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49-480: Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve near the town of Hythe in Kent , England is set in 600 acres (2.4 km) and incorporates the historic Port Lympne Mansion , and landscaped gardens designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker , for Sir Philip Sassoon . The estate with an Edwardian mansion near Lympne was purchased in 1973 by John Aspinall ; the intent was to solve lack of space at the nearby Howletts Wild Animal Park . It

98-503: A church property until the reign of Henry VIII , when Hythe and Saltwood were to be sequestrated to the Crown, suggests that some complicity by the baron Rranulf de Broc was possible in the murder of Becket. It was during this time at Saltwood, on 28 December 1170, that four knights plotted Becket's death the following day. Hugh de Moreville was one of the knights, along with Reginald Fitzurse , William de Tracey and Richard le Breton . From

147-890: A gauge of 15 inches (380 mm) and the track is nearly 14 miles (23 km) long. During the Second World War the service transported the Operation Pluto pipeline. Hythe is represented in Parliament as part of the Folkestone and Hythe constituency in the House of Commons . Hythe has a Non-League football club, Hythe Town F.C. who play at the Reachfields Stadium. Folkestone & Hythe Operatic & Dramatic Society owns

196-519: A million acres in Africa and turned the area into a park in an attempt to protect gorillas whose numbers have been declining due to the loss of habitat and poaching. The Foundation's website however, clarifies this: "The Aspinall Foundation is working with the governments of the Congo-Brazzaville and the neighbouring state of Gabon to protect around one million acres within the unique savannah ecosystem of

245-553: A similar tower at Mortella Point in Corsica which the Navy had captured from the French. Although never needed for their original purpose they were later used to combat smuggling and also acted as signalling stations and coastal defences during the two world wars. Three of the towers survive at Hythe; one was converted to a house in the 1930s and can be seen along West Parade, and the other two are on

294-507: A type of beer first brewed in 1909, which went on to become a national brand. Mackeson stout is no longer brewed locally but is produced under contract by one of the major national brewers. Hythe Ranges is a military training ground that takes up a large section of the Hythe shoreline. Access to this section of the shore is restricted when red flags are showing. The Royal Military Canal runs across

343-461: Is a market town and civil parish on the edge of Romney Marsh in Kent , England. Hythe is an Old English word meaning haven or landing place. The town has mediaeval and Georgian buildings, as well as a Saxon / Norman church on the hill and a Victorian seafront promenade . Hythe was once defended by two castles, Saltwood and Lympne . Hythe Town Hall , a neoclassical style building,

392-547: Is a safari park toured in open-sided trucks, divided into South American, Asian and African safari sections. Nearly 90 different species of animals are kept at the 600 acre Park. Palace of the Apes is the world's largest gorillarium, housing a large breeding troop. In late 2018, the Park announced the death of Britain's oldest gorilla, Babydoll, who died at age 57. At the time, a news report stated that Damian Aspinall, "whose father John created

441-470: Is the community radio station for Hythe and Romney Marsh and has been broadcasting since 7th March 2022 replacing Shoreline FM, now an online service, which had been broadcasting on 100.2FM from January 2020. Academy FM 105.9FM, the community radio station for Folkestone can also be received in parts of Hythe. Hythe FM on 95.1FM was a restricted service radio licensed station which broadcast for several years during

490-516: The Black Death afflicted Hythe, and in 1400 the plague further reduced the population. Hythe has no coat of arms; however, the corporation seal represents an antique vessel with one mast, two men in it (one blowing a horn) and two men lying on the yard arm. Hythe was the home of the Mackeson Brewery, which after changes of ownership, closed in 1968. It was the birthplace of Mackeson Stout ,

539-581: The Tower Theatre at Shorncliffe . It is a charitable organisation which performs several shows a year. Hythe has two paid-for newspapers, the "Folkestone and Hythe Express" (published by the KM Media Group) every Wednesday and the "Folkestone Herald" (published by Kent Regional News and Media). KentOnline.co.uk (published by the KM Media Group) also has a dedicated website for Hythe news. Free newspapers for

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588-479: The 20-bedroom Giraffe Hall. Opened in 2016 to coincide with the park's 40th birthday, the Dinosaur Forest spans three acres of ancient woodland, and features over 100 life sized and anatomically correct models. Rangers discuss the animal kingdom of millions of years ago. Visitors are invited to dig for fossils and try the "create your own dinosaur" activity. Port Lympne houses many rare and endangered species and

637-567: The Aspinall's casino empire, has dedicated his life to gorilla conservation". The park has a small exhibition area called the Discovery Zone, home to a variety of smaller species, including meerkats , pygmy marmosets , Madagascar hissing cockroaches , plumed basilisks , false water cobras , Australian green tree frogs , green tree pythons and several species of tortoise and tarantula . The BBC children's television series Roar

