UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. SAN DIEGO
3 1822 00537 4707
ANNALS OF DOVER.
ANNALS OF DOVER
Including Histories of the
CASTLE, PORT, PASSAGE, RELIGION,
THE CORPORATION, MAYORS & THEIR TIMES,
CORPORATION OFFICIALS, REPRESENTATION IN
PARLIAMENT. AND SOCIAL HISTORY.
By
JOHN BAVINGTON JONES.
Hon. Librarian of the Corporation.
Author of " Dover : A Perambulation ;" " The Cinque Ports, their History and
Present Condition;" "Tho History of Dover Harbour;*' and the
"Dover Year-Books," from 1873 to 1900.
Printed and Published at the Dover Express Works.
1916.
PREFACE.
The welcome given to my previous book, " Dover; a
Perambulation," encouraged me to proceed with " The
Annals of Dover," a work to which the former was a natural
introduction. In the "Perambulation" I narrated the his-
torical association of things which meet the eye in walking the
streets and climbing the heights of Dover; but the "Annals"
go deeper into local history, telling the story of the Town,
Port and Fortress as fully as the limits of one volume will
permit.
In considering the order in which these "Annals "
should be recorded, it had to be remembered that Dover
presents many phases, and that, for centuries, many of its
institutions have had their special spheres of operation ;
therefore, I have arranged the "Annals " in nine stctions,
under which the histories of the Castle, the Port, the
Passage, Religion, the Corporation, the Mayors and their
Times, Officers of the Corporation, Dover in Parliament,
and Social Life are given.
In gathering my materials I have been aided by the
many manuscripts stored in the Dover Corporation's Muni-
ment Cabinet, and other records of Dover which are
preserved in the British Museum and the Record Office.
In writing of the Castle, however, I had to follow the
track of earlier historians, for the original records of that
ancient fortress have been scattered or destroyed. It is
known, for instance, that an original copy of Magna Charta,
deposited at this Castle by Hubert de Burgh, soon after
King John signed it, was, in the Reign of Charles I., handed
by one of the Constable's Lieutenants to Sir Robert Cotton,
who added it to his library, which is now in the British
Museum. The same official dealt in like manner with some
Saxon Charters and the famous Domesday Book of the
Cinque Ports. The scattering of the Castle Records had
begun much earlier and was continued later, therefore it is
not a matter of surprise that there is little left at Dover
Castle to encourage original research.
Touching the history of the Port, the Passage and the
Religious EstabHshments of Dover, the manuscripts in the
possession of the Corporation, as well as those of the Record
Office and the British Museum, afford a superabundance of
material, and the same embarrassing richness was available
in dealing with the History of the Corporation, the Mayors
and their Times, and the Officers of the Corporation.
The history of Dover's Representation in Parliament
has not been previously attempted, probably owing to the
difficulty of obtaining the facts from the 287 bundles of
Chancery Returns now stored in the Record Office ; but a
modern Blue-Book having given an abstract of them, that
obstacle is removed. Founded on that abstract is the
section, " Dover in Parliament," the official skeleton of
names and dates having been clothed with contemporary
facts which I have gathered from Sir Francis Palgrave's
Collection of Parliamentary Writs, from the Minute Books
of the Corporation, and the narratives of ancient Freemen
of Dover whose memories went further back than the
Parliamentary Reform Bill of 1832.
The concluding section, on Social History, is an
omnium-gatherum which includes a variety of topics of much
historical interest, which might have been treated more fully
if space had permitted.
The book was written, and the printing had been com-
menced, before the outbreak of the Great War in 191 4, and
the completing of the printing, under war conditions, led to
some curtailment of the latter parts of the volume.
In this Preface I have stated generally the sources from
which I have obtained my information, so as to avoid the
use of foot-notes, which are never very acceptable to the
general reader^ but, from time to time, my authorities for
important historical statements are mentioned in j-he text.
JOHN BAVINGTON JONES.
Dover, igi6.
ANNALS OF DOVER.
CONTENTS.
SECTION I,
DOVER CASTLE.
Page
I. The Dawn. ... ... ... ... i
II. Remains of Roman Works. ... ... 6
III. Roman, Saxon and Norman Defences. ... g
IV. Outer Walls AND Towers ... ... 15
V. Later Fortifications ... ... ... 19
VI. In Times of War ... ... ... 23
VII. In Times of Peace ... ... ... 32
VIII. The Constables and Wardens ... ... 42
IX. Officers of the Castle ... ... 70
X. Soldiers OF the Fortress ... .. 72
section II.
THE PORT OF DOVER.
I. As the Romans Found It ... ... 81
II. The Eastern Harbour... ... ... 83
III. The Western Harbour ... ... 85
IV. Failure, and New Projects ... ... go
V. Making of the Great Pent ... ... 93
VI. James the First's Charter ... ... 99
VII. From L\mes I. to Charles II. ... ... 102
VIII. Harbour Affairs from 1670 to 1723 ... 105
IX. A Period of Small Improvements ... 109
X. John Smeaton's Report ... ... 112
XI. T HE Guilford Administration ... ... 115
XII. Sir Henry Oxenden's Day ... ... 117
XIII. A Harbour Master's Engineering ... 121
Page
XIV. Parliamentary Inquiry, 1836 ... ... 125
XV, The Wellington Period ... ... 129
XVI. Building of the Admiralty Pier ... 132
XVII. The New Constitution ... ... 134
XVIII. The Admiralty Harbour ... ... 139
SECION III.
THE PASSAGE.
I. The Earliest Passengers ... ... 143
II. The Ships and Their Management ... 146
III. Mail Packets and the Post Office ... 150
IV. Last Sailing, and First Steam Packets... 153
V. Post Office and Admiralty Packets ... 156
VI. The Railways and the Passage ... 159
VII. Independent Adventurers .., ... 161
Mil. The Passage Poll Tax ... ... 164
section IV.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION.
I. Druidism and Christianity ... ... 171
II. The Canons OF Dover ... ... ... 173
III. The Founding OF THE Priory ... ... 176
IV. Two Ancient Hospitals ... ... 181
V, The Ancient Churches of Dover ... 184
VI, Before The Reformation ... ... 186
VII. After The Reformation ... ... 187
VIII. The Uprising of Nonconformity ... 190
IX. First Dissenters' Chapels ... ... 194
X. Early Nineteenth Century Churches ... 197
XI. The Origin of Methodism in Dover ... 200
XII. Early Nineteenth Century Chapels ... 205
XIII. The Church of England after 1850 ... 209
XIV. Nonconformists after 1850 ... ... 212
XV, The Corporation and the Old Churches 216
SECTION V,
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION.
Page
I, Saxon Origin... ... ... ... 225
II. Norman AND Later ... ... ... 229
III. Boundaries, Limbs and Liberties ... 234
IV. In THE Middle Ages ... ... ... 239
V. Tudor and Stuart Periods ... ... 243
VI. The Revolution, and After ... ... 248
VII. Local Rule by Statute ... ... 251
VIII. Parliamentary and Municipal Reform... 257
IX. Women in the Corporation ... ... 260
X. Borough Records ... ... ... 263
XL The Municipal Buildings ... ... 267
XII. Dover of to-day ... ... ... 271
XIII. A Roll of Municipal Service ... ... 274
SECTION VI.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES.
I. Early Civic Chiefs ... ... ... 281
11. The Roll From Domesday ... ... 282
III. From the First Mayor ... ... 2!?4
IV. From the Writing of the Customal ... 287
V. From the Suspension of the Liberties ... 292
VI. From the Establishment of the Common
Council ... ... ... ... 298
VII. From the Transfer of the Harbour ... 302
VIII. From the Charter of Charles II. ... 309
IX. From the Paving Commission ... ... 317
X. From the Town Council ... ... 321
XL From the Public Health Act ... ... 324
XII. From the Widening of Biggin Street, to
THE Pier Viaduct ... ... ... 32S
SECTION' VII.
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION.
Page
I. Offices an'd Officers ... ... ... 333
II. The Bailiffs ... ... ... ... 335
III. The Chamberlains ... .. ... 336
IV. The Town Clerks ... ... ... 337
V. The Recorders ... ... ... 345
VI. The Coroners ... ... ... 350
VII. Clerks of the Peace ... ... ... 352
VIII. Clerks to the Magistrates ... ... 353
IX. Borough Surveyors ... ... ... 354
X. Chief AND Other Constables ... ... 357
XI. Sergeants, Porters. Cryers, and Town
Messengers ... ... ... 360
section viii.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT.
I. Three Electoral Periods ... ... 365
II. Elections of the First Period... ... 368
III. Elections of the Second Period ... 380
IV, Elections of the Third Period ... 397
y. Retrospect of Representation ... 405
section IX.
SOCIAL HISTORY.
I. RoADs ; Ancient and Modern ... ... 409
II. Locomotion ... ... ... ... 411
III. Inns: Old and New ... ... ... 415
IV. Commerce and Industry ... ... 418
V. State Establishments ... ... ... 420
VI. The Pilots ... ... ... ... 422
VII. Dover Schools ... ... ... 425
VIII. The Poor ... ... ... ... 428
IX. Concluding Retrospect ... ... 430
ANNALS OF DOVER.
SECTION ONE.
DOVER CASTLE.
I.
THE DAWN.
Dover Castle presents to sea and land a striking symbol
of British power. The position it occupies has been a place
of arms since the time of the Roman occupation ; yet, in
spite of the changes of twenty centuries, these mounds and
trenches, walls and towers have been adapted to the varying
methods of warfare; and to-day, with the great harbour for
the Imperial Navy in front, and its fortified surrounding
heights, the old fortress is still associated with the defences
of the Empire.
This Castle hill is the ideal point from which to catch
the first glimmering dawn of local history. Looking away to
the furthest point, in the breaking light the heights appear quite
bare — " no towers upon the steep " — yet, at that far distant
period, we see on the sheer cliffs and the slopes of the
valley hosts of Britons in arms denying a landing to the
legions of Julius Caesar. From that point we will commence
our recital of the Annals of Dover.
In dramatic interest and moving incidents, ^he history of
Dover Castle surpasses that of any other fortress in Britain.
Through this gate of the realm a never-ceasing stream of
the great and the notable have been passing ever since
mankind began to move to and fro on the face of the earth,
2 ANNALS OF DOVER
and to their upturned eyes this Castle has been the first
object of interest.
The story of the earliest days of this fortress may be
a mixture of tradition and fact, but, in regard to the far
distant past, that is a blend which many people appreciate.
They like to be told, not only what has been made manifest
in the broad daylight, but of that which has been dimly
seen in the misty dawn, even at the risk of some of the
figures being but types and shadows.
Not to go too far back into the twilight of history, this
story begins widi the invasion of Julius Caesar. That
incident stands out boldly as a recorded fact. On the
25th of August, B.C. 55, Caesar sailed with his
fighting ships into the fair haven between the hills of Dover.
The hill-top where Dover Castle now stands was then, it is
supposed, destitute of any stone-built fortress, but the
natural strength of the position was such that the Britons
who held it compelled the Romans to turn their prows
eastward to seek a landing-place. Beyond the South
Foreland upon an open shore they did effect a
landing, but, finding that they had under-estimated both
the strength of the Britons and the fury of the sea, after a
few demonstrations of their forces on the coast, they
returned to their ships, and departed, resolving to come again
better prepared.
The second invasion by the Romans occurred nine
months later, in May, B.C. 54. On that occasion their
armada consisted of 600 ships, bearing 32,000 fighting men,
forming seven fully equipped Roman Legions. They did
not attempt to land at Dover, experience having taught
them that Dover was a place which a small force could
hold, but dangerous for many Legions to attack. They
landed, as before, in the great bay, now choked up by the
sand-dunes, between Deal and Sandwich. They subjugated
Kent and Sussex, and on their departure in the Autumn
left Manduhratius, a tributary British King, established on
Dover Castle Hill authorized to receive and to transmit
to Rome the tribute due, by treaty, to Csesar.
No building that was raised by the Romans at the
beginning of their occupation is now to be found on Castle
Hill; but Darell says, that by the Emperor's direction, the
DOVER CASTLE 3
British King, Mandubratius, built a Pretorium there, where
he officiated as the representative of the Romans for thirty-
five years. On that statement rests the tradition that Julius
Caesar built Dover Castle.
Cymbelinus, son of Mandubratius, who, by the favour
of Augustus Cassar, was educated at Rome, succeeded his
father, B.C. 19, as tributary British King at Dover. His
rule was so beneficent that, in his time, only a few Roman
soldiers were required to maintain the Imperial authority ;
and he was the first King of Britain who had his image
stamped on British coin. He also ruled thirty-five years
in Dover Castle, and v/as succeeded by his son, Guiderius,
A.D. 16.
Guiderius ruled, and collected the Roman tribute at
Dover tv/enty-seven years ; but, towards the end of that
period, the authority of Claudius Csesar was so slack that
the Britons were tempted to rebel. Guiderius made common
cause with the insurgents, broke treaty with the Romans
A.D. 43, and was slain by Aulus Plautius, the General sent
over by Claudius to quell the insurrection.
Guiderius was succeeded by his brother, Arviragus, who
continued the revolt against Rome. He is credited with
having strengthened the stronghold on the Castle Hill, and
is said to have " hired a multitude " to block up the mouth
of the haven to keep out the Roman ships. Tacitus, and
other writers, say that the resistance by the British under
Arviragus could not be effectually overcome by the forces
at the command of Aulus Plautius, and that the Generals
Vespasian and Titus were sent from Rome with another
legion. It is said that these two generals were refused a
landing at Dover, but, having disembarked their forces near
Hythe, they advanced on Dover by land. Arviragus then
abandoned his resistance, and afterwards helped the two
Roman generals to conquer other parts of Britain. For
that assistance he was taken into favour by Claudius Cfesar,
and he married Gennissa, the Emperor's daughter. While
Vespasian and Titus were subduing the interior of the island,
General Aulus Plautius, about A.D. 50, raised towers and
other fortifications on the Castle Hill, of which the Pharos
and the square tovrer in the central part of the Church,
now remain.
4 ANNALS OF DOVER
Aniragus, powerful in Britain and trusted in Rome,
lived until A.D. 71, when he was succeeded by
his son Marius, who was the grandson of Claudius Caesar.
Of Marius it is recorded that he reigned in Britain until
A.D. 126, and was succeeded by his son Coill; and Coill's
son, Lucius, succeeded him A.D. 180.
Lucius, according to tradition, was a king of kings,
appointed by the Emperor Aurelius as supreme ruler over
the tribal kings of Britain. He was instructed in the
Christian religion by two missionaries sent over by
Eleutherius, Bishop of Rome, and, becoming a zealous
convert, he caused the pagan temples in Britain to be
consecrated for Christian worship. Darell says, " Out of
the peculiar regard he had for Dover Castle, he erected in
honour of Christ, and for His worship, a magnificent Church
on the top of the hill on which the Castle is built."
After the death of Lucius, which occurred in
A.D. 202, there was a long night of anarchy and pagan
darkness, owing to which the line of tributary British Kings
no further can be traced. It was during that period that
the renowned King Arthur, the traditional champion of the
British against the Roman power, is said to have played
his part at Dover Castle, and to this day the site of King
Arthur's Hall is pointed out on the north side of the Keep.
In closing this part of the Annals of the Castle, which
partly rests on traditions, we do not ask the reader to accept
all that is above written as absolute fact, yet we would
point out that there are reasonable grounds in
Caesar's Commentaries for some of the leading statements,
and that the Chronicles of the Dover Monastery, still
preserved, contain testimony worthy of respect. Those
Chronicles, refern.ng to Arviragus, say: "That this King
strengthened fiie Castle of Dover may be gathered from this:
that when he began to make head against the Romans he
fortified the land with many castles and strong works,
especially upon the sea-coasts, hence it is highly probable
that those places which were open to his enemies, Richburg,
Walmere, Dover and Hasteng, were most diligently secured."
Then, as to the Castle Church, the Chronicles of the
Dover Monastery say: "It may be safely affirmed of
Lucius, the first Christian King, that he founded the Church
in the Castle, for if he did not build a new Church, which
DOVER CASTLE 5
is uncertain, without doubt he converted an ancient heathen
temple standing there into a Christian Church, for this is
mentioned in the Book of the Britons and also in the
Chronicles of Rom. Pont., that the same King, at the
preaching of Damianus and Faganius, who taught him the
Christian Faith, had converted all the temples of idols in
his kingdom into Christian Churches, appointed Bishops for
the Flamens and Archbishops for the Archflamens. At that
time the chief priests of the idols were called Flamens."
These statements agree with the characteristics of the
ancient Church in the Castle, which has the appearance of
having been converted out of a pre-existing building. This
Church in the Castle was, in primitive times, the sole witness
for Christianity at this port, and one of the few then existing
in this country. It was always the Church of the Dover
Garrison until it fell into decay in the 17th Century; but
Darell states that there was, also on the Castle Hill, the
Church of St. Giles, provided for the civil population, who
in Roman and Saxon times had their dwellings on the south
part of the hill, between the Roman Oval and the edge of
the cliff, the valley being then covered by the estuary of
the Dour.
ANNALS OF DOVER
II.
REMAINS OF ROMAN WORKS.
Emerging from the region of tradition, we may now
climb Dover Castle Hill to seek what may be still remaining
of the actual towers, mounds, and walls raised by the
Romans. In entering on this quest, we are following in the
footsteps of lovers of the old and venerable who have climbed
this hill century after century. The earliest antiquarians
have unhesitatingly regarded the ancient weather-beaten
tower, known as the Pharos, standing some forty feet high,
near the western end of the Church, as a Roman building.
This ancient monument is, probably, one of the earliest
structures raised by the Romans in this island.
The supposition is that when the head of the British
insurrection was broken at Dover, Aulus Plautius, who did
not proceed inland with Vespasian and Titus, remained here
and fortified the Castle Hill with towers and earthworks. To
raise stone buildings, their ships had to bring materials across
the Channel, and to assist the navigators, they first built the
lighthouse known as the Pharos. Having no stone at hand,
they constructed the Pharos with blocks of tufa dug up in
the valley of the Dour, interlocking the blocks with peculiarly
manufactured tiles made on the spot from local clay. So
constructed, the tower was strong enough to serve as a
lighthouse. In the thirteenth century it was heightened, and
strengthened with a stone casing, the casing being renewed
in the Fifteenth Century, but the exposure to weather during
five centuries in some parts entirely destroyed the outer
covering rendering work of preservation necessary, which
was carried out under the order of Earl Beauchamp by the
Office of Works in 19 13, when the architect, Mr. Frank
Baines, reported that although the fifteenth century casing
had, in parts perished, the original Roman core was perfectly
sound.
Another structure which is believed to be Roman is the
central tower of the Church. Writers who have had no
hesitation in ascribing the Church tower to the Romans,
have been puzzled by the fact that its materials are so utterly
DOVER CASTLE 7
different from those of the Pharos; but the simple
explanation seems to be that the Pharos had to be built of
materials found in the locality, while the Church tower,
which originally stood isolated as a watch-tower, was
constructed a little later of strong masonry, some of the
stones being caen and oolite brought from France, and others
from the Kentish coast westward.
Two hundred and fifty years ago William Somner
journeyed from Canterbury to view this Castle, when he was
gathering materials for his treatise on " Roman Ports and
Forts in Kent." The learned antiquarian deeply versed
in British, Saxon, Norman and Early English lore, after
surveying the Saxon and Norman works, remarked: " Here
we have a castle, and such a castle too, as was of old
called, at home and abroad, the lock and key, the bar and
sparr of all England, yet I cannot believe the present Castle
to be either of Julius Ccesar's building, whose stay in Britain
was too short for so vast an undertaking, or to be that wherein
the Company of the Tungricans was said to lie ; yet I doubt
not but that such a Company lay here in garrison, and that
the place was then fortified, and had within it a specula, or
watch-tower." Then the old writer looked about him, and
giving the " go-by," as he quaintly expressed it, to the
Saxon and Norman towers, he wrote: "I rather chuse to
think that which at present is, and for many years past has
been the Church or Chapel to the Castle, either to have
risen out of the Roman fortress, or that the square tower
in the middle hereof, between the nave and the chancel,
fitted with holes, on all parts for speculation, to have been
the very Roman specula, or watch-tower." Further evidence
that the square tower in the centre of the Church was in
reality the original Roman specula was discovered by the
Rev. John Puckle when the Castle Church was restored in
1 86 1. He found that that tower, which for many centuries
— probably from the time of Lucius — has had four arches
opening into the chancel, nave and transepts, has a
continuous foundation wall carried across under each of the
arched spaces, indicating that the openings were pierced
after the building of the tower; yet the tiles and workmanship
in the arches suggest that the adaptation of the tower to a
Church was done by masons, who had been instructed by
Roman builders.
8 ANNALS OF DOVER
No building in Britain can vie with this Dover Castle
Church for antiquarian interest, for the central tower
evidently dates from the first years of effective Roman
occupation in the days of Claudius Coesar, and its conversion
into the central tower of a Christian Church probably dates
from A.D. i6o — earlier than any other existing church fabric
in Britain. The Castle Church has for centuries been
dedicated to Saint Mary ; but it is believed that, originally,
it was called Christ Church, and that belief seems to have
originated from the statement that King Lucius built the
Church on the Castle Hill "for the honour of Christ."
DOVER CASTLE
III.
ROMAN, SAXON AND NORMAN DEFENCES.
The illustrative ground plans given in this chapter will
most readily convey ideas of the Roman, Saxon and
Norman works in Dover Castle.
The Roman Oval (Plan I.) — the oldest of the defensive
works of which there is any record or trace — occupied the
highest point of the Castle hill; but only the .southern half
of it now remains. Its length, from north to south, was
'^W
.^*^^
'^^iiiiliii'ii*^
Plan I.
400 feet, and its central width, from east to west, 140 feet.
This oval, defended by a mound and an external deep trench,
had within it the Pharos and the specula tower, which was
subsequently built into the church ; and at an earlier period,
on the Northern part of tlie Oval, is said to have stood the
Roman Pretorium built by Mandubratius where the
tributary British Kings had their Judgment Seat.
I
10
ANNALS OF DOVER
Plan II.
The early Saxon fortifications assumed the form shown
in Plan II., being the extension of the Roman earthworks
Xorthwards, forming a " Keep " wliich at first was nothing
more than an elevated plateau made of chalk thrown up out
of the surrounding ditch. Later, the earth work was
elaborated, to form an outer ward, surrounded by another
trench. These v/orks, joining the Roman Oval, formed
one complete fortification of the central part of the hill,
leaving a considerable open area between the oval and the
cliff which, according to Darell, was occupied by the
dwellings of the civil population.
DOVER CASTLE
II
By examining Plan II., it will be seen that the sole
entrance to the fortifications was at A, a passage over
which the Saxons afterwards built Colton Tower, which is
the only Saxon Tower still remaining. This is still approached
on the south, as it was when built, by a deep and narrow
ravine excavated in the solid chalk, where a few resolute men
might have withstood a thousand.
Next we come to a passage marked on the plan B,
which first leads to the outer ward marked C, surrounded
by a trench. The passage B also leads to the middle
ward marked D, surrounded by another trench. In
the southern direction the passage B leads to the
Roman Oval, which in the Saxon scheme of defence
was called the inner ward. From this inner
Plaa III.
12 ANNALS OF DOVER
ward there was a subterranean way to the Northfall
Meadow, which was unearthed during some excavations in
1797, after being buried about 800 years, from the time of
Earl Godwin, who assisted by his son Harold, superceded
these older works and built walls, towers, bridges, and gates,
as indicated in Plan III.
Godwin's extension of the northern defences consisted of
walls and towers within the outer trench, including the
original Constable's Tower. His son Harold, who succeeded
him as Constable, surrounded the Keep yard with a wall and
towers, and also built a central Stone Keep, although it was
but a dwarf structure compared with the great Keep built
by the Normans.
Godwin had previously cut away the northward part of
the Roman Oval, and the horse-shoe shaped remainder, he
surrounded with a low retaining wall. In and around the
cleared space, between the remains of the Oval and the
Saxon Works, he built Colton Towner and Gate, marked E,
and eight other towers, now removed, including Godwin's
Tower, marked F, in which there was the sally port leading
to the Northfall Meadow and the Saxon Well Tower,
which contained an ancient well, which was found
arched over in 19 10, although the tower was removed
more than a century ago. The central building, H,
in the Northern part, represents the Saxon Keep, on the
site of the present one. Around the Keep Yard were other
towers and buildings, now replaced by Norman or later
works.
A glance around, at this stage, will convey an epitome
of the whole history of the Castle. Looking from the Drill
Ground, south of the Keep, within a stone's throw eastward,
we see the Pharos, which carries us back to the early days
of the Roman occupation of Britain ; a little nearer, south-
ward, the Colton Tower recalls the Saxon period; and, a
few paces northward, is the Norman Keep, whioh, A.D. 1188,
was the latest thing in military defences. From the date of
the first until that of the third, the interval carries us over
1,150 years of the Castle's history. In the Pharos, the
Colton, and the Keep as they stand to-day, and as they are
likely to stand for centuries, we see three silent but eloquent
witnesses to the antiquity of the fortress, the oldest having
stood there from a time coaeval with the opening of the
Christian era.
DOVER CASTLE I 3
The later Saxon defences, shown in Plan III., were
constructed at the tmie when Godwin and Harold were main-
taining towards Edward the Confessor an attitude of armed
neutrality. They had been exiled, and had returned
prepared to be loyal to the King, if possible; but, if not, to
be ready to defend themselves in the stronghold of their
earldom, Dover Castle. If Harold had not received a
fatal arrow at Hastings, he and the remnant of his forces
might have retreated .on Dover; the Saxon fleet, lying at
Romney, might have interrupted the cross-Channel com-
munications of the enemy ; a sufficient Saxon force might
have been left at Dover to hold the Castle ; while Harold
might have obtained from the inland Counties reinforcements
enough to drive back the Normans into the sea ; but on
that occasion Fate ruled otherwise. Dover Castle could not
be utilised to stem the tide of the Norman invasion, that
fact demonstrating how, in a great crisis, sometimes it is
not fortifications but the human element that is the deter-
mining factor in the nation's destiny.
Plan IV. shows the Northern defences after Henry II.
had built the present Keep, and Hubert de Burgh or others
had completed the circuit of the walls and towers around the
Castle Hill, extending on both sides to the edge of the cliff.
In the early part of the Norman period the Southern
side of the Castle, being difficult of access owing to the steep
cliff, was not so much considered as the Northern, where, to
protect it against attack from the high ground, defensive
works w'ere constructed. Across the Castle enclosure, a
little south of the Keep Yard, there was a line of defence
extended from Godwin's Tower to Peverill's Tower, and
beyond those points Southward the now existing outer walls
were not built until after the siege of 1216.
The Norman Keep, which most impresses observers, was
built by Henry II. in 11S8, the cost of it being derived
partly from a local levy called the scutage of Kent, and from
a contribution of ;i{^4,9oo from the King's Treasury. The
walls and towers round the Keep Yard were built at the same
period, but there have been repairs from time to time, and
there was a general restoration of the Keep walls, and of
the subsidiary buildings of the interior in 1807.
14
ANNALS OF DOVER
Plan IV.
DOVER CASTLE I5
IV.
OUTER WALLS AND TOWERS.
The Towers on the outer walls, shown in the Plan
opposite, have sufficient historical interest to repay a
perambulation. Beginning at the Cliff edge next the Town,
we will take them in the order in which they stand.
1. Canon or Monk's Gate. — This entrance in the Middle
Ages was a small postern through which the monks from
Dover Priory used to come up to the Castle Church. After
the Reformation it was closed, until the new entrance and
drawbridge were constructed there in 1797.
2. Rokesley Tower. — This was square with a semi-
circular front, built at the cost of the Rokesley Manor, in
Lenham.
3. Fulbert de Dover Tower. — This Tower was built
by the knight of that name out of his Manor of Chilham. It
was rebuilt by Edward IV., and used by the Clerk of the
Ca.stle Exchequer. Later, it was enlarged and used as a
prison for the Cinque Ports, and, later still, as a debtor's
prison. It was taken down in 191 1 to make room for
soldiers' quarters.
4. Hirst Tower. — This is now but a stump of masonry
in the wall. It is named after John de Hirst, wiio held it on
military tenure in connection with the Manor of Chilham.
5. Arsick's Tower. — This was supported by the Manor
of Farningham, held by William de Arsick, one of the eight
knights who enjoyed knight's fees for the defence of Dover
Castle. He was lord of Leybourne and Boxley, and provided
three knights to take Castle guard for six months in each year.
6. Gatton Tower. — It was supported out of the Manor
of Gatton, Surrey, which was granted to Sir William de
Peverell. It was later called Copley Tower, having reference
to the steep slope outside it.
7. Peverell's Tower. — This well preserved structure was
originally built by Sir Geoffrey de Peverell, out of lands at
Harietsham, granted to him by the King, one of the escheated
manors of Odo, Earl of Kent, for the defence of Dover
Castle, and it occupied an important position in the early
Norman defences. Built into the angle of the Saxon wall,
where the outer curtain then terminated, it formed the salient
l6 ANNALS OF DOVER
point of a strong triangle of walls and towers which, in the
late Saxon and Norman times, guarded the Keep, the other
angle of the base being Godwin's Tower on the east wall,
the third angle Magminot's Tower in the northern spur.
Peverell's Tower was also called Marshal's Tower, having
been occupied by the Marshal of the Castle; and also Bell
Tower, because the bell to warn the garrison was in it.
8. Forth 's Tower. — The original owner of this Tower
was Robert de Forth, one of the knights of William the
Conqueror, who received fifty knights' fees for his military
services out of lands previously held by Oswald, a Saxon.
Ten knights' fees were allotted for the maintenance of this
Tower. Not long after Castle guard by knight ser\'ice ended,
this Tower fell, and being restored in the reign of Queen
Mary, was known as Queen Mary's Tower.
9. Constable's Tower. — This was built on the site of a
more ancient gateway by John de Finnes, in the latter part
of the reign of William the Conqueror. It has been said to
be the grandest of the Norman gateways remaining in
England, resembling on a smaller scale the triangular
arrangement of walls and towers which, at that period,
formed the northern defences of the Castle. The two
angles at the base each had two round towers standing
in line with the Norman walls, but those at the south-west
angle are nearly hidden by modem additions. At the salient
northern angle there was originally one large round tower
rising to a greater height than the others, cornmanding the
whole structure. In the lower part of this tower was the
grand entrance secured by a portcullis and drawbridge.
Over the gate in this tower was the court, which was the
seat of the Castle administration, called Castle Gate
Court, and on the top of it was the place of execution. The
simple and artistic design of the Constable's Tower has been
marred by the projection of an unsightly oblong front to
the central tower, to secure additional room, owing to which
projection the builder has shifted the portcullis forward.
10. Clopton Tower — This small tower, next to the
Constable's on he north, was built by John de Finnes, and the
Manor of Clopton Norfolk was granted to maintain it. When
Stephen de Fencester was Constable, this Tower was the
Record Office of the Castle, and in this Tower many valuable
Castle records were burnt in the reign of Henry VIII.,
DOVER CASTLE 17
by an official named Levenste, out of spite towards
John Monin, who was a successful competitor against him
for the office of Lieutenant Governor.
11. Godsfoe Tower. — This was also known as Devil's
Tower. It was built by Fulbert de Dover. It is a square
structure partly projecting from the walls.
12, 13. Magminot's Towers. — There were two towers
here originally, but they, having been altered, are now
represented by four towers occupying the angle facing the
high ground northward. There was within the walls,
adjoining these towers, a guard-house intended to contain
men-at-arms always alert to protect this a.ssailable part of
the fortress. After the French Siege in 12 16, a .souterrain
was carried under these towers across the exterior ditch,
and, dividing into three branches, gave egress to the centre,
and to each side of the spur, to facilitate sallies and retreats.
The spur, which still remains, was made in the 13th
Century, and altered to suit artillery in 1796.
14. St. John's Tower. — This is a round isolated tower
in the exterior ditch, where the souterrain branches into
three outlets. It is named after St. John of Basing, a
descendant of the Peverells.
15. FitzwiUiam Tower. — This is designated after the
knight of that name who built it in the Norman period. It
stands opposite the seaward angle of the spur. It had a
souterrain from the inner ward to cross the ditch to the
lower side of the spur.
16. 17 — These are the two small watch towers built to
accommodate sentries attached to the Fitzwilli-^m Tower.
18. Averanche's Tower. — This was an important work
in the angle of the wall opposite the Roman oval, built
forward to cover the sally-port constructed there by Earl
Godwin. It was through this port that Sir John de Pencester
entered to relieve the Garrison during the French Siege ;
and the fear that a foe might make a raid by that entrance
sugge.sted the construction of Averanche Tower, which had
many mediaeval contrivances to facilitate defence.
19. Pencester's Tower. — This tower, named after Sir
John de Pencester, stood as a middle ward between the
towers of Godwin and Averanche.
1 8 ANNALS OF DOVER
20. Godwin's Tower. — This ancient work stood at the
opening between the mounds of the Roman oval and the
Saxon Keep. The Tower was destroyed to clear the ground
for the new road made in 1798 fronting the casemates
then constructed.
21, 22, 23. — These numbers represent the Ashford
Towers, which stood at intervals on the wall between
Averanche's Tower and the edge of the cliff, facing the
Northfall Meadow. They are of comparatively modern
origin, but are now superceded by more modern bastions.
24. The Eshetisfordian Gate. — Near where the first
of the Ashford Towers stand, in Early Saxon times there
existed the Eshetisfordian Gate, which Darell says was the
approach to the primitive town of Rupecester (i.e., the town
in the Castle), where the Civil portion of the community of
Dover are said to have had their habitations in the late
Roman and early Saxon days, before the drying up of the
land-locked haven afforded room for a town in the valley.
This little town on the cliff was separated from the Roman
and Saxon Castle by a wall and towers, whijh have long
since disappeared, and the inhabitants are said to have
had there a small Church — the Church of St. Giles — of
which there are now no remains.
£)OV£R CASTLS ^9
V.
LATER FORTIFICATIONS.
The fortifications of various dates subsequent to the
completion of the outer circuit were (i) works carried out
during the wars of the Barons and the Wars of the Roses ;
(2) adaptations effected by Henry VIII. to suit the modes
of warfare introduced by the use of gunpowder ; and (3) the
extensive works constructed between 1760 and 1810, during
our wars with America, France, Holland and Spain.
In the year 1262, a national crisis caused Henry III. to
improve the defences of Dover Castle. When he came here
resolved to resist the demands of the Barons, he found that
the fortress then only required some minor improvements
to complete the important works (sugge.sted by the experience
of the French Siege) carried out by Hubert de Burgh and
his successors.
A hundred years elapsed before any further great works
were undertaken at the Castle. Soon after the Accession
of Edward III. there was a large expenditure, described as
being " for the salvation of Dover Castle," the fortress
playing a conspicuous part in this reign. This King was
laying claim to the Crown of France, and, anxious that the
Castle should be ready for emergencies, he sent to Dover
a surveyor to estimate the number of soldiers that would be
required to man the walls, towers and Keep, and there is
now in the Record Oflice a report dated 1346. The Surveyor
replied: "I beg to inform you, my Lord, thai your letter
concerning the Castle of Dover came to me at Hythe .
and the same day I went to Dover, and on the day after
the sub-Constable and I went to count all the loop-holes in
the Castle, and found that in the outer wall of the Castle
there are 555 loop-holes, and in the same wall are 19 towers
and a grand tower outside the gate, and another grand
tower on the north side, of which grand towers the loop-holes
are included in the aforesaid number, viz , 555. And
because the rule in every castle or town enclosed by a wall
is that there should be three men to every two loop-holes,
832 men will be required for this outer wall. And in the
tower and round the Keep and in the inner bailey are 378
loop-holes, to guard which 168 men would he sufficient,
20 ANNALS OF DOVER
making i,ooo in all." The first grand tower outside the
gate would be the Constable's Tower on the spur, and the
grand tower on the north side St. John's Tower. Dover at
that date had a thoroughly equipped Castle, in which ten
hundred men could keep many thousands at ba).
There was another great effort to put the Castle in an
effective state of defence at the beginning of the reign of
Richard II., but no attack was then made upon it. Other
places on the coast were raided by the French, but Dover
was unmolested, because the Castle was then regarded as
invulnerable.
Edward IV. spent ;^i 0,000 on Dover Castle in the
year 1481. The particular works that were then carried out
cannot now be identified, but they must have been extensive,
for there were at that time 2,000,000 liricks I'sed.
Henrv VIII. made many changes in the fortications to
adapt them to the use of artillery. This King had annexed
a considerable loc il revenue by taking possession of the
Constable's lands, and he applied it in erecting forts at the
Castle and along the coast on both sides as adjuncts to the
Castle, including the Mote Bulwark, under the Castle Cliff,
Archcliffe Fort, Sandgate Castle, Walmer Castle, Deal Castle
and Sandown Castle, all of which were reckoned as a part
of the defences of Dover.
Holingshed's Chronicle has credited Queen Elizabeth
with having " bestowed more charge in repairing and
re-edifying the Castle than had been spent hereabouts since
the first building thereof," which must have been an
exaggerated statement, for it is difficult to discover anything
that was done to the Castle in that reign except the expendi-
ture of jCa2^ on the Royal apartments in the Keep previous
to her Majesty's visit in 1573. Holingshcd flatteringly
relates how Lord Cobham, the Constable, and Richard
Barry, the Lieutenant, under the Queen's orders, had
carried out great works of fortification, .so that "within
the walls thereof is now raised such a mount at the north
side thereof as thereby the Castle is double as strong as
before." That work cannot now be identified.
In the St"art Period the Castle was more utterly
neglected than it had been in any time during its history,
yet even then there was some expenditure. When James I.
was at war with Holland, in the year 1624, he spent p^i,ooo
bOVEft CASTLE 21
on the batteries. Charles I. did nothing to repair the
fortitications, but he spent ^2,000 on the Royal apart-
ments to prepare for the reception of his bridle, Henrietta
of France in 1625.
The neglected state of the Castle in the time of
Charles I. is shown by the fact that less tlan a dozen
civilians were able to capture it for the Parliamentary Party
in 1642; and the Commonwealth were not much more
liberal, for they only spent ;^2oo in " repairing the
breaches."
After a century of decay, the Castle was surveyed by
the Duke of Cumberland in 1745, when barracks for i,oco
men were built. In 1779, when England was at war with
France, Spain, and our American Colonies, Guilford
Battery was built at the foot of the Castle cliff, two batteries
within the Castle, and a company of Royal Military Artificers
were quartered here to carry out repairs.
