Goodwin Sands
Preserved but no longer current.
It is said that these dangerous sandbanks, stretching about 10 miles NE. and SW. some 5£ miles off the Kentish coast, consisted at one time of about 4,000 acres of low land (Lomea, the Infera Insula of the Romans) fenced from the sea by a wall, and belonging to Earl Godwin.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Goodwin Sands” mean?
It is said that these dangerous sandbanks, stretching about 10 miles NE. and SW. some 5£ miles off the Kentish coast, consisted at one time of about 4,000 acres of low land (Lomea, the Infera Insula of the Romans) fenced from the sea by a wall, and belonging to Earl Godwin.
Is “Goodwin Sands” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.