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It is said that Gurth Kulmer and his two sons, Paul and James were baptised in 862 AD by the prior at Saint Gutlac. This was in the year that 'the good Archbishop' St. Swithens was to die, also a year that witnessed the bloody conflict between the Dane's and King Alfred, Ethelburt's brother. It is believed that Gurth was a son of Steven Kulmer, who with his father Knut Larson, 'the Kulmer' and his brother, Eric Kulmer along with their followers originally came to England.

Existing Culmer Family folk law1 holds that they came in company with a number of Danish vessels and settled south of the river Thames in Kent, in all probability calling in at Denton, near Gravesend, then the most important settlement for such migrants, whilst the Danish fleet continued on their journey. Denton in fact takes it name from 'Dane town'. From Crayford extending east beyond Swanscombe (Sweyn's Camp) nearby, to the remote and distant Isle of Thanet, the Danes occupied the land and terrorized the Saxon inhabitants, giving rise to much consternation amongst the locals who set about digging 'Dene holes', of which many have survived to this day. These were wells, cut deep into the chalk foundation of the landscape for the purpose of concealing people and goods, during such landings. In surveying the distribution of these denehole's it would appear that Essex, on the northern shore of the Thames sustained a greater influx of these Vikings than did Kent, their being considerably more recorded denehole's in Essex, particularly around Orsett and Greys.2

"To come more to particulars, it was in the fifth year of King Ethelburt that a Danish army wintered in the Kentish Isle of Thanet, from whence Denton, on the shore of the Thames was an easy sail with an upward tide and an easterly wind. 'These robbers knew nothing of truth or good faith, for they realised that larger gains would come to them by pillage than by treaties. So that the league was scarcely concluded and the treasure paid over, than "like cunning foxes", they scattered and by night left their camp and ravaged all the eastern side of Kent'". with the result that Thameside and the surrounding area was literally infested with the Danish Galleys of the Northmen, as in fact was the Somme in France.

With this retrospection, no doubt can remain as to the spontaneous and uncontrolled revival of this spirit, during that time of crisis, many centuries ahead, that led Sir Richard Culmer to his despoliation's, recorded below. It must be said, however his actions may now be interpreted, his methods were the exception to the rule of the Culmer's who seem otherwise to have been constructive in all their various undertakings. A number of the direct descendants of the Kulmer family live on today, the family principally having migrated to the American Continent. The Kulmer family locates their probable origin to an island of that name, on the south eastern coast of Sweden.

The descendants of Gurth prospered in East Kent and Canterbury, coming into lands that were kept in the family for generations and there were many soldiers and mariners amongst them. It was Charles Culmer, the son of Waldemar of the nineteenth generation who built the stairs for the fishermen of Broadstairs, Kent in the year 1350. The stairs have survived to this day and were first repaired by Richard Culmer over three hundred years after their original construction.3

Reference to the Culmer family is found in the pages of a Thanet history book, suitably named 'Mockett's Journal'4 (1836) after its author, a Yeoman, and St. Peter's most famous Churchwarden, John Mockett (1775~1848). Mockett makes mention to the will of a Richard Culmer, who was in 1434, a Carpenter. Shortly thereafter in 1440 an archway was built by George Culmer, across a track leading down to the sea, where the first wooden pier or jetty was built in 1460, a more enduring structure was to replace this later in 1538. The Culmer's nestled their boatyard on its protected sands. It was in 1538 that the road leading onto the seafront, known as Harbour Street was cut out from the rough chalk ground Broadstairs is built upon, accomplished by the local Shipwright George Culmer. Going further still to defend the town he also built the 'York Gate' in 1540, this being a portal that still spans Harbour Street to this day, and which then held two heavy wooden doors that could be closed in times of threat from beyond the sea. By 1795 'York Gate' was in need of some repair on account of worries over the French Revolutionary Wars, the subsequent renovation was undertaken by Lord Hanniker in the same year as the first Lightship was placed on the Goodwin Sands.

Between the years of 1798 ~1803, returns were made to the Lord's Lieutenant of the County to establish what strength might be mustered to assist the Military in the event of an invasion. Amongst detail concerning 'precautions to be undertaken'; all boats and wagons were to be made available as necessary, for the transportation of the troops and stores that might be called to do battle. The proprietors of Cutters, Luggers and boats, amongst them, I expect the Culmer's, undertook to hold their vessels ready.

Needless to say the war and in particular the presence of so many troops in the County had a considerable impact upon the lives of the Kentish population, Pitt's Government of the 1790's being led by the threat from revolutionary France. By 1804 a return to the House containing a statement of the number of Shipwrights in the country reveals that of the total available employed Shipwrights, being about 8,400, just over one third of these were retained through the Dockyards. Of the 5,100 remaining Shipwrights across the breadth of the nation, aside from those in small numbers that were dispersed around the coast, the more considerable concentration was to be found along the Thames.