When war was declared against the French Republic
in 1793, the improvements of the Castle defences were
zealously pushed forward. Parliament having voted ^50,000
with the object of so strengthening the position that an
invading force could be withstood for at least a fortnight,
the idea being that if an invading army were checked to
that extent there would be time for troops ^o be collected
to defend the approaches to the Capital, and ""or the Fleet
to assemble to cut off the invaders' communications. The
works carried out for that purpose were the construction
of new batteries along the edge of the cliff and on the
north-east side of the Castle. Those on the north-east
walls were masked by great earth bastions, which still
remain. Additions were made to the great mound at the
spur, which entailed the closing of the northern vehicular
entrance which, until that time, existed there, leading up
the incline causeway to Kingsgate. At the same time, a
new vehicular entrance was made on the south-west, at
Canon's Gate, leading off the Castle Hill Road, which
was at that time constructed. The existing great mound
on the town side of the Constable's Tower was then thrown
up, mounted with cannon, and a breastwork below, whirh
was made to defend the new road, still remains. The old
sally-ports northward, which had long been ciosed, were
re-opened, and fitted for large bodies of troops to suddenly
22 ANNALS OF DOVER
issue to check attacks from the landward. At the same
time, 211 guns were mounted on the Western Heights. The
following dates of works, partially a recapitu'ation, show
at a glance the new developments at the Castle in the latter
half of the Eighteenth Century: —
1745. — The Duke of Cumberland's survey.
1747. — New barracks first occupied.
1780. — Powder magazine constructed in Keep Yard.
1785. — Royal Military Artificers established at the Castle.
1793. — ;,(^50,ooo vote for Castle defences.
1795. — New Castle Road commenced.
1796. — Guilford Shaft from Castle to shore built.
1797. — New entrance at Canon Gate completed.
1798. — Castle Hill New Road completed.
1799. — New Castle defences and armament completed.
The first works in the fortress of Dover in the Nine-
teenth Century commenced three years after those above
detailed, but th^y were mainly connected with the fortifica-
tion of the Western Heights, which position, though used
for batteries in the previous Century, was not permanently
fortified until 1803, and the works were completed in August,
1805.
The Commission of Defence in 1858 initiated another
period of activity in the fortress. Officers' ouarters were
built in the Castle, the Castle Church, which had been in
ruins since the Stuart Period, was restored, canteens were
built for soldiers, with a reading and recreation room
adjoining, quarters for married soldiers, and a school for
their children. The Castle's waterworks were brought up
to date by means of a new well and steam pumps ; and, in
addition to these works within the walls, ;j^400,ooo was
spent in the construction of an entirely new position of
defence, called Fort Burgoyne, on the north of the Castle.
Soon after the Franco-German War of 1870-1, the old
guns were removed from the Castle batteries and replaced
by new ones. These have now, in turn, been removed, and
replaced elsewhere by more modern defences.
The latest notable work at the Castle was the enlarge-
ment of the Constable's Tower in 1883 to fit it for the
residence o*" the General Commanding the South-Eastern
District. Old stones from the dismantled Sandown Ca.stle
were used so that the enlargement should not be in glaring
contrast with the ancient building.
DOVER CASTLE
VI.
IN TIMES OF WAR.
23
There were many episodes of thrilling interest connected
with the assaults, sieges and menaces of the Castle during
the twenty centuries.
THE ROMANS CHECKED.
As far back as August, B.C. 55 a thrill of excitement
stirred the hearts of Britons assembled on these " high
bold shores " to resist the landing of Julius Cresar; but, of
course, there was no Castle then.
ARVIRAGUS DEFIES C^SAR.
During the Roman occupation, A.D. 4^5, there was a
British insurrection, led by Arviragus, when It is stated that
to keep the Romans out of the haven between the hills an
attempt was made by a multitude of Britons to blockade
the entrance to the land-locked harbour which lay behind
the Roman Castle. Tradition states that that spirited
resistance succeeded in keeping the Roman Fleet out and
compelling them to seek a landing further west.
A FIGHT IN SAXON DAYS.
The fatal affray between Eustace of Boulogne and the
burghers of Dover, near the close of the Saxon Period, a
disquieting affair in itself, led to serious consequences.
Eustace, Count of Boulogne, with a party of armed men,
were returning from the Court at Gloucester, when, pre-
suming on their supposed superior rank, they picked a
quarrel with the burghers of Dover about lodgings, and slew
one of them in his own house. Then Eustace's men rode
up to the Castle to make their complaints, but, finding no
sympathy, a fight ensued, in which twenty Dover men were
slain as well as nineteen of the Count's, and the remnant
of his men rode back to Gloucester to lay their complaint
before the King. Earl Godwin, who was present at Court,
Stoutly defended his Dover burghers, and carried it with so
24 ANNALS OF DOVER
high a hand, that he and his sons were banished from thf
reahn by Edward the Confessor. The great Saxon Earl
and his sons, when across the sea, caused so much trouble
that the King was glad to recall them, but there remaine 1
a root of bitterness between the Xorman friends of tne
Confessor and Godwin. The quarrel which began in th^
streets of Dover was not really fought out until the Confessor
and Godwin were dead, and the decisive conflict between
Harold, son of Godwin, and William of Normandy on the
battlefield of Hastings finally gave the Norman ascendancy
in Britain.
THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
The seizure of Dover Castle by the Normans at the
Contiuest was effected without a siege. So many Kentish
men had been slain in the Battle of Hastings that there
was not a sufficient force left at Dover to give battle to t.'"*
invaders in the open ; but there was some resistance at the
Castle, in consequence of which the town was pillaged aiid
burnt; and Bertram Ashburnham, Harold's faithful Co
stable, was beheaded in front of the Garrison. In the
attack and defence the Castle was so battered that the
Con(]ueror's soldiers had to sj^end eight days in buikling up
the l)reaches and estal)lishing a sufficient guard before it
was deemed prudent to advance towards the Capital.
AFTERMATH OF THE CONQUEST.
An aftermath of the Conquest sprung up at Dover,
owing to the rapacity of the victorious Normans in depriving
the Saxon landowners in Kent of their estates. It is said
that the Canons of Dover were the only Kentish landowners
whose estates were not given to the warriors who came over
with the Conqueror. The East Kent Saxons were goaded
into rebellion, and that old soldier of fortune, Count
Eustace of Boulogne, brought a force over to assist the
Kentish men to sie/.e the Castle. The Count and his soldiers
landed after nightfall at a little quay under the Castle cliff,
where the men of Kent joined them, and together they
climbed the hill to the open space between the edge of the
cliflF and the Saxon fortifications. While they were springing
to scale the walls the Garrison made a sudden sally through
Colton Gate, driving many of the foreigners to swift destruc-
tion over the edge of the cliff. Count Eustace and a few
t>OVER CASTLE 25
of liis bo(Jyguard escaping down the hill, re embarked,
leaving the men ot Kent to the vengeance of the Normans.
WARS OF THE TWO MAUDS.
During the nineteen years of the reign of Stephen, the
holders of Dover Castle had a harassing time. Henry I.,
who died in Normandy, nominated his daughter Maud
(known as the Empress, being the widow of Emperor
Henry V.) to inherit the Crown of England; but Stephen,
a grandson of the Conqueror, asserted liis claim to the
Throne. Both Maud and Stephen were on ihe Continent
when the King died; but Stephen, being nearest to the
coast, gathered his supporters, and hurriedly crossed to
Dover. He found the Castle closed to him, the Constable,
Lord John de Fiennes, having pledged himself to support
the late King's daughter. Making no stay at Dover, Stephen
hastened inland to secure the Crown and ihe contents of
the 'J'reasury, while his wife (also named Maud) remained
at Boulogne to collect an army. Stephen had arrived at
Dover in December, 1135, and his Queen Maud landed here
with her army in March, 1136. Avoiding the Castle, she
marched with her troops to Canterbury, where she met
Stephen, and they were crowned in the Cathedral there.
Together they carried on this war against the Empress Maud
and her supi)orter, the Earl of Gloucester, with varying
success. Constable John de Fiennes held Dover Castle
against Stephen for two years, but in 1138, while King
Stephen was fighting in the Midlands, Oueen Maud advanced
into Kent, and demanded the surrender of Dover Castle.
The Constable being away, fighting for the Empress Maud
in the Midlands, his deputy, Walkelin de Magminot surren-
dered to Queen Maud. Walkelin has been suspected
of treachery, but the facts indicate that Constable Fiennes
had taken so many men away with him that the defenders
of the Castle were not strong enough to resist the enthusiastic
army of the warlike Queen, whose demonstrations of force
left no ho})e of effectual resistance. The Queen placed
the Castle in charge of William d'Tpress the leader o^ her
foreign troops, and at the same time the Empress Maud
nominated Fleniy Fitz-Herbert as Constable, but Fitz-
Herbert was then '■ iimanding the troops of the Emperss
in the Midlands, av.d 'oeing taken prisoner of war, never took
26 ANNALS OF DOVER
the appointment. Some writers say that the Empress seized
Dover Castle, but she was never near it. Being weary of
the Civil War she retired to the Continent, but her son
Henr}', who by his marriage had become the richest gentle-
man in Europe, collected a great army with which he landed
at Dover, and after a short struggle with Queen Maud's
troops seized the Castle. That broke the brave Queen's
heart, for she had held the Castle against all comers for
14 years. She died in the year that the Castle was taken
from her, and was buried in the abbey which she had
founded at Faversham. Peace was soon alter made on
an agreement that Stephen should reign, but that at his
death the crown should descend to Henry, son
of the Empress Maud and grandson of Henry 1 The Castle
was given up to King Stephen, who appointed his son
Eustace as Constable, but he dying l)efore his father, Walkelin
de Magminot, who had surrendered to Queen Maud, was Con-
stable until the accession of Henry H., when his sudden
flight to the Continent gave support to the rumour that
he treacherously surrendered the Castle to Queen Maud.
HUBERT DE BURGH 's GALLANT DEFENCE.
The sternest siege that Dover Castle ever withstood
was in the latter part of the reign of King John, when the
English Barons invited Louis, the Dauphin of France to
come over and take the crown. Louis landed a great army
at Stonar, near Sandwich, and advanced on London, leaving
in his rear, Dover Castle, which was held by Hubert de
Burgh for King John. When the King of France heard
that his son had advanced on London leaving Dover Castle
untaken behind him, he sent a message to the Dauphin
telling him that he could not consider that he had gained a
foot in England until he had captured Dover Castle. Louis
then marched his forces hack to Dover, and planted before
the Castle walls great battering rams used in those days for
attacking fortified places, and having made some breaches
in the walls, on the 24th June, 12 16, he attempted to take
this fortress by storm, but without success. He then
closely invested the Castle, spending the month of August,
1216, in an effort to starve out the garrison, and in the
meantime the French miners dug a deep trench from the
foot of the hill, by Harold's Passage throwing up a high
mound on the South, hoping to shield themselves from the
DOVER CASTLE 27
Stones and darts thrown from the Castle walls as they
advanced up the trench to make an effective attack on the
North side, which though only slightly protected by walls
was strongly held by men-at-arms. While the miners were
engaged on the trench, Sir John de Pencester with a strong
body of cavalry, bringing provisions, made a dash from
Broadlees Bottom across the Northfall Meadow, entering the
Castle through Godwin's sally-port. This relief put
new heart into the garrison, who were holding out
gallantly on the 19th October, when King Joh-i died. Louis
sent a flag of truce with the news of the King's death,
calling for a surrender, with a threat that if Hubert de
Burgh continued the struggle he would be hung in front
of the Castle walls. To this the brave Hubert replied : " Let
not Louis hope that I will surrender as long as I draw
breath. Never will I yield to French aliens this Castle,
which is the very key and gate of England!" Soon after,
the French abandoned the siege with the intention of
renewing it in the following year; but an army that was
embarked from Calais, in eighty-six transports, to renew
the war was destroyed by the Cinque Ports Fleet within
sight of the Castle walls.
THE WARS OF THE BARONS.
In the Civil War between Henry HL and the Barons,
Dover Castle played an important part. On the Barons'
side, in June, 1263, Sir Roger de Leybourne entered into
a guerilla war in Kent, when he seized the Car,tle and Port
of Dover to prevent foreign mercenaries from landing to
help the King. Prince Edward, knowing that Sir Roger
was powerful enough to hold the Castle and Port, promised
that if the bold knight would go over to the King's side,
he should be legally installed as Constable of the Castle
and restored to his other forfeited offices and estates. The
terms were accepted, and the Castle restored to the King
in December, 1263. In the following year Sir Roger left
the Castle in charge of Richard de Grey, and marched
with the King's forces to Northampton ; and during his
absence Simon de Montford, aided by the Cinque Ports
men, seized Dover Castle, and, although Sir Roger de
Leybourne hurried back, his efforts to retake the Castle
failed. In the following year Prince Edward and Sir Roger
were taken prisoners at the Battle of Lewes. The Prince
28 ANNALS OF DOVER
was imprisoned by tlie Barons in Dover Castle, where Simon
de Montford was Constable; but Sir Roger eluded his
captors, and, a few months later, he succeeded in liberating
Prince Edward. Together they fought for the Royal cause
at the Battle of Evesham, when the Barons were finally
defeated in August, 1265. For two months longer the
Cinque Ports men held Dover Castle for the Barons, but
before the close of the year Sir Roger de Leybourne
returned with a suilicieiit army to quell the Cinque Ports
Insurrection, and to retake Dover Castle for Henry III.
THE WARS OF THE ROSES.
During the Wars of the Roses the Civil contests raged
round Dover Castle. In the beginning of the war
Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, was Constable, uphold-
ing the cause of the Red Roses ; and the Earl of Warwick,
surnamed " The King-Maker," who was Governor of
Calais, then an English city, championed the White Roses.
Warwick landed at Dover in June, 1460, with 1,500 men,
recruited in Calais, to support the Yorkists. He avoided
Dover Castle, which was then held by the Lancastrians,
but as he marched through Kent he issued '^'orkist mani-
festoes. The men of Kent, headed by Lord Cobham,
fiockefl to his banners, and by the time he reached Black-
h^ath, l)is following had increased to 30,000. From
London, Warwick continued his march with his ever-
increasiiig forces until he encountered the Lancastrian army
at Northampton, where their leader, the Constable of Dover
Castle, was slain. With the deposition of He.:ry VI., and
the crowning of Edward IV., Dover Castle was transferred
from the Lanca.strians to the Yorkists, but the fighting
which brought it about occurred far away in the Midlands.
That, however, was but tlie first act in the drama. Ele\en
vcars after that the Civil War continued to rage, and
'• Warwick, the King-Maker," was the stormy petrel all the
time until he fell in the Battle of Barnett in 1471. From
the time of his appointment as Constable of Dover Castle
and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, in T460, the Cinque
Ports men were his thick and thin adherents, even w'hen
he deserted the Yorkist cause to set up the Lancastrian
King again, l^ut although there was much n. arching and
crjuntcrmarching, alarms and rumours of war, there was no
actual figliling at the Castle; and although judges came
DOVER CASTLE 29
to Dover, when it was all over, to try the rebels, no one
was punished, and Sir John Scott, a Kentish man, who had
been Lieutenant Constable for Earl Warwick, was
promoted to the office of Constable when the wars were
over.
RICHARD DAWKES SEIZES THE CASTLE.
Richard Dawkes's exploit in seizing Dover Castle
during " The Great Rebellion " was a dramatic surprise,
which annoyed Kentish Royalists and elated -the Parlia-
mentarians much more than it affected the fortunes of war
on either side. The fortress was then in a netdected state,
held for the King by about twenty-five soldiers, when a
band of eight daring men, led by Richard Dawkes, a Dover
Freeman, resolved to seize it for the Parliament. They
met at the Flying Horse Inn, King Street, a little before
midnight on the 20th August, 1642, and, ha\ing formed
their plan, departed their various ways to meet an hour
later in the Northfall Meadow, near the Castle cliff.
Climbing the slope, near the Ashford Towers, they were
able, owing to the decayed state of the walls, to reach the
top of the hill, scale the old wall south of the Roman oval,
and surprise the guard, who, assuming that their assailants
were numerous, surrendered without resistance. It was not
a great exploit — in fact, the only great feature about it was
the great folly of those who left the Castle so badly
defended.
EXPLOITS OF THE KENTISH ROYALISTS.
The Parliamentary capture led to strenuous efforts on
the part of Kentish Royalists to re-capture " The Key of
the Kingdom." There was an attempt to re-capture made
by the Royalists in September, 1642, but it was successfully
resisted by the Parliamentary garrison. Nothing further
was done until 1648, when the Royalists of Kent, led by
Sir Richard Hardres, entered on a vigorous campaign to
re-capture all the Kent coast fortresses which had been
seized by the Parliamentary forces. Without much trouble,
Sir Richard seized the Castles of Sandown, Deal, and
Walmer, carrying away the ammunition and guns to Dover,
where they assembled 2,000 foot soldiers and the Kentish
Yeomanry. They opened a vigorous bombardment from
batteries on the high ground north of the spur. Five
30 ANNALS OF DOVER
hundred projectiles had been hurled against the northern
walls, doing damage which might have enabled the
besiegers to advance through the breaches and successfully
storm the fortress which was defended by Sir Algernon
Sydney and three companies of foot ; but before the
storming party were ready to advance, an overwhelming
force of Parliamentarians, who had marched under Colonel
Rich from Maidstone, dispersed the besiegers. After that
the Castle was left in the undisputed possession of the
Parliament until the Constable, the Earl of Winchelsea,
handed it over to Charles II. at the Restoration.
AN UNDRAMATIC CAPTURE.
A peculiar seizure of Dover Castle was effected on the
8th December, 1688. News had arrived of the abdication
of James 11. and the landing of William of Ormge. At the
same time it was rumoured in the town that Irish troops
were coming to take the Castle, and that French forces
would land to help them. The Castle being then without
a garrison, about thirty Dover men assembled in the Market
Place, where they made a public announcement that the
Castle was in peril. The little band soon increased to 300.
and they marched up to the Castle, and, in the name of
^^'ilIiam III., they took possession of the fortress. They
remained there all night, and in the morning the Mayor,
Captain William Stokes, R.N., went up to the gate to
beg them to return to the town, asserting that there was no
danger, but they refused to move until Colonel Wingfield,
with troops, arrived, when the Dover men yielded up the
Castle to the representative of the new King. The men,
who volunteered to hold the Castle against the world in
general and nobody in particular, were awarded such places
as they were fitted for in the Army and Navy.
napoleon's threatened INVA.SION.
The last menace that made a stir at Dover Castle was
Napoleon Bounaparte's threat of invasion. Between the
vears 1798 and 1805, engineers worked their hardest to
strengthen the fortress. Not only were the Ca.stle and
adjacent cliffs bristling with up-to-date guns, but the shore
of the Dover valley gap was secured by a line of detached
forts and a moat extending from cliff to cliff. A boom
protected the harbour's mouth, and a palisading the low
shore between the South Pier and Archcliffe. Troops
DOVER CASTLE 3I
crowded the Castle and the ^^'estel•n Heights, while across
the Channel, on the hills of Boulogne, could be seen the
long rows of tents where the soldiers of Bounaparte were
waiting to invade England. The crisis was expected on
the 9th August, 1805, when the army of invasion was
making ready to eml)ark. The troops at Dover all that day
and the following night were at attention, each man carrying
sixty ball cartridges. Of the adult population of Dover,
there had been a levy-en-masse, each townsman having his
allotted task. Some were told off to watch along the cliffs ;
some were appointed as guides to the troops; and others
had to take the women and children into the country for
safety. What resistance Dover Castle and its garrison
would have made was not put to the test, for the first line
of defence — the British Navy — made it impossible for the
army of invasion to leave Boulogne and the neighbouring
ports, and a little later the master stroke of Admiral Nelson
at Trafalgar caused the invasion scheme to be abandoned.
32 ANNALS OF DOVER
VII.
IX TIMES OF PEACE.
In times of peace, for centuries past, it has been the
custom for visitors to Dover to chmb the Ca.stle Hill to be
conducted over the great fortress by guides who could recite
much of its wonderful history. Such a visit, with an
intelligent guide, serves to illustrate many well-known
passages in English history. There are special features,
concerning which tourists never fail to make enquiries.
THE UNDERGROUND WORKS.
The underground passages, for instance, arouse much
curiosity ; but they cannot be entered unless application has
been made beforehand for a pass from the Army Hend-
(luarters Office at Dover. The members of the British
Archaeological Congress were conducted through them,
in 18S3, by Major Plunkett, R.E. The writer had an
opportunity of going through them on that occasion,
and once earlier, under the guidance of an old soldier, who
was skilful in drawing the " long bow." Such an ad\-enture
is romantic and interesting, yet very little of a military
character is to be learned down there. The oldest of the
underground passages date from the construction of the
northern works in the spur soon after the French siege in
1 216; and the more modern are the passages connected
with the casemates in the Cliff face excavated in 1798, with
the shaft sunk from the top of the Castle cliff to the Mote
Bulwark at the same period.
THE TOP OF THE KEEP.
The top of the Castle Keep, the other extreme of the
Castle fortifications, is a point that visitors are not allowed
now to reach without special arrangement. The top cannot
be approached by the broad stairs that lead to the inner
rooms, but by a narrower stairway in the south angle. The
top, 469 feet above sea level, affords fine views of the town
and harbour, and of the strikins: succession of hills and
bOVER CASTLE 33
dales which furrow the landscape on the west side of the
Dour Valley. To the north-east the view extends to the
North Foreland, Ramsgate, Reculvers Towers, Richborough
Castle, and Sandwich Towers, Eastward the \iew extends
to the Notre Dame Tower at Calais and Napoleon's
Column near Boulogne. Although *he Keep is
lofty, the land to the south-west is higher, the elevation
at Paddlesworth Knoll being 146 feet higher than the
summit of the Keep.
In the year 1787 Major-General Roy fixed an instrument
to the north turret of the Keep to enable the surveyors of
England and France to connect the triangulation for the
exact measurement of the distance betwe^en the two
countries. The distance across the Straits, which had not
been accurately known previously, was found to be from
this turret to the Tower of the Notre D.ime, Calais,
137,449 feet, that is 26 miles 11 poles and 4 feet.
Looking from the top of the Keep, it will be interesting
to recall the substance of a statement made from that point
of vantage to a company of archaeologists by Major
Plunkett, R.E., on the 25th August, 1883. He said: "If
you look out on this side towards the sea you will obtain
a clear idea of the size and form of the mound on which
stands the ancient structure known as the Pharos. The
earthwork seems to have originally consisted of a
parallelogram of 400 feet by 140 feet. The first addition
to that oblong earthwork seems to have enciosed what is
the parade ground below us. The next great line of
defence, in the form of a horseshoe, is pretty clearly
shown by the walls and towers of the Keep Yard, which
are built on the ancient Saxon work. Then there is a
larger horseshoe, said to have been originally Saxon work.
The base of it extends from Peverell's Tower there, on
the west, to Averanche's Tower, on the east. The curve
of the horseshoe is represented by the walls and towers
extending round the north part of the Castle from
Peverell's to Averanche's. That horseshoe vas originally
formed of earthworks, which were first impioved by the
erection at intervals of detached towers from which archers
could annoy an enemy attempting to mount the slopes.
In Roman and Saxon times it was considered sufficient
to provide a wide ditch to prevent their enemies from
34 ANNALS OF DOVER
'■' clobiiig with tliem, but greater skill in throwing missiles
" at the detendcrs on the ramparts within the ditch made
"it necessary to have these detached towers, where,
" through loojj-holes, the archers could shoot without cxpos-
" ing themselves. There were three ot those anhers' towers
" still standing, shown hi the plans of the Castle, in 1794.
" Coming to the Norman system of fortifications, the Keep
" on which we stand was a principal feature. It has been
" assumed l)y some who have attempted to describe the
" Castle that the outer walls and towers round the hill from
" the cliff at Canon's Gate up to the Constable's Tower
" and along the eastern side back to the cliff again, were
" the work of the early Normans, but there is reason to
" believe that they are of the Edwardian times. These
'■ outer walls and flanking towers formed the next step in the
" progress of fortifications after this central l\.eep was built.
" The chief point in the construction of such fortifications
" was the placing of flanking towers at such intervals that
''the assailants of any one tower would be exposed tn a
"cross iirc of arrows and stones from the towers on ti .;er
" side. Another characteristic of mediaeval fortificatic i .s was
" sally-ports anil barbicans, from which to make sorui.:- and
" annoy the liesieging forces. At yonder jpur northward,
" with its underground works, there was an arrangement of
" that nature, where a passage from the ditch branched off
" into three galleries. The next step in fortifications was
" necessitated by the introduction of artillery. It was some
" time l)efore the new system was introduced here, but it
" was brought into use by Henry VIII., who made improve-
" ments in the fortifications at the foot of the Castle cliff.
" No other great change seems to have been made in
" the defences of the Castle from the time of the Ed.v: rds
" until the end of the Eighteenth Century, when Mr. Pitt
" appears to have obtained ;!^50,ooo to spend in strengtlien-
" ing these f rtifications. (ireat improvements were then
"made; advanced bastions and earthworks which you see
" on the way up from the town and others on the eastern
" side. The oijject was the same as in the construction
" of the mediaeval towers — that the several parts of the
" fortifications should aft'ord protection to each other. 7"he
" mo.st recent improvement was the construction of capon-
" niers, or c nered galleries, from which to flank and dc'cnd
" those ditches. If you will look towards the north you
bOVER CASTLE -35
will see Fort Burgoyne, which is a good example of the
more recent phase of the art of fortification, in which the
system of defending the ditches by caponniers is a very
important feature, with arrangements for heavy fire from
artillery and rifles along the ditch, the defenders being
so placed as to be almost safe from the fire of the enemy.
I would also point out to you how the whole of the
defences of the position of Dover — not only the defences
on this hill, but on the heights on the other side of thd
valley — are only the adaptation of principles which were
well known in the Middle Ages. That long line of
ramparts on the opposite Heights, from the Drop
Redoubt up to the Citadel, has in front of it the valley up
which the Folkestone Road runs, which W!.» may look
upon as a gigantic ditch, and which, as long as it is
swept by the fire from Fort Burgoyne, from this Castle,
and from any batteries which may be placed between
them, would be inaccessible to an approaching force,
which must, consequently, be confined in its advance to
the narrow neck of land stretching westwaid from the
Citadel in the direction of Folkestone ; while on the east
side of the Castle the fire from the outwork called the
East Wing Battery sweeps the hollow ground to the edge
'of the cliff." After this statement on the top, the
underground works, already mentioned, were visited.
THE OLDEST TOWERS.
The oldest Towers in the Castle are enquired
after by visitors. It will be gathered from Major
Plunkett's statement that some of the old towers
were destroyed in adding new defences in the Eighteenth
Century, but the oldest tower of all, the Roman
Pharos, stands — suppo.sed to date from AD. 50. The
olde.st Saxon Tower remaining is known as Colton Gate,
which bestraddles the narrow way that anciently led up into
both the Roman and vSaxon fortifications. Peverell's
Tower, with an arched gateway on the wall next the town,
is believed to be the oldest existing Norman work, the
Con.stable's Tower, which was older, having been rebuilt
a century after the Conquest.
ANCIENT WEAPONS.
Of ancient weapons, there used to be many samples
in the Keep and the Constable's Tower. In one of the
36 ANNALS OF DOVER
walls in the Keep is preserved intact a Norman loop-hole
used in the liays of darts and arrows. There also may be
seen spears and cross-bows o^ the Middle Ages; also, some
curious pieces used four centuries ago when fire arms were
first introduced. One is a seven-chaml^ercd gun, all the
barrels of which were fired simultaneously. There is also
a two-handed sword j)icked up on the battle field of Hastings.
Somewhere in the Keep is said to be the ancient sword
which for centuries was in the Constable's Tower, and known
as the sword of Julius Caesar. Affording comparison with
the old, the Keep contains an armoury of modern weapons.
THE ANCIENT CHURCH.
The Church in the Castle, the antiquity of which has
already been mentioned, is much encjuired about l)y visitors.
It is said to be the oldest church in this country, and it
certainly was the first built in Dover. When it was founded,
about the year 180 the whole of the population of Dover occu-
pied this hill top. During a long lapse into heathenism this
C^hurch fell into ruin, but it was reconstructed under Au'ius-
tine, the first Bishop of Canterbury, about A.D. 600, and King
Eadl)ald, A.D. 620 established a college of Secular Canons,
who served this rhurch until they were removed to their new
house and church of St. Martin beside the livei Dour A.D.
700. After that date the services of the Castle Church were
continued by three Chaplains, supported out of the Manor
of Cocklcscombe in the Parish of I,ydden ; but, after the
Reformation their number was reduced to one. There was
a regular succession of chaplains until A.D. i6go, when,
owing to the ruinous state of the church, public worship
therein was discontinued. After that date the stipend,
amounting to f)etween thirty and forty pounds continued to be
])rt!d for more than a century, but tlic recipient never did
duty. This <'hur<-l) was used by the Castle Carrison for
al)oul 600 y<;MS, and during that time many distinguished
l)er.sons were Iniried within it, while for the soldiers and
their families there was a burial grotmd on tiie south and east
sides of the church, within the limits of the Roman entrench-
ment. After the discontiruiance of the services in 1690 the
burials in the Castle Cliurchyard ceased, the Castle Garrison
interments, which were few, taking place mostly at St. James's
Church. .\bout the middle of the eighteenth century when
the wars brought more soldiers to Dover, the Old St. Martin's
DOYER CASTLE 37
Churchyard, to which there was an entrance frorc the Market
Place, was used to bury common soldiers, while the officers
were usually buried at St. James' and St. Mary's Churches.
From 1796, for about 20 years a great many regiments were
crowded into Dover Castle, and in the year 1800 a graveyard
was consecrated for the burial of soldiers outside the Castle
walls near the top of the Northfall Meadow. That graveyard
still exists and there used to be a good many small headstones
there indicating that the soldiers there buried belonged chiefly
to Militia Regiments from Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Cornwall,
Yorkshire, Sussex, and Wales. Some, it was mentioned, died
in the Castle of smallpox, which led to the suppo.sition that
this burial ground had been specially used at the time of an
epidemic, but the evidence seems to indicate that it was
generally used for the Castle Garrison interments, one writer,
as late as 1S44, said it was then occasionally used for soldiers.
There were many monuments in the Castle Church when it
ceased to be used in 1690, but they were all allowed to
crumble to decay with the exception of a beaatiful monument
erected there in memory of the Earl of Northampton, Con-
stable and Warden, who died in 1614. VValpole, in his
anecdotes of notable men, says he copied from the note-book
of Nicholas Stone, the Statuary, the following memorandum :
" A.D. 16 1 5, agreed with Mr. Griffin for to make a tomb
" for my Lord Northampton, and set it in Dover Castle, for
"which I had ^500, well paid." Owing to the neglected
state of the church after the services ceased, the tomb and
the marble coffin containing the body were removed in 1696,
and in the wall where the monument had stood was placed a
stone bearing this statement " In this place was buried the
" body of Henry, Earl of Northampton, Constable of Dover
" Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, A.D. 1614;
" and in this place stood, likewise, a monument in memory
" of the said Earl, whose body and monument, by reason of
" the ruinous state of this chapel were removed to the
" Hospital at East Greenwich, the foundation of the said
" Earl." After the church fell into ruin the Old Church
of St. James' at the foot of the hill was used by the garri.son,
the church plate from the Castle was lent to the clergy of St.
James's and the bells which had long hung in the Pharos
Tower were given to a church at Portsmouth, giving rise to
the saving " The Dover Castle bells can be heard at Ports-
■^8 ANNALS OF DOVER
mouth." In 17S0 the ruins of the Castle Church were
convened into a cooperage and storehouse, and in 1794 it
was transtormed into a barrack room, but, on the evening
of Christmas Day, iSoi, the south-west corner of the nave
collapsed, and large portions of the south and west walls fell.
The interior was then choked up with debris, but in 1808 it
was cleared out and used as a coal store. Having been
reduced to these base uses for a period of 170 years, in i860
its restoration was taken in hand by Sir Gilbert Scott, on
behalf of the War Department, and in 1862, the edifice with
its ancient architectural features carefully preserved, was
re-opened as the Castle Garrison Church, and placed in charge
of the Senior Chaplain of the Forces at Dover.
QUEEN Elizabeth's pocket pistol.
The most popular " lion " of the Castle is a long gun
exhibited on a stand near Canon Gate. Up to the year 1827 it
occupied a wooden stand near the cliff edge, but in that
year the Duke of Wellington, as Master General of the
Ordnance, had its present iron stand cast from the metal of
guns brought from the field of Waterloo. A contributor to
the Gentleman's Magazine in 1767, gave a description of
the gun as follows: — "On the most southern part of the
cliffs, which form the platform of Dover Castle, lies a brass
gun, 24 feet long without, and 22 feet long in the bore,
with these inscriptions raised on it in Roman Capitals: —
Ian Tolhuys van Utrecht, 1544."
" This is supposed to be the founder's name. Under it is
a shield with six chevronels, quartering a fess indented;
on the escutcheon of pretence a saltire cheque. Motto: —
"Sans aultre." The arms of England in a garter with "Dieu
et Mon Droit." Then follows the inscription: —
" Brech scuret al muer ende wal
Bin ich geheten
Doer bergh en dal boert minen bal
Van mi gesmeten."
" Under an armed woman holding a spear and palm branch
is the word, "Victoria." Under another woman, "Libertas."
Under a river god ' ' Scalda. ' ' This curious gun, vulgarly called
" Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol," the Gentleman's
Magazine writer continues " was a present from the Emperor
Charles V. to Henry VIII., while they were engaged together
in a war with France. It requires i5lbs. of powder, and
DOYER CASTLE 39
will carry a ball seven or eight miles, or, as they say, to
Calais."
We give the foregoing statement of the history of the
gun because it has been adopted by many writers. Opinions
differ as to whether the " pistol " was presented to Henry
VIII. by Charles V., or, as the inscription on the board near
"it asserts, by the States of Holland to Queen Elizabeth. The
"latter opinion is best supported. It is evident from the
account in the Gentleman's Magazine that it was generally
known as Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol as early as 1767.
Also, the metal stand which the gun now occupies has the
initials E.R. cast in it, and as that was done by the order
of the Duke of Wellington, Master General of the Ordnance
in 1827, it may be assumed that, in his official position,, from
the records of the Ordnance Department, he had obtained
knowledge which justified him in affixing the monogram of
Queen Elizabeth to the trophy. On the other side, there
is no evidence whatever that the gun was presented by the
Emperor to Henry VIII. In the year 1544, when the gun
was cast at Utrecht, the Emperor Charles and King Henry
formed an alliance to invade France and march on Paris, the
Emperor's army to march from the Netherlands, and Henry's
from Calais. Possibly, when this grand scheme was in the
bud, the Emperor commissioned the Utrecht founder to cast
this gun as a present to his powerful ally; but, early in 1544,
these two monarchs quarrelled, the Emi)eror making a separate
Peace with France in violation of the treaty of alliance, and
Henry rcturnefl to Dover after the useless siege of Boulogne.
It is certain that the two monarchs never afterwards had any
friendly intercourse, therefore it is reasonai)le to suppose
that the gun was never presented to Henry VIII., it being
left in the Netherlands, and 34 years later, when Queen
Elizabeth formed an alliance with the Orange Party in the
Netherlands, the gun was presented to her as the official
notice states, " Presented by the States of Holland to Queen
Elizabeth."
Harold's well.
This celebrated well Harold swore to give up with the
Castle to William of Normandy. Opinions differ as to which
was the well — the one in the now demolished Well Tower,
which stood south-east of the Keep Yard or the one in the well-
room near the top of the grand stairs of t-he Keep. Both
wells are probably of Saxon origin, but historians identify that
40 ANNALS OF DOVER
in the Keep as Harold's Well; for, although it is now in a
Norman Keep the Saxon Keep was on the same site, and
when the Normans raised their more lofty structure they
carried up the steening of the well to the present elevation of
its muuth in the Well Room. The well, from which the
garrison is now supplied, is a modern one, both of these
Saxon wells having been lost or forgotten, the one in the
Keep having been arched over at an early period and the
other when the Well Tower was demolished in 1780.
Harold's Well in the Keep was re-opened in 181 1, being
then dry and only 289 feet deep, having, unfortunately been
used as the dust bin of the Royal apartments, for it had
originally been sunk to a depth of 400 feet from the ground
level. The other well of the Well Tower, the situation of
which had been forgotten, was found in 19 10, when a builder
was digging foundations for soldiers' quarters between the
Roman Oval and the Keep Yard.
ROYAL APARTMENTS.
Dover Castle has always been deemed royal, and from
the earliest times the Constable was expected to entertain
Kings anil Princes when they desired to stay there. The
royal ajjartments at the beginning of the Ni.nman Period
were over Godwin's Sally-port overlooking Knight's Bottom
where the tilting matches were held. When the Constable '.^
Tower was re-built, a century after the Conquest, the Royal
apartments were there ; but after the present Keep was built
by Henry H., the large upper rooms were regularly occupied
by the royal visitors who had a private stair-case to the leads
above, where, from the Keep top they enjoyed a combination
of extensive views, fresh country air, and the ozone of the
sea. Quite a rare pageant of monarchs and princes have
century after century occupied the Castle Royal apartments;
the Conqueror entertained by his half-brother Odo, the
Constable, viewed the Knights' tilting matches from Godwin's
Tower; Stephen and his spirited Queen Maud enjoyed the
grand western views from the newly erected Constable's
Tower. John, when threatened by the French and by his
Barons, gave his final directions here to Hubert de
Burgh before the great sici^e. Edward I., before his acces-
sion occupied the Royal apartments in the Keep, as a prisoner
of the Barons. Henry VHI. passed many a night here when
he was j)rci)arlng the Castle to receive artillery and building
DOVER CASTLE 4 1
his "Mighty Pier"; and it is possil)le he 'aid his weaiy
head to rest here when he returned from the disappointing
expedition to Boulogne in 1544. Queen EHzabeth spent a
gay week here during her progress in the .lutumn of 1573,
and another soberer week in 1601, when with tne wisdom and
experience of old age, she conferred with Sully, the French
King's envoy, on the maintenance of the balance of power
in Europe. Charles I., in 1625, met his bride, Henrietta of
France, on the Grand Staircase, she having spent the night
in the Keep apartments before the King came to take her
to their marriage ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral.
Charles II., with rather a roistering party spent three weeks
of revels in these apartments on the occasion when the quickly
discarded Treaty of Dover was negotiated. Queen Victoria
vi-sited the Castle, and made a short stay in the Constable's
Tower in November, 1842, their main stay at that time being
at Walmer Castle, where the Queen remained a week as the
guest of the Constable of Dover Castle — the Duke of
Wellington.
THE debtor's prison.
