Small Hythe


Small Hythe is a hamlet near Tenterden in Kent, England. The population is included in Tenterden.
It stood on a branch of the Rother estuary and was a busy shipbuilding port in the 15th century, before the silting up and draining of the Romney Marshes.
Small Hythe's quays and warehouses were destroyed in a fire in 1514 and were never rebuilt.

History

Small Hythe was within the medieval hundred of Tenterden, which does not appear to have existed at the time of the Domesday Book. It is first mentioned in about 1300 and received a charter in 1449 from Henry VI. Small Hythe itself lay on a branch of the River Rother, which certainly in 1509 made the locality accessible to seagoing craft.

Notable residents

Actress Ellen Terry lived at Smallhythe Place between 1899 and her death in 1928. It is now managed by the National Trust and houses her collection of theatrical memorabilia and a small theatre.