Dover, is first recorded as Dubris in the 4th century, and takes its name from a stream, now called the Dour, an ancient Celtic name which meant simply 'the waters'. The name of the town and that of the river share the same origin. The Ancient British word dubra meant 'the waters'. This name was taken up by the Romans who called their settlement Dubris. By 969AD, the name was recorded as Dofras, although it had changed to Doferum at the new millennium. By the 16th Century, the name of the river and town has separated into the Dour and Douer. It was not until the 19th Century that we see the modern spelling of Dover for the first time.
William the Conqueror built the first earthwork castle at Dover before proceeding to London. Much of the present castle was built during the reign of Henry II, the centre piece has to be Henry's great keep. Dover castle withstood a great siege in 1216, when Prince Louis of France attempted to seize the English crown from King John. The castle once again saw military service during the Napoleonic wars and gun batteries were added in the 1870's. In both world wars Dover castle was used as the Royal naval headquarters and in May 1940, Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsey successfully organised the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk from his headquarters in tunnels deep inside the cliffs. In the event of a nuclear attack, the tunnels were to be used as the Regional Seat of Government but were finally abandoned in 1984....more
Changing sea levels and erosion are thought to have destroyed much of Dover's earliest Stone Age remains. Only a handful of stone axes have been found in the area. The first know inhabitants in the valley of the River Dour were late Stone Age farmers who crossed to Dover by boat with corn seed and domesticated animals about 6,000 years ago.
It was about 9am on 26th August 55BC when Julius Caesar arrived off Dover with his invasion fleet. From their ships, the Romans could see a vast number of well-armed Britons lining the cliffs. Caesar found a more suitable landing place near Deal later the same day. Roman Dover, the British port closest to the rest of the Roman Empire was a thriving town, believed to have covered at least a five hectare area along the Dour valley. The Romans called the town Dubris after the British name Dubra meaning 'waters'. The Roman town had a large harbour, flanked by two lighthouses and three successive forts. The Classis Britannica, the Roman Navy in Britain occupied one fort from 130-208AD.
From the 5th Century onwards, Germanic tribes crossed the North Sea to settle in Kent. Dover became a major settlement in the new Kingdom of Kent. By the middle of the 10th Century Anglo-Saxon Dover was prosperous and well organised with its own mint and established cross-channel trading links.
Following his victory at Hastings in 1066 William the Conqueror and his forces marched to Dover, then as now, a vital strategic point, guarding the shortest crossing to France. After the Norman Conquest much of old Saxon Dover was rebuilt. The town benefited from the increase in cross channel trade and the carrying of passengers between France and England. Great improvements were made to the Castle. By 1190, the massive stone keep and inner walls or bailey surrounding it were complete. The thirteenth century saw many attacks on the town by French forces including the almost successful 1216 siege of the Castle by Prince Louis and a great raid of 1295 when 10,000 French burnt most of Dover to the ground.
In about 1050 the five ports of Dover, Sandwich, Hastings, Romney and Hythe joined together to provide ships and men for King Edward the Confessor. They became known as the Cinque Ports (after the Norman French word for five). In return for providing naval and ferry services, these towns received many rights and privileges, which helped Mediaeval Dover to thrive as a port.
Tudor and Stuart kings and queens took a particular interest in Dover. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I recognised the value of the harbour, by this time threatened with blockage by shingle, and financed expensive repairs and enlargements. Henry also made improvements to Dover's defences. During the reign of Charles I Dover declared against the King in the Civil War, although enthusiastically welcomed the return of his son Charles II in 1660.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Dover became a garrison town heavily defended against the threat of a French invasion. At first earthen batteries were built along the sea front and across the Western Heights of Dover to supplement the limited protection offered by the mediaeval Castle against cannon and shells. In 1804, with invasion expected at any time, a massive programme of defensive building in stone and brick began on the Western Heights creating two forts and deep brick lined ditches. A unique 140ft triple staircase, the Grand Shaft, linked the town to the forts.
