish Kent, but had become obsolete by the end of the 19th Century, before reappearing in its present guise in 1974.

The Royal Court of Shepway, which met near Lympne at a place called Shepway Cross, was the principal court of the Cinque Ports Federation. Shepway District Council uses the Folkestone White Horse as a logo.

Governance
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 and its council offices are in Folkestone.

In 2011, Lydd Airport's owners – who are seeking to expand the airport – gave "gifts to councillors", which councillors did not declare.

The District Council consists of 46 councillors representing 22 wards. Those wards are: Following the May 2011 elections, the composition of Shepway District Council is 44 Conservatives and two from the People First party.
 * Dymchurch and St Mary's Bay
 * Elham and Stelling Minnis
 * Folkestone: nine wards (Cheriton; East; Foord; Harbour; Harvey (two wards, Central and West); Morehall; Park; and Sandgate)
 * Hythe: three wards (Central, East and West)
 * Lydd
 * Lympne and Stanford
 * New Romney: two wards (Town and Coast)
 * North Downs: two wards (East and West)
 * Romney Marsh
 * Tolsford

The third tier of local government in Shepway consists of town councils in Folkestone, Hythe, New Romney and Lydd; and the following parish councils:
 * Acrise (M)
 * Brenzett
 * Brookland
 * Burmarsh
 * Dymchurch
 * Elham
 * Elmsted
 * Hawkinge
 * Ivychurch
 * Lyminge
 * Lympne
 * Monks Horton (M)
 * Newchurch
 * Newington
 * Old Romney (M)
 * Paddlesworth (M)
 * Postling
 * St Mary in the Marsh
 * Saltwood
 * Sandgate
 * Sellindge
 * Snargate (M)
 * Stelling Minnis
 * Stowting (M)
 * Stanford
 * Swingfield
 * (M) Parishes marked thus are served by a parish meeting, not a parish council

Geography
Shepway occupies the most southerly part of Kent. It is bounded on the north by Ashford and Canterbury Districts; on the east by Dover District and on the south by the Strait of Dover. The Romney and Walland Marshes cover a good deal of its area to the west; where the North Downs begin to reach the sea there is much more in the way of settlement. The four towns in the District are all located along the coast.

Climate
Climate in this area has mild dfferences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).

History of Shepway
Shepway was an ancient division of Kent and originated, probably in the 6th Century, during the Jutish colonisation. It was originally named Lympne, but by the thirteenth century its name was changed to Shepway. It was one of the seven original Lathes of Kent and remained after that number was reduced to five. Like the other Lathes it contained several hundreds.



The Lathe was an important administrative, judicial and taxation unit for 600 years after the Domesday Book. The Sheriff toured the county twice yearly attending on the lathes, however the Lathe court became anomalous as it fell between the hundredal courts below and the Justices of the County (in petty and quarter sessions) above. When the Lathe and division of the Lathe were used as the basis for meetings of local justices of the peace in monthly or petty sessions, Shepway became the unit for this purpose, however a group of hundreds in the middle of the Lathe of Scray, centred on Ashford, were for convenience attached to the Lathe of Shepway for petty sessional purposes. These were the four Hundreds of Felborough, Wye, Calehill, and Chart and Longbridge, with the township of Ashford.

The Corporation of Romney Marsh, although within Shepway, possessed its own Quarter and Petty Sessions (separate from the  county).

Although not formally abolished, Shepway fell out of usage at the end of the 19th Century, only to reappear on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the boroughs of Folkestone, Hythe, Lydd and New Romney, along with Elham and Romney Marsh Rural Districts. Some parishes along the northern boundary of Shepway were left out when it was revived as a local government unit in 1974, principally those that were in the Hundreds of Ham and Bircholt (Barony). Also omitted were some parishes in Folkestone Hundred, just east of the town. Nevertheless, Shepway is the only one of the five lathes of Kent that recognisably continues as a principal local government unit of the county to the present day.

Economy
In economic terms, Shepway is the third most deprived area in Kent, after Thanet and Swale. Like them, it has a high rate of unemployment; poor educational attainment figures; and with the majority of businesses being small operations.

The major source of economy is, however, tourism. Events and venues are widely publicised.

Transport
The M20 motorway  crosses the District to end at Folkestone. Other main roads include the A259 south coast road and the A260 which takes traffic towards Canterbury. The South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 both cross the district: the western end of the Channel Tunnel is at Cheriton, west of Folkestone.

The Royal Military Canal crosses the northern edge of the Romney Marsh; and the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway runs out to Dungeness from Hythe.

Several long distance footpaths cross the District, including the Saxon Shore Way and the North Downs Way; shorter walks include the ’’Elham Valley Walk’’ and the ’’Royal Military Canal Path’’.

Lydd Airport is also in this district.