686-649: The Batéké Plateau. ... We have reintroduced over 60 gorillas back into the wild, including 22 who travelled from our Parks in Kent". In a 2016 interview, Aspinall added that "we've reintroduced eight black rhinos into the wild" presumably, all born in Kent. A BBC report in 2014 stated that the Foundation managed two gorilla rescue and rehabilitation projects in Gabon and Congo, respectively. A subsequent report stated that five of ten of

735-606: The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (gorillafund.org). Through the Digit Fund, Fossey financed patrols to destroy poachers' traps among the mountains of Virunga. In four months in 1979, the Fossey patrol consisting of four African staffers destroyed 987 poachers' traps in the research area's vicinity. The official Rwandan national park guards, consisting of 24 staffers, did not catch any poachers' traps during

784-414: The Digit Fund to raise money for anti-poaching patrols. It was renamed to the "Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International" in 1992. Fossey mostly opposed the efforts of the international organizations, which she felt inefficiently directed their funds towards more equipment for Rwandan park officials, some of whom were alleged to have ordered some of the gorilla poachings in the first place. She commented on

833-715: The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports held his court for Shepway, and it is referred to as the "Shepway Cross". In fact the Shepway Cross is a civic war memorial erected in 1923. It was placed on the top of Lympne Hill because that was traditionally the site of the Court of Shepway. Shepway Cross was paid for and unveiled in August 1923 by Earl Beauchamp, the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson , attended

882-878: The UK including the Fauna Preservation Society (FPS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature , which declined Fossey's request in favor of supporting an approach emphasizing tourism to Rwanda. At Wrangham's request, FPS launched an appeal in response to Digit's death, which the group subsequently named the Mountain Gorilla Fund for better name recognition; FPS chose to direct the funds to Rwandan park officials rather than Fossey's on-the-ground efforts. Fossey became frustrated as many international donors contributed funds in memory of Digit that were directed by international conservation organizations towards

931-658: The UK's largest herd of black rhinos. The facility also plans to release some of the animals into the wild. Royalty and many other famous people have stayed at the mansion at the centre of the park. The rooms are lavishly decorated and the landscaped gardens have views of Romney Marsh . Other accommodations are also provided in the Park, some in Lion Lodge, Tiger Lodge, Bear Lodge (glamping), Rhino Lodge, Treehouse Hotel, The Bubble, Hogdeer Creek, Giraffe Cottage, Giraffe Lodge (glamping), Pinewood (glamping), Wolf Lodge and Forest Hideaway. The latest accommodation options are Lion Lodge and

980-506: The auspices of AWLF, not the Digit Fund. The US ambassador to Rwanda submitted a proposal in 1980 for Karisoke Research Center to be removed from Fossey's control and placed under a mountain gorilla consortium led by AWLF while Fossey was in America finishing her book. While she had lost control of funds raised in Britain after Digit's death to the Fauna Preservation Society, Fossey managed to keep

1029-697: The beach and are owned by the Ministry of Defence . Geologically, the town developed on a succession of non-parallel terraces, rising from the level ground around the Royal Canal (previously named the Royal Military Canal) towards the steep incline upon which the parish church of St Leonard was built. From the High Street, alleys lead up to the steeper levels of the town. Hythe was once defended by two castles, Saltwood and Lympne . Saltwood derives its name from

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1078-551: The ceremony. The memorial now shows signs of decay. The lettering denoting the monument's true purpose is hardly legible. The School of Musketry was established in Hythe in 1853. Hythe is the northern terminus of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway , running third-scale steam and diesel locomotives. The track runs parallel to the coast through Dymchurch and New Romney to Dungeness . The founders were Captain J Howey and Count Louis Zborowski . It opened in 1927. The trains run on

1127-469: The construction of roads or the purchase of new vehicles for park conservation officials, who in many cases were bribed by poachers to look the other way from illegal activities and, according to Fossey, rarely ventured into the park at all. When payments for Fossey's articles on Digit's death were accidentally directed to the FPS Mountain Gorilla Fund rather than to her, FPS declined to redirect

1176-660: The control of the Digit Fund in the United States until her death. After Fossey was murdered, the Digit Fund was renamed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and remained headquartered in the UK until the summer of 2006, when the UK and US branches split: the UK organization was briefly renamed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Europe then The Gorilla Organization , (gorillas.org) and the US side of the organization became

1225-426: The course of 300 years, has now disappeared due to silting. Hythe was the central Cinque Port, sitting between Hastings and New Romney to the west and Dover and Sandwich to the east. According to Hasted , a French fleet approached Hythe in 1293 and landed 200 men, but "the townsmen came upon them and slew every one of them: upon which the rest of the fleet hoisted sail and made no further attempt". In 1348,