Their was however such a sufficiency of Shipwrights to be found by 1805 that the traditional methods of reward had, were changing, the ordinary Shipwright was not well paid in the dockyards anyhow, with the basic daily rate having been set in 1690, remaining largely unaltered until that point. From the earliest days of the King's first Patent's to the employment of Shipwrights, they had been paid by the day. The changes being slowly introduced throughout the Revolutionary wars placed the Shipwright in employment on the basis of 'piecework' which although unpopular, 'permitted men to claim the highest rates of pay without their having performed the amount of work needed to earn those rates'; it was unpopular because in addition 'the failure to distinguish work and earnings 'by the piece' during the day, and work performed in overtime'5 was a considerable setback. A further reform in 1803 thus ensured that Shipwrights doing repair work (i.e. by the job) were allowed to secure as much in the way of earnings as they could make. The wage margin which had previously been lower than a days pay was abolished and by 1811 further increases were introduced to Shipwrights working on original structures. Still, it remained as ever the case that in times of war the Shipwright was called upon in a fashion not unlike that required of the Militia.

It is however worth considering that at the turn of 1789 France seemed to have been emerging from the dark night of it's soul and after two centuries of Absolute Monarchy had found the first rays of a new dawn. The population had been for to long dominated by incurably frivolous aristocrats who continued to exploit the resources of the lower classes. Witnessing the abjection of the Crown, the poor and hard working peasants rose to free their lands from the taxes that had been imposed. That one third of the lands in France were retained by the Royal House compounded the great depravity of the ordinary Frenchman so much so that in bad years the French people starved to such an extent that the populations of whole villages migrated into the towns to share in the hope of surviving another winter in the streets and hovels of the many unemployed Journeymen.

It is common knowledge how the storming of the Bastille launched the People of France into questioning the rights of their despotic Monarchy. It then became possible to let go the anchor of that gnarled regime, and in the provinces, nobles were chased by angry mobs off of their estates, which were duly claimed by the 'Revolution,' which had seen off the feudal system unlike any plot in England. In fact it is fair to say nothing like it had been seen in Europe since the English Interregnum, but it's consequence was that much more effective, and it held.

Richard Culmer referred to above, as the repairer of the fisherman steps from which Broadstairs derives its name, was the son of Sir Richard Culmer, by his first wife and was and was born in 1640/1. Of his legacies was the endowment upon Broadstairs of an area of six acres of ground for the poor of the parish, land that is now used as allotment spaces, quite properly, although some portion of it has been taken improperly for a car park. The name survives to this day as 'Culmer's Allotment.' Richard was buried in the parish church of Monkton, on the Isle of Thanet.

Sir Richard Culmer, himself, the eldest son of Sir Henry was born in 1612. His father, also a son of another Henry Culmer, was born around 1574/5 and had married to a Mary Baldwyn in 1602. Richard's father was created a Baron by King James in 1630, but died in 1633. Richard had been educated at Oxford and established himself as a Puritan Minister of some note. He obtained, for a while in 1643 the living of the parish of Chartham, where he became immediately unpopular. As a General under Cromwell he became notorious, and was so disliked that the parishioners of Harbledown protested that they cared not which minister served them, so long as it was not "Cromwell's Blue Dick" as Culmer was referred to, because he would refuse the traditional colour of the Parsons black gown, preferring to wear a blue one. He so alienated his Parishioners that 'any local lies in the district for years to follow were known as "Culmers news."' He had been known to have despised William Laud, who was, it must be said, himself quite unpopular in the nation as a whole, but who had committed Culmer to the Fleet for refusing to read 'the Book of Sports' after services in Church, this being an accepted entertainment for the parishioners who otherwise had little access to reading. Archbishop Laud, in fact referred to Culmer as 'an ignorant person and with his ignorance, one of the most daring schematic's in all that country.'6 Already disliked he delighted in his promotion as a Commissioner to oversee the demolition of superstitious (Catholic) monuments, and set about his task at Canterbury with enthusiasm, so much so that his parishioners would openly flock to attack him regularly, to the extent that soon he had to carry out his task with Cromwell's Soldier's to protect him.

