Editing Reculver (section)

{{Short description|Seaside village in Kent, England}}
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{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}

{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name = File:Western Face of St Mary's Church, Reculver (I).jpg
| static_image_caption = The twin towers of [[St Mary's Church, Reculver|St Mary's Church]]
| static_image_alt = Looking up at Reculver towers from close by on a sunny day
| area_total_sq_mi = 2.79
| area_total_km2 = 
| area_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=457352&c=CT6+6SU&d=15&e=8&g=457352&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=0&s=1324575452150&enc=1 |title=Key Figures for Physical Environment |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420022331/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=457352&c=CT6%2B6SU&d=15&e=8&g=457352&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=0&s=1324575452150&enc=1 |archive-date=20 April 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2014 }}</ref>
| country = England
| official_name = Reculver
| coordinates = {{coord|51.3786|1.1979|display=inline,title}}
| label_position = top
| population = 4,400
| population_ref = (2021 census)
| civil_parish = 
| shire_district = [[City of Canterbury]]
| shire_county = [[Kent]]
| region = South East England
| constituency_westminster = [[Herne Bay and Sandwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Herne Bay and Sandwich]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Location of Herne Bay and Sandwich |url=https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4097/location |website=parliament.uk|access-date=4 February 2025}}</ref>
| post_town = HERNE BAY
| postcode_district = CT6
| postcode_area = CT
| dial_code = 01227
| os_grid_reference = TR2269
| map_type = Kent UK
| map_alt = A map showing Reculver on the north-eastern coast of Kent, in south-east England
}}
'''Reculver''' is a village and coastal resort about {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} east of [[Herne Bay]] on the north coast of [[Kent]] in south-east England.
It is in the [[Wards of the United Kingdom|ward]] of the same name, in the [[City of Canterbury]] district of [[Kent]]. 

Reculver once occupied a strategic location at the north-western end of the [[Wantsum Channel]], a sea lane that separated the [[Isle of Thanet]] and the Kent mainland until the late [[Middle Ages]]. This led the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] to build a small fort there at the time of their [[Roman conquest of Britain|conquest of Britain]] in 43&nbsp;AD, and, starting late in the 2nd century, they built a larger fort, or [[Castra|''castrum'']], called ''[[Regulbium]]'', which later became one of the chain of [[Saxon Shore]] forts. Following the withdrawal of the Western Roman Empire in ca. early C4th, the Brythons again took control of the lands until Anglo-Saxon invasions shortly afterward.

By the 7th century Reculver had become a landed estate of the [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Kingdom of Kent|kings of Kent]]. The site of the Roman fort was given over for the establishment of a monastery dedicated to the [[Virgin Mary]] in 669&nbsp;AD, and King [[Eadberht II]] of Kent was buried there in the 760s. During the Middle Ages Reculver was a thriving township with a weekly market and a yearly [[fair]], and was part of the [[Cinque Ports|Cinque Port]] of [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]]. The settlement declined, however, as the Wantsum Channel silted up, and [[coastal erosion]] claimed many buildings constructed on the soft sandy cliffs. The village was largely abandoned in the late 18th century, and most of [[St Mary's Church, Reculver|St Mary's Church]] was demolished in the early 19th century. Protecting the ruins and the rest of Reculver from erosion is an ongoing challenge.

The 20th century saw a revival as local tourism developed and there are now two [[RV park|caravan parks]]. The [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]] recorded about 4,400 people in the Reculver area. The Reculver coastline is within a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]], a [[Special Protection Area]] and a [[Ramsar convention|Ramsar]] site, including most of Reculver Country Park, which itself includes much of [[Bishopstone Cliffs]] [[local nature reserve]]. While nationally scarce plants and insects are found there, the location is also important for migrating birds and is of significant geological interest.