The Debtors' Prison, near Canon Gate, was for many
years a point of interest, and at the same time a terror to
indigent people of Kent and Sussex. Originahy it was the
general prison of the Cinque Ports. In times of civil and
religious strife, political and ecclesiastical prisoners were
incarcerated here, amongst whom, at different times were
impri.soned the Rev. John Reading, Mini.ster of St. Mary
the Virgin ; Capt. Samuel Tavener, a Cromwellian soldier and
a Baptist minister; and Luke Howard, a prominent Dover
Quaker. Later it was a place of detention for debtors and
smugglers. The cases of the debtors was most pitiable as
their apartments were wretched places ; they had to depend
on friends or their own means for sustenance, and until
their debts were paid or forgiven they had no definite hope
of liberation. For their benefit there was a collecting box
outside with the appeal on it "Pity the poor Debtors!"
Parliamentary candidates for Dover always u.sed to make a
point of coming up to give them something ; and Mr. James
Neild, the London Philanthropist left ;£8oo in consols for
their relief in the Eighteenth Century, and when the prison
was closed in 1855 the capital sum was transferred to the
Dover Alm.shouses Charity. The prison itself was finally
demolished in 191 1 to provide a site for soldiers quarters.
42 ANNALS OF DOVER
VIII.
THE CONSTABLES AND WARDENS.
The long roll of Constables of Dover Castle contains the
names of many men of renown, who have had charge of
the ancient fortress since the days of Edward ihe Confessor.
The whole of those who have been commissioned by the
Sovereign to hold the Constableship will be mentioned in
this list, while those who have made a figure in liistory will
be sj)ecially noticed.
1. — GoDWiNE the celebrated Earl of Kent, was described
in ancient records as the Lord Protector of Dover. As Earl
of Kent, this Castle was the seat of his authority, and he
was the originator of the fortifications which made it a great
stronghold in the latter part of the Saxon PcTiod.
2. — Harold, son of (Jodwine, was in charge of the
Castle after his father's death. Harold and his masons
finished the Saxon Keep and towers which his father began
to liuild. Harold, during the time he was Constable, under
Edward the Confessor, was cruising in the Channel, when a
storm drove him ahore in Normandy. He was there the
guest of Duke William of Normandy, who took advantage of
his position as host by compelling Harold to swear that he
would fortify the Castle of Dover, dig a good well of water
there and give it up to William. Being in the hands of a
high placed blackmailer, Harold had to swear to perform the
promise or die, but he had no intention of making good
the promise, for he did his utmost to resist William of
Normandy and died in defence of his kingdom on the field
of Hastings, leaving sufficient faithful followers to compel
the Conqueror to take Dover Ca.stle by force of arms.
3. — Bertram .'\shburniiam, who had been placed in
charge of Dover Castle when Harold became King, was in
c()mmand at Dover when the Conqueror ^nd his hosts
marclied against it from Hastings. The resistance of the
garrison, under the last Saxon Constable, caused the Normans
tf) burn the town, and when the Castle was taken Bertram
Ashburnham was beheaded.
DOVER CASTLE 43
4. — William de Peverel, a Norman who fought at
Plastings, was ])lace(.l in charge of Do\er Castle after the
execution of Ashl)urnhani, l)ut after the ('on(|ucror hafl taken
full possession of the Kingdom, it was transferred to his
half-brother, Odo.
5. — Odo, JVishop of Baieux, the Conqueror's half
brother, immediately after the coronation, was made Con-
stable of Dover Castle and Earl of Kent. Lambardc
described this great Norman as being " busy, greedy, and
ambitious," a very correct description for he was immediately
very busy in ejecting the owners of Kentish Manors, and
handing some of them over to Norman Warriors, keeping
200 of them for himself. He collected great masses of
gold and silver intending to purchase therewith the Pai)al
Cliair at Rome. The ambition of Oilo aroused the jealousy
of William the (\)iK|ueror, who banished him from the
Realm, and he died in exile.
6. — John de Fiennes, third son of Eustace, Earl of
Hiiulogne, was a))pointed Constable in io<S4. A docnmient
in the British Museum states that " Willinm. Duke of
Normandy, after he had by concjuest acquired (he Kingdom
of England bestowed many honours upon his companions
an(i nobles. Amongst others he endowed the Lord de
Fiennes with the Constalilcship of Dover Castle in {)er])etual
fee. He also gave the same Lord 56^ Knights' fees."
Because of these words " perpetual fee " it has been asserted
that the ('onstableship was hereditary, but the appointments
of much later Constables contained words to the same effect,
but the ortice was always held during the Sovereign's pleasure.
7 and 8. — James de Fiennes and John de Fiennes,
descendants of John, held the office of Constable, but
whether they succeeded on hereditary grounds or were
appointed by the Sovereign is not recorded.
9. — W^alkelin Magminot was a[)pointed Constal)le by
King Stephen. He was not a descendant of the Fiennes
family. He was a Knight serving at the Castle under
John de Fiennes IL When Queen Maud, King Stephen's
wife demanded the surrender of the Castle in ii3<S Fiennes
was away in the Midlan<ls and Walkelin, who was in charge
surrendered to her the fortress.
10. — Prince Eustace, son of Stephen, was made Con-
stable towards the end of Stephen's reign, but he dying in
44
ANNALS OF DOVER
1 '53
Walkelin seems to have been in charge again until the
end of the reign.
ji_ — Robert Fitz-Bernard was appointed Constable
early in the reign of Henry II., but it appears that although
Walkelin Mamignot fled at the death of Stephen, he was
continued in his office until his death. Robert Fitz-Bernard
was in oflice when the Norman buildings in the Castle were
commenced. WilUam Cade, Prepositus of Dover was
associated with him in the work.
12. — Hugo de Mara succeeded to the Constableship in
1 169 and held it eighteen years.
13. — Alan de Valeines, whom some writers have taken
for Alan Fiennes, became Constable in 1187, and held office
during the building of the Xorman Keep. The builders in
charge of the work were William Fitz-Helte and William
d'Enemeda, assisted by Philip de Pising, Godwin Fitz-
Amfride. Walter d'Estrea, and Joseph de Dover. The
building was completed in Ji88, and the money expended
during the previous seven years on the Keep, with the
curtain wall ami towers, was ^^4,500.
14. — Matthew de Clera was appointed Constable in
TiQO. Soon after he was made Constable by Richard I.,
Jeffery, a natural son of the late King, landed at Dover to
take the post of Archbishop of York, his appointment having,
it was alleged, the Pope's authority. The Pope's Legate
in England did not recognise the appointmejit, and gave
orders for his arrest on landing, to avoid which Jeffery
fled for sanctuary to the altar of Dover Priory. By the
order of the Legate, the Constable and his men-at-arms
marched into the Priory Church and dragged him up to
the Castle, where he and his retinue were imprisoned,
whereupon several of the Bishops and Barons raised a force
and released the Archbishop, who proceeded on his journey
to York. For this violation of the Church, the Constable
was deprived of his office.
15. — Willum de Wrotham is the next Constable on
the list, having been appointed A.D. 1195. Several other
names are gi\en as having been in the otficc of Constable
about this time, but they appeared to be unauthorised.
16.— Thomas Basset, Lord of Hedenden, filled the
office of Constable for a short time, A.D. 12CI.-2.
I/- — Hubert de Burgh was one of the great Con-
t)OTER CAStL£ 45
Stables. From his first appointment until he finally vacated
the ofiice was a period of thirty years, 1292-1232, but from
1203 to 12x5 Xos. 18, Baron Huntingfield, 19, William de
Longspee, 20, Geoffrey Fitz-Pier, and 21, Lord Torbay,
successively filled the office for short periods.
Hubert de Burgh was a great soldier and an eminent
statesman, so that such a post as Constable of Dover Castle
was not an occupation to attract him in quiet times. After
holding the position one year he took up more active service
on the Continent, where he held the Castle of Chinon, an
English pos.ses.sion, for one year against great odds, and
when the Castle was shattered he and his men-at-arms
advanced and fought a fruitless battle in the open. He was
taken prisoner, but eventually escaped to England. When the
discontent amongst the Barons looked dangerous, King John
again appointed him Constable of Dover Ca.stle, which
he held against the French through a long siege with famine
fare and shorthanded. When the news came of the death
of King John he still held out so stubbornly that the siege
was raised, and an overpowering force embarked from France
to carry the Castle by storm. The brave Hnh'ert, refusing
to wait to be attacked in the Castle, put himself at the
head of the Cinque Ports Fleet and met the enemy on the
sea. Before he embarked he received the Sai;rament from
his Chaplain, and to his Deputy, left in the charge of the
Castle, he gave this imperative order: "If I be taken, let
me be hanged rather than give up the Castle, for it is the
key of England!" With the Cinque Ports ships, manned
by Cinque Ports men, he sailed away, and, getting to the
windward of the tran.sports, fell upon them with such effect
that the French expedition was totally defeated within sight
of the Castle walls.
22, Henry de Braibroc, 23, Robert de Nereford, and
24, Hugh de Windsor, were Con.stables of no historic
importance.
25. — Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury,
who was Constable from the 30th December, 1223, to the
22nd January, 1224, was such a short time in office that
he could only have been appointed for some S]jecial object,
which is not left on record ; but the important part he
played with regard to the Magna Charta makes him an
illustrious link in the long chain of Constables.
4^ AMNALS OF DOVER
26, Geoffeiy de Lucy, 27, Hubert Hoese de Hoesc, and
28, Geoffrey de Surlaiid, were Constables between 1224
and 1226.
29. — William de Averanch, Lord of Folkestone, is
believed to have been the tirst Constable of Dover Castle
who was also Lord Warden of the Cinque Poits. On the
1 2th March, 1226, a writ from Henry HL to the Barons of
the Cinque Ports was issued on behalf of William de
Averanch, Constable of Dover Castle, and Fenry Turgis,
Propositus of Dover, appointing them Wardens of the Cinque
Ports during pleasure. Previously, the Cinque Ports had
been specially summoned to render service by the King, but
from this date the Constable of Dover Castle was invariably
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
30. — Bertram de Crioill, appointed Constable of
Dover Castle A.D. 1227, was the first regularly appointed
I>ord Warden of the Cinque Ports. He was Constable
three times, from 1227 to 1232, from 1236 to 1242, and
from 1242 to July, 1256, when he died, and was buried
in St. Radigund's Abbey, but his appointment of Lord
^\"a^den of the Cin(|ue Ports appears to have been formally
dated from ist May, 1236.
31, Henry Hoese, 32, Lord de Segrove, ^;^, Hamo de
Crevequer, 34, Humphrey de Bohun, and 35, Peter de
Savoy, were Constables and Wardens of no historical note;
except that it is of interest to mention that the last-named
was a foreigner. Owing to the growing angry feelings stirred
up by the reversal of Hubert de Burgh's poli.^y, " England
for the English," Peter de Savoy was returning to his own
countr}', but was stopped at Dover on 6th November, 1241,
and made Constable of the Castle and Lord Warden of the
Cinque Ports, which office he held until March. 1242, when
he went with the King to Poitou, and Bertram de Crioill
took the office, which he held till his death, 13th July, 1256.
36. — Sir Reginald Cobeham de Allington was Con-
stable for two years, and it is recorded that his salary was
50 marks a year, in addition to the wards of the Castle
and the Passage allowance.
37. — Sir Roger Xorthwode, who was ext.-cutor of Sir
Reginald Cobeham, had charge of the Castle for a few
months onlv.
DOVER CASTLE 47
38. — Nicholas de Moels (Lord of Ciuidebury) took
charge as Constal)le on 6th January, 1258, bui bemg soon
after sent to ParUament by Oxford as a supporter of the
King, he had to give up both the Constableship and the
office of Lord Warden.
. .. 39- — Richard de (jRey, Lord Condor, was appointed
Constable of the Castle on the 22nd June, 1258, and. Lord
Warden of the Cinque Ports on the day following, a sign
that, although the two offices were now held by the same
person, thev were separate appointments. He surrendered
the offices in September, 1259, but was re-appointed in
August, 1263, by Simon de Montford, in the interest of
the Barons, and in December of that year it appears from
the Chronicles of St. Martin's Priory that he repulsed an
attempt of Prince Edward to take the Castle for the King.
Sir Roger de Leybourne was also nominated as Constable
at that time, but had not taken possession. Leaving the
Castle at the end of the year 1263 to take part in the
Siege of Rochester, he again held the Con.stableship in
1264, after which he took the field on l)ehalf of the Barons,
and, finally, his estates being forfeited, he died in poverty
in 1 27 1.
40.— Hugh de Bigod held the office of Constable as
successor to Richard de Grey in September, 1259; on the
following day he was appointed Lord Warden and High
Chamberlain of Sandwich. He was then of the Baronial
j)arty, but, eventually, went over to the King, and trans-
ferred the Castle intere.st to the Royal cause.
41. — Nicholas de Crioill took the office of Constable
in 1260, in succession to Hugh de Bigod, also in the
interest of the King, and received at the Castle a sum of
money which Albricus de Fiscampo and he sent forward
to the King by two trusty messengers, John de Sutton and
George de Dover. A few days later there was a similar
transfer. He was specially enjoined to provide for the
safety of Dover Harbour, but at that time the port.smen
were stout .supporters of the Baronial party.
42. — Robert de Walerand, Lord of Kilpek, was
appointed Constable and Warden l)y the King himself, who
was at the Castle on the 3rd May, 1261. His .salary was
;£!^4oo, deri>cd from the issues of Hie Dover Passage, the
High Chaniberlainship of Sandwich, and the Wards of the
4^ ANNALS OF DOVER
Castle. At the same time he was Gustos of Kent and
Guardian of Rochester and Ganterbury Gastles. He left
Dover on special service in July, 1262, but was re-appointcd
Ganstable in February, 1263. He died in 1272.
43. — Walter de Burgsted was appointed Gonstable
when Walerand gave up the office in July, 1262. These
frequent changes in the holders of the Gonstableship arose
from the Baronial war then in progress, makiag it necessary
to move the King's chief supporters from filace to place
where they could best serve him. In the previous year,
when the King was at the Gastle, Simon de Montford had
retired to the Continent, and there was a lull in the Civil
War, but in 1262 the leader of the Barons had returned
with a large army, and W^alerand was moved from the
Castle to take active service in the field.
44. — Prince Edmund was joined with Robert de
Gascoyne in the Gonstableship on the 15th June, 1263.
Nothing is known of Gascoyne, but Prince Edmund, being
the second son of Henry III., probably Gascoyne was put
in to do all the work, leaving the Prince to do the ornamental
part of the business. At that time the Civil War was being
fiercely waged with varying success. Parties feing evenly
balanced, the matters in dispute were referred to the King
of P'ranre for arl»itration, but the award which he gave was
not accepted, and the war was renewed, culminating in the
Battle of Lewes on May 13th, 1264, when Henry III. and
Prince Edward were taken prisoners.
45 — Henry de Sandwich, Bishop of London, appears
to have occupied a neutral position between the combatants.
After the battle of Lewes he arranged an armistice on the
terms that the Gastle of Dover was to be given up with its
arms, and garniture to Henry de Sandwich to be held by
the Baronial party as a .sign of the King's sincerity, but
after receiving the Ga.stle from Prince Edmund and Robert
de Gascoyne he ceased to act as Con.stable. When the
Civil War was over Henry de Sandwich was exccmmunicated,
but before his death he made peace with the Church and the
King.
46. — John de Haia, was a leader of the Baronial party,
and on the same day that the Castle was handed over to
Henry de Sandwich, Sir Simon de Montfort sent John de
Haia to take pos.session of the Ca.stle for the Barons. After
DOVER CASTLE 49
holding the post a few months he gave it up to Richard de
Grey for the Barons, but in December, 1263, Roger de
Leybourne took possession of the Castle, by force, in the
name of the King.
The changes at the Castle in the year 1263 were rapid
and dramatic. In February of that year the Castle was held
by Robert Walerand, a staunch supporter of Henry III. In
June he gave place to Nicholas de Crioill, also of the King's
party, he having l)een appointed specially to exert his influence
as I^ord Warden for the safety of Dover Harbour against the
Portsmen, who were then allied with the Barons against the
King; but, being unable to win the Dover Manners to the
King's cause, in the same month he, as Constable and
Warden gave place to Prince Edmund in the interests of
Henry 111. ; the Prince succeeded no better, for in July he, as
before stated, had to surrender the Castle ro Henry de Sand-
wich, Bishop of London, in the interest of the Barons, but on
the same day the post was transferred to John de Haia, also
a nominee of the Barons. He in turn gave place to Richard
de Grey of the same side, who was put into office as Constable
when Sir Roger de Leybourne, who had previously been oper-
ating on the coast between Dover and Sandwich, to prevent the
landing of mercenary troops to aid the King, severed his
connection with the Baronial party, and in December, 1263,
seized Dover Castle for the King. A few months earlier, be-
fore the Battle of Lewes, Prince Edward (afterwards Ed-
ward I.) had an interview with Sir Roger, who had been
his companion in his youth, and offered to him the return
of his forfeited estates and the Constableship of Dover
Castle with the Wardenship of the Cinque Ports if he would
join the King's army. Sir Roger consented, and he fought
side by side with Prince Edward in the Battle of Lewes,
where they were both taken prisoners. During the armistice
which followed, when it was resolved that Simon de Montfort
should call a Parliament to settle the Nation's grievances,
it was decided that Prince Edward should be kept in close
confinement in Dover Castle, but Sir Roger was liberated on
his giving word to appear to answer for his conduct before
Parliament. The King who had also been made a prisoner
in the same battle, after it was settled to permit Montfort to
call a Parliament, was liberated and he went abroad. Mean-
while, Sir Roger de Leybourne had his eye on Dover Castle,
50 ANNALS OF DOVER
where Prince Edward was confined. Sir Roger was by
promise from the King already Constable of the Fortress, and
gathering some daring men around him, he, in December,
1263, siezed the Castle, making his Constableship a reality,
and he released Prince Edward from confinement.
47. — Sir Roger de Leybourne held the office of Con-
stable and Lord Warden twice. From what has been already
related it has been made evident that he was a brave and
not over scrupulous warrior. He more than once changed
sides, and was satirized in a political song, written in Latin,
and which being translated ran thus: —
And Sir Roger de Leybourne
Did to this side and that turn
Self-interest to safeguard
His turns and his crosses
Made up for the losses
Before caused by Edward.
After Sir Roger de Leybourne installed himself as Con-
stable in December, 1263, he only held the Castle for four
months. It was not a post that he coveted except for
the pleasure of winning it, and the satisfaction of liberat-
ing the Prince. The Ports were all stoutly Baronial, and
Sir Roger was glad to quit his isolated position, and take
service in the open where he could do something effectual
for the cause that he had espoused. He left the Castle
in charge of his Deputy in February, 1264, and went over to
France to escort the King to Dover, and directly on landing
he marched with the King to Northampton. During his
absence, Simon de Montfort, backed by the whole of the
Cinque Ports, took possession of the Castle and placed his son
Henry de Montfort there as Constable. From Northampton
Sir Roger hurried back to Kent, and assisted in the defence
of Rochester Castle, which the Barons were attacking, and
with his aid they were compelled to raise the seige. Sir
Roger de Leybourne was then a Constable and Warden whom
the Ports would not acknowledge, and from whom the Castle
was withheld. Under those circumstances the King
appointed him Guardian of the Kent and Sussex Coasts. In
the following year Sir Roger fought beside Prince Edward at
the Battle of Evesham, when Simon de Montfort, the leader
of the Barons, was slain. That was on the 4th of Augu-st,
1265, and on the 25th of the same month Sir Roger de
DOVER CASTLE 5I
Leybourne returned to Dover and again took up his office of
Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden; but Prince
Edward three months later, took both offices himself. It
was two years before peace was fully restored, and then
the Prince went to the Holy Land, and Sir Roger, who
accompanied him, died abroad. His body was buried in
Palestine, but his heart w-as sent to England, and is pre-
served in the celebrated heart shrine in Leybourne Church,
Kent.
48. — Henry de Montfort, son of Simon de Montfort,
Earl of Leicester, was made Constable and Lord Warden
on the 28th May, 1264, and gave up the Offices in the
Spring of 1265, when he left to fight on the Baronial side
in the Midlands, and he, too, was slain in ihe Battle of
Evesham.
49. — Matthew de H.\stings was placed in charge of the
Castle by Henry de Montfort when he went to the last battle
in the Baronial ^^'ar at Evesham, where he and his father
were slain, and Hastings gave up the Castle to Sir Roger de
Leybourne in August, 1265.
50. — Prince Edward became Constable and Lord
Warden, as already stated, on the 26th November, 1265.
At that time the Cinque Ports were still in rebellion, the
Barons of these ports being amongst the last to lay down
their arms in the Baronial War. They had been much
flattered by the Earl of Leicester, who asked each of the
Cinque Ports to send four Members to the Parliament of
1265, given them a voting power far in excess of the other
parts of the Kingdom. Prince Edward, when he became
Constable of the Castle, was kind and conciliatory, and in
March, 1266. he was enabled to say that he had overcome
the last remnant of rebellion within the Cinque Ports
Liberties. He soon after resigned the Constableship to
settle the remnants of rebellion in Cambridge.shire, after
which he went to the Holy Land.
51. — Sir Matthew de Bezille, a foreigner, was
appointed Constable in 1267, but was onlv a short time in
Office.
52. — Sir Stephen de Pencester was appointed
Constable and Lord Warden in the latter part of the year
1267, and he held the dual Offices a Httle more than thirty
years.
52 ANNALS OF DOVER
Sir Stephen de Pencester was not a great warrior. He
has been described as the Historian of the Castle, and in
that capacity he did good work. Darell, in his history of
Dover Castle, written in the reign of Elizabeth, says,
" Henry HI. conferred the government of the Castle on Sir
Stephen de Pencester, who wanted neither courage to face
danger, nor patience and resolution to bear fatigue, nor a
proper alertness in the discharge of his office. By his orders,
all the records of the Castle, all the writings and instruments
containing the rights, privileges and immunities granted to
the Constal)les were collected together, and digested into a
book, which he called ' The Castle's Charter Book.' This
has been a great use to me," adds Darell, " in compiling
the description of the Castle, and thereby preserving the
names and cx])loits of several illustrious men from oblivion."
Unfortunately, that record is now lost. Pencester made laws
for the regulation of the Castle which .st'll exist, and although
now obsolete, they afford insight into the daily life at the
Castle 600 years ago. The first clause of the Statute says,
"At sunset the bridge shall be drawn, and the gates shut;
afterwards the guard shall be mounted by twenty warders
on the Castle walls." Even now the form of the Statute is
observed by closing the approaches to fortified places at sun-
down ; but at those times the fortress was completely
isolated after nightfall, and the rule was so strict that if the
King arrived after sunset the main gates were not opened,
and the King had to go to a postern where the Constable
personally admitted him with only two or three of his suite,
the rest of his company having to remain ouLside until full
day. Life in the Castle under Stephen de Pencester took
its tone from the old Church which still stands on the Castle
Hill; and the Constable appears to have worked hand in
hand with the Chaplains. A clause touching that point ran:
" Because the Castle is out of common jurisdiction, at every
quarter of a year shall the whole garrison be mustered in
the presence of the Constable, any shall then be addressed
and reprehended who may be accused of any r-otable crime,
which ought of right to be dealt with by Holy Church, and
if the Constable find himself in any perplexity thereupon, he
may take counsel of some Parson of the Holy Church."
These quarterly meetings must have had a civilizing
and Christianising influence. Pencester was particularly
DOVER CASTLE 53
careful that the soldiers should be regularly paid, and he
caused Arsick's Tower, in the Western Wall, to be converted
into the office of the Paymaster of the Garrison. This
Constable did not, with the same regularity, receive his dues,
for some time after his death his widow had to sue the
Exchequer for arrears of his stipend. Sir Stephen de
Pencester, in addition to his work as Castle Constable, was
a great Lord Warden. He left in the Red Book of the
Exchequer a correct list of the ships which each Port was
under obligation to supply. His name is ?tiached as a
witness to the Great Charter of the Cinque Pori-s granted by
Edward I.
53. — Robert, Baron de Burghersh, was first
appointed as Deputy 14th March, 1297, undei Stephen de
Pencester, and on 20th July, 1299, he was made Warden
of the Cinque Ports. Robert de Burghersh vacated office
on the i6th October, 1306.
54. — Henry Cobham, of Roundel, in Shcrne, held the
Office until the 30th October, 1307.
55. — Robert de Kendall was Constable and Warden
from November, 1307, to March, 1327, with the exception
of short intervals when he was otherwise employed. In the
year 13 13, when Edward I. embarked at Dover for France,
the Constable was directed to pay ;^200 as the cost of the
King's passage, and 13s. 4d. per day the cost of the archers
left behind in the Castle. There was a good dfal of piracy
in the narrow seas about this time, carried on ^y the Ports-
men, and the Constable was accused of " winking " at it, for
which he was brought to trial, but he was acquitted.
56. — Henry, Lord Cobham, jun., was appointed
Constable and Warden in 13 15, pending an inquiry as to the
conduct of Robert de Kendall. He held (he office from
February to September, when Kendall was re-instated.
57. — Bartholomew, Baron de Badlemere, was
appointed Constable and Warden in October. 1320, and held
office until August, 132 1, another interval in Robert de
Kendall's term. He was the " bold, bad Baron " of Leeds,
Kent. In 1322 he was executed for an outrage offered to
Queen Isabella of France, when .she demanded shelter at
Leeds Castle during her pilgrimage to Thomas a Becket's
shrine.
54
ANNALS OF DOVER
58. — Sir Hugh le Despenser, jun., was appointed
Constable and Warden in August, 1321. He was one of
the favourites of Edward H. After nearly six years of Civil
commotion, which led up to the deposition of Edward H.,
Hugh le Despenser was executed as a traitor, at Hereford,
in November, 1326.
59. — Edmund de Woodstoke, Earl of Kent, was made
Constable in August, 1321, in succession to Despenser, who
gave up his Dover post five years before his ignominious
end. Edmund was the youngest son of Edward I. He
joined the party in favour of Hugh le Despenser, and shared
his fate, being executed at Winchester in ^larch, 1329. He
was the third Constable in succession who was executed.
60. — Sir John Peche, Baron Wormleighton, was
appointed Constable and Warden in April, 1323, and held
Office one year and one month. He was another of
Edward H.'s favourites, v.'ho was tried for treason, but was
acquitted. The five last mentioned Constables, whose terms
were very short, held office during the intervals of Robert
de Kendalls term, and Kendall was in ofrl' :c once more
from May, 1324, to December, 1325.
61. — Ralph, Baron de Drayton, was another of the
supporters of Hugh le Despenser. He held the office of
Constable for about nine months, from December, 1325,
and then, leaving suddenly, Robert de Kendall, who seems
to have been a sort of stop-gap, was in office again for six
months.
62. — Bartholomew, Baron Burghersh, a son of a
former Constable Robert of that family, v.\ns appointed
Constable and Warden in 1327, and held the Offices, with
the exception of two intervals, until 1355. Owing to the
disturbed relations between England and Fr;^'Me, the Lord
Warden was ordered by Edward HI. to survey the ships of
the Cinque Ports and order them to be kept in repair. The
rest of the acts of Bartholomew had more ci nnection with
the State than the Castle and the Cinque Ports.
6;^). — William Clynton, Earl of Huntingdon, was ap-
pointed Constable and Warden in 1330, and held office until
1343. a long interval in Baron Burghersh s term. He
.sunmioned the Cinque Ports Fleet for active service several
times, and he commanded it in the Battle ol Sluys, which
DOVER CASTLE 55
was one of the great Xaval victories of England during those
times. Adam Nurimuth, in his " Continuatio Chronicurum,"
describing this Naval action says that in addition to the Cinque
Ports Ships there were ships from the north-east of England,
commanded by Sir Robert de Morley, and that the Earl of
Huntingdon was Admiral of the Cinque Ports Fleet, the
King, Edward III., being in supreme command. The
French were in three divisions off the port of La Swyne.
When the first division of the French had been defeated v^ith
great difficulty they defeated the second easily, many of
their crews leaping into the sea. The ships of the third French
division tried to escape under cover of night, about 30 of
them being successful, but one of the French ships " James
de Depe " attempted to capture a Cinque Ports sh-p belong-
ing to Sandwich, but her crew stoutly resisted, and the Earl
of Huntingdon the Lord Warden bringing other Cinque Ports
ships to the rescue, a stiff fight ensued, the combat lasting
until the morning, but finally the Cinque Ports men captured
the " James de Depe " from the French in which they found
four hundred men killed. Three years later this gallant
Lord Warden gave up his charge to Bartholomew, Baron de
Burghersh, when they were both jointly appointed Wardens
of the sea coasts.
64. — Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, held the offices
of Constable and Warden from 1355 to 1359. He received
;^300 per annum for the support of himself, the chaplains,
servants, watch and carpenter dwelling in fhe Castle and for
their robes, derived as follows: — Of the Wards of the Castle
;£i46, out of the Customs of the Passage of Dover 100 marks,
and the remaining ^({^88 from the King's Exchequer. The
Barons of the Cinque Ports complained of him to the King
that he heard, in St. James' Church, Dover, divers pleas
from beyond the Liberties of the Cinque Ports, and the
King forbade the Warden to encroach in that way on the
Portsmen's chartered privileges.
65. — Baron Beauchamp of Warwick, son of Guy, Earl
of Warwick, was appointed Constable and Warden in
January, 1359, and continued in office two years, dying in
December, 1360.
66. — Sir Richard de Herle. of Broughton, in Warwick-
shire, was Constable and Warden from January, 1361 to July
1364. Edward HL, \isited the Castle in the last mentioned
56 ANNALS OF DOVER
year when he appointed this Lord Warden Admiral of the
whole of the English Fleet.
67. — Ralph Spigurnell, a son of one of Edward III.'s
Judges, was Constable and Warden from the middle of 1364
to 1369, a period of considerable activity. By the command
of the King he sent leading men of the Cinque Ports to
consult about the Navy. At the same time a commission
was appointed on which the Lord Warden served to judge
as to the complaint made against the Abbot of St. Augustine's
Monastery that he by inning the Stour had stopped the ebb
and flow of the tide over a wide area of marsh land, destroy-
ing the back water scour which kept open the navigation
channels, injuring the trade of Sandwich and Minster.
68, Sir Richard de Peinbrugge; 69, Andrew de Guide-
ford; 70, William, Lord Lalymer; and 71, Sir Thomas
Reines, were Constables and Wardens in succession between
1369 and 1376, during which time nothing ot importance
occurred.
72. — Edmund Earl of Cambridge was Constable and
Warden from June, 1376 to February, 1381. He communi-
cated a mandate from the King, Richard II., in the year
1380 to the Mayor and Burgesses of Dover 10 surround the
town with a wall of stone and lime. Before that time there
was no town wall, except one from the Castle Cliff along the
shore.
73. — Sir Robert Assheton was appointed Constable of
Dover Castle and Lord Warden in 1381, and held the office
three years. He had previously held the office of Custodian
of Sandgatte Castle near Calais, and Admiral 'A the Narrow
Seas. During his term of office he was almost continually
occupied in the suppression of the Wat Tyler revolt. Sir
Robert died at Dover, 9th, January, 1384, and was buried in
thf Castle Church.
74. — Sir Simon de Burley, appointed Cons*-able in
January, 1384, held office four years. Richard 11. was at
Dover on the 5th January, 1384, and his Majesty handed
the keys of the Castle over to Simon and as the Castle lands
had suffered great loss, the King gave to him the Manor of
Leybourne. Immediately after he was directed to proclaim
that " the King's enemies in France, Spain. Flanders and
Brittany were leagued together to destroy the people and
DOVER CASTLE 57
fortalices on the English coast by an invasion within a brief
time, and that all inhabitants of the Isle of Thanet and Oxeye
and of six miles round Dover, Rye, and Sandwich were to
withdraw before the 3rd of May into the castles and towns
for safety ecclesiastics alone excepted." There was no
invasion of the Southern Coasts, but four years later Sir Simon
de Burley became a victim of intrigues, and was charged with
an intention to sell Dover Castle to the French He was
imprisoned in the Castle, and in May, 1388 wa-? executed for
treason in London.
75. — Sir John Devereux was appointed Constable
and Lord Warden in 1388, and held the offices until 1393.
There was a petition to the House of Commons complaining
of this Lord Warden infringing the Cinque Ports' privileges
by holding pleas in the County of Kent.
76. — John Baron Beaumont was Constable and Warden
from 1393 till 1396. In the latter year he went to the Court
of France and arranged a marriage between the King Richard
II., and Isabella, eldest daughter of Charles VL, of France,
who was then but eight years old. He brought the young
Princess over, and she stayed one night at Dover Castle.
Lord Beaumont died while in office at Dover Castle.
77. — Edmund, Duke of York, grandson of Edward III.,
was appointed in September, 1396, and held the otiice two
years. Richard II., came to the Castle on his way to
France, and he appointed this Constable to act as Regent
during his absence.
78. — The Marquis of Dorset, appointed in February,
1398, held office only one year.
79. — Sir Thomas Erpynham was appointed in 1399,
and held office ten years. He had won a good reputation
as a soldier before his instalment at the Castle, but nothing
special hapi)ened during the decade that he was Constable
and Warden exxept that " the Commons of Kent " com-
plained to Parliament of his conduct as Constable.
Parliament upheld him, however, their opinion appearing
to be that Erpynham had rightly been firm in upholding
the old liberties of the Cinque Ports against the aggression
of the County of Kent. He surrendered his office in 1409
to give place to Henry, Prince of Wales, Erpynham
continuing as his Lieutenant. The last that was heard in
history of Sir Thomas Erpynham was his being Marshal of
58 ANNALS OF DOVER
the English Army at the Battle of Agincourt, and his throwing
his baton in the air as a signal for the commencement of
that decisive conflict.
80. — Henry, Prince of Wales, took up the office of
Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the
Cinque Ports in 1409, and relinquished the position four
years later to ascend the Throne as Henry V. He had
many other duties away from Dover, but soon after his
appointment as Constable he, in the name of the King,
proclaimed a treaty made with the Duke of Burgundy
guaranteeing the safety of trade in the narrow seas for
three years ; and he, as the Admiral of England, and
Erpynham, as Deputy Lord Warden, were authorised to
enforce that treaty, which they did by calling out the
Cinque Ports Fleet, the Duke of Burgundy, one of the
parties to the treaty, being the peace-breaker.
81. — -The Earl of Surrey and Arundel was appointed
to succeed Henry V. in March. 1413. After being at the
Castle two years he went with Henry V. on his first expedi-
tion to France, but, suffering from dysentery, returned home,
and died the same year.
82. — Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, youngest
brother of Heniy V., was appointed by that King Constable
and Lord Warden in 14 15, and held the office thirty-two
vears. His first duty, as Constable, was to challenge the
King of the Romans, Sigismund, on his arrival at Dover.
The Constable rode into the sea with his sword drawn to
demand Sigismund's intentions and to obtain his assurance
that he would not attempt to exercise any authority in
England. After the death of Henry V., leaving Henry VI.
an infant in arms, Humphrey, who was called " the good
Duke Humphrey," was appointed Protector of the Realm
during the King's minority, which made him one of the
most powerful of all the Constables and Wardens; but after
Henry VI. began to take an active part in affairs, Duke
Humphrey, owing to his being Heir Apparent, was regarded
with suspicion. He and his third wife, Eleanor Cobham,
were bitterly persecuted. She died in Peel Castle, and Duke
Humphrey, in 1447, died in prison, it being suspected that
he was murdered. During the time of Henry V. this Lord
Warden twice called out the Cinque Ports Fleet for service
in connection with the French wars.
DOVER CASTLE 59
83. — Lord Save and Sele, better known as James
Fenys, son of Sir William Fenys, was appointed Constable
and Lord Warden in 1447. It is said that his appointment
differed from that of other Lord Wardens and Constables
in that he received " in special tail for himself and heirs
male, the Castle of Dover and all the services called Castle
^^'ards." Although these words look significant, the same
form of words appears in many other appointments, but no
one was ever Constable and Warden by inheritance, and
in this particular case the entail was cut off by this
Constable having his head cut off at the Standard in Cheap-
side, in the year 1450, owing to his taking ap the cause of
the unpopular Duke of Suffolk.
84. — Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, was
the next Constable and Lord Warden. He was appointed
in 1450. He, too, was said to have some special tenure of
the Castle, but it only lasted ten years; he was slain in the
Battle of Northampton, 1460, fighting on the Lancastrian
side. His Receiver while he was at the Castle was Thomas
Hestall, whose ac(:ounts show that the emoluments of the
Lord Warden and Constable's office, in those times, were
^1,160 a year.
85. — Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick, was next made
Cunstal>le and Lord Warden by the King's warrant, but
Warwick, who was surnamed " The King- Maker, " had
placed Edward, Duke of York, upon the throne before that
King made him Constable of the Castle. He held the office
until 147 1, when he fell in the great battle of the Roses at
Barnet.
86. — Sir John Scott, who had been a Deputy of the
Earl of Warwick, was appointed Constable and Lord Warden
in 1471. He was one of the Scotts, of Scott's Hall,
Brabourne, Kent, and was buried at Brabourne in 1485.
87. — ^William Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, was
appointed in 147 1, and was Constable and Lord Warden
seventeen years ; during his tenure of the office there were
four Kings on the throne. He assisted as Lord Warden at
the Coronations of Richard HL and Heniy VH.
88. — Philip Fitz-Lewes. Most of the lists omit this
name, but he is mentioned by some as Consta!:)le and Lord
Warden, and he discharged the duties of the offices from
1488 to 1492.
60 ANNALS OF DOVER
89. — Sir William Scott was a son of Sir John Scott
(No. 86 in this list). Like PhiUp Fitz-Lewes, there is
some doubt of his having been a regularly appointed
Constable and Lord Warden, but he discharged the duties
between 1492 and 1493, ^^^ ^^ was joined in a commission
with Fitz-Lewes to levy a toll to repair the Wike at Dover
Harbour.
90. — Prince Henry, Duke of York, afterwards King
Henry VIH., was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1493, and he held the
office until he ascended the throne in 1509. Prince Henry
appears to have given his personal service at Dover for some
time after taking up the office, but when he became heir to
the throne, on the death of his brother Arthur, he seems to
have appointed Sir Edward Poynings as his deputy.
91. — Sir Edward Poynings had been virtually
Constable and Lord Warden from 1505, but he was not
duly installed until Henry ascended the throne in April,
1509. Sir Edward had other offices, and his place at Dover
was usually filled by Sir Edward Guldeford.
92. — Lord Bergavenny was appointed successor to
Sir Edward Poynings, but immediately resigned.