`many window ~ images', `Idol's of stone' and `seven large pictures of the Virgin Mary.' Amongst these descriptions included a window dedicated to “`their prime Cathedral Saint, Archbishop Becket with Cope, Rochet, Mitre, Crozier. . Now it is more defaced than any window in that Cathedral. Whilst judgment was executing on the Idol's in that window, the Cathederalist's cried out "Hold your hands, holt, holt, here Sir, (etc)." The Minister (carrying out the desecration) being then on top of the City ladder, near 60 steps high, with a whole pike in his hand rattling down proud Becket's glassy bones . . . to him it was said, "'Tis a shame for a minister to be seen there" . . Some wished he might break his neck, others said it should cost blood.'" Culmer's work completed, the extent of the undertaking was recorded as such :7 'many window ~ images', 'Idol's of stone' and 'seven large pictures of the Virgin Mary.' Amongst these descriptions included a window dedicated to "'their prime Cathedral Saint, Archbishop Becket with Cope, Rochet & Mitre.

"The windows, famous both for strength and beauty, so generally battered and broken down as they lay exposed to the injury of all weathers; the whole roof with that of the Steeple's, the Chamber house's and Cloister extremely impaired and ruined, both in the timber work and lead; the water tables, pipes and much other of the lead in almost all places cut off . . . The Choir stripped and robbed of her goodly hangings, her organ and organ loft ~ the Communion Table (stripped) of the best of her furniture and ornaments. Many of the goodly monuments of the dead shamefully abused, defaced, rifled and plundered of their brasses, iron gates and bars; the common Dorter (affording good housing for many members of our Church) with the Dean's private chapel and a goodly library over it, quite demolished, the books and other furniture sold away . . .Our very common seal, our registers and other books, together with our records and evidences seized, many of them irrecoverably lost; the Church's guardians, her fair and strong gates, turned off the hook and burned."

For his services to Parliament he was offered the living of the parish of Minster in Thanet in 1644, where his parishioners had locked the church against him at his ordination, when he attempted to break in to the church he was mobbed and beaten. So despised was he that the parish refused to pay tithes to support him, but then offered his arrears if he would but go away! He later found himself under arrest in London, and asked why he had destroyed the figure of Christ in the Cathedral windows, and not that of the Devil, he merely replied that Parliament's orders were for the removal of the same and made no reference to Satan. Described as 'odious for his zeal and fury' he survived in his position until shortly before the Restoration of Charles II. With the death of Cromwell, he may have foreseen the return to a monarchist State, for he moved to Holland in 1660, having been ejected from the church. He had married in 1639 to Miss Beeson, and again twenty years later to a Dutch woman, the widow Mrs. Bocher of Harlaam in Holland, the Country in which he died in 1669.

4~Interestingly, Kent in the 1830's was subject to a proliferation in agricultural rioting, caused as a result of unemployment resulting from the introduction of 'threshing machines' on many farms. On the 25th~6th October 1830 the rioters marched from Ash to West marsh to reach Wingham near Canterbury in which area considerable damage was inflicted upon the machines of several farms, amongst these we find one still owned by the Culmer family. Other Farms thus affected were occupied or owned by the families of Petley, Dawkers, Addley and Dadd. Curiously a John Marsh was amongst the rioters and was subsequently given nine months hard labour in prison, whilst many others were transported for life. Henry Andrews and Thomas Stroud were transported for seven years. (From : 'Wingham, A Kentish Village' Wingham Local History Soc.)

The Shrine of 'Our Ladye Star of the Sea' in Bradstowe; was an old Chapel that dated back at least to the 1350's. The Chapel of St. Mary's structural remains are, as incorporated in the modern facade, situated on the site of what has been said also to be the oldest surviving building still standing in contemporary Broadstairs, and within its modern content is all that remains of the Medieval Shrine of 'Our Lady of Bradstowe'.

It is said that the Shrine and its Chapel were known to have existed even prior to the year 1070, as it was in that year the old Saxon Church of St. Peter's, then a wooden structure, rebuilt with stone and flint. The original building contained a replica of what was even then the famous shrine of 'Our Ladye of Bradstowe', but seems then to have been moved to a private manor even closer to the shoreline than the surviving portion of the present building. The Shrine of the Culmer Chapel, a statue probably derived from the figure of the Virgin Mary, mounted on a tall column, was so positioned that it faced seaward. It thus stood outside in the Chapel garden before the cliffs. The Chapel being the gathering place for the maritime community in Broadstairs has by this virtue alone an interesting history. The tradition maintained by the Royal Navy of 'showing the flag' at seaside towns to uphold the morale of the Navy is said to have its origins in a service held at the Bradstowe Chapel in 1514 with the crew of the 'Henry Grace a Dieu'8 in attendance, whilst the largest and latest addition to the King's Fleet was moored nearby.