1274-485: The gorillas released in 2014 had been found dead soon after, possibly due to attacks by other gorillas. Tara Stoinski of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund made this comment on the television program 60 Minutes (aired 15 March 2015): "I think that humans have a very romantic notion of what the wild is like, and the wild is not a place where it is safe, and animals get to roam free and make choices". She wonders about

1323-553: The head of the nonprofit African Wildlife Leadership Foundation , to serve as secretary-treasurer of the Digit Fund until she could find a salaried executive director to assume control over the operations. McIlvaine partnered with the International Primate Protection League , the Digit Fund, and his own African Wildlife Leadership Foundation asking for funds, to be made out to the AWLF. The Digit Fund received none of

1372-411: The largest breeding herd of black rhinos in the UK. There are small cats, monkeys, tapirs, lions, painted dogs and many more, some of which are on the circular walk. The zoo has an 'African Experience' safari trail where visitors are transported on specially modified vehicles around the park to view giraffe , zebra , antelope and wildebeest . In 2000, a 27-year-old keeper was killed whilst working in

1421-480: The light railway thence across Romney Marsh to Winchelsea. Its 26-mile length can be walked. Also built around the same time as a defence against possible invasion by Napoleon were the Martello Towers . In total, 74 of these towers were built between Folkestone and Seaford . The walls were up to 13 ft (4 m) thick, and each tower held 24 men and had a huge cannon mounted on the top. They were named after

1470-427: The moment Hythe came under Crown control, the senior official of the town was also a bailiff appointed by the Crown. This state of affairs (uniquely for a Cinque Port) remained until 1575 when Elizabeth I gave the town control of its affairs. The last Crown bailiff, John Bredgman, became the first mayor. A brass inscription bearing his name remains in the parish church, dated 1581. A monumental cross now indicates what

1519-705: The money towards Fossey or her initiative. To coordinate donations to Rwandan authorities, FPS enlisted Fossey's former student and apprentice and one of her chief detractors, Sandy Harcourt. On her first trip to the United States after the poachings of Group 4, Fossey enlisted the aid of the National Geographic Society , which pledged $ 5,000, as did the World Wildlife Fund , over the objections of some of its members who had heard rumors of Fossey's anti-poaching patrols and other tactics she used against poaching. Fossey asked her friend Robinson McIlvaine ,

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1568-407: The money, and McIlvaine suggested to Fossey that the Digit Fund could be folded into AWLF, which Fossey declined; McIlvaine resigned as secretary-treasurer of the Digit Fund. Dr. Shirley McGreal, head of the International Primate Protection League (IPPL), had allowed IPPL's co-sponsorship of the letter only to help the Digit Fund and blames the misunderstanding on Fossey being taken advantage of in

1617-468: The northern edge of the marsh, to Winchelsea . Running under Stade Street, the canal, intended to repel invasion during the Napoleonic wars of 1804 to 1815, gives central Hythe its character. Now shaded by trees, the canal, 10 yards wide, passes into the marsh from the middle of the town. The canal begins at Seabrook and runs through Hythe. It follows the original haven that was once Hythe's harbour as far as

1666-551: The park to focus on its breeding African elephants. Three cows have been moved from Howletts Wild Animal Park , followed soon after by a bull named Kruger from Knowsley Safari Park. Howletts is home to the UK's largest herd of African elephants. In 2022 Port Lympne became the only zoo in Europe to house 3 species of rhino including the Black Rhino, White Rhino and Indian Rhino. According to a U.S. report, Damian Aspinall had purchased about

1715-426: The poachers' dogs, allowing the other 13 members of his group to escape. Digit was decapitated, and his hands cut off for an ashtray, for the price of US$ 20 (equivalent to $ 101 in 2023). After his mutilated body was discovered by research assistant Ian Redmond, Fossey's group captured one of the killers. He revealed the names of his five accomplices, three of whom were later imprisoned. Fossey subsequently created

1764-519: The profound effect that Digit's death had had on her approach to conservationism: "I have tried not to allow myself to think of Digit's anguish, pain and the total comprehension he must have suffered in knowing what humans were doing to him. From that moment on, I came to live within an insulated part of myself." Busy with her research in Africa, Fossey enlisted the help of her friends, primatologist Richard Wrangham and TV presenter David Attenborough , who approached conservation organizations located in

1813-420: The stall of a female Indian elephant called La Petite. In 2015, the Park moved its herd of Asian elephants following numerous deaths amongst them related to a persistent outbreak of a strain of herpes virus found in captive elephant populations. In 2005, after many years of stillbirths, two infant mortalities, and several premature adult fatalities, the first surviving mother-reared calf, Sittang, succumbed to

