Dr Syn: Vicar by Day, Smuggler by Night
It is no wonder I was obsessed with literature when I grew up in Dymchurch, the host of one of the most fantastic pirate stories ever told.
Mention the South East of England, and one of the features of significance is the White Cliffs of Dover. This outstanding landmark has been in several films. It is an image that is synonymous with arriving in England.
Mention a character of the South East, and sooner or later, someone will mention Dr Syn. Dr Syn was a vicar by day and a smuggler by night. He operated out of Dymchurch-under-the-wall.
The Romney Marsh had a close link with smuggling during the 17th and 18th centuries. The coast is very close to the continent, and a short boat trip between the two meant goods were smuggled easily.
Smuggling of tobacco and alcohol was a prevalent occupation during these times. Boats could be found bringing their contraband ashore. The Hawkhurst Gang was the most notorious of the time.
The Birth of Dr Syn
Dr Syn was a smuggler whose boat ran into problems in the channel. In sight of Dymchurch, he waded ashore and took on the persona of the local vicar. The previous vicar had drowned whilst trying to save other passengers from the boat. Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn was also the alias for Captain Clegg.
The local mist aided the smugglers to travel through the countryside. They were sometimes observed as ghostly figures as the mist swirled around their feet. The mist still occurs today.
The smuggling gang used to run the contraband under the marsh using a network of secret tunnels and clandestine meeting places. Tunnels run under Dymchurch to aid the smugglers. One of these was from The Ship Inn. Visitors can verify this for themselves as there is still a door marking the entrance to this tunnel.
A second tunnel was said to run from the church to the sexton’s house, Old Tree Cottage. Under the fireplace was a hollow stone which could have been an entrance to a tunnel. The house also had its share of strange noises and phenomena. It was a house steeped in history and where my obsession with mystery started, as it was my childhood home for sixteen years.
Further evidence is held in the local church, which has nothing listed under the name of vicars between 1776 and 1793, the years Dr Syn was said to haunt the marsh.
The Truth About the Smuggler
The legend of Dr Syn was the concept of the writer Russell Thorndike. His first book, published in 1915, was called Dr Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh. It is the only book in the collection that has been republished.
Thorndike first thought of the smuggling vicar during a tour of America with his sister. Whilst on holiday, a body was dumped below their hotel room window. Unable to leave the room and unable to sleep, the siblings started telling each other stories. This is where Thorndike first introduced the character of Dr Syn.
Thorndike based Dr Syn in Dymchurch, as he had purchased several houses there. His main house was the house I grew up in, Old Tree Cottage.
However, the facts I stated above are accurate; there is a door and a passage in the pub, the vicar isn’t listed, and under our fireplace was a hollow stone that even my father was frightened of moving.
Dr Syn Today
The first Dr Syn novel was so famous that Thorndike went on to write another six. There are also three film adaptations and a mini-series made by Disney. Although Thorndike wrote several other novels, none proved as famous as his Dr Syn books.
The popularity of Dr Syn has never died. In November 2008, Dr Syn the Scarecrow of the Marsh was released on DVD—the copies of the film adaptation sold out within three weeks. Dr Syn has also appeared in the comic book The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. If you are lucky enough to own edition two of the comic, The Scarecrow, Dr Syn appears.
Locals in Dymchurch celebrate this character in a bi-yearly festival. Visitors at the festival will witness a re-enactment of the capture of Dr Syn. Arrested on the beach, he is then paraded through the high street.
Local people play all the characters in the re-enactment.
How much of Dr Syn was fiction, and how much was local folklore no one knows? Russell Thorndike may have heard tales of smuggling in The Ship Inn and included them in his books, but to what extent remains a mystery, which he took to his grave in 1972.
To this day, it is not hard to imagine smugglers riding the marsh when the mist settles and swirls around your legs. On cold nights, if you listen very carefully, you can still hear the sound of horses running. I should know. I heard them.