During the 1520's a severe storm lasting several days, cumulating in a huge tidal wave, swept into `Viking Bay' and was so fierce that it utterly destroyed the Shrine, badly damaging the Chapel itself. In 1601 the owner of the Chapel and the estate upon which it stood was Sir John Culmer, one of the first Congregationalist pioneers9, it was he who had ordered the Chapel (and its Shrine) restored. Restoration in those dark times paid little heed to the integrity of the existing structure, consequently, and although much of the original material was reused in the restoration, the new Chapel was said to be not so picturesque as the original. It is well that some of the original ancient wall, a doorway and window have survived in the renovated structure.

The first Pastor in 1601 was Joel Culmer. It had been for some years even then the tradition of ships passing at Thanet to lower their topsail in salutation to the Shrine and Chapel, which was though to bring a good fate to the passage of the ship. This had been the tradition until at least 1514, when Trinity House took over such duties for coastal towns and village's to display some kind of beacon on the high points of their coastline as a warning against the potential hazard's locally known to shipping, thus in medieval times the Chapel of St. Mary was known as `The Chapel of Blue Light' ~ for its light was given out into the dark seas through a blue glass lantern. The Shrine was at some stage, probably 1601 placed in side the Chapel, and for thereafter local seamen came to refer to it as `The Weeping Virgin.' Hot weather is said to have caused humidity and thus condensation in the Chapel, which settled on the face of the Shrine, and caused the figure to appear in the countenance of the Virgin, weeping. This effect was considered by religious mariners to be a bad omen, as a storm would often follow, atmospheric changes indicated in the Chapel were thus a good rough guide to those who would face the perils of the sea.

9~ The early Congregationalists at Broadstairs embraced St. Mary's as their place of Worship until the 1880's when the Chapel was occupied by a Baptist mission until 1899. St. Mary's Chapel was next leased to the Plymouth Brethren in 1924, having been closed up during the Great War. Thereafter it was sold to the Church of England, with the reservation of a sum of eleven pounds per annum still payable to the Congregationalist Union (the United Reform Church), as a condition of the sale.

“On a fine summers day, shortly before low water, there will be a flat calm between Deal and the Sands. A boat will put out, and as it approaches the Sands, it will suddenly be found to be rising and falling in deep troughs of sea. In front there will be a clearly defined oval with a white rim. As the Sands are neared, it can be seen that this rim is formed by waves breaking backwards, forwards, upwards and sideways. Inside the oval with its boiling perimeter are the brown sands on which seagulls rest, and from which masts and rusted funnels emerge. Yet all around beyond the immediate edge of the Sands, the sea will retain it's flat calm.

Captain John Pett, a brother of that famous Shipwright Phineas Pett came to grief upon these sands in October 1624 during a `wonderful great storm', in which sundry ships also vanished in the Downs, the King's ship upon which he was a passenger lost her rudder in collision with another vessel and barely escaped utter loss, but was able to get off and safely into the downs.11 In 1675 the Chaplain Henry Teonage, whilst on board one of His Majesties Ships, entered into his diary an account of an event that he had witnessed on the beach at Deal clearly demonstrating the determination of the Deal boatmen in the saving of life. Teonage reported a curious form of artificial respiration that was being applied to a man that had been `hauled out, and there lay on the stones for dead'..

Whilst, during the intervening years, such as later in 1690 `The Vanguard,' a 90 gun `Man O' War' struck the sands, but was fortunate enough to be got off by the boatmen of Deal. However between the 24th and 27th of November 1703, the Great Storm of that year raged like an angry god! Besides the spires of Churches, Windmills and an estimated 40,000 trees were blown asunder. A minimum of 13 `Men o' War' were wrecked on the Downs, with the loss of 2,168 lives and 708 gun, including the Sailors of 40 merchant vessels that were subsequently lost, wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, and yet, to their great credit, the Deal boatmen were able to rescue 200 wanton and wretched men from this ordeal.

The Great Storm otherwise described as `the tempest that destroyed woods and forests all over England' resulted in large scale flooding, and the devastation of uncounted buildings, including the Eddystone Lighthouse, which was completely blown down. In total this storm was reported to have sank an inestimable count of ships and boats. The Thames estuary took the brunt of the full force of the Gale and in London, over one million pound's worth of damage was recorded. The maritime community at Greenwich and Deptford was seriously afflicted by this perhaps the worst storm to be visited upon these Isles during its long recorded history, and, as at Thanet, it was the terrible toll in lives lost at sea that most shook the town. Of the Naval vessels sunk the `Northumberland' and the `Restoration' were both Deptford built, and, from there locally manned, they were lost with all hands; also built at Deptford in 1697 by Master Pett was the 1097 ton, 70 gun, Third rate `Stirling Castle' about which conflicting reports state that during the storm she lost either 206 of her crew of 276, or 379 of her compliment of 446? The Woolwich Forth rate `Mary' was totally overwhelmed with the loss of 343 men, and the boom ship `Mortar' was lost with all of her crew of sixty-five.