1862-571: The stress caused by "a hazardous journey", low temperatures at night in Africa, as well as "unfamiliar surroundings, foraging for food, predators and illness". Some concern was also expressed about water quality and the risk of conflict with the human population. The Foundation replied with a statement that it "has a 30-year history of successful rewilding projects around the globe". The park is split into two sections; one allows visitors to walk around (or use golf buggies) to view animals in enclosures, such as primates and carnivores like big cats. The other

1911-578: The time of the Hythe Venetian Fete. The people behind Hythe FM have now started broadcasting online since May 2022. Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Sometime during the day on New Year's Eve 1977, Fossey's favourite gorilla, Digit, was killed by poachers. As the sentry of study group 4, he defended the group against six poachers and their dogs, who ran across the gorilla study group while checking antelope traplines. Digit took five spear wounds in ferocious self-defense and managed to kill one of

1960-558: The town include the Folkestone and Hythe Extra , part of the KM Group; and yourshepway , part of KOS Media . It also has a paid-for monthly magazine "Folkestone, Hythe & Romney Life". A new free community/lifestyle magazine for Hythe, "Hythe Life Magazine" launched in the summer of 2014. The local radio station for Hythe is KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country . Cinque Ports Radio 100.2FM

2009-548: The value of sending zoo-born animals to Africa and believes that it would be wiser for Aspinall to use his funds to save gorillas already in the wild. In a 2016 interview, Aspinall blamed one gorilla that the Foundation had released for killing the five others. He also complained about the negative publicity about the event. "What about the 60 we released that survived? There's no glory if you get it right. We get no press, no publicity – but boy, if anything goes wrong, they jump on you." The Park has also introduced other animals into

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2058-531: The village in its shadow. During the reign of King Canute the manor of Saltwood was granted to the priory of Christ Church in Canterbury , but during the 12th century it became the home of Henry d'Essex, constable of England. Thomas Becket had sought from King Henry II restoration of the castle as an ecclesiastical palace. Henry instead granted the castle to Ranulf de Broc . That the castle had been returned to Becket, as Archbishop of Canterbury , and remained

2107-528: The virus. This incident occurred one month after an adult female produced a stillborn calf and also perished. Port Lympne's remaining calf, May Tagu, who was born in April 2005, was transferred to Antwerp Zoo following the spate of deaths, along with her mother and one other cow. The remaining adults were moved to Terra Natura in Benidorm, Spain, where many other former Port Lympne elephants reside. This move has allowed

2156-415: The wake of her gorillas' deaths and never viewing the gorillas' deaths as a way for her to personally profit. McGreal volunteered to serve as secretary-treasurer in the wake of McIlvaine's resignation from the post. Through the seeming partnership of AWLF/Digit Fund, funds contributed to the Digit Fund by philanthropist Gordon Hanes and by students under the supervision of primatologist Geza Teleki came under

2205-581: The wild. However, a black rhino (called Zambezi), that was born and raised at the Park, died while being flown to Tanzania in June 2019. The rhino was part of a plan to repopulate the Serengeti . In 2022, the Aspinall Foundation announced that 13 elephants, born in captivity, would be returned to Africa, for release in the wilds of Kenya. Some experts questioned the wisdom of this strategy, citing issues such as

2254-536: Was completed in 1794. Hythe's market once took place in Market Square (now Red Lion Square) close to where there is now a farmers' market every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Hythe has gardening, horse riding, bowling, tennis, cricket, football, squash and sailing clubs. Lord Deedes was once patron of Hythe Civic Society. As an important Cinque Port , Hythe once possessed a bustling harbour which, over

2303-497: Was filmed at both Port Lympne and Howletts Wild Animal Park , and was broadcast on BBC Two and the CBBC channel. The programmes went behind the scenes at the two parks, following the keepers as they tended to the animals. Those listed in italics contain more than 5000 animals 51°4′34″N 0°59′58″E  /  51.07611°N 0.99944°E  / 51.07611; 0.99944 Hythe, Kent Hythe ( / ˈ h aɪ ð / )

2352-646: Was from 1358 a meeting place of the confederation of the Cinque ports, several miles west of Hythe, known then as "the Shepway crossroads". Shepway cross, erected in 1923, the monument to the Court of Shepway, is beside the Hythe to Lympne road (B2067). The lathe of Shepway was the Saxon name for south-east Kent, roughly corresponding with the modern District of Shepway, comprising Folkestone, Hythe, Romney Marsh and nearby villages as far north as Elham. Many think this monument marks where

2401-425: Was opened to the public in 1976. Since 1984 the animal parks have been owned by a charity (The John Aspinall Foundation , currently led by Damian Aspinall ). The collection is known for being unorthodox, for the encouragement of close personal relationships between staff and animals, and for their breeding of rare and endangered species . The park now includes tigers, lions, leopards, gorillas, bears, giraffes and

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