When I moved to Kent and saw horses grazing on patches of land everywhere from Abbey Wood down to Dover I was fascinated. I wondered who they belonged to and what their history was. Matt’s from Kent but knew very little about the horses. We sensed they had an interesting history. Little did we know it would take some uncovering.  | | Kent horses |
Initial research on the internet revealed that Dartford, Crayford and Erith marshes had once been part of a huge, ancient marshland. Then we discovered that the grazing of horses on the marsh went back to the time of Henry VIII. He granted the land by Royal Charter to the Gypsies who grazed and bred horses there. Henry VIII then bought horses from the Gypsies for his army and carriages. Now we had the beginnings of our story for Untold South East. Talking to the owners of the horses grazing on the Crossness Nature Reserve, local historian John Wylie and the London Wildlife Trust filled in the rest. As well as finding out how the horses came to be living surrounded by the tower blocks and warehouses of urban North Kent, we wanted our film to show how they and the traditional (Romany Gypsy) way of life they represent are under constant threat from further development. The horses were the stars of the occasion. The older ones were happy to let us get close for filming but a young foal managed to chew through Matt’s jeans while he wasn’t looking. | 
