The Isle of Sheppey, just 9 miles long and 4 miles wide, is situated in the Thames Estuary at the mouth of the Medway. It is a mysterious and ancient place, separated from the mainland by arm and of the sea known as The Swale. Sheppey, once mainly known fro sheep-rearing as its name implies, falls into two regions - the northern half, built up and developed, which includes the towns of Sheerness, Minster, Queenborough and Leysdown, and the southern part, mainly consisting of marshes and the occasional tiny hamlet. The island itself has a long and complex history. A Bronze Age settlement and a Saxon monastery at Minster both left their mark on the island, as did the Romans - although they did not settle permanently, they had a look-out point here. In later centuries Sheppey has also seen the construction of a naval dockyard at Sheerness, which would have become one to the foremost in the country if it had not flooded during construction, the founding of Britain''s first co-operative soc
