Discover

'Dover' is a major channel port in the English county of Kent. At the 2001 census, the town of Dover proper had a population of 28,156 inhabitants, while the population of the whole urban area of Dover, as calculated by the Office for National Statistics, was 39,078 inhabitants.^[1] The town is the administrative centre of the Dover district.
Dover is famous for its white cliffs, which are made of chalk. The cliffs gave Britain its nickname of ''Albion'', meaning "white". The town's name derives from the Brythonic ''Dubrās'' ("the waters"), via its Latinized form of ''Dubris''.
Its closeness to continental Europe – it is only 34 kilometres (21 miles) from the French port of Calais – makes Dover one of the United Kingdom's busiest cross-Channel ports, with 18 million passengers passing through each year. Regular ferry services operate from Dover to Calais and Dunkerque. A regular catamaran service to Boulogne recommenced in May 2004. Catamaran services provided by Hoverspeed to Ostend were withdrawn in 2003, and to Calais on 7 November 2005. Hoverspeed had previously operated hovercraft services to and from Calais and Boulogne for many years.
Dover is represented in Parliament by the Labour MP Gwyn Prosser.
Since 1836 the town of Dover (originally being the two parishes of Dover St. Mary's and Dover St. James) has incorporated the ancient villages and parishes of Buckland and Charlton. These are now suburbs of the town.
Most of the western half of the town is in Hougham parish and a small part of the eastern section and Dover Castle are in Guston parish
'Maxton' was once a hamlet of Hougham parish to the west of Dover, and the terminus of the tramway system serving the town until its closure in 1936. It is now a suburb of the town.

Contents

History

Bronze Age

Roman

Anglo-Saxon and Norman, to 1200

Medieval

Tudors

Stuarts

Napoleonic Wars

19th century

20th century

Education

Sport

Places of interest

Famous Residents

Health Care

Local Media

Newspapers

Local Radio

Internet

Earthquake

Mayors

Twin Towns

References

Notes

General references

External links

Bibliography

Gallery

History

As the closest point in Britain to France, Dover has been strategically important, vulnerable to invasion and an important port for millennia.

Bronze Age

Main articles: Bronze Age#Bronze Age boats

In 1992, a waterlogged boat was discovered in a depth of 6 m that dates to the Bronze Age and is one of the oldest seagoing vessels ever recovered. It has been dated by the radiocarbon method to ca. 1550 BC.
The Langdon Bay hoard, discovered in 1974 off the Dover coast, contains bronze axes of a French type and may represent the cargo of a sunken vessel, thus demonstrating cross-channel trade already for the Bronze Age, if not earlier. Both the Langdon hoard and Dover's bronze age boat are on display in a new purpose-built gallery of the Dover Museum in Market Square.

Roman

Main articles: Dubris

In Roman times it became an important fortified port, named ''Portus Dubris''. Dover was the starting point of the Watling Street Roman road, and was an important harbour of the Classis Britannica.
In around AD 50 the Romans built two lighthouses, one on either side of the then-river-estuary (now silted-up), one on the Western Heights whose few remains are now within the Drop Redoubt, and the other which still stands to its full height in the grounds of Dover Castle, making it one of the oldest buildings in Britain. The "Painted House" is a Roman mansio from about AD 200 and one of the best preserved Roman houses in Britain. On the same site and nearby there is also a Classis Britannica fort and the Saxon Shore Fort which was built over them both.

Anglo-Saxon and Norman, to 1200

After the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, William the conqueror (or William the Bastard as he is known in Kent) and his forces marched to Westminster Abbey for his coronation. They took a roundabout route, via Romney, Dover, Canterbury, Surrey and Berkshire. From the Cinque Ports's foundation in 1050, Dover has always been a chief member - it may also have been this that first attracted William's attention, and got Kent the motto of Invicta. In the words of William of Poitiers:
:Then he marched to Dover, which had been reported impregnable and held by a large force. The English, stricken with fear at his approach had confidence neither in their ramparts nor in the numbers of their troops ... While the inhabitants were preparing to surrender unconditionally, [the Normans], greedy for booty, set fire to the castle and the great part of it was soon enveloped in flames...[William then paid for the repair and] having taken possession of the castle, the Duke spent eight days adding new fortifications to it'.
Quote taken from "The Kent Invicta Horse" webpage (Invicta Horse)

"The "Invicta" motto is associated with the story of the Treaty of Swanscombe in 1067: according to local legend, William the Bastard, having seized the English throne, was travelling to Dover when he was met by the Cantware (the People of Kent). They demanded from him their ancient laws and rights, in which case he would have their loyalty, or else "battle most deadly". William granted the request, and Kent acceded to his reign by treaty, hence getting the motto "Invicta"
(unconquered). I have lived in Kent all my life, and can vouch for the fact that William is never styled "Conqueror" by anyone native to the County.
Karl Wittwer, 24 July 2004"

