THE HOO PENINSULA

The Hoo Peninsula, which separates the rivers Thames and Medway, incorporates a number of villages which come under the “Hundred of Hoo”, Hundred being an archaic term for a county subdivision. There is also marshland which attracts a variety of birdlife, most notably on the Isle of Grain at the easternmost end of the peninsula. Both the villagers and the birds are forced to share this patch of land with a number of heavy industrial sites, including three power stations, a gas import plant and a container terminal. However the villages each have their individual charms with a fair bit of history thrown into the mix. Hoo St Werburgh, on the north bank of the Medway, takes its name from the the daughter of King Wulfhere of Mercia, whose brother was King Aethelred. St Mary Hoo has a clutch of Grade II listed buildings including the 14th century former church which is now a private residence, Newlands Farmhouse built in 1746 and the 18th century Old Rectory, one of whose rectors performed an illegal marriage ceremony between King George IV and Mrs Fitzherbert in 1785. Hoo All Hallows has a parish church called All Saints which dates from the 12th century.

Map of the area.

Hoo Marina. Photo by David Anstiss, via Wikimedia Commons.