93. — Sir Edward Guldeford was Constable and Lord
Warden from 1521 to 1533. Sir Edward had been a busy
and useful official before he was installed at the Castle in
his own right. He had been the Deputy of Poynings, and
it fell to his lot to make the arrangements for Henry VHL
with his Queen and nobles to embark at Dover for the Field
of the Cloth of Gold. He estimated and provided diets for
the King and Queen and nobles for one month on this great
scale: — 700 quarters of wine, 150 tuns of French and Gascon
wine, .six butts of sweet wine, 500 tuns of beer, 340 beeves,
4,200 muttons, 800 veals, 80 hogsheads of grease, salt and
fresh fish ;^300, spices ;^440, diaper ;!^30o, 4,000 of wax
lights, poultry ^£^1,300, pewter vessels ^300, 5,600 quarters
of coal, tallwood and billets ^200, pans and spits ;^2oo,
stables jQzoo, making a total of £,'],67,t,. When he was
Constable, in 1522, he had to victual the Castle for the
King to receive the Emperor Charles V. On that occasion
awaiting the King at Dover Castle were the Cardinal, the
Earls of Devon and Wiltshire, the Bishops of Chester and
DOVER CASTLE 6 1
Exeter, and the Abbots of Westminster, Bury, St. Augus-
tine, and Bermondsey. This Constable died in 1533.
94. — George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, was the son of
the Earl of Wiltshire, and the brother of the Queen Anne
Boleyn. He was appointed Constable and Lord Warden
in 1533, the year in which the King secretly married his
sister. George Boleyn sent to his sister a present of eighteen
dottrels killed on the shore at Dover, and it is recorded
that the Queen enjoyed them. It was in the first year of
George Boleyn's Constableship that Henry VITI. commenced
his great Harbour Works at Dover, and the Constable had
a Labour trouble to deal with, the workmen having struck
for a minimum wage of sixpence a day. George Boleyn
committed four of the ringleaders to prison in the Castle.
Before the Harbour Works were finished, this Constable
had a taste of prison himself, having been com.mitted to the
Tower in May, 1536, in connection with the charges brought
against Anne Boleyn, and he was executed on the i6th of
May in that year.
95. — Henry Fitz-Roy, a son of Henry VUL, was made
Constable and Lord Warden after the execution of George
Boleyn. He died in the same year that he was appointed.
96. — Sir Thomas Cheyne, K.G., who was the
Treasurer of the Household of Henry VHL, was made
Constable and Lord Warden in 1536, and held the position
until 1558. He was a useful man of affairs to Henry VHL
He received Anne of Cleves, the King's fourth wife, with a
good deal of pomp at the Castle, but it fell to his lot to tell
the Queen that the King would not abide by the marriage
contract, and he was able to persuade the slighted lady to
accept a Royal allowance and to live quietly in England
as an ordinary subject. This Constable carried out repairs
to the Castle, using the stones carried from the dismantled
Abbey at Langdon. He continued in office until his death,
in 1558.
97. — William Brook, Lord Cobham, as Lord Warden
and Constable, held office from the last year of Mary's
reign to the fortieth of Elizabeth's — the longest term on
record. The story of his Constableship fully written would
be one of the most eventful sections of the history of Dover.
As regards the Lord Wardenship, the glory of the Cinque
62 ANNALS OF DOVER
Ports had passed away. The methods of government in the
ports which the federation had built up were still effective,
but the Nav7 of the Ports was giving place to a National
sea force, as was proved when the Spanish Armada had to
be encountered in the Channel. On that occasion the
Cinque Ports did their best by combining ro supply two
large ships and five pinnaces; but at that tii/.e, and ever
after, the small ships of the Cinque Ports, of which Dover
had supplied twenty-one, manned by twenty men and a boy
each, were of no account. As Constable and as the Lord
High Entertainer at the Castle, Lord Cobham figured
largely. Queen Elizabeth visited him at Cobham Hall, and
he received Her Majesty with great pomp at Dover Castle,
when she stayed a week in the year 1573. Many of the
Constables have received gifts from the Sovereign, but this
one had the originality and artistic taste to present an
acceptable one to the Queen, being " a petticoat of yellow
satten layed all over with a parement of silver and tawny
.silk, fringed with silver and silk, and lined with tawny
sarcenet "; and, in return, he received from the Queen ^10
in gold and twenty ounces of gilt plate. This Constable and
his Lieutenant, Mr. Barry, had much to do with the great
transformation made in Dover Harbour during Elizabeth's
reign.
98. — Henry Brook, Lord Cobham, succeeded his
father, in 1597, as Constable and Lord Warden, but he held
the position only seven years. Lord Cobham, as the record
reads, "being deprived for disloyalty." He was tried,
with Sir Walter Raleigh, for being implicated in a plot to
subvert the government and religion in 'he country, and
was mean enough to plead that it was Sir Walter Raleigh
who had been the cause of his ruin. He was condemned
to be executed, but was reprieved on the scaffold. He died
in 1618.
99. — Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, was
made Constable and T,ord Warden in 1604. He was created
Earl of Northampton in the same year. He advised James I.
to transfer Dover Harbour from the Corporation to a new
body created by charter termed the Warden and Assistants
of Dover Harbour. Northampton Street, Dover, is named
after him. He died in 16 14, and was buried in the Castle
Church, to which he bequeathed ^^20.
DOVER CASTLE 6;^
loo, Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset; and loi, Lord
Zouche, of Haryngworth, Constables and Lord Wardens, call
for no special notice.
I02. — George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was
a friend of Prince Charles in his youth, and when he
ascended the throne, as Charles I., it was alleged that
Buckingham unduly controlled the King. In Charles's second
Parliament Buckingham was impeached and, to shield his
favourite, Charles dissolved the Parliament. In the following
year, 1628, at Portsmouth, Buckingham was stabbed by an
officer named John Felton, and died immediately.
103. — Theophilus Howard, Earl of Suffolk, was Con-
stable and Lord Warden twelve years under Charles I. He
had trouble in dealing with soldiers and sailors, who were
dissatisfied with their pay. As Constable, his gunners in
Dover Castle engaged a Dutch ship which tried to cut out
a Spanish vessel anchored near the Castle. They were
successful for the time, but the next night, when the Spanish
vessel weighed anchor, the Dutchmen captured her in the
Dover Roads. This Constable, who died in 1640. was nearly
always absent from Dover, Sir Edward Dering, Sir Thomas
Culpeper, Sir John Mainwaring, Stephen Monin, and Sir
Edward Boys being from time to time his Deputies. It was
while Sir Edward Dering was Deputy that the Cinque Ports
Domesday Book was lost.
104. — James Stuart, Duke of Lennox, had a Kentish
connection owing to his receiving the Cobham forfeited
estates, including Cobham Hall. He was appointed Con-
stable and Lord Warden in 1640, and, subsequently, got into
trouble with the House of Commons for interfering in the
election of a Member for Hythe. He soon after joined
King Charles I. in the field; he was taken prsoner by the
Parliamentary Army in 1646, but allowed his liberty on
agreeing to pay a fine of ;£S,^'j6. He paid the greater part
of the fine, and the balance was remitted because he lost
his office as Constable and Lord Warden. Sir Edward
Boys, M.P. for Dover, was his Deputy.
105. — Sir Edward Boys, in 1642, succeeded the Duke
of Lennox, and he was nominally in charge of the Castle in
August, 1642, when the small band of Dover Parliamentarians
seized the Castle and held it until it was garrisoned by the
Parliamentary forces. Boys held the office until 1646.
64 ANNALS OF DOVER
106. — Major John Boys, one of the Members of Par-
liament for Kent, was Constable of the Castle from 1646 till
1648.
107. — Sir Algernon Sydney, a well-known person in
history, was placed in charge of Dover Castle by the
Parliamentary Party in 1648, at a time when an attack upon
it by the Royalists of Kent was expected. He was in charge
when Sir Richard Hardres and 2,000 Kentish Royalists
besieged the Castle and were repulsed. Two years later
Captain Henry Cannon was appointed by Parliament to assist
in holding the Castle, there being some doubt as to Sydney's
loyalty. Sydney resigned his position at the Castle in 1651,
and was employed by the Commonwealth in the Diplomatic
service. When an old man, in 1682, he was arrested, and
tried by Judge Jeffreys in connection with the Rye House
Plot, and executed.
108. — Lieut. -Colonel Kelsey was in charge of the
Castle from 1651 to 1656.
loq and no. — Colonel Lambert and Admiral
Robert "Rlake were jointly in charge at Dover Castle from
1656, but neither of them continued until the Restoration.
Admiral Blake, a great national sea hero, died 17th August,
1657. and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Colonel
T>ambert, who appears to have been opposed to the negotia-
tions which led to the Restoration, was sent to the Tower
of London, from which he escaped in 1659, and tried to
renew the Civil War. He was captured in April, 1660,
tried and condemned to death, but in 1661 was pardoned,
and exiled to Guernsey, where he died in 1694.
112. — The Earl of Winchelsea was, in the Spring of
1660, placed in charge of Dover Castle, but soon after the
Restoration he was sent as Ambassador to Constantinople.
TT3. — Prince James, Duke of York, the King's brother,
was appointed Constable and Lord Warden in 1660, two
months after the Restoration, but he was not duly installed
as Lord Warden until t668. A year later, he having avowed
himself a Roman Catholic, he, under the Test Act, had to
resign all offices, when the Earl of Winchelsea again became
Constable and Lord Warden, which offices he held till his
death in 1689.
DOVER CASTLE 65
114- — Colonel John Beaumont had been with
Charles II. in exile, but was opposed to James II. 's attempt
to leaven the Army with Roman Catholics. He was appointed
Constable and Warden by William III.
115- — The Earl of Romney (Henry Sydney), was a
brother of Algernon Sydney. He was appointed Constable
and W'arden in 1691, but he made no figure at Dover, Sir
Basil Dixwell undertaking the duties as his deputy.
116. — George, Prince of Denmark, was the husband
of Queen Anne, and on her accession she made him Con-
stable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden ot the Cinque
Ports. His administration of the Admiralty was a failure,
and in the Cinque Ports he was so little esteemed that a
Mayor of one of the Cinque Ports had the bells rung when
he died on the 28th October, 1708.
117. — Lionel Sackville, Duke of Dorset, was a popular
Lord Warden. He was appointed Constable and Warden
in December, 1708, and he held the oflSces until 1765 with
the exception of two intervals — June, 17 13, to September,
1 7 14, and September, 1717, to 1728 — when he had other
appointments. On the death of Queen Anne be went as a
special envoy to George I., to notify his accession to the
Throne. He was very liberal in his subscriptions to any
deserving cause brought before his notice in Dover. During
the time he was Con.stable he gave to his friend, Captain
John Smith, father of Admiral Sir Sydney Smith, the
piece of void land under the Castle Cliff, where he
built his residence, " Smith's Folly," and where that
part of Dover called East Cliff has since been built. During
the Duke of Dorset's time new infantry barracks were built
near Colton Tower in the Castle and the regiment of his son,
118, The Duke of Ormonde; and 119, the Earl of
Leicester, who were Constables and Wardens during the
intervals in the Duke of Dorset's term, left no record.
120. — Robert, Earl of Holderness had been a Sec-
retary of State in the Pelham Ministry, but being dismissed
from office he received, as a consolation, the oflnlces of Con-
stable and W^arden, with a salary of ^^4,000 a >ear, on which
he entered in 1765. During his term there was a good deal
of inconvenience caused by the south-west winds driving the
shingle into the harbour mouth, forming a bar. He consulted
66 ANNALS OF DOVER
the ancient pilots and mariners, but as their opinions were so
conflicting, he ad\ised the calling in of Mr. Nickalls, a
competent engineer, who, in many respects, greatly improved
the Harbour.
J 21. — Frederick North, Earl of (juilford, was ap-
pointed Constable and Warden in 1778, when he was in the
House of Commons as Lord North, member for Banbury.
He was Prime Minister from 1770 until 1782. While he was
Constable the western slope of the Castle was planted with
trees, and the place, as a compliment to the Constable, was
called Little Waldershare. Also while he was Constable, on
the death of his father, the first Earl of Guilford, he succeeded
to the title and went to the House of Lords. He caused a
good many improvements to be carried out at the Castle,
and one of his humane acts was to improve the condition of
Debtors' Prison.
122. — ^^'ILLIAM Pitt was the youngest son of the famous
Earl of Chatham, and he himself famous too ; for, owing to
his energy as head of the Administration at the time of the
threatened invasion by the French at the beginning of the
nineteenth century he was described as " The Saviour of
Europe." In 1792 he was made Constable of Dover Castle
and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and held the office
until his death in ]8o6. He gloried in his office of Lord
Warden and spent much of his time at Walmcr Castle, the
rendezvous of the fleet being in the Downs right in front of
the Castle windows. He entered with much enthusiasm into
the raising of the famous force called the " Royal Cinque
Fcnciblcs " of which he Ijecame commanding officer, but, in
the initiatory stages he drilled as a private, and years after,
when the Duke of Wellington was Lord Warden there was
found in one of the bastions of Walmer Castle, part of a
"kit" with the words "Private William Pitt" engraved
upon it. Pitt had a great contempt for men who wished to
figure as volunteers, but not to run any risk, and on one
occasion there came to him a proposal from a number of
London citizens, who wished to be enrolled as volunteers, but
their projiosal contained many saving clauses, and when Pitt
came to the stii)ulation that they should " never be sent out
oi the country " he took a pen and wrote on the margin
" cxcejit in case of actual invasion!" In 1803, when there
was constant fear of invasion, Pitt armed nearly all the fishing
DOVER CASTLE 6f>
luggers within the Liberties of the Cinque Ports with a 12 or
15 pounder carronade, and during his absence from Walmer
his celebrated niece, Lady Hester Stanhope, acted as his
deputy, fully sharing the Lord Warden's patriotic spirit. In
1804 she wrote " We are almost daily in expectation of the
French and Mr. Pitt's regiment is now almost perfect enough
to receive them. ... I have my orders how to art in case
of real alarm in Mr. Pitt's absence." To equip the Cinque
Ports Fencibles Mr. Pitt held a great meeting in Dover
Castle, when ;£6,ooo was raised, to which Pitt himself
subscribed ^1,000, and the Town and Port of Dover j£S8^.
At that time 329 men in the parish of St. Mary-the-Virgin,
Dover, were enrolled, and nearly all the Jurats and Council men
were officers. Pitt died nine years before the power of
Bonaparte was finally broken at Waterloo, but he outlived,
the great crisis of threatened invasion.
123. — The Earl of Liverpool was appointed Constable
and Warden on the 30th January, 1806. At that time,
however, he was in the House of Commons as the Hon.
Robert Banks Jenkinson with the courtesy title of Lord
Hawkesbury. One of the streets at the Pier was named after
the title of Hawkesbury under which title he was called to
the House of Lords during his father's lifetime in November,
1808, but he, a month later became Earl of Liverpool on
the death of his father, the first Earl. It was during this
Lord W'arden's tenure of office that he, as chairman of the
Dover Harbour Board, ordered Mr. Horton, Surveyor, of
Buckland, in the year 1816, to transform the sea front, which
had up to that time been called the Rope Walk, into a
building estate. The whole Bay Crescent and the Esplanade
were included in the scheme, but the commencement of
the building was at the back of the Marine Parade, and the
street then formed was named Liverpool Street, after the
Lord Warden. He held the office until his death in Decem-
ber, 1828. Mr. R. H. Jenkenson was his Lieutenant at the
Castle.
124. — Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, became
Constable and Warden in January, 1829. The great career
of the Duke of Wellington as a soldier is well known, so is
also, to politicians, his subsequent services as a Minister in
Parliament. As a Constable and Warden, there was no scope
for his energies where his predecessors centuries earlier had
68 ANNALS OF DOVER
made their mark, because the Cinque Ports were then but
an interesting historic survival, and the authority of the
Constal:iIe was merely nominal. The Duke did not even think
it worth while going through the ancient ceremony of Installa-
tion, and he took very little interest in the other Cinque
Ports, although, before he earned fame as a soldier, he was
Member of Parliament for Rye. As Constable and Warden,
at the Castle he was careful to see that the ancient compli-
mentary offices were filled by worthy occupants. He
dispensed hospitality as host at Walmer Castle ; he took
special interest in the affairs of Dover Harbour, ably
filling the post of chief of Harbour Affairs, created for
the Lord ^Varden by the charter of James I. ; and he
very carefully administered the affairs of the Cin(]ue Ports
j)ilots in the Court of Lodemanage, which institution came
to an end at his death when the Pilots were transferred to
the jurisdiction of Trinity House. This great (Nonstable and
Warden died at Walmer Ca.stle, 14th September, 1852.
125. — James Ramsey, Marquess of Dalhousie, succeeded
the Duke of Wellington in 1853, and was Constable and
Warden until his death in i860.
1 26. — Viscount Palmerston was appointed Constable
and Warden in 1860. He was Prime Minister at that time,
and his administration enacted a law which abolished the
Passing Tolls, by which the maintenance of Dover Harbour
had been paid for since the time of Queen Elizabeth and the
Governing body called the Warden and Assistants established
by Charter in the year 1604 was dissolved, and a new Harbour
Board constituted. Lord Palmerston was advanced in years
when he was installed, and during the four years that he held
the office he was not able to devote much time to the Castle
or to the Ports.
127. — Earl Granville, George Leveson Gower, was
appointed Constable and Warden in January, t866. He was
never formally installed in the Court of Shepway, because at
that time there was a dispute as to which of the Ports .should
take precedence in that Court. This Lord Warden took up
his residence at Walmer Castle, which had been the official
residenr-e since the days of Pitt, and he was a leader of
Society in East Kent as the Duke of Wellington had been.
He devoted very much atlention to the affairs of Dover
Harbour. He frc(]uently spoke in the House of Lords in
DOVER CASTLE 69
favour of the construction of a great National Harbour in
Dover Bay, but did not live to see it commenced. Almost
his last speech in Parliament was in favour of the Dover
Commercial Harbour Scheme, sanctioned in 1891.
128. — The Right Hon. W. H. Smith, who was
appointed in May, 1891, died a few months later, and never
actually entered on the office.
129. — The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava was ap-
pointed in November, 1891, and his installation took place
with all the ancient ceremonies on Bredenstone Hill, on 22nd
June, 1892, whirh was the last time the Grand Court of
Shepway was held on that historic site.
130. — The Marquess of Salisbury was appointed
Constable and Warden in November, 1895, and was installed
at a Grand Court of Shepway, held in the grounds of Dover
Priory, on the 15th August, 1896.
131. — Lord Curzon of Kedleston was appointed
Constable and Warden in 1904, and was installed at Dover
in the Court of Shepway in the same year.
132. — George Prince of Wales, was appointed Con-
stable and Warden in 1905, it being nearly 500 years since a
Prince of Wales was Constable and Warden. / special Act
of Parliament relieved him, and subsequent holders of the
office from serving on the Dover Harbour Board.
133. — Earl Brassey, of Hythe, was duly installed as
Constable of Dover Castle and Tord Warden of the Cinque
Ports in 1908, for which office he was specially fitted, having
represented the head Port of Hastings in Parliament many
years, and likewise, because he has been much engaged in the
affairs of the Admiralty, and by examination was qualified to
hold the certificate of a master mariner, therefore, in nautical
knowledge and practical seamanship, fitted to follow the
line of mariners from which the Cinque Ports originated.
131. — Earl Beauchamp was appointed Constable and
Lord Warden, as the successor Earl Brassey, who resigned,
in November, 191 3. The appointment was hailed as being
most appropriate, both on account of his own abilities and
because two or three of his ancestors had held the offices in
the Middle Ages.
.yo ANNALS OF DOVER
IX.
OFFICERS OF THE CASTLE.
The great officers whose names are mscribed on the roll
of Constables and Wardens already given, had under them
other officials on whom the control of the everyday afifairs of
the Castle devolved.
The Lieutenant of the Castle was the chief adminis-
trative officer, who assisted the Constable when present and in
his absence was in supreme command. Very few of the
Con.stables took up their permanent residence in the Con-
stable's Tower, the Lieutenant being the regular occupant of
that part of the Castle. From him the Castle Guard received
their orders, and to him the keys of the Casile were brought
after the night guards had been mounted. After the Cinque
Ports were in regular working order, and the Constable
became the Judge of Appeal from all the Cinque Ports
Courts, on the Lieutenant fell the duty of hearing at the
Castle or in St. James' Church cases that were referred to
him from the inferior Courts of the several ports and ancient
towns. The Lieutenant's military control of the Castle
ceased in the seventeenth century when the garrison was
composed of regular troops under their own officers.
The Marshall was another great officer of the Castle
having his residence in Peverill's Tower. He had charge
of prisoners, and acted under the Lieutenant in mounting
the night watches. He received a fixed stipend as well as
fees from each prisoner. In the fifteenth century he was
described as " The Marshall of Dover Castle and Keeper of
the Artillery, with the ancient and usual wage and fees from
the issues of the Castle."
The Boder, though an ancient officer, does not appear
to have existed until the Constable as Lord Warden became
the great appellate authority for the Cinque Ports in the
reign of Henry HI. He was charged with the duty of
issuing warrants and summonses for the Cinque Ports Courts,
and he had charge of the Cinque Ports Prison. The title
DOVER CASTLE 7I
" Boder " is supposed to have been derived from " Bidder,"
the issuer of summonses. He was also the Sergeant-at-Arms.
The Gentleman Porter was another official who was
the Gatekeeper in charge of the King's Gate, leading into
the Keep. It was a position of honour with considerable
emoluments attached, and four Under Gate Keepers per-
formed the actual service.
The Gunner was an official who came into existence
when Artillery was introduced as a means of defence. He
had charge of the Artillery, and was responsible for its being
kept in proper condition. W. Elderd, Master Gunner of
Dover Castle in the time of Charles I., wrote a pamphlet
called "The Gunner's Glass," in which he remarked: —
" Touching the quality and condition of a man that will be
a gunner, in my judgment he ought to be first and principally
a man fearing God, with upright heart, not given to much
talking or many words, no quarreller, or drunkard, or idle
gamester; but .sober, honest, and of good conversation."
He further says: " I do verily think that a fort that is
pe.stered and cloyed with unskilful and obstinate gunners
were as good be furnished with so many traitors, for there
is no good to be expected from them in time of need."
The Chaplain is an official that has existed in Dover
Castle from Saxon days. At times there were more than
one, but there always appears to have been one even when
the old Church in the Castle was in ruins during the
Eighteenth Century. According to the statutes of the Castle
put in force during Sir Stephen Pencester's Constableship, the
Chaplain had to assist the Constable in the administration of
justice in regard to offences of which the Church took special
cognizance.
The Coroner of the Castle was in ancient times the
Constable so that outside jurisdiction was entirely excluded,
but for more than a century the Borough Coroner has held
the necessary inquests at the Castle.
The Seneschal was an officer of importance in the
Middle Ages, when the King frequently came to the Castle, as
it was the Seneschal's duty to make the arrangements for
feasts and superintend ceremonies. He was also the Con-
stable's Clerk. In the Fifteenth Century this office was
frequently held by a Mayor or Jurat of Dover. In modern
times the office became a sinecure. It was fille I during the
Nineteenth Century by the late Mr. Edward Knocker.
72 ANNAtS OF DOVER
X.
SOLDIERS OF THE FORTRESS.
To the history of the Fortress, it seems necessary to
append a brief account of the soldiers who from time to time
have held it.
Of the British soldiers who resisted Juhus Caesar at
Dover, and who are mentioned in " Cassar's Commentaries,"
nothing definite can be said. It is not known whether
they were a local force or one brought for rhe occasion.
The Romans, undoubtedly, garrisoned the Castle Hill,
and had some sort of an establishment there. " The
Western Empire's Book of Notices " mentions that, at the
time of Theodosius the Younger (the Prepositus Militum
Tungricunorum), the Band of Tungricans, were quartered at
Dover Castle. The defensive works — of Roman, Saxon,
and Norman origin — indicate that there was a military force
here during those successive periods. At the Norman
Invasion, although all the men who could be spared had
been marched to oppose the Normans at Hastings, there
was a sufficient garrison left in Dover Castle to make con-
siderable resistance, although not an effectual one.
After the Saxons were ousted, the Conqueror placed
the Castle in the charge of a Constable, and he divided the
lands of the County of Kent into Knight's Fees to secure
a confederate body of knights and their retainers to
permanently hold the fortress for the King of England. In
the foregoing article is given a list of those Constables,
extending from the Conquest to the present day; and,
although the knights' service did not continue so long, those
knights and their retainers for nearly five centuries formed
the Dover Castle Garrison.
The authority of the Constable of Dover Castle and
that of the confederate knights was intended to be permanent
and, like the tenure of the land, hereditable ; but while the
necesssities of State soon changed the hereditary Constable
to one who held the post during the King's pleasure, the
DOVER CASTLE 73
knights and their hereditary successors continued until
chivalry ceased to be obligatory on the holders of land.
There were eight principal knights in the Dover Castle con-
federation, namely: — Sir William de Albrinces, Sir Fulbert
de Dover, Sir William d'Arsich, Sir Geoffrey de Peverell,
Sir William Magminot, Sir Robert de Portn, Sir Hugh
Crevequer, and Sir Adam Fitzwilliam, whose names were
perpetuated in the ancient towers of the Castle ; and the
whole of the lands were divided into 117 Knights' Fees,
those knights and their retainers forming a rota, supplying
a Castle guard changed monthly, and designed to be per-
petual. Under a strong and unchanging Government, the
Castle guard might have been perpetual ; but Court
favouritism in some instances allowed knights to evade their
services while retaining their lands, and in other cases during
the revolt of the Barons and the Wars of the Roses the knights
who happened to have been on the wrong side, had their
estates confiscated, and those lands passing to others,
without their ancient obligations, the Castle Guard at the
Tudor period had ceased to be operative. When Henry
Vni. took stock of the actual condition of the Castle Guard
in 1523 he found it necessary to make radical changes.
Such of the lands as .still remained subject to Castle Guard,
including the Constable's Warren were appropriated to the
crown, and the revenue was used to pay a permanent body of
soldiers to man the defence works at Dover and the other
smaller castles on the South Eastern Coast. These works
of defence (including Sandown, Deal, and Walmer Castles,
the new works at Dover Castle, the Moat Bulwark, Archcliff
Fort and Sandown Castle), the King found to be of great
value when the clergy, instigated by Rome, succeeded in
raising an insurrection in the Midlands .and the North,
when suppression of the Monasteries was threatened. While
the King, by very energetic action, was quelling that dis-
turbance, Cardinal Pole induced the Continental Powers to
collect a fleet which was designed to invade England and
effect a landing between Sandwich and Dover. Before that
fleet was ready to move, Henry had quelled the rising inland,
and had marched his forces to the South Coast. There
were many thousands of armed men massed on the shore
between Sandwich and Walmer, and the new artillery was
manned in all the forts and bulwarks at Dover and east and
west of it. Sir Thomas Cheyne, the Constable of Dover
74 ANNALS OF DOVER
Castle, was in command of all the forces, which the King
personally inspected. Cheyne, who had a strenuous time,
never took off his clothes for a fortnight, for all the time
there was a strong east wind blowing and the fleet might
have crossed the Straits of Dover in two or three hours;
but the huge Armada lay motionless, and at length it broke
up. They had hoped to find the English in insurrection,
but when it became known that the King's army was
waiting in hostile array on the shores of Kent, the
invasion was abandoned. During the remainder of the
reign of Henry VIII., sufficient soldiers were kept at Dover
Castle to form an efficient guard, but after his death
this garrison was neglected, and it continued to be a
mere .skeleton until the Eighteenth Century. The ancient
towers became uninhabitable, and no modern provision
was made for hou.sing troops. In the early part of
that century whenever there were regiments at Dover they
were quartered in the town, and the old towers on the
Town Walls were used as guard-houses. In ihe year 1745
the Duke of Cumberland paid an official visit to the Castle,
and recommended the construction of barracks on that open
space, now a small drill-ground south-west of the Keep.
That l)uilding was soon after fully occupied, but it was acci-
dentally burnt down in July 1800. In the meanwhile other
accommodation was provided for the troops, which were
crowded into Dover. After the Castle fire, regiments were
again quartered on the inhabitants, but permanent accommo-
dation was made in exten.sive casemates excavated in the face
of the Castle Cliff, and in temporary block-houses erected
on the Western Heights. The Dover fortress was never so
crowded with soldiers as it was, at intervals, from 1776 to
181 5. During parts of that period an enormous number
of soldiers were quartered in Dover, and in camp on Barham
Downs. It will be of interest to record from what Counties
of England regiments came to garrison Dover at that period.
In 1798, in addition to the Dover Volunteers, Militia Regi-
ments came here from Cornwall, York, East Suffolk,
Nfontgomery, Glamorganshire, Sussex, Denbigh, Hertford,
the Kentish Light Horse and the Cinque Ports Cavalry.
These troops which were under the command of General
Coote consisted of about 10,000 soldiers, but they were
not all in Dover Garrison at one time, portions of them
being transferred to camps or temporary -iDarracks at Barham
DOVER CASTLE 75
Downs, Ashford, Hythe and Walmer, making room for others
who came in 1799 as follows: — Militia Battalions from
Radnor, Surrey, South Gloucester, South Middlesex, and
the 27 and 35 Regiments of the Line. After a short stay
most of them had their marching orders, and in 1800 the
31st and 63rd Regiments came in. Most of these soon
marched away again, so that on 1st January, i8gi, the Dover
volunteers and the Essex Militia were all the soldiers in
Dover to take part in the feu-de-joie to celebrate the union
of Great Britain and Ireland. Later in that year the 52nd
Regiment, from Lisbon, and the Northampton Militia
marched in. On the 22nd of July in that vear the soldiers
from the Castle could see the hills around Boulogne covered
with the tents of Napoleon's Army of Invasion, and could
hear Nelson's ships bombarding the flotilla which was being
prepared, outside Boulogne Harbour, to land Fiench troops
in England. Nelson continued that blockade until Napoleon
was tired of it, after which followed the Peace of Amiens.
During 1802 Dover Garrison was again reduced to a
skeleton, for all the Militia Regiments marched home. The
war having been resumed in 1803, the Oxford and Lancaster
Militias marched into Dover. A corps of Dover Artillery
Volunteers was formed and instructed to man the Castle
guns. Admiral Sydney Smith (a Dover msn) organised
a Gunboat Brigade, for shore defence, consisting of 43
boats, carrying one gun each. In May, 7804, the Surrey
Militia returned to Dover, and worked in making entrench-
ments on the Western Heights. On the 9th August, 1805,
another attempt was made to embark a French Army at
Boulogne. The soldiers garrisoning Dover at that time were
Militia Regiments from Northampton, Hereford, East York-
shire, Surrey, the Light Dragoons, and the Royal Miners,
the Royal Artillery, and the Engineers. As it was uncertain
where the invaders might attempt to land, other troops were
encamped at Dungeness, Hythe, Saltwood, Shornclifife,
Barham Downs, and Walmer. The British Fleet at sea,
under Nelson, again knocked the heart out of Napoleon;
the invasion was abandoned, and the tide of war rolled away
across Europe. About that time the ist Coldstream Guards,
the 3rd Regiment of Guards, the 3rd BattaHon of the King's
German Legion, and the South Lincolnshire Militia marched
into Dover. With the exception of the MiUtiamen, they
only made a brief stay. Many other Regiments that had
76 ANNALS OF DOVER
marched from inland Counties passed through Dover to
Deal, to embark in the Downs, for the Continent.
On February 5th, 1807, the Shropshire Light Infantry
Regiment arrived at Dover, having marched direct from
from Shrewsbury. These men, and the Lincolnshire Militia,
worked on the new fortifications. After the war was trans-
ferred to the Peninsula, Dover Castle had barely sufficient
soldiers left in it to man the guns for saluting purposes,
until the Spring of 1815, when Bonaparte's escape from
Elba caused troops to pour into Dover again in a continuous
stream, but they only remained long enough to get transports
to carry them to Belgium. After the final victory at Water-
loo, wounded soldiers in great numbers landed here, but
the victorious British Army remained to occupy France until
peace and the regular Civil Government had been settled.
Later, transport after transport l)rought back J he heroes of
\\'aterloo, l)ut they marched away to their several counties,
after which Dover Garrison had but very few soldiers in it
until the Crimean War in 1854.
During the operations in the Crimea and the closely
following Indian Mutiny, there was a fluctuating stream of
soldiery passing through Dover. When the lioops returned
from the Crimea in 1856, a larger number of soldiers
•were, for a .short time, encamped at Dover than had been
at any time during the century. The whole of the available
quarters in the Castle were crowded, and the 41st. 42nd,
44th, 49th, ygth, and 93rd Regiments were under canvas
on the Western Heights. The Swiss Legion was among.st
the troops then occupying the enlarged casements at the
Castle. The strength of the Dover Garrison, since the Indian
Mutiny, has remained about the same for manv years, con-
sisting of three Battalions of Infantry, Rcyal Garrison
Artillery (Coast Defence Companies), Royal Engineers
(Fortress Company). Army Service Corps, and Army Medical
Corps. The tendency in later years has been to reduce the
number of soldiers in the Castle, the principal defensive
works l)eing outside it. The Head Quarters of the Garrison,
however, are just under the Castle Cliff at Guilford Battery.
In the Castle itself are the Head Quarters of the South-
Eastern Coast Defences, and there also is the directing
centre of those defence.s — an arrangement which links up
with the Comes Littoris Saxonici of the Roman Period, who,
DOVER CASTLE 77
in those far back times, at Dover Castle, had charge of the
defences of these shores.
In connection with the Soldiers of the Castle, mention
should be made of the soldiers' sons at the Duke of York's
School, which occupies, on the Swingate Downs, a beautified
spot which, in years past, presented a bleak aspect from the
northern ramparts of the Castle. The crowds of smart little
fellows from the School, in their scarlet tunics, in these
days when the ordinary dress of the soldier is drab, remind
us of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers who garrisoned
the Castle in days gone by. A century ago the site of the
Duke of York's School grounds, now so luxuriant in foliage,
had only " The Lone Tree " to break its monotony. Of
that solitary tree, which still lingers within the School
grounds, a story is oft repeated to visitors of the Castle. It
runs thus: — In the year 1784 two soldiers quartered at the
Castle fell in love with the same girl. One of them, named
Donald, discovering, one evening, that his rival had gone for
a walk with her, he set off in pursuit along the Deal Road,
carrying a stout elm plant torn from the hedge. Overtaking
his comrade, Donald struck him a furious blow on the head,
which, apparently, killed him. Horrified by the result, he
thrust the blood-stained stick into the sodden ground and
hurried back to the Castle. The next morning Donald
marched away from Dover with his regiment, but the missing
man, who was left behind, unknown to Donald, recovered.
The elm plant toc^k root and became the Lone Tree, which
still survives ; Ijut Donald, after many years' service in India,
returned to Scotland, and confessed the foregoing facts to
the minister of his kirk. The minister wrote to Dover to
seek confirmation of the story, and the reply that he received
enabled him to comfort Donald, before his death, with the
assurance that the man supposed to be slain was still living.
Since the days of the Cinque Ports Fleet, very little
use has been made of Dover in connection with the Navy
until recent years. Ever since Tudor times, there has been
talk of making a harbour here, where H.M. ships could
assemble, lie, or refit; but, as the present purpose of
this harbour seems to be to present a bold front to the
North Sea and narrow neck of the Straits, the Naval
activity of Do\er, probably, will fluctuate, like the Military
activity has in the past, and we shall see most of the fighting
78 ANNALS OF DOVER
men and fighting craft " when war spreads its wide
desolation," or rumours of war puts the nation on its guard.
When that happens, in a Naval sense, we shall see great
things at Dover, and then, although the old Castle will not
have much of a voice in the matter, the forts in its vicinity
will speak with no uncertain sound.
SEC'lION II.
THE PORT OF DOVER.
CONTENTS :
I. As THE Romans Found It.
II. The Eastern Harbour.
III. The Western Harbour.
IV. Failure and New Projects.
V. Making the Great Pent.
VI. James the First's Charter.
VII. From James I. to Charles II.
VIII. Harbour Affairs from 1670 to 1723.
IX. A Period of Small Improvements.
X. John Smeaton's Report,
XI. The Guilford Administration.
XII. Sir Henry Oxenden's Day.
XIII. A Harbour Master's Engineering.
XIV. Parliamentary Enquiry of 1836.
XV. The Wellington Period.
XVI. Building the Admiralty Pier.
XVII. The New Constitution.
XVIII. The Admiralty Harbour.
SECTION TWO.
THE PORT OF DOVER
I.
AS THE ROMANS FOUND IT.
When the Romans attempted to land at Dover, B.C. 55,
the valley, where the Town now lies, was the only place
on the South-Eastern Coast where the sea flowed in between
the hills. The "Commentaries of Julius Caesar" make it
quite clear that when he arrived with his invading forces his
ships, or some of them, sailed in between the hills. The
" Commentaries " thus describe the arrival of Caesar and
his h(jsts: — " He reached Britain with the first squadron of
■' ships about the fourth hour of the day, and there saw
" the forces of the Britons drawn up in arms on all the hills.
"The nature of the place was this: The sea was confined
" by mountains so close to it that a dart couM be thrown
"from their summit upon the shore." There have been
differences of opinion as to whether Cnssar, after quitting
this haven lietween the hills, went round the South Foreland,
or westward, but there is no question but that it was between
the Eastern and Western Heights at Dover that he first sought
to land.
The haven, between the hills, in the estuary of the
River Dour, which the " Commentaries " so graphically
describe, appears to have been a port into which the Roman
vessels entered at low water ; therefore, at high water it would
have been possible for vessels to sail as far up the estuary
as Charlton, where traces of an ancient sea-bed ha\e l)een
disclosed in excavations.
82 ANNALS OF DOVER
Manuscripts of ancient date mention that this land-
locked haven was lost owing to a revolt of the Britons about
the year A.D. 43, when Arviragus, a tributary British King,
'• hired a multitude " to block up the haven's mouth to keep
out the Roman ships. It would not be safe to treat this
statement as an unfounded tradition. However, it does not
seem as though there was an effective blockade of the haven
at that time, or Aulus Plautius, the Roman General, would
not, immediately after, have built pharos light towers on
the Castle Hill and the Western Heights to guide their ships
into this haven. Traditions are usually founded on some
fragments of fact, and the probability is that an attempt
to block the haven's mouth was made, but did not succeed;
yet some of the artificial obstructions may have remained,
and in the course of centuries the attrition carried down
by the river may have settled around those obstructions
and, during the Saxon period, formed a delta, giving the two
mouths of the River Dour, the one emptying into the sea
under the Castle Cliff and the other on tlie western side of the
Bay. Such was the form that the Dover Haven assumed
in the Saxon time.
