Copyright Kent Past 2010
Kent Past
The History of Kent
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Folkestone’s History
A few pre-
The Romans settled in Folkestone during the period
80-
In 630AD, King Eadbald of Kent founded a Folkestone Priory
on the West Cliff at Folkestone, for Eanswythe (who later was canonised as
As a result, fishermen and farmers began to settle in the valley, although it
was still little more than a tiny hamlet on the banks of the river and on the seashore.
The town seal shows the saint with two fishes to record this
By 1066, the manor of
Folkestone was in the ownership of the church at Canterbury. In 1052 Earl Godwin
of Wessex had attacked all the coastal towns, and the area was thought important
enough for a Norman to own it. After William became king, he took the barony and
made a gift of it to his half-
In 1095 the lord of the manor was Nigel de
Muneville: he built a new church in the town to replace that which was destroyed
by Earl Godwin and established Folkestone Priory for Benedictine Monks close to the
nunnery site. In 1138 a new church and priory were again built, this time by William
D'Averanches and dedicated to St. Mary and St. Eanswythe.
The French took an opportunity
to attack Folkestone in 1216 and laid waste to much of the settlement which, although
still a village in size, was significant enough to have a Mayor and a Corporation.
In 1313, it received a charter as a Corporate Limb of the Cinque port of Dover, and
was thus obliged to supply seven boats. Trade began through the port, especially
of wool, but also of luxury goods such as wines and cloth.
The Tudor period again
saw fears of French invasion, and coastal defences were strengthened. Gun sites were
prepared on the Bayle headland. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I Folkestone
contained about 120 houses. Folkestone Manor was one of the most prosperous in Kent.
In 1545 the Town Council was again enlarged; and harbour plans, to replace the ancient
Stade where boats had been landing, were drawn up in 1629, although they came to
nothing.
At this time, too, the Free School, for poor boys, was established in 1684,
by William Harvey's legacy; it was later to become Harvey Grammar School. A Guildhall
was also built. By 1700, the town was expanding away from the beach area, up on to
the hills on either side of the stream valley, although there were still pastures
and orchards in the valley.
In 1794, the War Office purchased over 229 acres (930,000
m�) of open land at Shorncliffe, to the west of Folkestone. Here the Shorncliffe
Redoubt was built; in 1796, the Garrison was further extended with the provision
of barracks for housing troops, originally being sent off to the Peninsula Wars,
were stationed there. In 1804, the original wooden barracks were replaced with buildings
of stone construction and used to house cavalry and artillery brigades. Subsequent
wars have seen many thousands of troops: the present Sir John Moore Barracks is the
home of Gurkha Regiment in Britain.
The beginning of this period coincided with smuggling
which was rife throughout the South Coast of England. Local people were generally
favourably inclined towards them], and Folkestone dwellers were no exception. The
main storage area for smuggled goods was The Warren, to the east of the town.
The
19th Century saw Folkestone Harbour become a reality; and the coming of the railways
heralded the start of a new industry to the town: that of tourism, although this
was to be relatively much later than its neighbours of Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs.
Most of the facilities expected of a seaside resort -
Activity in Folkestone during
the 20th century was to focus around the two world wars. In the First World War,
the town became host to some 65,000 Belgian refugees fleeing the conflict. Shorncliffe
Camp served as a training camp for thousands of recruits in training, and the port
was the main embarkation point for soldiers leaving to fight in the trenches of France
and Belgium. Whole blocks of houses, hotels and other buildings were commandeered
for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, including many Canadian troops. They marched
through the town to the harbour along the route now called the 'Road of Remembrance'.
In
general, little serious damage was done to Folkestone during WWI, although on 25
May 1917 low cloud over London caused a 21 strong wave of Gotha bombers to abort
a raid on the capital. The Luftstreitkrafte aircraft turned for home and detached
their bombs mainly in the Folkestone district, killing 71 people and injuring 94
more.
After the war a good deal of refurbishment was required: requisitioned buildings
had to be made ready for holidaymakers. New buildings to attract them were built:
the Marina and new pleasure gardens were established, and the Marine Pavilion built.
However, this was not to last long, for much worse befell the town in World War II.
At
the very beginning of that war thousands of school children were evacuated to the
town, but were soon sent elsewhere in 1940. Within a few weeks, Folkestone became
a prohibited area and 35,000 residents left. Defences around the town were set: tank
traps, barbed wire surrounded it, and gun batteries set upon the heights. In this
war the town was under constant attack: bombs and shelling (from across the Channel)
and later flying bombs caused immense damage, with Folkestone being changed forever.
Casualities were high: 123 people were killed, and 778 injured. 550 houses were destroyed,
and 14,441 properties damaged. It took almost twenty years before Folkestone was
again to become a holiday resort.