Archaeological evidence suggests that a new castle was constructed near the Saxon church of St. Mary in Castro in what is now Dover Castle, rather than or as well as repairing the old burgh.
The Domesday Book of only 20 years later states that before the conquest Dover's value had been £18 but was now £40. Clearly Dover had quickly been rebuilt.
The Normans also built the churches of St Mary the Virgin, Dover (on the foundations of a Roman structure - it still stands) and of St. James the Apostle (as an aisleless nave with a short tower - perhaps on the site of a Saxon church partly destroyed in 1066 - destroyed in World War Two, ruins visible) and reconstituted the Saxon monastic church of St Martin le Grand, as well as founding a new Dover Priory on another site, also dedicated to St. Martin. Several surviving buildings and various ruins of Dover Priory have been incorporated in to Dover College

Medieval

St Martin le Grand dominated Market Square, being over 150 feet long. It housed the altars of three parish churches; St. Mary, St. Nicholas and St. John the Baptist and had the churches of St. Peter and St. James subordinate to it. The church was finally dismantled around 1540 although the remains of some of the walls survived into the 19th century.
In 1216, Dover was attacked by the French and successfully defended from Dover Castle by Hubert de Burgh - it was less lucky in 1295 when 10,000 French burnt most of Dover to the ground. It nevertheless flourished as the closest port to the continent.
Medieval buildings:

★ Maison Dieu

Tudors

Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, both threatened by continental invasion,also made improvements to Dover's defences, both the castle and Moat Bulwark (making a personal visit to the castle to do so).

Stuarts

During the Civil War Dover declared for the king but was captured by the Parliamentarians without a siege. Charles II landed here in 1660 at the restoration, deputizing Bernard de Gomme to make extensive repairs to the pier. On May 26, 1670, Charles II signed a secret treaty here ending the hostilities with Louis XIV of France.

Napoleonic Wars

Dover became a garrison town heavily defended against the threat of French invasion. Napoleon's troops, gathered at Boulogne, could be seen from Dover on a clear day.
At first earthen batteries were built along the seafront and across the Western Heights (to supplement the medieval castle, which had been superseded by developments in military technology and artillery). These were later improved in 1804 with a massive building programme in stone and brick on the Western Heights, creating two cutting-edge forts, deep brick-lined ditches, and the Grand Shaft, a unique triple staircase, linking the town to the forts and enabling troops from the hilltop barracks to be rapidly deployed at the seafront.

19th century

Between 1801 and 1901 the population increased by 600 percent. The harbour was finally rebuilt as a set of artificial moles, and the town tried to become a seaside resort by building a pleasure pier, ice rink, bathing machines and impressive seafront crescents of hotels and apartments. The South Eastern Railway arrived in 1844 and cross-channel traffic boomed - the town were even combined with boat trains and the Golden Arrow service.

20th century

In the 20th century Dover became the centre of English Channel defence during World War I, as the base for the Dover Patrol.
In World War I it was, with Folkestone, one of the main troop embarkation ports for France. It was also bombed by aeroplanes and zeppelins (the first bomb to be dropped on England fell near Dover Castle on Christmas Eve 1914) and shelled by passing warships. This forced residents to shelter in caves and dug-outs. The town became known as 'Fortress Dover' and was put under martial law.
In World War II this developed into sustained bombing and shelling by cross-channel guns, causing 3,059 alerts, killing 216 civilians, and damaging 10,056 premises. A series of underground caves and tunnels in the cliffs were used as air-raid shelters (and as a military base, coordinating Operation Dynamo, whose ships landed at Dover) during the war and Dover became a wartime symbol as part of East Kent's 'Hellfire Corner'.
Defences were constructed as a part of anti-invasion preparations. The defences included a large number of pillboxes, trenchworks, minefields.^[2]

Education

★ Dover Grammar School for Boys Specialist Business College

★ Astor College for the Arts - the first specialist Arts College in Kent Astor College Website

★ Dover Grammar School for Girls

★ St Edmund's Roman Catholic School: Specialist College for the Performing Arts

★ Archers Court Maths and Computing College

★ South Kent College

★ Dover College

★ Duke of York's Royal Military School

★ The Harbour School
And various primary schools including:

★ Melbourne School

★ Temple Ewell

★ River

★ Guston

★ Priory Fields

★ St Martin's

★ St Richard's

★ St Mary's

★ White Cliffs Primary College of the Arts (Formerly known as St Radigund's)

★ Aycliffe

★ Vale View

★ Whitfield

★ Shatterlocks Infants School

★ Barton Junior School

★ Charlton Primary School

★ Powell CP School

Sport

★ Dover Athletic F.C. are Dover's football team. They are a non-league side.

★ Dover Life Guard Club are Dover's competitive swimming club.

★ Dover Sharks R.F.C. are Dover's competitive Rugby Union team. They are non- league.