In the late Saxon period probably some lemains of the
(jld haven lingered inland, where the main stream of the
Dour then divided into two branches, leaving a delta of dry
land between them, on which, in later years, the principal
part of St. James's Parish was built. On diai delta there
was a shipyard owned by burgesses of Dover, vvho built shi])s
there to work the Passage, including the twenty ships supplied
for the King's service by this Port in the reign of Edward
the Confessor. For the small ships of that period, probably
both Eastbrook and Westbrook (as the two branches of the
river were called) were navigable; but soon after the Conquest
it appears that the navigation of Westbrook was obstructed
by a mill which Odo, Earl of Kent, permitted to be built,
and as there seems to have been a mill there ever afterwards,
that may have been the reason why navigation was confined
to Eastbrook, and why the earliest harbour, after the haven
in the estuary was disused, was at the mouth of Eastbrook
under the Castle cliff.
THE PORT OF DOTER 83
II.
THE EASTERN HARBOUR.
It was from the Eastern Harbour that the ships of the
Dover Passage sailed forth, organised by i fellowship of
Dover mariners before and after the Norman Conquest,
under the control of the Dover Corporation which was the
sole local authority in the port, as well as the Town, from
a very early period.
Down to the end of the Plantagenet days the harbour
seems to have entailed very little expenditure on the Corpora-
tion, for the small ships used in those times both for the
Passage and for the Cinque Ports Navy were built on the
shore, and, when necessary for safety, were hauled up on
the beach. That primitive method might have been con-
tinued much later, without resort to the expense of harbour
works, if the sea, which had been receding since the Saxon
time, had not begun to regain the land, which had been
left dry and had been included in the town of Dover. That
inset of the sea began to wear away the land in the direction
of the Market Place, where there were newly erected dwell-
ings, and, to prevent them from being undermined, the
Corporation, assisted by the Lieutenant of the Castle, built
a retaining wall from near the top of Snargate Street to
near the west side of Eastl)rook. This work was subse-
quently called the '' Old Wyke," the construction and
maintenance of which was paid for out of the profits of the
Passage and out of fines which the Lord Warden empowered
the Court of Lode Manage to inflict on the pilots and ship-
owners of the Passage for breaches of regulations. When
this Wyke was completed, and a level quay made behind it,
Dover, for the first time, had a fair and commodious
promenade where the people might take pleasure by the
seaside, and which, also, was used for embarking and landing
passengers and merchandise. An attempt was then made by
the Corporation to levy wharfage dues on the townspeople,
and a great tumult was raised by the people refusing to pay.
There was complaint made during the minority of Henry VL,
and in the second vear of his reign the " Good " Duke
Humphrey, who was both Lord Warden and the Protector of
84 ANNALS OF DOTER
the realm, in the Khig's name granted to the people of Dover
a Charter giving free wharfage to their ships for ever, by
reason of which the ships of Dover Burgesses still have free
access to the quays. The building of the VVyke had the
effect of making an inset of the sea upon the shore below
St. James's Church, and creating a little co;'e on the west
side of the Eastern mouth of the Dour, On tne margin of
this cove, in the year 1440, were the shipbuilding yards;
and Henry VI., granted a Charter to encourage those ship-
builders, .so that the ships used on the Dover Passage should
be so built as to be " sure, strong, of good and true material
as well in wood as in all sorts of ironwork.' Those ship-
building yards flourished about three centuries, and the
Eastern Harbour served its purpose until the early part of
the Sixteenth Century, when the mariners made a more
spacious harbour at Archcliff Point.
THE PORT OF DOYER 85
III.
THE WESTERN HARBOUR.
The making of the Harbour near Archcliff was com-
menced in the latter part of the reign of Henry VH., the
Corporation having found it impossible to maintain wharfage
and shelter for ships on the Eastern side of the Bay. The old
Wyke had served as a useful wharf in calm weather, but it
was of no utility at other times; and the Eastern branch of
the Dour having been choked up, there was no backwater
to keep the little Eastern Harl)our clear. During the
Fourteenth Century Sandwich had been a rival to Dover,
but in the Fifteenth Century that haven began to silt up,
and Dover being in the same y)light, the Corporation saw
hope of retrieving the prosperity of the Port by the con-
struction of an entirely new harbour at Archcliff Point, The
records of Dover for that period are very scanty; but, as
far as they go, they indicate that the Corporation, as the
Harbour Authority, combined with the Master of the
Maison Dieu (who, by a Charter of Henry III., had an
interest in the Port), to make shelter for shipping at the
Western horn of the Bay. Sir John Clark, the Master of
the Maison Dieu, took steps to obtain the King's patronage.
" HoUingshed's Chronicle," written a generation later,
says: —
" There was a round tower built by one John Clark, Priest,
M.aster of the Maison Dieu, about the year 1500, at the south-west
side of the Bay, which served somewhat to defend the ships from the
ra^e of south-west winds, but especially to moor ships that were tied
thereto. Manv great rings were fastened to the tower for that purpose, as
it mav be seen, since it showeth there at this hour, and thereby tliat
part of the Bay was made so pleasant, as ever after that corner of
the Bay hath been called, and is at this day, ' Little Paradise.'
Nevertheless, tkis was thought very insufficient for the number of
ships which usually lay for harbour in the Road."'
That provision, however, had to serve for about thirty
years. The fact has been overlooked that the entrance to
the first " Little Paradise " was not easterly, but was cut
through Archcliff Point direct into the sea. It .seems that
before the Harbour works commenced there, in the reign
of Henrv VII., Archcliff Point came out much further than
86 ANNALS OF DOYER
now towards the south-east, forming a natural shelter.
John Clark's first wall extended Archcliff Point, forming a
little enclosure under Bulwark Cliff, into wnich he cut an
entrance through Archcliff Rock, leaving a part of the rock
on the south-east side of the entrance whereon stood the
little Church of Our Lady of Pity, which had previously been
joined to the mainland, but afterwards was described as
standing on Chapel Rock. It was on the eastward side of
Chapel Rock that John Clark built one of his round towers
which had mooring rings fixed on it, and on the westward
side of the entrance was Archcliff new point. Mr. James
Hammond, who acted as engineer of the Harbour when he
was " Clerk of the Cheque " in 1727, obtained special
information on this subject, both from excavations made on
the spot and from documents not now existing. He wrote :
"It is certain that Dover Harbour had formerly an entrance
between the Bulwark Cliff and the Chapel Rock through to
Paradise Harbour."
The Western Harbour Works were extended under the
patronage of Henry VIII. The first steps thereto were taken
in the year 1532, owing to a petition presented to the King
by the Corporation in the early part of that year. The credit
of its initiation has been given to the Rev. John Thompson,
Rector of St. James's, who had a large share in this work,
and was rewarded for it by being made Master of the Maison
Dieu ; but the original projectors were four Jurats, viz.,
Edward May, Robert Justice, Richard Towerby, and John
Stewart. At their request, the Rev. John Thompson wrote
for them a petition and embodied their ideas in a plan of
works which they deemed necessary to improve the little
harbour at Archcliff. Hollingshed wrote: —
" The Mariners liked the plan and the memorandum of their
proposals, and they agreed that humble suit should be made to the
king for his gracious favour and aid in making a good haven there ;
and they represented that it would best advance their cause if Sir
John Thompson ['Sir' being the usual title of clergymen in those
times] would present their petition and plan to the King, together
with a supplic;ition in the name and on behalf of the Corporation,
setting forth the reasons and devices thereof. But Sir John told
them that he was poor and could not afford at his own charges to
follow the suit. They, therefore, collected amongst themselves four
pounds ten shillings, which they delivered to Sir John Thompson,
which he accepted, and forthwith proceeded to the Court, and
obtained access to the King, who heard his suit with great favour,
and conversed about the plan and proposals, which he provisionally
approved."
THE PORT OF DOVER 87
Henry VIII., no doubt, well remembered Sir John Clark's
little harbour, from which he embarked in 1520, and the
King required little argument to convince him how badly it
needed enlargement. He commanded Sir John Thompson to
return to Dover, and to come back as speedily as possible
with some of the best mariners of the town. The following
continuation of the story is from " Hollingshed's
Chronicle ' ' : —
"The Mariners of tlie town immediately assembled themselves
and made a choice of Mdward M;ue, Robert Justice, Richard Towerby,
and John Stewart, as the fittest and faithfullest persons to use
conference and to be emplovcil in that course, being all mariners of
good experience. These four, and the said Sir John Thompson,
without further stay resorted to the Court, with whom when the
King had communed, he conceived of the necessities of the haven to
be had there, and of the probability of good success, in the enter-
prise; and because his Majesty understood the pjor state of the
town, he delivered, at that time, out of his coffers unto them, ^500
wherewith he willed them to make a beginning of the work. At
that time his Majesty bestowed on Sir John Thompson the Master-
ship of the Maison Dieu, which was a hospital in Dover valued at
;,^'i2o a year. 'J'he King also at the same time appointed the said
John Thompson to be the jirincipal surveyor of the Harbour works,
and under him, Ivlward Maie, and the other three before named to
be overseers. The work, according to the design of Sir John
Thompson, was to erect a huge wall (which he called a Pier) from
Archcliff Chapel, being the south-west part of the Bay, directly
towards the east in the main sea, about 131 rods in length, so as by
that means the harbour was to be guarded from the rage of all
weather coming from the north, north-east, north-west, and south-
west, with tlie entrance only at east-south-east, whereunto when
ships were once brought they might there be safe in all weather,
at one side or the other ; but the Pier was not finished by 250 feet
so far as the foundation thereof (called the Mole-head) was laid,
which founda'ion consisted of great rocks brought from a place near
at hand, called HayclitTe, or the Castle Quay, or Folkestone. This
was constructed of two rows of main posts and great piles of flue
or fir 20 feet long set at each side close together, which were let down
into holes hewn in the chalk rocks for that ])urpose ; but some of
the piles were shod with iron nnd driven into the main rock of chalk
with a great engine called a ram. These posts and piles were
combined and held together with iron bolts, and were filled between
with mighty blocks of chalk, as also with beach and other earth ;
but the bottom consisted altogether of great rocks of stone, which
if they had not been brought thither by a special device must needs
have been extremeh' chargeable, for most of them were of 20 tons
apiece. This special device is now common, but it was before that
time rare or unknown. It was invented by a poor, simjde man named
John Young, who, first with a nutshell, afterwards with an eggshell,
and lastly with a small vessel, made proof what weight those things
could raise and bear in water, and having by that experiment made
trial that stones of great weight might be raised and carried in the
8R ANNALS OF DOVER
water by greater vessels, he discovered his experiment to such as
were officers on the work, who presently put in practice the same
device, and making provision of greiit and strong barrels and pipes
of wood, carried them to Folkestone, and at Tow water fastened
thereunto with chains such huge stones as lay on the shore where the
quarry of those rocks is, so as when the flood, or full sea, came the
barrels and pipes with the stones thereto fastened rose and swam ;
and if the stones were of such size that two or three empty casks
could not lift the weight, then did they add a barrel or two more
which would not fail to do it, and then drag with small boats the
barrels and the stones attached to the place in the wall where they
were to sink them ; and so the work, which was most difficult in
appearance, was made easy. And for this device the said John
Young had a yearly stipend given him by the King during his life.
With these great stones, by these means was the greatest work done;
and with great cost and labour those piles were filled between, a
great boat, with nine keels, called a Gaboth, being used to bring
chalk lor the filling from the north side of Paradise Harbour. On
that part of the Pier stood a fort named the Blackbulwark. That
which was done bv this pier on the one side, with the help of nature
(the cliffs) on the other, two sides made an excellent sheltered harbour
for the time it continued and had maintenance. The King on his
part spared no charge, for he spent hereabouts ;!^'5o,ooo ; nor did
he forbear any travail that might further the work, for in person
he repaired there divers times. Although the harbour was fifty
miles at the least from his Court, yet his Majesty had such care that
the building should be so well performed, that no expert man in such
work, either on this side or beyond the seas, but, if possible, he was
brought thither, or, at the least, conferred with ; and during the time of
all this work the King's coffers seemed to stand wide open. But,
alas ! the King's care and the travail of his officers were so confined
to the work present, that the provision for its future maintenance
was utterly neglected. The King's absence at Boulogne, his sickness
on his return, and, finally, his death, followed by the nonage of his
son, Edward VI., made an end of all this work, which, falling into
a state of decay, there was no reparation until the time of Queen
Mary."
Such is Reginald Scott's account of Henry VIII. 's har-
bour building. From State papers, it appears that his work
was of a fourfold character: — (i) The repairing of Clark's
Wall, which was done in 1534; (2) The building of a
north-«ast wall from the I-imekiln Cliff curving round to near
the end of Clark's Wall so as to form a new harbour mouth;
(;,) Digging out the mud and beach which had choked up
Paradise Harbour, clearing an area between the harbour
walls, measuring 500 feet from the mouth of the harbour to
the Limekiln side of it, and 400 feet across ; and (4) Con-
structing a stone mole (from near the end of Clark's restored
wall), extending about 1,400 feet in an easterly direction to
shelter the road and harbour's mouth, as well as to prevent
THE PORT OF DOVER 89
the shingle working round into the enclosed harbour. This
was the " Mighty Pier," which Henry VIII. believed would
be the salvation of Dover Harbour. Unfortunately, he
carried very' little of the extended Pier above water owing
to the cost and difficulty of constructing such works in those
days ; but if he had completed it and made provision for
its maintenance, the Harbour Bar problem, which continued
to trouble Do\er for three centuries later, raight then have
been solved.
9© ANNALS OF DOVER
IV.
FAILURE AND NEW PROJECTS.
The failure of the great harbour works of Henry VIII.
was dramatic. The King had scarcely turned his back on
Dover, to deal with other urgent affiairs, when one of those
devastating south-west gales, which occasion illy sweep these
coasts, brought the shingle round ArchclifTe Point, and the
great unfinished mole, then rising out of the sea at low tides,
acted as a trap to c-atch the l)each, which not only choked
the new harbour mouth, but quickly formed a bench of
beach fronting the t(jwn, i)arring the mouth of the River
Dour. In the latter i^art of the year 1539 it seemed probal)le
that the great harbour work at ArchclifT would be a failure,
and John Bowles, then Mayor, sent a pitiful petition to
Henry VI H., praying for help to re-open the haven through
the town. The King, who then was lukewarm about this
port, referred the matter to a local Commission to make
inquiry, the following being the terms of reference : —
" A Commission of Enquiry about a Mole or Harbour
for Shipping at Dover, 7th May, 1540." The Commissioners
appointed were Sir Richard Dering, Lieutenant Covernor
of Dover Castle, Sir Anthony Aucher, Treasurer of Dover
Harbour Works, John Bowles, Mayor, John Warren, Jurat,
Robert Xethersole, Jurat, and Sir John Thompson, Rector
of the Parish of St. James. They were directed to enquire
into the occupations of the people, the reasons for the decay
of the fishery, and more particularly whether the making of
a quay or lock from low-water mark into the town would
improve the passage and attract to Dover tho.se travellers
who were taking their passage acro.ss the Straits from Folke-
stone, Hythe, Romney, Rye, and Sandwich.
The Commissioners sent a very dutiful reply, with
profuse thanks, to the King for his benevolence to Dover,
but they avoided giving any opinion as to the proposed
quay and lock into the town, because, presumably, they still
hoped that the King (^ould be induced to spend further sums
in finishing the great pier, or mole, which had only been
brought up to sea level. But the King was not to be tempted
to .spend further money in that direction, yet he was disposed
THE PORT OF DOVER 9 I
to help the port in a smaller way in making the suggested
quay and lock. The idea was to cut through the bench of
beach, to make a deep channel for the river through the
town, so that by means of a lock ships might be raised to
the level of a landing quay on the side of the new channel.
That was a visionary scheme, and the practical mariners
of Dover, of whom there were many in the Corporation
and some on the Commission, seeing the impossibility of
navigating their ships, in rough weather, into such a place,
evaded the question, whereupon the King took the oppor-
tunity of abandoning Dover Harbour entirely.
From the time when Henry VI H. finally abandoned
Dover Harbour, about the year 1542, there weie no harbour
works undertaken until 1582, when t^ueen Elizabeth
appointed a Harbour Commission. During that interval of
forty years, efforts were made, from time to time, to induce
the Crown to undertake further works, but nothing was
done.
To the credit of all the Tudor monarchs it should be
acknowledged that they never omitted to give full consider-
ation to any appeals which related to the maintainance of
the Port of Dover. The reigns of Edward VI. and Mary were
so short and so occupied by other affairs that nothing
effectual could be undertaken ; but Queen Mary granted to
the Corporation a charter of " Rivage and Feriage," which
was useful, while the harbour was choked up and passengers
had to be landed in the Bay, because it authorised the
Corporation to licence landing boats and charge fees for
bringing passengers and baggage ashore. Previously when
the bar blocked the harbour mouth passengers and their
baggage were landed by unauthorised boatman, who shame-
fully robbed the passengers, and brought the Port into bad
repute.
In Queen Mary's reign there were two plans put
forward for improving the harbour, and for the one scheme,
which was to deepen the river and make the harbour in the
valley of the Dour, the Queen authorised collections to be
made in the churches throughout England, but very little
money was raised ; consequently, no works were commenced.
In December, 1581, a practical step was taken by
Queen Elizabeth, who ordered an enquiry lo be made at
Dover by the examination of " the most .sensible ancient
and skilful! men." The evidence taken was to the effect
92 ANNALS OF DOYER
that, in the opinion of the local witnesses, it was the
building of Henry VIII. 's pier that caused the bench of
beach to accumulate across the Bay, for they said that
before that Pier was built out there was a clear sea in front
of the town from ArchcUfif up to the Castle. Owing to
that evidence, no attempt was made to build out on the
King's foundations, and it was resolved to make as good a
harbour as thev could close to the shore.
THE PORT OF DOTER 93
V.
THE MAKING OF THE GREAT PENT.
In the twenty-fifth year of Queen Elizabeth's reign
steps were taken towards providing a harbour with sheltered
landing quays, the (Jueen granting for that purpose the dues
to be raised by exporting 30,000 quarters of wheat, 10,000
quarters of barley, and 4,000 tuns of beer; she also granted,
by Act of Parliament, for seven years, dues on all British
ships passing Dover, whether they used the harbour or not.
The financial part of the project having in that way
been settled, the Queen, in 1582, appointed a Commission
to carry out the works, consisting of Lord Cobham (the
Lord Warden), Sir Thomas Scott, Sir James Hales, Thomas
Wootton, Edward Boys, Thomas Andrews (Mayor of Dover),
Richard Barry (Lieutenant of the Castle), Henry Palmer,
Thomas Digges, Thomas Welford, and William Partridge,
Esquires. Mr. Thomas Diggs, who designed the works,
was an engineer of experience and ingenuity. He made a
variety of plans, the most ambitious of the set being a plan
to enclose the Bay from Archcliff up to the Mote Bulwark.
Finally, adopting a smaller area, he decided to use that
part of Henry VlIL's Pier, which had been finished, as the
south-western boundary of the Harbour. The extension of
the Pier which that King had commenced to build 1,400 feet
beyond the Black Bulwark was, when Diggs formed his
plans, quite useless, all under water, some part resthig on
solid chalk, and the other part on a very bad foundation.
It was proved by evidence taken at the High Admiral's
Inquiry " That the great rocks that were sunken by King
Henry VIII. do lie there, and are not removed by the
violence of the sea, but by the wearing of them, or looseness
of the ground under them, have sunk somewhat lower and
lower." The part of the pier near the shore was in fairly
good condition, but the harbour within it was choked up
with shingle. The problem to which Thomas Diggs devoted
himself was to so use the l)ack water of the river as to sluice
out that shingle and keep the harbour clear. He found
under the cliff above the harbour a pool of standing water
impounded by the shelf of beach, twelve feet at least higher
54 ' AMNALS OF DOVER
than the sea at low water. This pool he resolved to raise
higher by building walls, and to use the pent-up water to
scour the haven's mouth.
Nearly two years were spent in deciding how the work
should be done, and in convincing the Privy Council that
the work, when finished, would answer the purpose intended.
The first undertaker, named John True, proposed to build a
wall of stone, from the water-gate in Townwall Street down
to the stump of Henry Vlll.'s Pier, and, afterwards, to
divide off the upper part of the enclosure with a wall, con-
taining sluice gates ; but, before he had laid a single stone,
he was dismissed, owing to the great expense of h's methods
He had, meanwhile, prepared a large quantity of stone in a
quarry at Folkestone, which was left there.
Next came Ferdinando Poins, a Dutch engineer, skilled
in building embankments against the sea. He was strongly
supported by Mr. Thomas Andrews, the Mayor, and had
done important works on the embankments of the Thames
at Erith and Woolwich. His plan was to build the Pent
with earth walls, but as he could give no estimate of the
cost, nor of the time the work would occupy, he, too, was
dismissed.
Then two shii>buildcrs, named Pett and BalvCr, proposed
to enclose the Pent with wooden walls, but their plan would
have used up 7,000 tons of timber, and the cost would have
been enormous, so that was discarded.
Then Sir Thomas Scott proposed to enclose the Pent
un the Romney Marsh plan, and employ Marsh men, who
were expert in such work, promising that he would complete
the work effectually during one summer, and at a far less
cost than any one el.se had estimated. His proposal was
accepted, and he commenced to make the Penr on the 13th
day of May, 1583.
The plan of the work was a long wall starting from
the shore in front of the town (where the bottom of liver-
pool Street now is), and extending, like the string of a bow,
across the arc of the bay to a point where the Wellington
Bridge now is, the length of the Long Wall being i,q8o feet.
From its western end started, at a right angle, a wall extend-
ing to the shore, under the Western Heights Cliff, called the
Crosswall, 660 feet in length, on the site now occupied by
Union Street. The l(jng wall was 70 feet wide at the base,
and 40 feet to the top, and the Crosswall 90 feet at the
THE PO]RT OF DOVEft 95
base and 50 feet at the top, the cubic measurement of the
whole being 140,800 square yards. The material used was
chalk from the cliffs, earth from the adjoining fields, sludge
from Henry Vlll.'s choked-up harbour, the whole armed
and bound together, after the Romney dyke style, with
faggots, thorn and piles. The earth was obtained from two
and a half acres of land near Archcliff, and from a place
called Horsepool Sole, between Laureston Place and Ashen
Tree Lane. The chalk was obtained from the nearest cliffs,
so that a cart could bring about seventeen or eighteen loads
a day ; v.'hile of earth they could bring but about twelve.
The sludge was all obtained close at hand from about the
harbour.
The following narrative of the making of the Pent is
taken, somewhat abbreviated, from an article in Hollings-
hed's history, written by Mr. Reginald Scott: —
"On the 15th of Ma)', 1583, when carts, which, by proclamation
made one month before in divers market towns, were to come to begin
the works, there were 542 carts and 1,000 workmen attending them.
The carts and horses were so numerous that grazing ground as far
out as Shepherdswell was used to turn out the horses to feed on
nights and Sundays, for there was no Sunday work in making the
Pent. Owing to tlie muUitude of carts assembled, it was thought
meet to enter on the execution of both walls simultaneously, and to
divide the carts into two parts, Richard Barry, Esq., Lieutenant of
Dover Castle, undertaking the oversight of the Longwall, as Sir
Thomas Scott did the Crosswall, so that the one was Sir Thomas
Scott's wall, and the other the Lieutenant's wall ; and certainly they
might well be so termed in respect of the care and costs empkn'ed
upon them by those gentlemen. Sir Thomas Scott dwelt twelve
long Kentish miles from Dover, vet did he seldom fail to come from
his hou-;e to the beginning of his work every Monday morning while
the walls were in hand, and from that day until Saturtlay evening,
when he returned home, he came first to the walls and departed last.
He lay in one John Spritwell's house, who kept an inn in Dover
called the Oreyhound, and there did he, his followers, and servants,
together with Master Lieutena-nt and his company, receive their diet
at a dear hand, for, although the Castle stands within a quarter
of a mile of the work, yet was the Lieutenant's industry and charge
such that he and his servants did never return home from five
o'clock in the morning until after supper. Sir James Hales was the
Treasurer of the work; Sir Thomas Diggs, general surveyor; and
certain of the jurats of the town were, two at once, daily assigned
to be directors to see to the setting forth of the carts, not refusing their
allowance, which was eightpence per day. The carting was carried on
thus. There were eight men called guides, standing at eight several
stations, or places of danger, to guide and help the drivers distressed
with their cattle or carts, and to hasten them forward, and these
guides had eightpence the day. There attended also at the walls
eight men called untingers, to undo the tackle of the carts immediately
96
ANNALS OF DOVER
before the unloading thereof, and they were allowed eightpence the
day. Then were there also eight shelvers, who pulled down the carts
to the place where it was needful to unload, and these were chosen
of the strongest and nimblest men, having tenpence per day. There
were also eight tingers whose special office it was to lift up the carts
immediately after they were unloaded, and to make fast their tackle,
for the drivers hasted forth without making any stay, and these had
eightpence per day. The number of labourers who were to shovel
and lay even the earth, chalk and slecch when unloaded, was uncer-
tain ; the}- had trom sixjience to eightpence per day. A great many
Romney Marshmen were assigned to lay the sleech on the sides of the
walls ; they were called scauelmen, and they had twelvepence the day.
There were also beetlemen, who served to beat the sicech to the sides
of the walls, to break the great pieces of chalk laid on the walls, and
to work in the earth close together, having for their wages eight-
pence the day. Many marsh' men were appointed to arm the sides
of the walls after they were sleeched, and had twelvepence and some
lifteenpence the day. The arming was done in this manner.
Beginning at the foot of the wall, they laid down a row of faggots,
through every one of which they drove a needle or stake about iour
feet long, having a hole, called the eye, at the great end; then did they
edder it with thorne, and lastly drove a key, that is, a wooden wedge,
one foot and a half long, through the eye of the needle to keep down
the edder which held down the faggots. There was a purveyor
appointed to provide the faggot, thorne, needles, keys, etc, who
for his horse and himself was allowed every day he travelled 2S. Everv
cart wa.s filled over night, and in the morning at six o'clock they all
approached orderly to the place where the wall should be made. The
first driver was chosen to be a diligent person, and his cart to have a
good gelding, for as he led the dance so must they all follow. When
the first cart came nigh to the place where it should unload, one un-
tijiged it, and when the tail of the cart was turned to the water's side the
slielver jjlucked down the loa<l, the driver never staying, but going
forth for a new lead, the tinger running after him, pulls up the cart,
fastens the tackle, and then with all speed doeth likewise to another,
until the whole course of carts, usually about 200 at one place, being
unloaded. So favoured were the workers, that there was not lost in
all that summer, by means of foul weather, above 3J days ; and in
all this business not one person slain, and vet in almost every
action there was imminent danger, particularly in laying the sluice in
the Crosswall ; also, many times men in digging the chalk stood on the
clifiF and undermined it so, as sometimes a hundred loads fell down at
once from under their feet, and somtimes from above their heads; yet
all escaped without hurt, except two persons upon whom great chalk
rocks and much abundance of earth did fall, and )-et were recovered
without loss of life or limb. In the passage, also, of the carts,
if by chance either man or boy had fallen down amongst
them (as sometimes some did), the hill was so steep in places
and the carts so swift, that there could be no stay made, or
the carts would run over one another; and yet no great harm
happened in that way. A carL laden with earth passed over the
stomach of a driver, and yet he was not hurt at all thereby. And one
thing more is to be noted, this is, that in all this time, and amongst
all these people, there was never any tumult, fray, or falling out
TH£ POkT OF DOVER gy
to the disturbance of the works. They never ceased working the
whole day, saving that n o'clock before noon, as also at 6 o'clock
in the evening, there was a flag held up by the Sergeant of the town
on the top of a tower, and presently, on the sign given, was a general
shout made by the workers, and wheresoever a cart was at that in-
stant, empty or loaded, there it was left till i o'clock of the afternoon,
or 6 o'clock in the morning. But by the space of half an hour before
the " flag of liberty " was hung out, all the drivers entered into a song,
whereof the ditty was barbarous, and the note rustical, being delivered
by the continual voices of such a multitude, was very strange. The
words thereof were these : —
" O, Harry, hold up thy flag, 'tis eleven o'clock,
And a little, little, little, little past ;
My bow is broke, I would unyoke,
My foot is sore, I can work no more."
As an exception to the general good fortune attending the
making of the Pent, it may be metioned that on the 27th day of July,
being St. James's Day, the very day when the Cross-wall and the
Long-wall met, and were in eifect finished, both being brought above
high-water mark, Sir Thomas Scott, the principal pillar of the work,
fell sick upon the walls, and was conveyed thence in a waggon to his
house, where he remained six weeks more likely to die than to live.
During Sir Thomas Scott's illness, the heightening of the walls two
feet above high water mark was continued and finished by the middle
of August, so that in the space of three months, the great work was
completed at the small cost of _,f2,700."
Three years after the Pent was finished, says a con-
temporary writer, the walls and sluices were so perfect that
'' a full pent shrinketh not any whit betwixt tide and tide."
He further stated that the sluicing power of the Pent fully
answered expectations in keeping the harbour mouth clear
during the three years following its completion, and further
illustrates the point by stating that in October, 1586, one
gate of the sluice was accidentally broken, and in less than
four davs the mouth of the haven was choked up, so that
an ambassador desiring to cross from Dover to France, had
to send for a ship from Sandwich, because no vessel could
enter or leave Dover Harbour ; yet, on the next tide after
the sluice gate was repaired, one pent full of water had so
scoured the channel that a 300-ton vessel easily did pa.ss in
and out.
According to other writers, the Pent showed two great
defect.s — the I_.ong Wall (alongside the present Ordnance
Wharf) was unable to resist the rough sea, which made a
breach there, and the sluicing power of the Pent failed to keep
the harbour mouth open. These two points detract nothing
from the credit due to those who, by wonderfi 1 organisation
and energy, enclosed the Pent at .s(^ small a cost and in so
98 ANNALS OF DOTER
short a time. The breach in the Long Wall might easily
have been remedied by the same means by which the wall
was originally built, and the failure of the original sluices
arose from later harbour makers placing the mouth of the
harbour further seaward at too great a distance from the
sluices for them to be effective.
The object of constructing the Pent being to clear the
harbour of the shingle and silt that barred ifs entrance, it
was found that when the harbour mouth was finally carried
out to where the entrance to the old harbour still is, other
works were necessary to shoot the sluicing water directly
against the bar. To do this Mr. Uiggs made a culvert from
the Pent along the line now occui)ied l)y Strond Street, and,
near the south end of that street, constructed a pair of
flood-gates twenty-four feet wide and seventeen feet high,
from whence he built a stone sluice to deliver near the bar.
Beside the flood-gates he erected an engine-house containing
machinery for working the flood-gates expeditiously ; and,
as Mr. Diggs thought that this would be the crowning work
which would effectually remove the troubles of Dover Har-
bour, he placed over the building an effigy of Queen
Elizabeth, the patron of the Port. After these gates were
built, Paradise Harbour was called " Paradise Pent."
This sluice did not end the troubles. The force of the
water was so great that it undermined the Black Bulwark
and Poin's droin, which then formed the mouth of the
Harbour. This made some outer works nece.ssary. Mr.
Diggs continued the Long Wall from the south-east corner
of the Pent down to the Harbour mouth, and this made
the outline of the harbour almost the same as the space
within the old pier-heads is now. The harbour then con-
sisted of three parts — the Great Pent, which was only a
reservoir ; the Paradise Pent, which was an adaptation of
the old Paradise Harbour for improving the sluicing power;
and a large tidal basin extending from the line of Strond
Street and Clarence Place to th j pier-heads, called " Great
Paradi.se Harbour." Excluding minor details, these works,
carried out under the direction of Mr. Diggs, completed the
harbour works of the Elizabethan Period.
THE PORT OF DOVER 99
VI.
JAMES THE FIRST'S CHARTER.
Dover Harbour, in the year 1606, at the request of
James I., was surrendered by the Corporation and trans-
ferred by Royal Charter to a separate and permanent body.
The Corporation, undouljtedly, owed the loss of this part
of their ancient inheritance to their repeated appeals to the
Crown, during the reign of five Tudor Sovereigns, for money
to make and maintain the harbour at Archclifif Point. Owing
to the response to those appeals, the Cro.vn's financial
interest in Dover Harbour had grown to large dimensions.
The carefully drawn preamble of James's precisely expressed
Harbour Charter, after referring to the harbour as having
been for many ages " noted and famous," further stated
that at certain times it had fallen into such decay as any
ship could scarcely enter it, further adding that the Tudor
monarchs had expended many thousands of pounds in
maintaining and repairing the harbour. That preamble
clearly indicates that the King had come to the conclusion
that the revenues and the control of the harbour should be
taken from the Corporation on the principle that " he who
pays the piper has the right to call the rune. " For tl:at
reason the King had called upon the Corporation to
surrender all their rights in the Harbour, which they did by
a deed which received the assent of the Common Council on the
roth of June. 1606, with the exception of the Corporation
retaining their rights, granted by the Charter of Queen
Mary, to licence boatmen to land and embark passengers on
the shore and the right of Dover ships to free harbourage.
With the exception of these shreds of authority, all else
connected with the control of the harbour was surrendered ;
and the Charter of James I., dated 6th October, 1606, vested
the control of the Port in " eleven discreet men," called
the Guardian or Warden and Assistants of the Harbour of
Dover. They were constituted a body corporate, of whom
the first was the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports during
the tenure of his office, the second the Lieutenant of Dover
Castle, and the third the Mayor of Dover, both during theiv
tenure of office ; and the other eisht named in the Charter
lOO ANNALS OF DOVER
were Sir Francis Fane, Sir George Fane, Sir Thomas Hart-
flete, Sir John Boys, Sir Edward Boys, Matthew Hadd,
Henry Heyman, and \\illiam Monyng, Esquires, the last
eight being appointed for Hfe or during good behaviour, and
their places, when vacated, to be filled by the votes of the
majority of the other members of the Commission. The
Charter also conveyed to the Warden and Assistants the whole
of the harbour, all the reclaimed land up to the cliffs below
Snargate, together with the Pent and all reclaimed land on
the shore outside the Pent Wall and on the shore as far as
the Moat Bulwark under the Castle, the whole estate being
conveyed by the Charter to the ^\'arden and Assistants, as
a free gift, "' as of the King's Manor of East Greenwich,"
but without any rent or Knight's service whatsoever, or any
liability to account, the sole condition being that the estate
should be used for the benefit of the harbour. Such, briefly
stated, was the deed of separation between the Town and
Port, carried into effect in the year 1606.
After the generation, to which the first members of
this Commission belonged, had passed away, in due course
the Eord ^^'arden, the Lietueiiant of the Castle, and the
Mayor of Dover for the lime Ijeing formed three of the
" eleven di.screet men " who had the control of the Harbour,
but it does not appear that, during the existence of that
Commission, from j6o6 until 1861. beyond those three
e.\-officio members, the majority of the Commission ever
found a Dover man who, in their opinion, was •' discreet "
enough to be appointed a Commissioner of Dover Harbour.
The only representation which the town of Dover had on
the governing body of the Harbour was the Mayor for the
time being. That was the only means of insight that Dover
people obtained into Dover Harbour affairs for 255 years.
If the intentions of James 1. and the Lord Warden in 1606
in so thoroughly divorcing the town from the port was
good, it would be difficult to find in history a case where
good intentions so utterly failed in bringing forth good
results.
About five years after the new body under James I.'s
Charter took charge of the thoroughly up-to-date harbour,
Parliament considered the conni.ion of the works so good
and the revenue from its reclaiuud land and harbour dues so
ample that they refused any longer to levy the Passing
Tolls. With good business management, the upkeep of the
THE PORT OF DOVER lOl
harbour might have been paid for out of its revenue, but
how eight Kentish gentlemen, who seldom came near Dover
Harbour, could assist in its management it is difficult to
imagine. It is a matter of history that the Lord Warden
did not attend a Harbour Board meeting for more than a
hundred years after the date of the new Charter, so that,
practically, the management of the Harbour during that
period was left to two men, the Lieutenant of the Castle and
the Mayor, the former having all the power, and the latter,
if a time-server, as some of the Mayors were, had the
plunder. For instance, the first Mayor, who was an ex-officio
member of the Harbour Board under the Charter, received
as a gift from his brother Commissioners a large piece of
reclaimed land, on which he built his residence, on the west
.side of Strond Street, where Trinity Church now stands.
The whole of Strond Street and the eastern side of it was
Harbour property, and is so still, but those who secured
the leases of the ground around the basin, by some peculiar
favour of the Commissioners, owned all the quays as their
private property, and it is not surprising, with such a policy,
that the governing body should have had an insufficient
revenue for the upkeep of the Harbour.
102 ANNALS OF DOVER
VII.
FROM JAMES I. TO CHARLES II.
The Art conferring Passing Tolls on Dover Harbour,
which was renewed for seven years at the beginning of the
reign of James I., expired in 1610. Up to that year the
Harbour was in a flourishing financial position, and it
having been so recently enlarged and repaired, the new
Commissioners had nothing to do with the money that the
Passing Tolls Act was producing up to 16 10. They, how-
ever, employed an engineer, who, being a new man,
discovered defects in the work of his predecessor. The
great double sluice at the bottom of the Pent, laid soon
after the Pent was enclosed, was, it was asserted, laid on
the pebbles, and it had to be re-laid. That had originally
cost about _;^r,ooo, but the re-laying was still moie costly.
It was also found that the square piles, with which Clark's
Pier had been rebuilt, on the south of Paradise Pent, were
so low that the shingle came over them into the Harbour,
and they had to be interspersed with new piles to raise the
parapet. Those two works and minor alterations kept the
Harbour artificers busy until the Passing Tolls revenue was
suspended in 16 10. There is not much known of the
Harbour officials of those times, but an old manuscript
mentions that from 1605 until 1613 the Master Carpenter
was Mr. Samuel Elfreth, and that " that man, under God,
brought the Harbour to perfection."
Charles I., in the first year of his reign, granted a
valuable patent unto Sir John Skivington, his wife, and John,
his son, during all their three lives; and, after them, it was
granted to Sir Thomas Curry, for forty-one years. In that
grant there were several provisions to the effect that if, at
any time during the existence of that grant, it should seem
necessary to repair the Piers and the Harbour at Dover,
that Sir Thomas Curry, upon notice given to him by the
Lord Treasurer, should repair it for the King's use. The
holders of the above-mentioned patent were fortunate
enough to enjoy it without being called upon to pay for
any repairs to Dover Harbour; and there does not appear to
have been any done from the death of Master Carpenter
THE PORT OF DOVER I03
Elfreth in 16 13 until the Restoration, although, owing to
breaches in the walls, made hy tempest, repairs were badly
needed.
