Isle of Sheppey Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. "Sheppey" is derived from Old English "Sceapig", meaning "Sheep Island". Today's island was historically known as the "Isles of Sheppey" which were Sheppey itself, the Isle of Harty to the south east and the Isle of Elmley to the south west. Over time the channels between the islands have silted up to make one continuous island. Sheppey, like
Estuary English it to be a working-class accent, but it is often used by lower middle classes as well. In the debate that surrounded a 1993 article about Estuary English, a London businessman claimed that RP was perceived as unfriendly and so Estuary English was now preferred for commercial purposes. Some people adopt the accent as a means of "blending in" to appear to be more working class or in an attempt to appear to be "a common man". That affectation of the accent is sometimes derisively referred to as "Mockney". A move away from traditional RP accents is almost universal among