The 19th Century was a period of great change for Dover. The coming of the railways, the redevelopment of the harbour on a massive scale, the growth of the cross-channel passage and the expansion of local industries led to the rapid growth in size of the town. Between 1801 and 1901, the population increased six fold. Attempts were made to develop the town as a seaside resort through the provision of a pleasure pier, ice rink, bathing machines and impressive Sea Front crescents of hotels and apartments.
During the First World War Dover became one of the most important military centres in Britain. Vast numbers of men crossed from Dover to France. The harbour became home to the Dover Patrol, a varied collection of warships and fishing vessels which protected Britain's vital control of the English Channel. The first ever bomb to fall on England dropped near Dover Castle on Christmas Eve 1914. Regular shelling from warships, together with bombs from aeroplanes and Zeppelins, forced residents to shelter in caves and dug-outs. The town became known as 'Fortress Dover'.
During the Second World War Dover again became a town of considerable military importance. In May 1940, over 200,000 men, evacuated from Dunkirk, passed through Dover, filling the town and railway stations. Vice Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay controlled the evacuation from his headquarters in tunnels beneath the castle. Both shells and bombs fell on Dover causing 3,059 alerts and killing 216 civilians. 10,056 premises were damaged and many had to be demolished. Dover became a symbol for Britain's wartime bravery, the centre of East Kent's 'Hellfire Corner'.
After the war, Dover suffered the attentions of the town planners leading to many of the town's historic buildings that had survived the war being destroyed in the quest for modernity and free movement of road traffic. Traffic through the port continued to grow with the increase in foreign travel, the old rail and ship services were replaced by modern car ferries, hovercraft and high speed catamarans.
The Dover Parish Church is dedicated to St Mary, it has increased in size three times, and excavations under the floor near the font have shown that it is built on, the site of Roman baths.
The first tiny Saxon Church of St Mary was built by the Secular Canons of Dover, twenty-four in number, who lived originally in Dover Castle in what is still known as the Canons' Gate. They were pioneers of Christianity in Dover and East Kent for nearly four centuries.
In 697AD, King Withred built them a Church and Monastery of St Martin, near the site of the present Market Square. It is not known when the Saxon Church was built, but it was destroyed by the Normans in the Fire of Dover in 1066. St Marys is one of three Dover churches mentioned in the Domesday Book, the others being St James and St Peter. In the 16th Century, after the Dissolution of Religious Houses, St Marys was given to the people of Dover by King Henry VIII, a frequent visitor to this town and church.In 1843-44, during the incumbency of Canon Puckle, the old medieval building was rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in the style of the time.....more
Originally a Saxon church it is assumed that St James's is one of the three, unnamed, Dover churches listed in the Domesday Book. The present structure dates from about the 12th century.
As well as being a place of worship, the church was also the meeting place of the official courts of the Barons of the Cinque Ports. Their last meeting was in 1851 and was presided over by the Duke of Wellington as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
By the 19th Century, the church was in need of enlargement and restoration. This was not possible on its then site and a decision was taken to rebuild it elsewhere. The new church was built between 1860-2 and when it opened became the main parish church.
The old church was used by a group of French Protestants for a few years and eventually restored in 1869. This was severely damaged by enemy shell fire during World War 2, with the tower eventually collapsing. In 1948, it was decided to leave it as a ruin in commemoration of the people of Dover who, like the church, suffered much during the war.
The new St James's Church survived the war, relatively unscathed, although much of the parish it served lay in ruins and it was declared redundant and demolished.
The first line to Dover was that of the South Eastern Railway's, which ran from London Bridge to Redhill, thence onto Tonbridge and Ashford, before heading south eastwards to Folkestone and the Channel Port. This line was opened piecemeal, through traffic from London to Dover commencing on 7th February 1844. It would be nearly 17 years before the London Chatham &Dover Railway reached the port on 1st November 1861.