When Charles II. landed here at the Restoration there
does not appear to have been sufficient depth of water to
admit his ships into the harbour, the King and his followers
being compelled to land, by the use of small boats, on the
open shore. The King was so impressed with the necessity
for improvement in the harbour that he forthwith called the
attention of his Ministers to the matter, and his first Parlia-
ment re-enacted the Passing Tolls statute for eight years,
but with the condition that an Inspector appointed by
Trinity House should, once a year, during the continuance
of the Act. certify that the money raised was properly
spent. The amount raised was but ^g,ooo, and little
t^eyond repairs could be accomplished with that sum.
Some years previous to the Restoration the use of
Paradise Pent had been abandoned, it having been choked
u]) with mud and sand, whicli the Commissioners made no
effort to remove. Their policy was to push the harbour
seaward, leaving the original harbour to .silt up and become
a part of their building estate, to yield ground rents. In
the beginning of the reign of Charles II. the Paradise
Harbour Pent had become a marsh. Between the Paradise
Harbour and the sea there was sloping shore, about
200 yards wide, leading down to the water. This, during
the reign of Charles 1., was called the Strond or Strand.
Along this Strond, Strond Street was constructed in the
Stuart Period, lined, on the eastern side, by good class
dwellings and warehouses. Eastward of these was laid out
a sea-side road, later called " Custom House Quay," with
a retaining wall next the water, which was claimed as the
private wharfs of adjoining property owners.
The loss of Paradise Pent had decreased the quantity
of backwater available for sluicing, and to regain it the
Commissioners built a rough chalk wall across Great Para-
dise Harbour from the Black Bulwark, near Clarence Place,
to the bottom of the Pent, forming a floating basin. In
addition to proxiding more backwater this floating ba.sin
was furnished with gates to admit vessels from the tidal
harbour, and it was intended to put another pair of gates
in the wall of the Pent to admit vessels to the upper water,
I04 ANNALS OF DOVER
which had become inaccessible since the Paradise Harbour
had been disused. Unfortunately, trade was so slack at the
beginning of the Restoration Period that the Passing Tolls
granted for eight years from 1662 only produced ^9,000,
instead of the ^22,000 expected, so that the basin walls
were left in a very rough state, and the construction of gates
into the Great Pent had to be postponed.
THE PORT OF DOVER I 05
VIII.
HARBOUR AFFAIRS FROM 1670 TO 1723.
The many claims upon the Exchequer in ihe latter part
of the reign of Charles II. were the excuse of Statesmen for
refusing to renew the Passing Tolls Act when it expired in
1670, and no further help from that source was received
until 1694. During that interval, mud that came down the
River Dour in flood time, and shingle that had been piled
in front of the harbour mouth by repeated south-west gales,
had so choked up the harbour as to render it useless. A
saddening picture of its neglected condition is given by Sir
Henry Shears, an officer of the Ordnance Department, in
a report that he made by command of Charles II. in 1682.
He having been to Dover and viewed the Harbour, he
reported the result in an interview with the King. He
said : —
I told His Majesty that the port was, at that time, become
entirely useless, the pier, within, being filled and choked up with
sand and mud, and that there was a bank of beach at the mouth
of the harbour of many thousand tons, which barred up the entrance ;
that the town, which was wont to abound in shipping, seamen, com-
merce, people and plenty of all things, was become poor, desolate
and dispeopled, which was visible every where by their uecayed build-
ings and habitations, v.here half the houses at least, throughout the
whole town had bills on the doors ; all which could be ascribed to no
other reason than the decay of the Harbour ; touching the true cause
thereof, on the cure, the inhabitants, with whom I had frequent con-
ference, could give me little or no light.
This narration of the state of Dover Harbour, the
desolation that it brought upon the town in 1682, and the
recommendations made as to the remedy, aroused the King's
interest ; but, after a few days' consideration, he gave the
officer this short answer: — " That it was a noble project
indeed, but that it was too big for his present purse, and
would keep cold." Sir Henry Shears continues: — " Shortly
after that I was dispatched to my business in a remote
country." About three years later Charles II. died, and no
further aid for improving the Harbour was granted by
Parliament during his reign.
Hopes had been raised in 1676 that something in the
way of improvement would follow a Commission of Inquiry
Io6 ANNALS OF DOVER
issued bv the Barons of the Exchequer *-o require and
empower several persons to point out the limits of the Port
of Dover seaward, and also the quays and wharves in the
Harbour. The Mayor, Captain William Stokes, R.N.,
Messrs. Giles Dunston, Richard Breton, Walter Braems,
John Matson, and James Housman were deputed to make
the survey, and they reported that on the 20th January, 1676,
and on several following days, they went to view the open
bays on the coast, and they described the limits of the
Port of Dover as follow^s : —
"From the town to the South Foreland, bearinfj east four miles ;
and from thence to the Cioodwin Sands, the same distance from the
shore ; and in twelve fathoms water at the time of the ebb. From
the Goociwin Sands they continued the lx)undary 'ine, south-west by
west, to a point near the promontory called East Wear liay, four miles
distance from the shore, and in the same depth of water. From East
Wear Point to Dover pierhead, north-north-west to the bridge over
the sluice. The quays and wharves for shipping and landing goods are
also particular. y descriled thus: — "Crane Quay: From the crane 36tt..
W.N.W. to a jiost fixed at the end of it. This was near the Harbour
House. The next was called James Hammond's Quay, and it
meisured from a post at .S.W. by W. to another, X.E. bv N., 55 feet.
This quay was bounded by the house of James Hammond, \V.N.W.,
and by the harbour, K.S.E. The next quay is described as belonj^intr
to several inhabitants and mt asuring 657 feet from the end of Bnnders
Quay to the north part of Major Braem's Quay. The fourth was John
Matson "s Quay, which measured on the western side of his warehouse
45 feet. Major Braem's Quay, which measured from N.E. to S.W.,
276 feet, and was bounded by the New Buildings on the N.E., and
the Harbour on the .S.W."
The inquiry by the Barons of the Exchequer led to
nothing. The .state of the harbour went from bad to wor.se,
as already detailed in the report made by Sir Henry Shears,
who presented a memorial to William HI. soon after he
ascended the Throne, setting forth the deplorable condition
of Dover Harbour, and praying for a renewal of the Pa.ssing
Tolls. In anticipation of a favourable response to that
petition, the Commissioners in j688 adopted plans for placing
double gates and a more effective sluice in the lower
Crosswall, so as to make the backwater operate more
effectively on the bar between the North and South Piers.
It is of interest to mention that the materials for the sluice
and the walls in which the gates were to be set were obtained
from one of the original Round Towers built by Sir John
Clark in 1500, which, having stood at the entrance to Round
Tower Street until 1668, was then removed. In 1690 the Har-
bour Act, II and 12 William III., renewing the Passing Tolls
THE PORT OF DOVER 107
for nine years. The expense of obtaining the Act was
^488 14s. lid., and to pay that and to meet the cost of the
proposed w^orks for better sluicing arrangements the Com-
missioners were authorised to borrow ;i^6,ooo for five years.
There had been a very considerable outlay in manual and
horse labour to clear away the bar, consisting of many
thousands of tons which lay in front of and between the
Piers, so that all the revenue that the Act above mentioned
yielded during the nine years for which it was granted was
spent in removing the bar and repairs.
By order of WiUiam III., the Lords of the Admiralty
directed Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel and Captain White-
ham to make a survey of Dover Harbour, with a view to its
further improvement on the 28th April, 1689; and they
reported as follows: —
'■\Ve have been to the said Port and have surveyed the present
condition thereof, and have likewise advised with the Commissioners
and Overseers of the said Harbour as to how it might be made more
useful to the Navy and at what charge. The good condition of this
Harbour depends on the maintenance of the Piers, which preserve
an entrance into the same, and likewise on the good management of the
land freshes for clearing away all sullage, sediment and beach stones
either carried down from the land or carried in by the sea. These
two principal things have been very much neglected, the income being
insufficient for extraordinary works. The piers are now much decayed
and the harbour itself has contracted very much sediment, beach stones
and ouze, therefore is in great danger of becoming totally useless to
the GovernmeTit. Finding by enquiry that this Port has been a place
of good resort in former times for merchant ships and of convenience
to the smaller ships of war to fit and clean, for the advantage of the
Navy and for trade in general it ought to be {)reserved from decay,
and improved for the advantage of the Nation. We propose the build-
ing of a wall 30 feet thick at the bottom, with sluices through the same
about 500 feet below the present water pent, which with all the side
wharfs already built will make a basin for ten or twelve ships, from
40 guns downwards, which may always lie afloat and room for four
score more outside the basin within the piers. We recommend that
about ;^5oo be immediately spent on the North Pier, and ^7,350 on
the wall and sluices."
This report eventually led to the building of the
Cros.swall in a substantial manner and the construction of
sluices therein, but to do this further financial arrangements
had to be made.
At the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne, it being
represented to her Government that the above-mentioned
necessary works remained to be done, the Passing Tolls Act
was again renewed to continue until the end of the year 17 18,
Io8 ANNALS OF DOVER
The Passing Tolls yielded between the years 1700 and 17 18
a total of ^20,876 6s. 5d., and after the works indicated
by Sir Cloudesley Shovel's report had been carried out only
a balance of ;^739 us. iid. remained. There was still
much more to be done, and the Commissioners petitioned
for the Tolls Act to be renewed.
Queen Anne had then been dead four years, and her
bounty to Dover Harbour had outlived her. George I. who was
then on the Throne, and his Whig Ministers were not very
favourably disposed to Dover. They appointed a Committee to
investigate the matter and they reported that " If the piers
were not kept up the harbour and the town would be lost."
The tolls were then renewed until 1723, and the works pro-
ceeded. In the year 1718 both pier heads were repaired and
Cheeseman's Head, a small jetty on the south-west of the
Harbour mouth was built out to low-water mark, but the
l)earh fUiring heavy seas from the south-west was often
carried in between the piers, rendering the harbour useless
until the beach was removed. Lord Aylmer, at that time,
invited Capt. John Perry to survey the harbour and report to
him thereon.
THE PORT OF DOVER IO9
IX.
A PERIOD OF SxMALL IMPROVEMENTS.
It does not seem clear why Lord Aylmer in'^ited Captain
Perry to report on the harbour. Some historians have said
it was because he was the Lord Warden, but he never held
that position. He was a Member of Parliament for Dover,
but he had been raised to the Peerage before he asked
Capt. Perry to make his report. Lord Aylmer's only other
connection with Dover Harbour was that he was the Ranger
of Greenwich Park. That Park is a part of the Manor of
Earl Greenwich, which was annexed to the Crown in the
reign of Henry Vlll. ; and, James I., when he, by charter,
granted to the Commissioners of Dover Harbour, the Harbour
lands, they were, somewhat curiously, granted " as of our
Manor of East Greenwich, in free and common socage, by
fealty only, not in capite, nor by any manner of Knight ser-
vice, without any rent and without account to us." Probably
it was by virtue of this peculiar method of conveyance that
Lord Aylmer, as Ranger of Greenwich Park, was entitled to
satisfy himself that the Commissioners of Dover Harbour were
taking the right steps to preserve the estate which James I.,
had granted to them. There is less difficulty in finding the
reason why Lord Aylmer selected Capt. John Perry to dis-
charge the duty. He appears to have been an expert in sea
and river defences, his reports on Daggenham Breach (on the
Thames) the Port of Dover and the Port of Dublin afford
ample evidence of his sagacity. In his survey he found that
when the wind blew hard from the South and South-West it
caused a drift of shingle which so choked up the mouth of
the harbour that no ships could enter. He found on enquiry
that that stoppage had not occurred so often as had been
reported, yet the apprehension of it deterred shipmasters
from putting in to Dover when in doubt as to its condition.
He found that on the sill of the basin there were but ten feet
of water, and he thought that might, with great advantage,
be deepened. As to the remedy for keeping out the shingle
he proposed to carry the South Pier i 50 or 200 feet further
out to sea remarking " I beliexe that the harbour will thereby
be freed from being choked up any more for ever." He
I to ANNALS OF DOVER
also proposed the construction of groins, eastward and west-
ward, to ward off the shingle, and more effectual sluicing
arrangements to clear out the shingle if by chance it should
tind its way between the pier heads. When this report
reached Lord Aylmer he was ill and dying, less than two years
later it was left amongst his papers. Subsequently Capt.
Perry asked the second Lord Aylmer to return it to him, and
it was submitted to the Harbour Commissioners, l)Ut they
never attempted to carry out any })art of the new works
that he had recommended.
In 1723 Dover Harbour lost two thirds of the Passage
Tolls which went to the Port of Rye, and by means of the
remaining third and their own revenue they employed their
regular staff of workmen in clearing out many thousands of
tons of mud out of the floating Ijasin and the Pent so as to
provide more back-water for sluicing ; and they made a
gateway out of the basin into the Pent to admit vessels to
the Upper Water. This work was done under the direction
of Mr. James Hammond Jun., whose father, James Ham-
mond Sen., filled the office of Clerk of the Cheques of Dover
Harbour and appeared to be occupying the positions of
treasurer, engineer and harbour master. Young James
Hammond, who occupied no official position at all, except
that of assistant to his father, seems to have carried out very
valuable work in clearing out thousands of tons of mud, and
building the Pent gateway; and at the same time he conceived
a geimine lo\e for Dover Harbour and Dover generally,
putting on record many facts concerning the Port, the Town,
the Castle and the Churches, thnjwing light on many Dover
affairs, which, but for the manuscript which he left behind,
would otherwise ha\e l)een ol)scure. The work directed by
James Hammond, Jnr., was carried out between the years
1727 and 1732. The mud from the basin was, by young
Hammond's contrivance of a temporary turn-water, carried
out to sea by the current, but the mud had to be taken out
of the Pent by hand, a good deal of it being carted by the
farmers to the neighbouring lands for manure and part of it
mixed with shingle was placed on the sea front shingle to
make .solid ground. The removal of the mud made room for
many thousands of tons of l)ack water, and the gateway built
with stones and fitted with sluice and a drawbridge, gave
a shi|>way into the Pent without interfering with the public
thoroughfare along Union Street. At the same time the
THE PORT OF DOVER lit
Crosswall was faced with stones, 'it having many years
previously been built with timber, under the direction of Sir
Henry Sheers, by Master Carpenter Ockam. The whole of
of the works under James Hammond, Jnr., were completed 'n
1738 by the erection of a swingbridge over the Crosswall
gateway to make a short footway from Union Street to
Clarence Place.
Between 1740 and 1757 Cheeseman's Head was repaired
and the Castle Jetty built. The total outlay on these two
works and repairs up to May 1757 amounted to ^22,226
4s. 2d. The Commissioners were able to meet this extra
expenditure, in spite of the fact that Rye was taking two
thirds of the Passing Tolls, because their local revenue from
harbour dues and ground rents had increased and the increase
of the shipping trade had made one-third of the Passing
Tolls nearly as much as the whole had been in the reign of
Charles 11. The revenue further increased in 1756 owing
to one half of the Passing Tolls being allotted to Dover.
ANNALS OF DOVER
X.
JOHN SMEATON'S REPORT.
When a larye portion of the Passing Tolls was
allotted to Dover Harbour in 1756, there were great
complaints from the ship owners who navigated the
Channel that the harbour bar so frequently made the
Port inaccessible. In consequence of those complaints,
the Commission invited Mr. John Smeaton, a ■ engineer,
who had then become famous by the completion of
the great Eddystone I>ight House, to report how Dover
Harbour could be improved and its acf'ommodation
developed. He presented his report in 1769, wherein
he recommended an extension of the South Pier, and an
alteration in its form, which, together with other recommenda-
tions, was not adoj)ted. But, although the report from this
eminent man was disregarded, some passages of it should be
embodied here because it gives an exact description of the
Harbour as it was in 1 769. He wrote: — '' The mouth of the
'■ i)resent Harbour was originally cut through the beach to let
'■ off the land waters, pent up inside the Harbour. From that
" state the present Harbour has been gradually improved,
" the entry whereof is now defended by two piers, composed
" chiefly of wooden piles, tJie inside filled in with rough hea\y
'■ stones. After passing the entry the vessels arrive in a
" caj>ac!ous outward harbour where they may lie defended
"from all winds; but, having an open communication with
" the sea, the water flows and ebbs therewith; and at low water
" spring tides the whole is left dry. Above this the harbour
" is divided by a dam, called the Crosswall ; in which there is
" an opening of 38 feet wide at the top and about 36 feet
" at the bottom; and in this is placed a large pair f)f gates
" j)ointing to the landward, through which at high-water,
" vessels may pass out of the exterior harbour into the interior
" basin were occasionally they are kept afloat. The Cross-
" wall besides the great gates, has two other openings of
" 12 feet wide in each of which is ])lacetl a ])air of draw-
" gates."
" The interior basin is again dixidcd bv a second dam
" or cross-wall. ha\ing an o]n'ning of more than 20 feet, for
THE PORT OF DOVER II3
the passage of smaller vessels, which is also furnished with
a pair of gates pointing to landward ; this dam has likewise
another opening furnished with three draw-gates, by which
the water can occasionally be let off so as to scour the basin.
Into this upper reservoir, which is called the Pent, the
freshwater river, which springs from the chalk hills north
of Dover, empties itself, and makes its way through both
sets of gates through all three harbours and lastly betwixt
the pier-heads to the sea."
" This general disposition of the harbour appears to me
as judicious as can be contrived, and it is upon the same
general idea as the Port of Cherbourg, upon which the
French spended an immense sum of money before it was
destroyed by the English in the late war."
" When, by hard gales from the South-West a quantity of
beach is brought round the Western Pier head and lodges
itself between the heads, the basin and Pent are then filled
partly by taking in sea water and partly by fresh water
afforded by the river, and there retained until it be low
water. The drawgates in the sluices in the Cross-wall are
then opened with all possible expedition, and the body of
water contained in the Basin and Pent, by making its way
between the pier-heads cuts down and removes the bar of
l)each, which at the time of spring tides is done with so
great effect that at one single operation, as I am informed,
a good jjassage is opened for vessels ; and at two tides the
whole mouth of the harbour can be cleared; and could
this be done with equal ease and expedition at all times
when wanted, then would the evils that are now complained
of not subsist; and this port would then be nearly in the
best condition its situation is capable of, and which indeed
is very respectable as a tide-harbour, having a good capacity
with from i6 to i8 feet of water at common spring tides,
but it so happens when there are hard gales from the
South-West and at the same time neap tides that such
a quantity of beach will be lodged between the pier-heads,
and to so great a height that, according to my information,
a vessel drawing but four feet of water can hardly get out
of or into the Port. At those times the water from the
sluices has not sufficient fall to drive out the beach, which
is obliged to remain until the spring tides, which at some
times may be an interval of a week, producing great
114 ANNALS OF DOTER
" obstructions to the Packets between Dover and Calais as
" well as the Mercantile trade of the place."
Mr. Smeaton very fully discussed the cause of the
accumulation and the remedy. His opinion was that the
beach which travelled along the shore eastward had
originally been flints in the chalk cliffs whicli had fallen
and broken up in the sea, and his remedy fo» keeping the
beach out of the Harbour was the elongation of the South
Pier of the Harbour about 90 feet, and to make the head an
angle instead of being round, and not e.xiend the north
head, by which means the south head would shoot the
shingle into deeper water. By that plan the shingle would
be kept out of the Harbour mouth, where it did injury,
and carried forward into the Bay, where it would bene-
ficially support the Harbour walls.
It was the Earl of Holderness, the Lord Warden, who
invited Mr. Smeaton to make a report, but the Board of
Commissioners rejected that simple and economical plan,
because it adopted a principle which they and their fore-
fathers had been taught to believe was rank heresy. Because
the projection of Henry VHI.'s Pier first caused the shingle
to accumulate in Dover Bay, they believed that every
j)rojection into the sea, no matter what its form, direction
or position, would have the same effect. Captain Perry had
aihised the extension of the South Pier in 171S, which the
('ommissioners rejected, and, to be consistent, they rejected
Mr. Smeaton 's i)lan too.
The Karl of Holderness, as Lord Waidcn, haA'ing
failed to induce his Assistant Commissioners to adopt Mr.
Smeatons proposals to prevent the formation ol the Harbour
bar, he next called into council the experienced pilots and
mariners, judging that their local knowledge would help to
solve the problem, but their opinions differed so diametrically
from each other that he could found no policy on their
diverse proposals. So the Earl abandoned his efforts, and
no further works were undertaken before his death, which
occurred in 1778.
tHE PORT OF DOVER I15
XI.
THE GUILFORD ADMLXISTRATION.
I,ord North (who later succeeded his father as the Earl
of Ciuilford), being a Kentisli nobleman, ought to ha\e
been specially fitted to handle the team of Kentish gentlemen
who were the Harbour Commissioners when he held the
oiifice of Lord Warden. He started very well. Like most
of his predecessors, he attempted to solve the problem of
the Harbour bar ; and eventually the Board decided, as
previous Boards had done, that they must call in some
experienced engineer to give them advice. Mr. Nickalls,
an engineer of some note, was asked to give his advice.
He prepared a report, which he presented in 1783,
pointing out that, apart from the bar, which occasionally
obstructed the Harbour entrance, the Port, as a place for
receiving large vessels and ships of war, was defective owing
to there being but 10 feet 6 inches of water on the apron
in front of the basin entrance at neap tides, and that, in
effect, was reduced to nine feet l)y the sill of the basin
gates being laid ci;,diteen inches higher than it should have
been. This shallowness of the Harbour also rendered the
quantity of backwater so small that, after allowing for much
that leaked through the works, there was not enough to
remove the bar and keep the entrance between the pier-
heads clear. He also said that the Pent was so narrow at
the upper end and so .shallow that it did not contain, when
fully charged, more than 47,100 tons of water, which, when
united with that in the basin, was totally inadequate to
remove the bar at neap tides. To remedy these defects,
Mr. Nickalls proposed increasing the area of the Great Pent
to thirteen and a half acres, adding about four feet to its
depth, and deepening the basin, giving, in the latter, from
seventeen feet to twenty-four feet of water. He proposed
to extend the pier-heads two hundred feet further to sea,
which he expected would prevent the shingle entering the
Harbour ; but. to provide for the worst, he proposed to
have canals and sluices in the South Pier-head to operate
directly on the bar. as well as sluice-gates, and sluicing canals
to cleanse every part of the Harbour, the Pent, the basin,
Il6 ANNALS OF DOVER
and the tidal harbour, so as to avoid the very heavy expense
that had to be occasionally iiuurred to remove by manual
laljour the mud that was brought into the Harbour by the
river. He was of opinion that if the various parts of the
Harbour were deepened, as he suggested, the backwater
would be sufficient to keep the Harbour clear at all times.
This scheme, in its entirety, was estimated to cost ;^6o,ooo;
but, although there was not suflicicnt money available to
carry it out, Mr. Xirkalls was cmjjloyed to do some portion
of the work. He re-faced the lower Cros.swall on both
sides with stone, making stone sluices in it ; and he rebuilt
about a hundred feet of the basin wharves with .stone,
carrying the walls down eight feet below liie bottom with
a view to deepening the basin as he proposed. He, however,
was n(3t permitted to go so far as that, but he removed a
great c|uantity of mud from the basin and wideiied the gates
into the Pent as well as lowering the sill so as to admit
larger vessels. He was not permitted to carry his imi)rove-
ments any further, because he is said to have always
exi:eeded his estimates of the cost and of the time required
to carry out works, for which reasons the Commissioners
dispensed with his services after he had been employed about
eight years.
THE PORT OF DOVER II7
XII.
SIR HENRY OXENDEN'S DAY.
Sir Henry Oxenden, who was one of the Commissioners
for fifty-four years, was once the youngest Commissioner,
having been apptjinted at the age of 28 years. That was
in 17<S-|, when Mr. Nickalls was wearying the Commissioners
with his (lehiys and his unrehahle estimates. About two
years afler Mr. .N'ickalls resigned, in 1791, Mr. Oxenden (for
he had not th(>n come into the l)aronetcy) undertook the
direction of the Harliour works, as a (•ommissioner, without
payment. He was of an ingenious turn of mind, having
previously invented a saihng carriage, formed nkc a boat, on
wheels, which, litted with sails, was one of the wonders of
the Eighteenth Century as it careered over Barham Downs.
When he took charge of the Harbour works in 1791 the
\orth Pier was in a dangerous state, and he rebuilt between
sixty and seventy feet of it in a masterly manner. Anyone
who now walks the .\orth Pier head may see the splendid
piling that he jilaced there more than 120 years ago. The
gates in the Crosswall, put in by Mr. Nickalls, left the
opening without a bridge for the townspeople to pas.s over.
Mr. Oxenden designed a bridge, which English and Dutch
engineers pronounced impracticable, but that opposition
stimulated Oxenden to confound his critics. He had it l>uilt
in his own carpenter's shop at Broome Park, and it having
been brought to Dover in his own waggons, it was hung
at the first attem[)t, and continued to swing without failure
for fifty years. For this proof of his ingeruiity he was
elected a ]<"ellow of the Royal Society of Engineers. Dover
Harbour works were his pet hobby during the time of five
Lord Wardens — the l^arl of Holderness, tlie Earl of
Guilford, Mr. Pitt, the Earl of Liverpool, and the Duke
of Wellington ; but after about ten years of active control,
County affairs and the business of his estate demanded a
good deal of his time. Meanwhile, Mr. Mcon, who had
been Harbour Master, undertook the direction of the
works, and other resident engineers followed, but while
they were in office Sir Henry Oxenden was in power. His
word was law, and the men employed worshipped him. For
Tl8 ANNALS OF DOVER
one reason, because he was very kind — too kind to keep the
wages l)ill down, for wherever he was men were tumbUng
over each other to wait upon him and execute his orders.
His greatest period of activity and enthu:>iasm was in
1S36, when he was eighty years of age. The last and most
successful scheme of sluices to drive away the Harbour bar
was then brought to completion. It is said that " Xo man
is a hero to his own valet," but it is quite '^ertain that Sir
Henry Oxenden's steward regarded him as a groat engineer;
and to see him as his steward saw him in r<.'gard to the
Dover Harbour \Vorks, it will be interesting to introduce
some reminiscences which the steward wrote of his master.
" To see," wrote the steward, " the time that he devoted
" as well as the energy and activity that he then displayed
" in the jirosecution of those works was truly astonishing
" to everyone, particularly when his advanced age was
" taken into con.sideration. I well recollect that on many
'' occasions, to suit the tide, he has left Rroome at four
" o'clock in the morning; and, after examining the progress
" of the works, would drive back to attend to stime necessary
"business at home; and then, having refreshed himself,
"would take a fresh horse and go down to Dover again;
" and, after looking keenly over the works, would drive
" round to Walmer Castle and dine with the Duke of
" Wellington, or with the Earl of Guilford at Waldershare,
" or Mr. Rice at Dane Court. On those occasions, to
" avoid the night air, his faithful Cheeseman (the coachman)
" would come home with the gig and take back the close
" carriage to fet(^h him home. On the following morning
" he would be as ready and active as if he had done nothing
"the day before; and, let the weather be what it might,
" off again to attend to his duties at Dover. This under-
" taking, in laying the sluices, lasted the greater part of
" two years, and on no occasion during that time do I ever
" remember that he flinched from his duty. At the com-
" pletion of these works, so sanguine did Sir Henry and
" others feel of their success, that the first time of the
" running of the sluices was almost a day of rest for all
" labourers on the estate. Sir Henry's own men were allowed
"to go to Dover to see the wonderful sight."
Although this foregoing extract was penned by an admir-
ing servant, it does not need to be much discounted. Indepen-
dent testimony fully corrolwrates all that he has written as to
THE PORT OF DOVER II9
Sir Henry Oxenden's zeal on behalf of Dover Harbour. It
so happened that the extension of the Admiralty Pier into
the true tideway a few years later rendered the ingenious
sluicing arrangements unnecessary, but, as long as it was
required, this last work of Sir Henry Oxenden for Dover
Harbour was the most effective of all the contrivances for
dispersing the shingle from the Harbour mouth. At the
same time, truth requires it to be stated that at that date,
Sir Henry being eighty years of age, could do little more
than take a kindly interest in the work and encourage the
workers. He was recognised as the Managing Commissioner
up to the last, but his management was expensive, because
he treated the men on the Harbour as he clid the labourers
on his own estates — never dismissed a man because he was
old or infirm. The allowance that his fellow Commissioners
made for Sir Henry's infirmities was such that, although
they saw the deterioration arising from natural decay, they
would not allow his authority to be superseded ; and when
he died, two years after the sluices were first used, and
only two days after his last vi.sit to Dover to inspect the
Harbour enlargement then in progress, the Commissioners
met, and, on the motion of the Duke of Wellington, the
following minute was recorded: — "That at this, the first
meeting of the Commissioners after the death of Sir Henry
Oxenden, Bart., the Lord Warden and Assistant Commis-
sioners are anxious to pay a tribute of warm and grateful
regard to their deceased friend, and to record the lively
sense they entertain of the zealous and active attention paid
by him during his connection of fiftv-four vears with Dover
Harbour to the advancement of its interests." After the
meeting the Duke of Wellington, with his fellow Commis-
sioners and a crowd of Dover people, walked to the pier-
heads to witness the operation of Sir Henry Oxenden's
six-culvert sluice on the bar, the effect of which demonstrated
the utility of Sir Henry's last great work at Dover Harbour.
This Oxenden incident, with its mellowing influence of
human interest, throws a kindly light over the management
of Dover Harbour by a Iwdv that, owing to its method of
selection, had little connection with or interest in the Town
and Port.
It will be necessary now to look back to the year 1802,
when the Commissioners called in Mr. John Rtnnie and his
partner, Mr. Ralph Walker, to report generally on improve-
I20 ANNALS OF DOVER
ments that might be made in the Harl)our. Tliey presented
a well digested scheme. The main thing required was
the rebuilding of the pier-heads, which had long been
contemplated, more especially the South Pier. They
thought that in doing so they should endeavour to so
build it as to get rid of the shingle which periodically lodged
there, and they thought that might be effected by making
the South Pier-head the most prominent point of the coast.
There were three ways of doing that: — (i) By removing
Cheesman's Plead; (2) by shortening Cheesman's Head a
little and lengthening the South Pier a Httle ; or (3) by
extending the South Pier into the tideway and leaving
Cheesman's Head as it was. Their estimate for rebuilding
the South Pier with stone without altering its position was
^25,000; for rebuilding and extending 130 feet, ;^39,ooo;
or for rebuilding and extending 270 feet, ;^64,ooo. They
also suggested the dee])ening of the basin. Their proposals
were rejected by the Commissioners mainly because they did
not believe tlie extension of the Pier wou'd kecj) the shingle
out.
THE PORT OF DOVER 121
XIII.
A HARBOUR MASTER'S ENGINEERING.
Mr. James Moon, who had filled the office of Harbour
Master since 1792, was in 1808 asked to undertake the
work of making good the breach in the side of the North
Pier, which had been made by a violent storm in that year.
He renewed about 200 feet of it, and did the work so well
that the Commissioners wanted no other engineer.
In iSo8 the Passing Tolls had been entirely devoted to
Dover specially for the purpose of rebuilding die South Pier-
head, on which the existence of the Harbour maiidy depended,
and the Commissioners showed confidence in Mr. Moon by
asking him for a report as to the works that would be
necessary.
In April, 181 1, Mr. Moon presented his rej.ort, in which
he admitted that he was indebted to reports which various
engineers had made on the Harbour since 1792, he having
during those nineteen years acted as Harbour Master. He
brushed aside the ideas of Captain Perry, Mr. Smeaton, Mr.
Nickalls and Messrs. Rennie and Walker, who had proposed
to extend the South Pier and to alter the form of i'^s round
head to keep out the shingle. Such an attempt to get rid
of the accumulation he considered vain. He recommended
that the South Pier should be rebuilt in the same position
and in the same form as it then stood, but he adopted the
plan proposed by Mr. Nickalls, to construct culverts in
the pier-head to discharge the backwater immediately on
the bar to remove it more quickly than lett'ng water out
of sluices in the lower Crosswall could do. Mr. Moon's
plans were accepted, and he was now clothed with the
authority of engineer to carry out the wcik with the
Harbour staff of workmen. To make the sluicing canals
which he proposed to carry to the South Pier head effect-
ive, he commenced making a tunnel from <^he basin through
the southern end of the lower Crosswall, and he built
another wall from the Crosswall, in the direction of the
South Pier, cutting off a large piece of the western side
of the tidal harbour for the purpose of constructing a
second floating basin to hold back water for sluicing
122 ANNALS OF DOVER
purposes; but the basin was also fitted to receive ships, and
adjoining it was constructed a small dry-dock for repairs.
The plan was to connect this new basin by a tunnel with
a reservoir in the head of the South Pier, ^o that there
might be a considerable weight of water immediately over
the point where the sluices would operate on the bar. This
plan of utilising the western corner of the Harbour for
the threefold purpose above stated was considered by the
Commissioners a cleverly contrived arrangement, but nautical
men said that it entirely spoiled the outer Harbour, as the
upright wall made the water so rough that ships broke
from their moorings. This complaint came later; but almost
as soon as Mr. Moon began his work, he got into difficulties.
Early in 1S12. when digging the foundations for the new
})asin, the water came in so rapidly that it stopped the
work; also, in taking out the ancient piles of the Pier-head,
in order to renew them, the crazy structure threatened to
fall in a heap and destroy the entrance.
Mr. Ralph Walker (the surviving partner of Mes.srs.
Rennie and Walker, who reported in 1802) was asked to
give his advice at this critical stage. He at once ordered
the piles in the South Pier-head to be replaced as a
temporary measure, and then he made an exhaustive report
covering the whole of the proposed improvements. As a
concession to the proposals of Mr. Moon, he retained the
idea of having a canal for sluicing carried to the extremity
nf the South Pier, but, at the same time, he hoped to make
sluicing unnecessary by proposing to carry that Pier into the
tideway, as he and his late partner, and othei engineers,
had previou.sly recommended. The whole of the works,
according to his estimate, would have cost ^^67,000 — three
times as much as Mr. Moon had expected to spend. That
large sum, no doubt, set the Commis.sioners against Mr.
Ralj)h Walker's proposals, but the part of the scheme which
forcibly collided against their fixed ideas was the extension
of the South Pier with the hope of finally getting rid of
the Harbour bar. The Commissioners, from generation to
generation, seemed to have unanimously held that the
existence of the Harbour bar was as inevitalile as original
sin, so that when they met on the i6th January. 1813, to
decide on the best way of rel)uilding the South Pier-head,
after considering Mr. Ralpli ^Valker's report, the observa-
tions of Captain Huddart, of the Trinity House, as well as
THE PORT OF DOVER 1 23
the views of Captain Dul:)ois Smith, of the " Lively " revenue
cutter, and several of the Dover pilots, they decided unani-
mously that it was not desirable to extend the South Pier,
that no material variation should be made in its form, and
that Mr. Moon should be instructed to carry out his plans ;
and Mr. Ralph Walker, who had proposed the p'ans which
were not adopted, had nothing further to do with the
Harbour.
Mr. Moon proceeded, in 1814, to build the wall
460 feet in length from the Crosswall in the direction of
the South Pier, cutting off the western angle of the tidal
harbour, and in the space so enclosed he formed the .small
dry dock and a moderate-sized dock basin, to make room
for which the houses on the east side of Clarence Place
were removed. In rebuilding the South Pier, he widened it
towards the west to make room in it for a reservoir and the
tunnel to conduct the water to the sluices, the tunnel being
fed from the new dock basin, the supply to that being
conveyed by a tunnel through the Crosswall fiom the inner
basin and the Pent. This work was done leisurely, so as
to adapt the expenditure to the ordinary Haibour income
without resorting to a loan. In 1822, after operations
extending over eight years, the work had to be suspended
owing to a deficiency of funds. By that time the most
pressing part of the improvements were completed. There
were to be three culverts to discharge the backwater on the
bar through the pier-head. Two of them were completed
on the 22nd January, 1822, and a trial of them on that
day completely removed a bar that had accumulated between
the pier-heads.
There being funds available again, in the year 1828,
the works were resumed, and the sluicing .scheme, with its
three culverts and two resen'oirs, completed satisfactorily.
While Mr. Moon's men were digging out the dock basin, on
the site since occupied by the Continental Goods Yard,
they came upon the foundations of Henry VIII. 's Pier
built in 1533. Mr. Moon completed his work as engineer
in 1830 by giving some finishing touches to the Crosswall,
building there, each .side the gateway, the clock and compass
towers, which remained until the re-construction of the inner
basin in 1871. Mr. Moon was spoken of by his contem-
poraries as a man of keen observation, great tact, and
natural sagacity. He was the first resident engineer of the
124 ANNALS OF DOVER
Harbour, and he died in 1832 after a career at this Port
of forty years.
On the death of Mr. Moon, his dual office of Engineer
and Harbour Master was divided, Mr. E. P. Fordham being
appointed Resident Engineer, and Mr. John lion, Harbour
Master. Mr. Fordham, immediately after his appointment,
commenced constructing the quays on the east side of the
Pent, on which he spent, for materials and labour, ;£5,596
in three years ending March, 1835; and dunng the same
jaeriod he spent ;^8or in clearing iq, 926 tons of mud from
the Pent. He also built lock gates to the Pent at a cost
of ;^QOo. It is not possible to form a clear estimate of
Mr. Fordham's merits as an engineer, as his term only
extended from 30th /v]:)ril. 1832, to the 1st March, 1834.
In the year after he took office the winter .south-westerly
gales brought an unprecedented quantity of .sliingle into the
Harbour mouth, and the sluices failed to adequately deal
with it. In January, 1834, Mr. Thomas Telford was called
in as consulting engineer to give advice as to new works, and
when the plans were ready the work was put out to contract.
The Commissioners dispensed with a Resident Engineer on
1st March, 1834.
The works and expenditure which Mr. Thomas Telford
recommended, when he was consulted, on the 29th January,
1834, were: — A wide tunnel instead of an iron pipe through
the lower Crossvvall, from the inner basin to dock basin,
;^i2,ooo; a tunnel reservoir in the south head 2nd additional
culverts, T^i 1,010; and a new wall in front of the Cross-
wall, ;^5, 100; making a total of ;^2 9,4 10. This expenditure
was approved by the Commissioners, l)ut Mr. lolford died
in August, 1834, and did not see the work carried out.
Mr. James Walker was then called in as consulting
engineer, through tlie medium of a letter from the Duke of
Wellington, Lord Warden, who explained that the Commis-
sioners were satisfied with the works then in progress, but
desired to have Mr. Walker's advice on points arising from
time to time in the execution of the work. Mr. James
Walker's position at first was that of a consulting engineer,
but after March, 1836, he also performed the duties of
resiflent engineer, and was one of the Harbour witnesses
examined before the Select Committee of the House of
Commons that considered the Dover Harbour Bill of that
year.
THE PORT OF DOVER 125
XIV.
PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY OF 1836.
Great discontent arose among the nautical men of Dover
owing to the frequent failure of Mr. Moon's pier-head
sluices, and the opinion was freely expressed that the
country gentlemen who formed the main body of the Harbour
Commissicjners were not fitted to control the Port. The
townspeople's anxiety was expressed in three rremorials, one
from the shipowners, one from the Corporation, and one
from the Common Hall. The mail-boats had been susji^nded
for three days, at Christmas, 1833, owing to ihe formation
of the bar, and these memorials, which were sent to the
King as well as to the Commissioners, followed each other
in quick succession in January, 1834, in consequence of
which Mr. Telford was called in, as already mentioned, and
a new system of sluices, on a more elaborate scale, suggested
to Mr. Telford by Sir Henry Oxenden, was undertaken.
While that work was proceeding, it was found necessary to
obtain an amendment of the Harbour Act of 1828 to secure
sufficient powers, financial and otherwise, and m the Session
of 1836 the C<jmufissioners promoted a Bill for that purpose.
When that Bill came on for Second Reading mi the House
of Commons, Mr. John Minet Fector, one of the Members
for Dover, moved that the Bill be referred to a Select
Committee to give the inhabitants of Dover an opportunity
of declaring whether or not they were satisfied with the
present constitution of the Board ; and the Bill was referred
to a strong Committee, consisting of five Kent:sh Members,
three of whom were Harbour Commissioners, and ten
members nominated by the Government. The Committee
sat to take evidence from the 12th of May till the 7th of
June, when the witnesses examined were: —
John Shipdem, Register;
Henshaw Latham, Treasurer;
John Hawkins. Clerk of the Works;
John Iron, Harbour Master;
John Benjamin Post. Cinque Ports Pilot;
Daniel Peake, Cinque Pc»rts Pilot ;
Philip Hardwicke, Receiver of Harbour Retits;
126 ANNALS OF DOVEft
James Walker, Harbour Engineer;
William Prescott, Chairman of Meeting of Irihabitants ;
Humphrey Humphrey, Chairman of Common Hall;
Richard Wardle, Engineer's Assistant;
Robert Hammond, Warden of the Pilots;
Philip Going, Shipowner ;
Captain Boxer, R.X.;
Captain H. D. Jones, R.E., G(j\ernmcnt Witness;
Lieutenant B. ^^'orthington, R.X., Author of a plan for
Improving the Harljour;
Isaac Pattison, Harbour Pilot;
Captain F^lliot, R.X., a Government ^^'itness ;
\\'illiam Cul>itt, C.E., a Government Witness.
The evidence given, especially on matters of opinion,
was remarkably varied, the \iews of some nautical witnesses
being flatly opposed to those of others similaily qualified.
There was great weight of evidence to the effect that the
works carried out during the last twenty years had made
the HarJjour worse. The Harbour officials strongly approved
the new sluicing scheme then under con.struction, but the
witnesses sent down to examine the Harbour on behalf of
the Government disappro\ed of the form and situation of
the ])ier-heads, and several experienced witnesses were strongly
in fa\"our of the proj)osals of Perry, Smeaton, Rennie and
Walker for getting rid of the shingle by extending the South
Pier. Se\eral witnesses were in favour of a re-constitution
of the Harbour Board.
The report of the Select Committee was presented to
the House of Commons on July ist, 1836, com[ rised in the
following six resolutions : —
(i) That it is the opinion of this Committee that the
constitution of the Board of Warden and Assistants
in whom the management of the Harbour is at
presented vested, requires alteration.
(2) That although this Committee consider that the con-
stitution of the Board of Management requires
alteration, as being objectionable in the mode of
election, they see no ground for reflecting in any
manner on the conduct of the gentlemen forming
the Board.
(3) That, under all the circumstances of the case, as
presented t(j the Committee, cspecia'ly in reference
to the W'orks now in progress at Do\er Harbour,
THE PORT OF DOVER I27
the Committee are of opinion that the completion
is necessary, that the Bill to amend the Act for
the more effectual maintaining and imp'oving Dover
Harbour should be immediately passed; and, in
regard to the constitution of the Board of Manage-
ment as it exists at present, and as it is susceptil>le
of improvement, it is the opinion of the Committee
that a Bill should be introduced early next Session.
(4) That, in view of the administrations of the affairs of
the Harbour, and to insure the more mature con-
sideration of any plans that may be hereafter
proposed for its improvement, all such plans,
together with estimates for their execution, shall
be submitted to the Lords of the Admiralty for
their concurrence and approval ; and such plans
and estimates, as well as annual accounts and
receipts and expenditure of the Harbour Commis-
sioners, shall be annually laid before Parliament.
(5) That in the Bill now in progress before the Committee
a Clause shall be introduced by which the powers
of the present ^^'arden and Assistants shall cease
and determine after the end of the next Session of
Parliament ; and in the event of Parliament not
providing during the next Session for the future
management of the Harbour, the pow-ers of the
Wardens and Assistants shall be vested in the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty for the time
being until Parliament shall otherwise determine.
(6) That, without expressing an opinion on the policy of
the Passing Tolls, the Committee, after the reso-
lutions they have come to, do not think it necessary
now to recommend any alteration respecting the
dues of Dover Harbour.
It may be mentioned that on the fifth resolution the
Committee were equally divided, and it was carried by the
casting vote of the Chairman.
When the Bill came up for the Third Reading on
July 5th with the Clause in it limiting the duration of the
powers of the Commissioners, Sir Edward Kna^chbull asked
the Speaker if that Clause was not contrary Jo the Standing
Orders, no notice having been given to the parties interested.
The Speaker replied that the Clause had certainly been
introduced without the regular notice, and it would make
128 ANNALS OF DOVER
an essential change in the situation of persons who had lent
money to the Harbour. In consequence of this ruling, the
Suspensory Clause founded on the report of the Committee
had to be modified, leaving the existing powers of the Com-
missioners intact until an Act of Parliament was passed to
deal with them. The recommendation of the Committee
that a Bill making provision for Uie future management
of Dover Harbour should be introduced early in the Session
of 1837 was not carried out. Not long after that Session
opened the death of William IV. brought about a dissolu-
tion of Parliament, and a change of Ministry, with the
result that a quarter of a century elapsed before any Act
was passed to alter the constitution of the Dover Harbour
Board.
During that Parliamentary Enquiry of 1836, when those
interested in Dover Harbour were ranged in tvo parties, a
thoughtful native of Dover, who had some years l)efore
retired from the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant, took up
a position apart from either party. He had thought out
a scheme for the general improvement and enlargement of
the Harbour, and had spent about ;^4oo in pioviding plans
and models to demonstrate its advantages. This harbour
reformer was Lieutenant Benjamin Worthington, R.N., who
had retired from the Navy soon after the Peace of 181 5, and
his father being for many years the proprietor of the famous
Ship Hotel, which overlooked the harbour, the subject in
which he was manifesting interest had l)een constantly l)efore
him from his earliest days. The works he advocated were
of two kinds, the object of the one being to improve the
condition of the harbour, and the other to enlarge it. He
proposed to prevent the shingle from lodging in the harbour
mouth, and to lessen the troublesome agitation in the tidal
ba.sin by constructing a timber breakwater, extending 250ft.
S.S.E. from the South Pier Head to deflect the bay eddy into
the true tide, thereby diverting the shingle to the N.E., and
reducing the swell in the harbour, his scheme being designed
to co-operate with the natural currents.
The other part of his scheme was to enlarge the outer
harbour at the back of the North Pier so as to give a new
tidal area on the N.E. in return for that of which it had
been robbed a few years earlier on the S.W., but the Com-
missioners rejected his ])roposals entirely.
tHE PORT OF DOVER I29
XV.
THE WELLINGTON PERIOD.
From 1829, the Duke of Wellington, as Lord Warden,
had been the Chairman of the Harbour Commissioners, but
until after the death of Sir Henry Oxenden in 1838, he usually
deferred to Sir Henry's opinion with regard to new works and
repairs, but after that time the Duke of Wellington definitely
took the lead. Mr. James Walker, C.E., sometime President
of the Institute of Civil Engineers, was then m charge, the
first works taken in hand in 1841 being the continuation of
the quay on the eastern side of the Pent down to the wall
across the bottom, Messrs. Tredwell, of Folkestone, carrying
out the work by contract at a cost of ;^5,ooo. They also
continued the quay 407 feet along the bottom of the Pent,
leaving, near the south-eastern angle, a space for gates 60 feet
wide to communicate with an intended approach to the outer
harbour. These quay walls were carried down 30 feet to
provide for deepening of the Pent bottom.
The Harbour Commissioners moved slowly in dealing
with the improvements of the interior of the harbour, and
in the meantime the funds were accumulating to enable them
to do the work without the intervention of Parliament. Dur-
ing the Lordwardenship of the Duke of Wellington a meeting
of the whole Board was only called once a year, and at the
Harbour Session in November, 1842, it was resolved to en-
large the tidal harbour by taking in the land at the north-east
corner, then covered with warehouses, hotels and dwellings ;
and they gave directions for Mr. Philip Hardwicke to make
a report on the property to be taken, and to Mr. Walker,
to provide plans and specifications for the work. During
the ensuing year those orders were carried out, and at the
Harbour Sessions in 1843 Mr. Hardwicke brought up his
report on the property along both sides of Union Street, and
it was decided that it all should come down with the exception
of the Union Hotel on the side next the Commercial Quay
and Latham's Bank and warehou.ses on the side next the
Basin. The property then ordered to be removed consisted of
the Vork Hotel, which had long been the favourite house
for continental travellers, the Dover Castle Iim, the Duke
13© ANNALS OF DOVEft
of Cumberland Inn, and a whole row of residences (including
the old residence of the Bazelys), which occupied the north
side of Union Street abutting on the Pent. There was also
removed a house overlooking the sea near where the Esplan-
ade Hotel now is, which had been the property of Mr.
William Knocker when he was Mayor and Receiver of
Harbour Rents, but it had been sold to Messrs. Fector.
The fort named Amherst Battery was also removed, and the
North Wall promenade was made on its site in 1850. At a
special meeting of the Harbour Commissioners held at the
residence of the Consulting Engineer, Mr. James Walker, in
London on 4th May, 1844, the tender of Mr. Bray, of Leeds,
was accepted for excavating about five acres to add that much
space to the outer tidal harbour, and to build the necessary
walls and gates for the sum of ^40,10-^, and a tender from
Messrs. Hunter and English for ironwork at ^4,738 was also
accepted. At the same period Mr. H. P. Mackenzie
obtained from the Ordnance Department a contract at ;^3,7oo
to build the Ordnance Quay and Wharehouses on the east side
of the Pent.
The e.KCavation for the enlargement of the harbour
commenced in the summer of 1844, and by January, 1845, the
granite walls in line with the gateway were up. At that
time an abnormally high tide overthrew 60 feet of the wall
and greatly impeded the work. On the occasion of No\ember
Harbour Sessions, 1845, the Commissioners inspected works
under Mr. Bray's contract, which was then making good
progress, there being 250 men employed. The quay walls
were finished about mid-summer 1846, the remaining part
of the work was chiefly the excavation which made the north-
east corner of the outer harbour, adding an area of about
five acres. This was done with great rapidity, about 1,000
tons of mud and earth per day being excavated, and a large
portion of it was deposited between the new work and the
sea, forming a new IS^orthwall promenade. Mr. Bray also
made the great gates between the new work and the Pent
providing the machinery to work them, and he also
erected an iron bridge for public vehicular traffic over <he
opening in Union Road, the ironwork for it being supplied by
Messrs. Hunter and English under their separate contract.
This bridge was finished on the 13th November, 1846, and
was opened on that day by the Duke of ^\'cllington, who
drove over it in his phaeton, and while the guns from the Drop
THE PORT OF DOVER I31
Redoubt fired a salute, the structure was officially named the
" Wellington Bridge."
From the opening of the Wellington Bridge until the
final dissolution of the Board of Warden and Assistants was
but fourteen years, and the Duke of Wellington's Wardenship
terminated with his death nine years before the old order was
changed; but during the whole of the period, up to 1861, all
the important work done at the harbour was but the wincHng
up of the projects, which had been undertaken while the
Duke was at the head of affairs. The finances had been
brought into a satisfactory state by expenditure being kej^t
within the income, and the works left to be finished were
aided by a growing income arising from the revenue from
Passing Tolls having increased to the substantial sum of
;!^io,ooo a year. The trouble about the Harbour Bar had
finally been overcome by the Admiralty Pier in 1850, having
been carried out into the true tide, which permanently kept
the shingle out of the harbour. There was a little anxiety
when the railway opened and threatened to attract part of
the Channel passenger traffic from Dover I>y a new route to
France being opened via., Folkestone Harbour and Boulogne,
but as that entailed very little loss of revenue the Harbour
Commissioners did not feel called upon to spend money to
deepen the Outer Harbour to allow the Channel steamers to
enter and leave at all times of the tide, which it was not
j)ossible for them to do at Folkestone with the accommoda-
tion then existing there. The townspeople, howe\'cr, were
very anxious that Dover should have that advantage over
Folkestone and they formed a company to construct a landing
pier opposite Waterloo Crescent, but that project was so
long in maturing that the building of the Admiralty Pier began
before the landing jetty was commenced, and as it was known
that the Admiralty Pier would be used for landing passengers
as soon as a short length of it had been completed, the sub-
scribers to the Landing Jetty had the pleasure of receiving
back their money.
The other works left to be completed after Bray's con-
tract for enlarging the outer harbour finished were the
strengthening of the Castle Jetty, the construction of groynes in
the bay, the erection of a new swingbridge at the Crosswall,
the construction of a vSli])way at the top of the Pent, and
the dcc[jeiiing of the Pent, together with the coi'Struction of
Northampton Street and the quays alongside it.
132 ANNALS OF DOVER
XVI.
BUILDING THE ADMIRALTY PIER.
The building of the Admiralty Pier, which was
intended, when commenced, to form part of the entire
enclosure of the Bay was preceded by three enquiries, a
Royal Commission in 1840, a Committee of the House of
Commons in 1844, and Admiral Sir Byam Martin's Commis-
sion in 1845, which recommended that a harbour should be
constructed in Dover Bay with an area of 520 acres at an
estimated cost of ;,^2, 500,000. The works were commenced
at Cheeseman's Head, the point where a projecting arm would
give most protection to the Bay ; and, as the ardour of Parlia-
ment cooled down when about one quarter of the entire
work was completed, it was very fortunate that the first opera-
tions were begun on that side, for that noble pier as a separate
work has been of enormous public advantage for half a
century. Eight different reports and plans v\'ere sent in by
eminent engineers, and the plan of Mr. James Walker (then
the Dover Harbour Engineer) was finally approved. The
preparatory work was commenced in November 1847, but
the actual commencement of the building on the bed of the
sea was on the 3rd April, 1848, without any public ceremony.
The first portion of 800 feet, starting from Cheesman's
Head on the western side of the Bay, was estimated to cost
_;^245,ooo. It extended almost at right angles from the
shore, facing the most exposed quarter from the south-west,
and was therefore the most difficult part of the works. Fair
progress was made in the first two years, and at the beginning
of 1850 the foundations had been carried 650 feet from the
shore. At that time a storm did great damage to the staging
but not much harm to the permanent work. The rate of
progress throughout was comparatively slow. The greatest
advances were made in the years 1849 and 1861. The
average yearly advance, from 1847 until its completion in
1 87 1 amounted to 91 feet a year.
The work was carried out under thrift contracts; the
first for 800 feet, taken in 1847; the secoml fo** 1,000 feet,
in 1S54; and the final one of 300 feet in 1867. The total sum
paid to the contractors was ;^679,368 working out at ^^323
THE PORT OF DOVER 1 33
los. per lineal foot for its entire length of 2,100 feet as
completed in 1871. After that date there was a
large expenditure for constructing a fort at the end of the
Pier, and a projecting apron to secure the base of
the structure from being undermined by the current. The
fort was armed with two 81 -ton guns fixed in a revolving
turret, and at large expense a magazine was built under water,
the total cost being ^150,000.
Since the building of the original Harbour of Refuge
was suspended on the completion Oi work already described,
there have been ten schemes for enclosing the \\hole Bay or
for smaller works, their scope being briefly as follows: —
I. — Fowler and Abernethy's plan 1869 for an enclosed har-
bour west of the Admiralty Pier.
2. — Brough, Murray and Hall's scheme 1870, for a smaller
enclosure of the Bay.
3. — Vignoles and Murray's plan, 1870, for a harbour west
of the Admiralty Pier.
4. — Fowler, Abernethy and Wilson's plans, 1872, for an en-
closure of the entire bay to Cornhill.
5. — Sir John Hawkshaw's plan 1872, for a deep water
harbour of a moderate size in the bay.
6. — Sir Andrew Clark's scheme 1873 for an enclosure of
the Bay extending a little beyond the Castle.
7. — Sir John Hawkshaw's plan, 1875, larger than that of
1872.
8. — A scheme for a harbour to enclose the whole Bay, to
be carried out by convict labour, for which a Convict
Prison was built on the cliff of the Castle, but nothing
further done.
9. — A plan for enclosing the Bay by Mr. Rowland Rees.
10. — The plan of the late Sir John Coode, which has .since
been carried out in massive walls that enclose the whole
Bay.
1^4 ANNALS OF DOVER
XVII.
THE NEW CONSTITUTION.
The year 1861 brought about the third form of control
under which the Port of Dover has been managed. From
the earliest days down to 1606 the Town and Port, including
the Harbour and the Passage, were controlled by the Corpor-
ation, subject only to the supreme authority of the sovereign.
From 1606 it has been controlled by charter under the
Warden and Assistants; and since 1861 by a representative
Harbour Board constituted by Act of Parliament. These
three forms of control differed widely. The democratic char-
acter of the first placed the harbour absolutely in the hands
of the pe(jple except on rare occasions, when for grave reasons
of State, the Sovereign had to intervene. The second control
took the Harbour completely out of the hands of the people
of Dover, with the exception that the Mayor during his year
of office had a seat at the Board — a form of representation
which never allowed a Dover man to be on the Board long
enough to exercise effective influence. The third form of
control now existing was given in response to a strong appeal
for a representative Board that would be amenable to public
opinion and more especially to Dover public opinion. The
new constitution was a great cause of disappointment. The
reconstruction was hastily carried out by the President of
the Board of Trade in conference with two or three Dover
men without the town's people being consulted. The new
Harbour Board had the semblance of being representative,
but it gave representation to those who ought not to have had
it while those who ought to have been represented were
ignored. The new Board con.sisted of seven members of
which one was the Lord Warden, one nominated by the
First Lord of the Admiralty, one nominated by the
Board of Trade, two burgesses of Dover elected by the Dover
Town Council, one member nominated by the South Eastern
Railway Company, and one nominated by the London,
Chatham and Dover Railway Company. This Board was
immediately regarded with disapproval, the local feeling
being that there ought to have been more members and some
of them of a different character. The five first named were
THE PORT OF DOVER 1 35
acceptable, but beyond those representations of public bodies
it was felt that other members should have been elected by
those who paid harbour dues and rents, and that the rail-
ways should only have had representation in proportion to
their contribution in harbour dues. Since the settlement
of 1 86 1 the balance of power at the Harbour Board has been
altered. By Act of Parliament, the Lord Warden, who
was a strong and steadying influence, has been removed, and
an extra member has been given to ttie railway companies,
and as those companies are under a working agreement they
praciically control the Board. As far as the representation
of the burgesses of Dover is concerned the last state of Har-
bour control is much worse than the first, and very little better
than the second.
In 1886, the Town Council of Dover introduced a Bill
in Parliament to restore the ancient union between the Town
and Port, and to have the Harbour affairs entrusted to a
Managing Committee of the Town Council with the repre-
sentatives of other interests co-opted, but owing to con-
cessions made to those who opposed on behalf of vested
interests the Bill was found to be essentially different from the
one that had been approved by the Town Council and the
ratepayers, and according to standing orders it had to be
withdrawn.
The Harbour Board formed in 1861 commenced
operations with a largely reduced revenue, owing to the
Passing Tolls, which had regularly provided ^^i 0,000 a year
being then abolished. The remaining income, derived from
harbour dues and ground rents, was barely sufficient to meet
the annual repayment and interest on the debt that had been
incurred during the last ten years of the Warden and
Assistants administration. Expenses were cut down ; the
property which Mr. Henry Matson had bequeathed for the
upkeep of the Harbour in 1720, was sold, and by avoiding
all new works in the course of a few years the finances were
placed on a fairly satisfactory ba.sis. In the course of five
years the Board re-built the bridge and dock-gate at Union
Street, and it was called Palmerston Bridge after Lord
Palmerston, the Lord Warden. They also built warehouses
on the Clarence Quay and the short boundary jetty opposite
Guilford Battery. The Pier Heads were repaired, groynes
were re-constructed in the Bay, and more quay space was
obtained by the removal of useless old buildings.
Ti6 ANNALS OF DOVER
'S
In T<S69 ilie Board once more approached the task of
deepening the tidal harbour, and Mr. Hawkshaw, who was
consulted, presented a report and plan for deepening the
Pent, the Basin and the Tidal Harbour at a total cost of
^166,000. Mr. R. S. France, Railway Contractor, of
Shrewsbury, who was to have deepened the tidal harbour by
means of his patent explosives under water, made a successful
trial, but it was eventually decided to postpone the deepening
of the tidal harbour " until there was a corresponding
improvement in the French harbours on the opposite coast."
The deepening of the Basin was commenced in March, 1871,
a depth of five feet of solid chalk was removed from the
bottom and, at the west corner near Trinity Church, where
there was a slope up to the quay level, the deepening was
more. Quay walls of great strength and thickness were built,
and on the side next the Pent a continuous quay wall was
built in place of the opening which had up to that time
been spanned by the Palmerstone Bridge, \.hich now, although
it had existed but a dozen years, was deeuied to be no longer
necessary. More room was provided on the Crosswall Quay
by the removal of the clock and compass towers erected
there in 1830 by Mr. Moon. A new clock tower was built
at the bottom of the Esplanade, and the clock from
the Crosswall was erected there in May, 1877. In
the Crosswall opening, immediately facing the harbour
mouth, were placed a pair of new gates, the sill being
lowered to admit vessels drawing twenty feet at spring
tides and sixteen feet at neap tides. The basin, which
was then named the Granville Dock, was re-opened on July
6th, 1874, by the Lord Warden, Earl Granville. The whole
of the works which formed a continuous series from 1871 to
1879 cost ;£74,4i6. In 1888 the Wellington Dock gates
were widened ten feet to accommodate the new Channel
steamers the " Victoria " the " Empress " and others of that
class which then came on the station, and new coal stores
for the convenience of local coal-merchants were built on the
Northampton Quay. When these improvements were com-
pleted in 1889, the present Harbour Board had been in
existence 28 years and their annual revenue had increased
from ;^5,225 to ;^i6,ooo. For the next twenty-five years
nothing further was done in connection with the interior of
the Harbour with the exception of placing railway lines round
some of the quays.
THE PORT OF DOVER T37
In 1890 the question was again raised of providing a
deep water harbour outside the old pier-heads. The docks
within those heads could offer room for a greater number
of fair-sized ships, and the existing quays would have been
sufficiently spacious to deal with their cargoes, but accom-
modation for larger vessels, more especially for cross-Channel
and liner passenger traffic, was needed. It was argued that
a port that could not afford such accommodation by admitting
such vessels at all states of the tide was virtually closed to
the commerce of the world. For a long time the Govern-
ment had been dallying with the question of building a
harbour for the Navy in Dover Bay, but for some years
before 1S90 the subject had dropped, so the Dover Harbour
Board decided to obtain Parliamentary powers to enable
them to construct a new harbour out.side the old piers,
enclosing a net area of 56 acres, with a depth varying from
40 feet to 15 feet at low water spring tides. This harbour,
as at first designed by Messrs. Coode, Son and Matthews,
was to be bounded on the western side by the existing
Admiralty Pier with an addition to it of 560 feet; on the
eastern side it was decided to build an arm 2,760 feet
seaward, starting in a southerly direction and curving towards
the south-west, giving an entrance 450 feet wide towards
the east, sheltered by an overlap of the extended Western
Arm. The estimate for the work was ;,f^6oo,ooo to raise
which Parliament granted power to the Harbour Board to
levy a tax of one shilling each on Channel passengers. Thus
empowered, the work was commenced in the Autumn of
1892, and the memorial stone was laid by H.R.H. the Prince
of Wales (the late King Edward VII.) on the 20th July,
189^, and the work then commenced was called the " Prince
of Wales Pier." By an agreement with the Government,
the Admiralty Pier had been leased to the Dover Harbour
Board for 99 years, to form a part of the new deep water
harbour; but in May, 1895, when the Prince of Wales Pier
of this new local harbour had been advanced to about three-
quarters of its length by Sir John Jackson, the contractor,
news came that the Government had decided to build a great
Admiralty Harbour at Dover, enclosing the whole Bay. To
adapt the local harbour to the greater Naval work, the
extremity of the Prince of Wales Pier was turned less to the
south-west than had been at first intended, and carried
forward further than the original contract. As finished,
138 ANNALS OF DOVER
the Pier is 2.910 feet long. The other two parts of
this local harbour — the extension of the Admiralty Pier
and the construction of proposed landing jetties — have not
been undertaken, because the Admiralty Pier was extended
still further as a part of the Admiralty Harbour, and the
plan for the Continental landing-place was altered. It was
proposed to make a railway communication to the Prince
of Wales Pier, and to have the landing stage for Continental
passengers on the west side ; while there was on the eastern
side a landing stage which was used for Atlantic liner
pas.sengers. The railway communication was made, but it
was subsequently agreed to surrender the Prince of Wales
Pier for the use of the Admiralty Harbour and to widen the
Admiralty Pier and build thereon a Marine Station for the
Continental packets, as well as a landing place for liner
passengers. The widening carried out by ^Iessrs. Pearson
and Son for the Harbour Board was completed in April,
1 913, and the South Eastern and London Chatham Railway
Companies, who had obtained a lease of the widened pier
at a nominal rent of ^"10 a year for 99 years, built the
New Marine Station thereon.
THE PORT OF DOVER I39
XVIII.
THE ADMIRALTY HARBOUR.
When the Admiralty Pier was commenced in 1847, as
the beginning of the proposed great Harbour of Refuge, the
Dover Harbour Commissioners took no part in the matter,
although they could not fail to be interested in a great
structure which was designed to entirely enclose their
undertaking. This greater work was commenced without
ceremony, and in 1871 was suspended without any definite
prospect as to when, if ever, it would be continued. When
it was resumed, in 1897, the Admiralty had derided that the
works to complete the harbour and entirely enclose the Bay
should consist of: — (i) The extension of the existing
Admiralty Pier in an E.S.E. direction, 2,000 feet; (2), the
erection of an arm extending from the east cliff at Langdon
Hole seaward in a south-westerly direction, 3,320 feet; (3),
the construction of a breakwater 4,300 feet long, three-
quarters of a mile from the shore, forming on the south
the main shelter of the harbour, separated from the eastern
arm by a 600 feet eastern entrance, and on the western side
separated from the Admiralty Pier Extension by a western
entrance 800 feet wide. At the lowest tides the depth of
water at these entrances is about 42 feet. Also, under the
cliff between the Castle and Langdon Hole, there is a sc.i
wall 3,850 feet long, reclaiming an area of over twenty acres,
used for stores and workshops. The whole work from shore
to shore, and parallel with the eastern shore, represents a
massive line of masonry two and a half miles in extent.
The three sections of the work above mentioned are solid
structures of enormous strength, consisting of great concrete
blocks, faced with granite above low water. The blocks
weighing from thirty to forty tons each were made in the
adjoining yards at East Cliff and the Pier. Some of the
smaller blocks were made at Sandwich. The magnitude of
the work may be gathered from the fact that the greater
part of the walls which enclose the bay, mea.sured from the
base on the sea-bed to the top of the parapet, are upwards
of 90 feet in height, of which nearly 70 feet is under
water. The harbour has been designed to moor twenty
battleships and a great number of smaller craft of the
140 ANNALS OF DOVER
Xavv. The construction of the harbour was most
efficiently done by Messrs. S. Pearson and Son, from the
designs of Messrs. Coode, Son and Matthews, Major
Pilkington, C.B., R.E., being the Engineer-in-charge under
the Naval Works Act. The building commenced in 1897,
the bulk of the work was done in about eight years, but the
official opening of the harbour did not take place until the
15th October, 1909, when the ceremony was performed by
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, afterwards King
George V. 'I'he Dover Promenade Pier, which projected
from the shore into the centre of this harbour, was purchased
by the Admiralty in 19 13 for ;^8,ooo. This great Admiralty
Harbour, spanning the Bay from Langdon Hole to Cheese-
man's Head, encloses all the more ancient harbour works,
and through its main entrances pass, in addition to the
ships of the Navy, the traffic of the commercial port anfl
the ever-increasing number of Channel passengers. Even
this is not finality. The port that has existed two thousand
years must grow in accordance with the re(]uirements of the
new conditions of national defence, travel and commerce ;
and every lover of the old Town and Port mu.st hope that
while the railways, on the one side, may continue to prosper
on the growing passenger traffic, and the Admiralty Harbour,
on the other hand, develops to fulfil its great destiny in
guarding the avenue to the heart of the Empire, the local
Port Authority of Dover may hold an increasingly useful
position, providing accommodation commensurate with the
growth of local commerce, and convenience for such imports
and exports as new industries in this part of Kent may
demand.
SECTION III.
THE PASSAGE.
CONTENTS:
I. The Earliest Passengers,
II. The Ships and their Management.
III. Mail Packets and the Post Office.
IV. The Last Sailing and First Steam Packets.
V. Post Office and Admiralty Packets.
VI. The Railways and the Passage.
VII. Independent Adventurers.
VIII. The Passage Poll Tax.
SECTION THREE.
THE PASSAGE.
I.
THE EARLIEST PASSENGERS.
When mankind began to spread themselves over the face
of the earth, crossuig the seas from one land to another,
they would naturally select crossing places where the sea
was the narrowest ; therefore, it may be assumed that the
first passengers who came from the Continent into Britain
navigated the Straits of Dover. Twyne, and other old
writers, dispose of the qucsti(jn of navigation by saying that
" long since there was an isthmus, or bridge of land, by
which there was a passage on foot between France and us,
although the sea hath long since fretted the same in sunder. ' '
But, although geologists accept the theory of the isthmus,
they are of opinion that the land passage was " fretted
asunder " before the human race arrived upon the scene. We
must conclude, therefore, that those adventurous emigrants
who originally colonized this island were the first passengers
of the Dover Passage.
There has been speculation as to who those emigrants
were. Lambard, " discarding dreams and fables," says it
has been " collected out of Herodotus, Berosus and other
most grave and ancient authors that one Samothes, the sixth
son of Japhet, about 250 years after the general inundation
of the world, did take upon hun the dominion of these
countries now known as France and Britain, and that
England was called after him by the name of Samothaj for
the space of 300 years, after which it was called Albion.''
144 ANNALS OF DOVER
According to that theory, the landing of Saniothes must have
been 2,043 years before the landnig of JuHus Caisar, and
the Dover Passage, on that reckoning, may now claim an
antiquity of four thousand years.
The Passage from Dover to the little P'rench port of
Wissant was well known before the Roman Invasion. Caesar's
Commentaries state that, " Csesar determined to proceed
into Britain because he was told that in almost all the
Gallic wars succour had been supplied from thence to our
enemies." The war between the Romans and the Gauls
had been in progress 300 years before the Roman Invasion
of Britain, so that for more than three centuries before
the Christian Era the Passage had been regularly used by
the islanders. Ancient writers say that the intercommuni-
cation across the Straits of Dover was for the purposes of
trade, religious culture obtained from the Druids of this
island, and for securing the aid of skilful warriors to assist
in repelling the advances of the Romans on the Continent.
Between Gaul and Britain there was even then an " entente
cordiale," cau.sing a constant neighl)ourly intercourse across
this narrow sea ; while travellers from much greater distances
occasionally crossed to buy the precious metals which
Britain yielded. For such traftic the Passage was used long
before the Roman Invasion, and when the Romans were
settled here the traffic, probably, was greater.
From the crossing of the Romans down to the days of
the Saxon Heptarchy it would be vain to seek details as to
the Passage business, for the records of that dark period
are very scanty. The Britons who navigated the Passage
appear to have been able to find their way across without
fixed lights on the coast ; but the Romans, not so well
acfjuainted with the tides and currents, built two lighthouses
at Dover — the one still remains on the Castle hill, and the
foundations of the other underlie the Western Heights,
constituting interesting memorials of the early days of the
Dover Passage.
In the Saxon times the Passage across the Straits of
Dover was a regularly established route secured to the
Dover mariners by Royal Decrees and patronised by Kings.
This Passage as it was used by the authority of the last
of the Saxon Kings is sijecially mentioned in the Domesday
Book. Referring to Dover, it says: "The burgesses gave
the King twenty ships once a year for fifteen days, and in
THE PASSAGE 1 45
every ship twenty men." Those were the ships built by
Dover men, and used on the Passage; and the mariners
who manned them gained their experience in seamanship in
working the Passage. The entry continues: " This they did
in return for his having endowed them with sac and soc,"
i.e., free courts and free local government; hence, it appears
that it was from the services to the King rendered by the
Dover mariners of this Passage that Dover secured its
Municipal privileges.
Further details of the regulations as to the charges for
carrying King's Messengers across are also given; thus
" when the King's Messenger came there he gave for the
passage of a horse three pence in winter and two pence in
summer, but the burgess found the pilot and one other to
assist him ; and if the Messenger wanted more it was hired
at his own cost." It is difficult to form an accurate
estimate of how much the three pence charged for carrying
a King's horseman across the Straits would represent in
our present money, but it seemed then to be a valuable
consideration.
146 ANNALS OF DOVER
II.
THE SHIPS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT.
The size of the ships of the Passage before the Conquest
may be estimated by the fact that, when they went to sea
for warHke purposes, they were manned by twenty men
each. They appear to have been strong galleys propelled
by oars and sails, with the assistance from the currents of
the Straits, which the Dover mariners knew very well how
to utilise. The route of the Dover Passage, until the
Fourteenth Century, was from Dover directly across to the
French port of Wissant. The harbours available, at that
time, at both places were small, but sufficient.
Looking into the arrangements of the Passage in
Edwardian times, we find it well maintained. A Royal
Decree, " given by Edward II. on the 14th cf September,
13 1 2," makes the following points as to the Passage clear: —
(i) that the Dover Passage was then a concession to the
Corporation of Dover; (2) that it was farmed by a fellowship
of twenty-one master mariners ; (3) that the Passage fellow-
ship was controlled by the Mayor and Commonalty of the
Borough of Dover; (4) that the turns of the ships were
regulated by two Wardens of the Passage, who were
empowered to inflict fines on members of the fellowship
who did not obey the regulations of the Corporation.
This settled organisation existing in 1312 under the
sanction of the Crown suggests that this management of the
Passage by a fellowship of Dover shipowners, under the
control of the Dover local authority, had been continuous
since the Saxon Period.
There was an agreement made between the Corporation
and the Passage Fellowship on the 23rd October, 1323, and
ratified by the Lord Warden, providing that the Corporation's
share of the profits should be 2/- for each ship laden with
horse travellers; and i/- for each ship laden with foot
passengers. In 1343 this agreement was submitted to
Edward III. for confirmation, but before assenting to it the
King added a stipulation that the monopoly of the Passage
should not be handed over to the " ring " of twenty-one
shipowners forming the Fellowship, but that " all and
THE PASSAGE I47
singular, of the Port of Dover, who were able, and wished
to possess Passage ships should have their turns of the
Passage, provided that they, like the others, made contri-
butions from the profits to assist the Corporation in per-
forming the services due to the King and to meet the
necessities of the Port."
The working of the Passage by the Fellowship under
Municipal control may be said to have reached the zenith
in the latter part of the Fourteenth Century. That prosperity,
under normal conditions, ought to have increased; but the
wars of this country with France, and the subsequent civil
strife, called the Wars of the Roses, introduced disorganisa-
tion, which finally broke up the Passage Fellowship, leaving
an opening for Sandwich on the one side, and Hythe on the
other, to use their ships for the same purpose as Dover had
done for centuries. When Henry VII. came to the Throne
in 1485, affairs of State remained in an unsettled condition,
and it was not until eleven years after, when Henry, Duke
of York, had been made Lord Warden, and Sir Edward
Poynings, who showed special interest in Dover, had become
the Lieutenant of the Castle, that an effort was made to
re-construct the Passage Fellowship. In the records of the
Cinque Ports Court of Admiralty it is stated that " On the
20th day of August, in the eleventh year of the reign of
Henry VII., in the Common Hall at Dover, in the presence
of the reverend and right worshipful Sir Edward Poynings,
Knight, Lieutenant of Dover Castle, under Prince Henry,
Duke of York, and Admiral of the Cinque Ports, all the
possessioners and owners of the vessels belonging to the
Passage of Dover, for the settlement of grievances between
the said owners about the ' turns ' of the Passage, agreed
that the owners of vessels should be formed into a general
fellowship. From that date there should again be Wardens
of the Passage chosen to see that the ships and crayers used
on the Passage .should be sufficiently garnished and apparelled
to safeguard the King's people; and that these ships, after
departing out of the Wyke at Dover for a voyage, should
be at the adventure of the Fellowship."
This well-meant effort to revive the Fellowship does
not appear to have succeeded. Soon after Prince Henry,
becoming heir to the throne, ceased to be Lord Warden, and
owing to the decayed condition of the Harbour the Passage
business went from bad to worse. In spite of the tentative
148 ANNALS OF DOVER
efforts of Henry VII. to encourage the building of a new
harbour at Archcliff Point, and the great expenditure of
Henry VIII., in the same direction, there was no real
improvement in the Passage until the reign of Elizabeth,
whose evident desire to favour the Port caused hope to revive
in the breasts of the mariners. Those who had money spent
it in shipbuilding and the shipwrights' craft became once
more brisk on the Dover beach. Again the Port had twenty
sea-going ships and 400 mariners all of whom were in turn
engaged on the Passage. Later in the same reign the harbour
was enormously improved, and Dover, on its merits as a port,
without any legally enforced monopoly, gained the renown
of being the principal port for landing and embarking
Continental travellers.