★ Dover Rowing Club are Dover's competitive Rowing club

Places of interest

★ Dover Castle (Wikimapia)

★ Admiralty Pier Turret

★ Dover Western Heights

★ Fort Burgoyne

★ North Downs Way

★ Roman Painted House

★ Saxon Shore Way
Other interesting places:

★ Dover Transport Museum Dover Transport Mus Website

★ Dover Museum, and Bronze Age Boat Dover Museum Website

★ Kearsney Abbey

★ Russell Gardens

★ Samphire Hoe Nature Reserve

★ Cowgate Nature Reserve

★ Connaught Park

★ Seafront promenade

★ St Edmund's Chapel

★ Dover Port Dover Harbour Board

Famous Residents

★ Joss Stone: born Joscelyn Eve Stoker was born in Dover's Buckland Hospital in 1987 before moving to Ashill, Devon at the age of 8. Whilst in Dover she briefly attended St. Mary's CofE primary school.

★ Charlotte Bellamy: the actress who plays Laurel Potts in Emmerdale was born in Dover, but moved away when she was 18 months old.

★ Topper Headon: of 'The Clash' fame lived in Dover as a boy, and attended River Primary School and the Dover Boys' Grammar School. He now lives in River on the outskirts of Dover.

★ Shane Taylor: the actor was born and raised in Dover attending Dover's Astor College for the Arts where his father is the caretaker and groundsman.

★ Keith Thompson: writer of film 'Clubland/Introducing the Dwights' starring Brenda Blethyn born and raised in Dover.

★ Simon Cowell: of 'Pop Idol' & 'X Factor' fame attended Dover College during the 1970s.

★ Jeffrey Archer: of varied fame, taught as a Physical Education teacher at Dover College during the 1960s.

★ Bob Bolder: Former Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic goalkeeper was born in Dover.

Health Care

Dover has one hospital, Buckland Hospital located in a former Victorian workhouse on Coombe Valley Road. The town once had 4 hospitals, Buckland, Royal Victoria, Isolation and the Eye Hospitals located at various points across the town plus the hidden Underground Hospital underneath Dover Castle which was a secret hospital for use during World War II. Buckland Hospital is currently threatened with closure and a local campaign backed by the Dover Soul Website and various local organisations are trying to stop the cuts facing the hospital. Buckland Hospital also had a hospital radio station founded in 1968, the Gateway Hospital Broadcasting Service. The oldest hospital radio station in East Kent, the GHBS closed at the end of 2006.

Local Media

Newspapers

★ Dover Express owned by Kent Regional Newspapers (KRN)

★ Dover Mercury (founded 1998) owned by Kent Messenger Group (KM)

★ Dover & Deal Adscene (KRN)

★ Dover & Deal Extra (KM)

Local Radio

Dover has one local commercial radio station:

★ kmfm for Shepway & White Cliffs Country broadcasting to Folkestone on 96.4FM and Dover on 106.8FM. The station was founded in Dover as Neptune Radio in September 1997 but moved to Folkestone in 2003 consequently being rebranded as KMFM for Shepway and White Cliffs Country after a takeover by the Kent Messenger Group.

★ Gateway Hospital Broadcasting Service, a hospital radio station, closed at the end of 2006.

Internet

★ Dover Locals - Dover's Online Community - Chat, news, events, history, games and more!

★ Dover Forum

★ Dover Ferries Forum

★ Dover New Dover Forums

★ [1] Dover Soul Forums

★ [2] Dover Soul community website

★ White Cliffs Rangers FC Youth Football Site with Contents of Local Interest

Earthquake

On 28 April 2007, a small earthquake occurred in Ashford, Folkestone, Dover and surrounding areas, towns and villages. The earthquake was 4.3 on the Richter scale. Eye witnesses said they felt their houses shake, or had a feeling of something crashing into their houses. At first, it was thought to be an explosion. ^{[3] [4]}

Mayors

★ Bob Markham (2007-2008) [Current Mayor]

★ Jan Tranter (2006-2007) (wife of Ken Tranter)

★ Ken Tranter (2005-2006)

★ Bob Markham (2004-2005)
The mayor's term runs from May to May and they are a member of Dover Town Council.

Twin Towns

★ Huber Heights, Ohio

★ Calais, France

★ Split, Croatia

References

Notes

1. KS01 Usual resident population: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas
2. Foot, 2006, p209-217.
3. USGS Data for Kent Earthquake 28th April 2007
4. BGS Report for Kent Earthquake 28th April 2007

General references

★ Beaches, fields, streets, and hills ... the anti-invasion landscapes of England, 1940, , William, Foot, Council for British Archaeology, 2006,

External links

★ Official Municipal Website of the Town of Dover

★ A list of Dover's Mayors

★ Dover Museum

★ Information about Port of Dover

★ DoverLife.co.uk - Information about the town for residents and visitors.

★ Dover Soul communit website includes Geography, places to visit, East Kent Radio History and history of the town

★ Unusual Dover Local Website for Dover-reason for changed host because of slow servers

★ Dover-Kent.com - Paul Skelton

★ Channel Swimming

★ Dover Local Radio KM-fm 106.8fm

★ Wikimapia

★ The Dover Promenade Railway

★ The Dover War Memorial Project - Dovorians in the two World Wars: information about casualties, articles, and memories

★ 1870 History of Dover

Bibliography

★ History of Dover with a bibliography, , , Statham, , 1899,

Gallery

Dover Harbour, from the cliffs above.