It covers some 100 square miles (260 km2) of land, and stretches from Hythe in the north east to Fairlight in the south west.

To some extent, it is protected from the English Channel on its south and east sides by large banks of shingle, consisting of flint pebbles, but these are constantly being altered by wave action.

[1] The gaps between the shingle banks have been plugged with sea walls, built over centuries, without which most of the area would quickly revert to salt marsh.

[8] The charter allowed the Bailiff, Jurats and Commonality of the Marsh of Romney to levy rates, called scots, on occupants of the area to pay for maintaining the land drainage and sea defences, and this practice continued until 1932.

Subsequently, commissions dealing with a number of other areas of marshland in England commanded that they should be managed according to the laws and customs of Romney Marsh.

[10] Edward IV[a] issued another charter to Romney Marsh Corporation in 1462, to introduce liberties which would enable the population to increase, as the area had become depopulated.

The ruling body became known as the Lords, Bailiff, Jurats and Commonalty of the Level and Liberty of Romney Marsh, and they were empowered to raise taxes in addition to the scots.

This act created Commissions of Sewers in all of the marshlands of England, apart from Romney Marsh, where the existing system worked so well that the Lords, Bailiff and Jurats continued to manage the land as they had previously done.