The ships of the Passage were practically of the same
class from the end of the Tudor period until the beginning
of the Georgian era — small sloop rigged craft, of about
forty tons burden. In the beginning of the Stuart period
it appears from the records of the Court of Lodenaanage, that
the port had 49 vessels registered to cross the Channel. They
were plying between Dover and Calais, Dover and Nieuport,
with occasional voyages to Boulogne and Dieppe. The
Passage was continued with fair regularity during the reign
of Charles I., the Civil War and the Commonwealth, the
chief danger in those days being from pirates. John Evelyn,
in his diary, under date 12th July, 1649, says: — " At Dover
we at II p.m. went on board a barque guarded by a pinnace
of 8 guns, the first time the Packet-boat obtained a convoy,
it having several times been pillaged. We had a good
passage, though chased some hours by a pirate, but he durst
not attack our frigate, and we then chased him until he got
under the protection of Calais Castle. It was a small
privateer belonging to the Prince of Wales." Under the
date 30th June, 1650, Evelyn records the return voyage thus:
" About three in the afternoon we embarked in the Packet
boat, hearing that there was a pirate then setting sail. We
had security from molestation, and so, with a fair S.W. wind,
in seven hours, we landed at Dover. The busy watchmen
would have us to the Mayor, but that gentleman (Mr. Edward
Prescott) being in bed, we were dismissed." On the 13th
July, in the same year, Evelyn made use of the Dover Passage
again. He says: — " At six in the evening set sail for Calais;
the wind not favourable. I was very sick. Came to an
THE PASSAGE I49
anchor at one o'clock. About 5 a.m., we had a long boat
to carry us to land though at a good distance ; this we willingly
entered because two vessels were chasing us. . . . God
be thanked we got safely to Calais, though wet." In February
1652, Evelyn crosed from Calais to Dover — his last crossing
during the Commonwealth. At Calais owing to the Straits
being infested with pirates he had to wait until two or three
" lusty vessels," which they could not attack, set sail.
Evelyn does not give the time of the voyage, but says, " I
embarked early in the Packet-boat. 'Twas calm so that we
got not to Dover until 8 at night." It seems as though the
crossing, on that occassion, occupied ten or eleven hours.
Neither does Evelyn mention what the fare amounted to,
but his experience was to the effect that money was needed
to make things pleasant at Dover with the searchers of the
baggage. He says, " At Dover money to the searchers and
officers was as authentic as the hand and seal of Bradshaw
himself."
A proportion of the profits of the Passage, as arranged
by the agreement of 131 2, continued to be paid to the Cor-
poration until 1688. When the control of the Harbour
passed by Charter from the Corporation to the Lord Warden
and Assistants in 1606 the Corporation in consideration of
these profits still had to call the inhabitants together with their
shovels to keep the Harbour clear for the Passage ships, but
in 1688 the accumulation of shingle was so great that the
Corporation surrendered all their interest in the Passage to
the Harbour Commissioners rather than attempt to remove
the Bar. After that date the Passage Boats were
mainly carried on by the private enterprise of the mariners
of Dover, with the exception of the Mail Packet Boats which
were under contract with the farmers of the Post Office, the
navigation being supervised by the Dover Court of Lode-
manage, of which the Lord Warden, or his Deputy, the
Lieutenant of Dover Castle was the President.
150 ANNALS OF DOVER
III.
MAIL PACKETS AND THE POST OFFICE.
The State Papers and Post Office Records afford some
information as to the working of the Passage Boats in the
reign of Charles II. At the Restoration the Post Office had
been granted in " farm," and that arrangement may be said
to have placed the Passage Boats, more especially those
that carried the mails, under triple observation, for, added
to the ancient control of the Court of Lodemanage, there
was the agent of the Mail Packets acting in the interest of
the " Farmers," and the clerk of the Passage, who was
responsible to the Privy Council. The Lords Arlington and
Berkeley became joint farmers under a ten years lease in
October 1667. During five years, from 1672 to 1677, the
business was managed in London for riiCse noble "farmers"
by Colonel Roger Whitley, who was de facto the Post-
Master General of that day. Alter this Arlington and
Berkeley lease ran out the Duke ol York farmed the Post
Office, and for a while Roger Whitley managed the Post
Office for the Duke. That farming arrangement and the
triple observation it entailed, caused many details relating
to the Passage to be recorded which otherwise might have
passed r)ut of knuwledge. For the purpose of this business,
Roger Whitley, the sub-farmer, kept a Dover Letter Book, or
rather, a series of them. In those boLs there are several
illuminating items respecting the Dow r Packet Boats.
At that time the Dover Passage v/as served by about
thirty sailing packets owned by DoNcr mariners, as it had
been from ancient times, but, as far as can be gleaned from
the records, the independent Passage Boats did very little
business owing to the Straits being infested with pirates, and
because the privateers of the Continental powers, hostile to
England, frequently attacked them. The greater part of
the cross Channel traffic, both in passengers and cargo was
then done by the Post Office Packets, which, owing to the
international service they rendered, iisually sailed under
"letters of protection." The service at Dover under uie
Post Office contract from 1672 until 1677, was carried on
THE PASSAGE 151
by four Dover Packets, aided by other Dover Passage-boats
from time to time specially hired for emergencies. These
boats plied from Dover, between Calais and Dover and
Nieuport and Dover alternately, and, a year or two later,
the Port of Ostend was adopted owing to the delays in
entering and leaving Nieuport. The officials and masters of
the four packets engaged by the Post Office at Dover between
1672-77 were, Mr. J. Carlisle, a jurat. Clerk of the Passage;
Mr. Houseman, a clerk in the Custom House, had the over-
sight of the mails and the four subsiding Packets, and the
Masters of the four Packets were John Lambert,
Richard Hills, Walter Finnis, and Ambrose Williams.
The first named Master lost his life in a storm
on the i6th January, 1673. Francis Bastinck, in 1674,
succeeded Carlisle as Clerk of the Passage, and in 1678, also
took the office of Mail Master as the successor of Housman.
There was at this period, on the part of the King and the
Privy Council, a great desire to improve the speed and
increase the regularity of the Packet-boats; but the Masters
of the Packets, probably with the encouragement of the sub-
farmer, Roger Whitley, were more concerned about increasing
their earnings by carrying cargo and suiting the convenience
of passengers than by speeding up the mails. The greater
part of the correspondence left on record consists of com-
plaints about the delay of the mails, and excuses for the
same. The Clerk of the Passage told the Privy Council that
much time might have been saved at Dover if the mails had
been put on board in the Road, but that frequently from 12
to 24 hours were lost by bringing the Packets into harbour to
take passengers and cargo. Although it is well known that
Dover Harbour was shallowed by shingle and mud at this
period, the small Packet-boats do not seem to have been
retarded; the Clerk of the Passage in May, 1675, told the
Privy Council that the Packets found no difficulty in sailing
out of Dover Harbour except when there were strong East
and South-East winds.
As to fares for the passage, at this time, there seems to
have been no regular rule. For "the quality," as the
better class of travellers were styled, it was " what your
honour pleases " with a minimum of los. ; and this sum
was charged to all the poorer persons who desired to cross,
if they had money ; but if they were destitute natives of this
country, sailors or soldiers, the Packets were bound to bring
152 ANNALS OF DOVER
them over, the Admiralty or the Privy Council, after a
good deal of correspondence, defraying the cost.
During the twenty-five years of the reign of Charles II.,
the Post Office was farmed, and the Mail Packets were run
with more or less regularity, as before intimated, excepting
some temporary interruptions during the Dutch Wars.
Towards the end of the reign the Harbour mouth was so often
blocked with shingle that the Packets had great difficulty
in entering and leaving. Later, in the reign of William III.
and Queen Anne it was so much worse that the smallest
vessel engaged in the Passage could not enter, and for that
reason Queen Anne, by letters patent granted authority to
appoint a Water Bailiff to superintend the embarking and
disembarking of Channel passenger in the Bay.
THE PASSAGE
153
IV.
THE LAST SAILING AND FIRST STEAM PACKETS.
The last century of the Sailing Packets extended from
1720 until 1820. Before the first mentioned date the
general conditions of the Passage Service had improved.
There was more security, which stimulated the Dover
mariners to improve their ships, and their well directed
enterprise made the sailing fleet of the Passage the pride of
Europe. During that period the swiftest cutters on the sea
were built in those Dover ship-yards, or on the Archcliff
Beach. For speed nothing could beat them, and their
fame brought the Dover ship builders orders from all quarters.
Those Dover built vessels, in fair weather, usually sailed from
Dover to Calais in one tide, leaving Dover on the flood, and
that tide if favourable weather prevailed, carried them into
Calais Harbour. If they missed the tide the landing was
effected in small boats which was inconvenient and expensive.
At Dover the landing charges were regulated by the Com-
missioners of Salvage, the fee being 4s. for landing or
embarking a grown person, and 2s. for a child.
Before parting from the Passage Sailing Packets some
particulars may be given of them and their skippers as
recorded in the Port-List pf 18 19. The day of farming the
mails was then long past, and at that time the Post Office had
their own Packets, namely: —
The Lord Duncan Master .. J. Hamilton
The Chichester „ ... J. W. Rutter
The King George ,, M. King
These were very smart sloops of about 70-tons register.
A model of the King George is in the Dover Museum. They
commenced to carry the mails immediately after the Peace of
1814. The other passage Sailing Packets plying between
Dover and Calais were: —
The Ant
The Cumberland...
The Dart
The Defence
The Elizabeth ...
Master
T. Barrett
J. Hammond
M. Bushell
J. Adams
W. Bushell
A.
Watson
T.
Archer
T.
Mercer
W.
Mowll
J-
T.
A
Hayward
Noyce
Peake
W.
Strains
W.
Rogers
J. Moon
T.
Middleton
S
. Bushell
154 ANNALS OF DOVER
The Flora Master
The Industry ,,
The King George (2nd) ... ,,
The Lady Castlereagh ... ,,
The Lady Jane James ... ,,
The Lark ,,
The Lord Sidmouth ,,
The Poll
The Prince Leopold ,,
The Susanna ,,
The Sybil ,,
The Vigilant
The " Prince Leopold " was the vessel which brought
over Her Majesty Queen Caroline in 1820. Messrs. Minet
and Fector, and Messrs. Latham, Rice and Co. had many
extra vessels employed on the Passage.
The first steam-packet on the Dover Passage was the
" Rob Roy," in 1820, the hull of which was built by Mr.
Denny, and the engines by Mr. Daniel Napier, her register
being 90 tons, and her engines thirty horse power. This
novelty on the Passage was due to private enterprise, for
the Post Office still continued to use sailing ships for the
mails, and the great personages who crossed in 1820 put
more trust in sails than steam. In 1822 Messrs. John and
William Hayward, two enterprising Dover men, put two
steam-packets on the Passage, which they had built specially
for the service. The vessels were named the "Sovereign"
and the " Monarch," each a hundred tons burden, with
thirty-two horse power engines. Still the mails were carried
in sailing packets; but in 1823 the "Spitfire," a boat 83 feet
long and 30 feet beam, with forty horse power engines,
which had also been put on the Passage by private enterprise,
was adopted by the Post Ofliice for carrying the mails, and
she continued to do so for the next five years, in conjunction
with H.M. steamships " Fury," " King George," and
" Eclipse." In addition to those steamers, employed by
the Post Office, there were four steamers, named the
" Monarch," the " Sovereign," the " Britannia," and the
" Medusa," run by private firms. The Post Office steamers,
once or twice a week, went to Ostend and Boulogne as well
as to Calais. Alongside these steamers, sailing ships were
still used, more especially by bankers and mercantile houses,
to convey dispatches and specie. These sailing sloops, which
THE PASSAGE 1 55
usually made the passage in three and a half hours, sometimes
carried as much as 200,000 sovereigns in specie cases, and
frequently they rendered the service which the telegraph did
later, and carried news dispatches which enabled big opera-
tions to be successfully performed on the Money Market.
The time of the steam-packets in crossing was, for some
years, irregular, and is not reliably recorded. In 1830, the
" Firefly," a steam vessel then considered to be the wonder
of the age, usually crossed from Dover to Calais in three
hours. The competition between steam and sail helped to
popularise the Dover Passage, and the number of travellers
to and from the Continent steadily increased.
u
156 ANNALS OF DOVER
V.
POST OFFICE AND ADMIRALTY PACKETS.
From 1820 until 1837 the British Post Office carried the
mails between Dover and Calais, on steamships which were
built specially for the purpose ; and those Government
steamers, being deemed the most reliable, they gradually
absorbed all the ordinary passenger traffic, as well as
conveying King's Messengers and Royal personages.
In 1834 a King's Messenger came down to Dover with
re-lays of foaming steeds to fetch Sir Robert Peel from
Rome to form an administration ; and there being no
steamer or sailing packet ready on the instant, the Messenger
at once embarked in an open sailing boat, making the
journey in about three hours. It was mentioned, in Sir
Robert Peel's Biography, that in his journey from Rome to
London, in 1834, which occupied twelve days and twelve
nights, he encountered as much difficulty as Constantine did
in travelling from York to Rome 1,500 years earlier, with
this exception, that on the Dover Passage Sir Robert
enjoyed the up-to-date advantage of a well-fitted steam
packet ; although from Dover to London he had to use one
of the time-honoured stage-coaches, steam travelling on the
water having preceded steam travelling on land by nearly a
quarter of a century.
The Post Office, in 1837, transferred the Dover and
Calais Mail service from their own vessels to the Admiralty,
which department continued to carry mails and passengers
on the Dover and Calais route for seventeen years. During
that time great improvements were made in the speed and
comfort of steam packets on the Passage. Captain Luke
Smithett, a Dover man, who was afterwards knighted, was
Commodore, under the Admiralty, of the Dover Packet
service, and in those days the vessels that he personally
commanded nearly always made the quickest passages.
Amongst the steamers on the Passage, in 1846, the swiftest
were the " Princess Alice," the " Onyx," and the " Violet."
Captain Luke Smithett was very proud of the " Princess
Alice," and did not believe that she could be beaten. When
THE PASSAGE 1 57
the " Onyx " came on the Passage, in 1846, a race was
arranged between that vessel and the " Princess Alice,"
which had then been running two years. In a run of an
hour and a half along the Kentish coast the " Onyx " proved
swifter by nine minutes. The average time of the " Onyx "
between Dover and Calais from 1846 to 1848 was one hour
and twenty-five minutes.
There are ample facts given as to the Admiralty
Packets, their speed and the mails carried, in the Admiralty
Records, but the passengers are not mentioned. From the
newspapers of that time, we have compiled the returns,
which, compared with later years, are disappointing. In
the summer of 1848, a steam packet carrying as many as
thirty or forty passengers was considered uncommon. In
July of that year it was mentioned as extraordinary that the
cross-Channel packets were carrying nearly fifty passengers
each voyage; but at that time the Dover and Calais route
was at a very low ebb, owing to there being no railway to
Paris from Calais, although there was one from Boulogne.
In the week ended June 24th, 1848, 900 Continental
passengers passed through Dover, being 500 on the Ostend
route, 300 on the Boulogne route, and only 100 on the
Calais route.
On the 2nd September, 1848, the Northern Railway of
France was opened to Calais, and at the end of January,
1849, the Admiralty ceased running mail packets to Boulogne,
after which date Calais resumed its old position as the
principal port for English travellers. During that summer
the Dover and Calais packets carried about fifty passengers
each voyage, but in the summer of 1850 the average per
voyage, reckoning twenty-eight voyages a week between Dover
and Calais, was one hundred passengers each trip; in the
winter of the same year the average was barely twenty. In
the year 1851, when the great exhibition was held in London,
the passenger traffic was greatly increased by arrivals, but
there were fewer departures in the early summer; the
incoming packets were crowded, averaging about two hundred
passengers each voyage. It was in this year that packets
began to embark and disembark passengers at the landings
of the Admiralty Pier.
In 1850 a Parliamentary Committee considered the
advisability of submitting the transit of the mails, on the
Dover and Calais route, to tender. That Committee was
158 ANNALS OF DOVER
informed that, after allowing for the receipts from passengers,
the carriage of the mails between Dover and Calais cost
^6,244 per annum, and at that time the South Eastern
Railway Company offered to carry the mails across for
^,^9,825. As it appeared that the acceptance of that tender
would involve increased expenditure, no action was then
taken. In 1854, however, tenders were again invited, and
Mr. Joseph George Churchward's tender of ^^i 5,000 was
accepted. Between the years 1850 and 1854 the cost of
the mail packet service to the Admiralty had much increased,
and it was said in Parliament that the contract would be
an annual saving of ^10,000. This contract being entered
into for the purpose of economy, it was not expected that
there would be any great improvements in the service, but
there were some. The time occupied by the voyages was
slightly lessened, the fittings of the steamers were more
adapted for the comfort of the passengers, and a railway
connection having been made between the railway station
and the Admiralty Pier landing stages, passengers could
walk direct from the steamer to the railway train. These
advantages poplarised the Passage, there being an average
daily total of about 400 passengers. Up to this time the
benefit of the passenger traffic had been chiefly felt by the
hotel keepers and tradesmen who catered for them, the
work of building and repairing steamers having been done by
the Admiralty at the Dockyards; but Mr. Churchward, for
keeping his fleet in repair, established the Dover Packet
Yard near the docks, creating a new local industry, which
has been perpetuated down to the present time.
THE PASSAGE 1 59
VI.
THE RAILWAYS AND THE PASSAGE.
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company,
in bringing their Hne to Dover, reckoned on making the
cross-Channel passenger service a source of profit to their
undertaking. They secured the Dover and Calais Mail
contract in 1863, and, with it, the passenger traffic, which at
once put the newly-formed railway in keen competition with
the South Eastern Railway Company. The S.E. Company
had their own harbour and steam packets at Folkestone, where
they had already secured a well-established cross-Channel
traffic, for although the sea route to Boulogne was longer,
the journey beyond to Paris was shorter. Two years later
the two Companies entered into a Continental agreement,
by which all the railway receipts, attributable to the Channel
Passage, along all parts of their systems between Margate
and Hastings, were pooled, and divided in agreed proportions
between the two Companies, depriving Continental travellers
of any benefit that might have arisen from competition.
In the year 1863, when the Railway Company took
over the Passage, the number of passengers was 123,053.
It will be interesting, later, to compare that annual total
with the increased number after the flight of nearly half a
century ; but it will be more significant to notice the decrease
of the annual total to 108,103, in 1870, five years after the
Continental agreement had been brought into force. If
natural causes had operated, there would have been the
same steady increase in the Dover and Calais passengers
as in preceding years; but the fact was the ill-matched pair
of Railway Chairmen, before the ink of their agreement was
dry, began to devise means of evading it by securing, on
each side, the large.st share of Continental traffic for their
own lines. Naturally, the South Eastern Company would
do their best for their own harbour at Folkestone, in spite
of the fact that the London and Chatham would take a
share of the pool ; but the London and Chatham, having no
proprietary interest in Dover Harbour, diverted a part of
their Continental traffic at a point of their line beyond the
l6o ANNALS OF DOVER
limits of the Continental agreement, by a branch line from
Sittingbourne to Queenborough, and thence by a line of
steam packets to Flushing. This project was followed by
two counter-moves by the South Eastern Company — one to
open a new route via Port Victoria, near Queenborough ; and
the other to build a large and attractive station just beyond
the limits of Folkestone at Shorncliffe. These devices to
get outside the Continental agreement were productive of
little profit to the Railway Companies, and led to expensive
litigation. The Flushing route proved to be only a " side
show," the London and Chatham Company soon coming
to the conclusion that the Dover route was their main stay.
Railway rivalries and diversions in the " Seventies " had
kept down the annual total of the Dover and Calais passengers
to 197, 916, but as soon as the London, Chatham and Dover
Railway Company made up their minds to make the most
of Dover, the passengers increased, the annual total in 1888
being 235,695 ; and by the end of the " Eighties " the annual
total touched 300,000; the year 1889 seeing an increase of
nearly 1,000 passengers a week.
XH£ PASSAGE l6l
VII.
INDEPENDENT ADVENTURERS.
Independent adventurers have made noteworthy efforts
to improve the Passage. When steam took the place
of sails, it was outsiders who commenced the innovation ;
and there have been others who thought they could
improve the Passage by building steam vessels on novel
principles ; while others have suggested taking trains through
a tunnel, or a tube, or on a monster train-ferry. It is no
part of this history of the Passage to deal with proposals
for tunnels or train-ferries; but as two novel vessels were
built and tried between Dover and Calais with the object of
abolishing sea-sickness, it will be appropriate to mention
them.
The first of the " peculiars," as they were called, was
the " Castalia," invented by Captain W. Dicey, R.N., who,
during ten years of retirement at Walmer, planned a steam-
ship having a double hull, or, rather, two half hulls ; and
these being connected by a deck bridge, there was an open
water-way under the centre, where the paddle-wheels worked,
the outsides being smooth like a screw-propelled ship. While
the plans were being worked out at Walmer, Captain Dicey
was frequently in consultation with his neighbour at Walmer
Castle, Earl Granville, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports,
and for that reason the ship was named, after Earl
Granville's second wife, Castalia. The twin-ship came to
Dover on the 15th September, 1874, but did not make a
trial trip to Calais until 20th July, 1875, when the voyage
occupied one hour and fifty minutes. In her subsequent
voyages she proved to be a slow boat, making a large con-
sumption of fuel. New boilers were put in and other
alterations made, including a gorgeous decoration to fit her
to carry the Prince of Wales (afterwards Edward VII.), on
his voyage across the Straits of Dover, 15th October, 1875,
on his journey to India. That was the last voyage of the
" Castalia " in that year.
The main point was whether there was less sea-sickness
amongst her passengers than on other ships, and on that
opinions were divided. As for entirely abolishing sea-
sickness, the " Castalia " was a failure, which was made
evident on her first trip ; and subsequent trials only confirmed
that conclusion; but the public had fallen in love with the
l62 ANNALS OF DOVER
twin-ship, with Captain Dicey, its inventor, and with the
Countess Castalia, its namesake, therefore, they were loth
to admit that their great expectations had not been realised.
The English Channel Steamship Company, who had built
the " Castalia," resolved to raise ;^i5o,ooo more capital,
and build another "Castalia" that would be swifter and
less costly in the use of fuel. The new capital did not
come in, but the original " Castalia " was put on the Dover
Passage again in 1876. Her novel construction attracted a
good many travellers, but they nearly always missed the boat
express train at Dover, and to catch the Paris mail, in the
morning, she left Dover an hour before the other steamers,
Dover hotels being well filled by travellers who stayed here
all night to ensure a passage in the " Castalia." In June
she carried 1,741 passengers; in July, 2,938; and in August,
5,388. In September her machinery broke down, and she
went into dock until 1877. Certain improvements were
made, but before the summer season of 1878 commenced, the
Company went into liquidation, and the original " Castalia "
went back to the Thames, and was seen in the Straits of
Dover no more. The new " Castalia," projected by the
English Channel Steamship Company, was never built; but,
in time for the 1878 summer traffic, a twin steamer on
similar lines, but having two perfect hulls instead of two
halves was built for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
Company, and was named the " Calais-Douvres." This
twin-ship was very popular, sometimes carrying as many as
750 passengers in one voyage; and her average, during the
season, was 500 per voyage. This steamer, too, was costly
in respect of fuel, a very " wet boat " in rough weather,
and nautical men were of opinion that, in a gale, she would
be dangerous. She was not used in the winter, but she was
continued on the summer service until 1887, when she was
taken off, and the twin-ship idea was dropped on the Dover
Passage.
Another "peculiar" was the "Bessemer," specially
invented by Mr. Henry Bessemer for the Dover Passage, to
prevent sea-sickness, by having a swinging saloon, which was
intended to be always kept horizontal by a mechanical
contrivance, however the ship might roll in rough seas. This
novel steamship also came to Dover in 1875. On the 8th
of May she made a trial trip from Dover to Calais. Those
in charge did not venture to let the saloon swing, so the
contrivance for preventing sea-sickness was not tested. In
THE PASSAGE 1 63
entering Calais Harbour the vessel refused to answer the
helm, and, crashing into the West Pier, she did damage for
which the MunicipaUty of Calais claimed ;£2,8oo. That
ended the " Bessemer 's " career.
While the "peculiars" were having their trials, practical
men came to the conclusion that bigger boats and more
powerful engines would be the best improvement of the
Passage. In 1884 the International Communication Company
proposed to build a large Water Station at Dover for
carrying on the business of the Passage by larger boats than
those then in use. They went no further than issuing their
Parliamentary Notice, because the London, Chatham and
Dover Company, who were in possession of the field, were
prepared to act on the same lines. They had already, in
1883, placed the " Invicta " on the Passage, which, in the
matters of accommodation and comfort, was all that could
be desired, but something more was needed in speed. The
threat of outsiders to capture the traffic induced the Railway
Company to build two more vessels equal to the " Invicta"
in accommodation but sw^ifter. The first of the two, the
" Victoria," came on the Passage in 1886, and she occa-
sionally did the voyage in sixty minutes, which was a record.
For lightness, the " Victoria " was built with steel, 310ft.
long, 35ft. beam, 8ft. draught, and 300 tons register. The
luxuriousness of her fittings eclipsed all that had been before
seen on the Passage. In 1887, the sister ship, the
" Empress," came on the Passage. She was 75ft. longer
than the " Victoria," and was pronounced to be " the best
of all the Passage steamers." Her time in crossing, under
favourable circumstances, was fifty minutes — another record.
The third of the series (not counting the " Invicta ") was
the " Calais-Douvres," which came on the Passage in June,
1889. This was not a twin-ship, but, like the old " Calais-
Douvres," which had then left the service, she had a
rudder at each end to facilitate entrance to the harbours.
Her trial trip was on the 30th May,i8S9, when she carried
the official visitors to the opening of Calais new harbour,
her time being seventy minutes; but, subsequently, she
frequently crossed in an hour. The Dover and Calais
passenger traffic in this year, owing to the Paris Exhibition,
was beyond all records, in many weeks averaging 17,000 in
seven days. The London, Chatham and Dover Company's
fleet on the Dover Passage in that year was said to be " next
door to perfection."
164 ANNALS OF DOVER
VIII.
THE PASSAGE POLL-TAX.
After the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Com-
pany had provided the excellent Packet-boats already
mentioned, the one thing lacking was better harbour
accommodation. The International Communication Com-
pany's proposal had included bigger boats and an efficient
water station ; the bigger boats had been provided, but the
latter part of the scheme was postponed because it was no
one's direct duty and interest to take up the work. The
accommodation at the Admiralty Pier landing-stages, which
had been used for nearly forty years, had been provided at
the cost of the Government, and the amount paid for the
user was small compared with the initial expenditure. To
build a Continental Water Station would cost about half
a million pounds, and the question was asked, " Who would
provide the money?" In the olden time, when the men
of Dover had a monopoly of the Passage and the Corporation
took a share of the profits, it was the duty and interest of
the Corporation and the ship-owners to keep the accom-
modation efficient ; but, under present circumstances, the
interest in the Passage has ceased to be purely local. The
Railway Companies, who run the mail and passenger
services, are most directly interested, but they had no control
o\er the Harbour. The Harbour Board itself deri\'ed so
little profit from the steamers that they could not pledge
their estate to provide the expensive accommodation. The
pecuniary interest of the Corporation is nil, and that of the
people of Dover generally is not sufficient to warrant any
financial venture to promote the efficiency and comfort of
the Passage service. The main interest in the efficiency of
the Passage is distributed amongst the many thousands of
people from all over the world who cross the Straits of
Dover; and, ultimately, the difficulty was solved by Parlia-
ment allowing a Passenger Toll to be levied, so that those
who enjoyed the improved accommodation of the Passage
should pay for it.
The Dover Harbour Board turned their attention to
Passage accommodation in i8qo. After taking time to mature
their policy and plans, in 1891 they obtained an Act of
ParUament for constructing a commercial harbour, outside
THE PASSAGE 1 65
the limits of the old works, affording a deep water area of
seventy-one acres. This was intended for the threefold
purpose of giving increased accommodation to general trade,
providing deep water berths for Atlantic liners, but prin-
cipally to construct in the central part of the new area a
Marine Station, where the cross-Channel packets could
land and embark passengers alongside the railway trains in
close proximity to waiting and refreshment rooms. This Act
was obtained, and the work of building the new harbour
commenced before the Government decided to enclose the
whole of Dover Bay for the purpose of a great Admiralty
Harbour. That larger project necessitated the modification
of the works in progress for the local accommodation. As
the building of the Admiralty Harbour proceeded, there were
further modifications, and eventually the eastern side of the
Prince of Wales Pier of the local Harbour, completed in
1902, had to be given up to the Admiralty; and, in return,
the Government handed over to the Harbour Board the old
Admiralty Pier (which they had previou.sly leased) with a
view to its being widened, to build upon it a Continental
Marine Station. These changes, due to the construction of
the Admiralty Harbour, greatly delayed the provision of the
better accommodation for the Dover Passage.
While the construction of the Marine Station was being
delayed, another great improvement was made in the steam-
ships of the Passage. The two Railway Companies entered
into a working union, as a result of which the Port of Dover
became the depot of all the steamers used on the passage
to Calais, Boulogne and Ostend. The assemblage of vessels
occupying the docks exhibiting samples of the cross-Channel
craft of the recent past and the present. The well-known
steamers, which were famous when the London, Chatham
and Dover Railway Company took over the service in 1863,
and which were contemptuously referred to as "cockleshells"
in 1900— the "Petrel," "Foam," "France," "Prince,"
" Samphire," " Maid of Kent," " Wave " and " Breeze "—
are all gone. Even the big steamers built to revolutionise
the service in the " Eighties," have disappeared. The
" Invicta " was first to go; following her those three ships
built at the Fairfield Works— the "Victoria," "Empress"
and "Calais-Douvres" (secundus) which were regarded as very
near perfection, have gone too, and by a very rapid and
costly movement the day of turbines has dawned.
l66 ANNALS OF DOVER
The turbine, to which the present swift and graceful
ships owe their propulsion, was discussed as the coming
motive power by the Hon. Charles Parsons, its inventor, at
the British Association meeting at Dover in 1899; and the
late Sir WilHam H. White, then President of the Mechanical
Section, referred to the invention as one likely to work a
great change in the propulsion of steamships ; but, probably,
no one present on that occasion, excepting perhaps the
enthusiastic inventor himself, anticipated that within three
years a vessel would be built for the cross-Channel service
in accordance with his invention, and that in 1907 the whole
of the services — Dover and Calais, Folkestone and Boulogne,
and Dover and Ostend — would be furnished with the
graceful and swift turbine vessels, which are more than
answering the expectations raised by the inventor at Dover
in the Autumn of 1899.
The first of the cross-Channel turbines was " The
Queen," which took her place on the Dover Passage in 1903.
In 1905 " The Onward " was placed on the Folkestone and
Boulogne route; and, at the same time, the 'Tnvicta," of the
same class, came as a "stand-by" to ensure that there should
be always one turbine on each route. In 1907 were added
two more turbines, " The Empress " and " The Victoria,"
making sufficient to carry all the passengers to Calais and
Boulogne; while in the same year another turbine, "The
Princess Elisabeth " was put on the Dover and Ostend route.
In 191 1, the " Riviera " and the " Engadine " were added
to the Dover and Folkestone turbine fleet, aflfording
travellers between these ports and the Continent such an
absence of vibration and smoothness of passage that it
hardly seemed possible for human ingenuity to go much
further in that direction.
After the two English Railway Companies and the
Belgian Government had done their share in placing an
improved fleet of passenger steamers on the Channel Passage,
and the Government had done theirs in granting the PoU-
Tax, the delay in providing a site for the Channel Passage
Station at Dover Harbour was extraordinary. Pending that
delay, the Passenger Tax money had been regularly collected
for more than twelve years, during which period much of it
has been spent on works of no benefit lo cross-Channel
voyagers. The extraordinary delay was due to want of
foresight and co-operation between the Harbour Board and
THE PASSAGE
167
the Admiralty. The first scheme — a very good one — to build
the site for the Station in the centre of the Commercial
Harbour, was abandoned, and Parliamentary powers obtained
for placing the Station on the western side of the Prince
of Wales Pier, but owing to the northern side of that Pier
being needed for the Admiralty Harbour, it was finally
decided to widen the original Admiralty Pier, at a cost of
;,^40o,ooo. After years of delay, that widening has been
completed, and a Channel Passage Station has been erected
by the two Railway Companies.
The cross-Channel traffic through Dover is very great,
and is rapidly increasing, as the following returns of the
numbers carried in the years mentioned against them
show : —
Dover and Calais.
Dover and Ostenc
1.
1850...
54,036
1878
. 26,270
i860...
76,318
1886
• 31,745
1870...
108,008
1887
. 42,283
i88o...
197,247
1888
• 56,535
1890 ...
262,364
1890
• 75>i5S
1900 ...
316,156
1900
• 114,516
1910 ...
369,069
19IO
• 222,375
1913...
396,100
1913
• 256,474
It will be observed that the total number of passengers
who passed through Dover on the two routes in the year
1913 was considerably more than half a million, and the
figures indicate a certainty of continual increase, the same
remark applying equally to each route. The figures for the
Calais route are only given for the decadal years, so as to
exhibit a long retrospect without using a mass of statistics.
On the Ostend route the earlier figures were not available in
the same way, and the decadal years are only taken from
1890. It will be seen that the number of passengers between
Dover and Calais has doubled nearly eight times since 1850.
The Dover and Ostend totals, though rather smaller, have
increased in a much greater ratio, having multiplied nearly ten
times since 1878. By the two routes from and to Dover,
the passengers now are double the number travelling in 1890.
These figures afford the fullest justification for all that can
be done to increase the comfort and the convenience of the
Dover Passage.
l68 ANNALS OF DOVER.
ADDENDA.
The Dover Passage, as appears from the foregoing
chapters, has been the regular route between Britain and the
Continent from the earliest times, the service of Packet Boats
having been continuous, except in times of war. The records
of suspensions in war times for early dates are not available.
During the Civil War in the Reign of Charles I. the traffic
was not suspended; and in the war between England and
France, declared in 1744, there was an agreement that the
Passage between Dover and Calais should be continued for
six months, to enable those who were abroad to go home;
but from September, 1744, the traffic was suspended until
the Peace of Aix la Chappelle in 1748. In 1756 the Passage
traffic was suspended, and not resumed until 1763. The
next suspension was from 1778 to 1783. The war of the
French Revolution caused the Passage to be closed from
1793 to 1802; and, again, the traffic was suspended from
1803 until the Peace of 1814. From that time until 1914
the traffic was continued, there having been no stoppage
of it during the Franco-German War of 1870, although
there were scarcely any passengers at that time. The Great
War in Europe that broke out at the beginning of August,
1914, caused the ordinary cross-Channel traffic to be diverted
to Folkestone, owing to this Port being a Naval Base.
SECTION IV.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION.
CONTENTS :
I. Druidism and Christianity.
II, The Canons of Dover.
III. The Founding of the Priory.
IV. Two Ancient Hospital.
V. The An'cient Churches of Dover.
VI. Before the Reformation.
VII. After the Reformation.
VIII. The Uprising of Nonconformity.
IX. The First Dissenters' Chapels.
X. Early Nineteenth Century Churches.
XI. The Origin of Methodism in Dover.
XII. E.\rly Nineteenth Century Chapels.
XIII. The Church of England after 1850.
XIV. Nonconformists after 1850.
XV. The Corporation and the Old Churches.
SECTION FOUR.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION.
I.
DRUIDISM AND CHRISTIANITY.
The first glimpse that history affords of the ancient
Britons is of their religion under the Druid Priests. If,
as tradition indicates, the immediate descendants of Noah
emigrated to this country, it may be presumed that they
brought with them the religion of the primitive Patriarchs,
the main features of which were sacrifice and worship. Those
features, debased and distorted, had helped to make Druidism
a strong controlling power in Britain. When Julius Caesar
landed in Kent he determined to overthrow the Druidical
altars, which he deemed to be the main obstacle to his
subjugation of the country. The Romans succeeded in
uprooting Druidism, and although they do not appear to
have considered it part of their mission to introduce any
other religion in its place, they cleared the ground for the
introduction of Christianity.
The Church in the Roman Oval at Dover Castle is
believed to be on the site, if not partly the actual fabric,
of the Christian Church built during the Roman occupation
— probably about the year i8o. Soon after the building of
that Church, which is attributed to King Lucius, there
commenced three centuries of heathen darkness, during
which time that Church became a ruin. In the Sixth
Century there came a revival of Christianity. Ethelbert,
King of Kent, married Bertha, the Christian daughter of
Charibert, King of the Prankish tribe ; and that opened
the way for the Mission of St. Augustine in the year 597.
About that time the Church in the Castle was restored ; but
after the death of King Ethelbert, in 616, nis son, Eadbald,
relapsed into idolatry. On that point the Chronicle of the
Dover Monastery says: — " Of King Eadbald, son of Ethel-
bert, who, after his baptism, returned to paganism, and
172 ANNALS OF DOVER.
sent away the Bishops and priests, many things may be found
in the life of St. Mildred; and his re-conversion to the faith
by Laurentius, the Archbishop, who enjoined him, for the
remission of his sins, to rebuild the churches which he had
destroyed, and cherish the clergy whom he had persecuted.
That he settled Canons in the Castle may be conjectured
from hence ; it was an ancient tradition that there were
Canons in the Castle a hundred years, or more, and much
time elapsed from the reign of this King to that of Withred,
who removed the Canons to the Church of St. Martin in
Dover; and as this King Eadbald, who had a long reign,
was, after his repentance, constantly employed in repairing
and building churches, it is highly probable that he endowed
his Chapel, in the Castle, amongst the rest." In another
part of the same Chronicle it is stated that it was by the
advice of Archbishop Lawrence that he instituted the Canons
in the Church at the Castle.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1 73
II.
THE CANONS OF DOVER.
About the year 697, King Withred removed the College
of Secular Canons from their first location in the Castle to
a Church and Monastery which he built for them on the
left side of the River Dour, near the site of the present
Market Place. Some have assumed that the Church in
question was that which, after the Conquest, came to be
known as St. Martin-le-Grand ; but the ancient Canons'
Ward included the Market Place and King Street, while the
Canons' residences covered a considerable area south of
the Market Place, including Market Lane and Last Lane,
with a frontage to King Street. In this area, about the middle
of King Street, there are still under the surface the founda-
tions of a Church, which has been identified as that of St.
Martin-the-Less, and all the evidence available points to
this as having been the actual Church which Withred built
for the little colony of Secular Canons which he removed
from the Castle. The actual situation of that Saxon Church
of St. Martin is not a matter of clear documentary evidence ;
but Darell, in his history of Dover Castle, says that Withred
" built a Church in that very spot where, before the reign
of Arviragus, ships used to ride at anchor." The middle of
King Street, under which the foundations of St. Martin-the-
Less are, seems to agree with the above description better
than the higher level on the site of Market Street. However
that may be, it seems that the first Saxon Church of St.
Martin was, to a great extent, destroyed by fire at the
Norman Conquest, and the Collegiate Church of St. Martin
was built by the Conqueror's half-brother, Odo, Bishop of
Bayeux, in a style that entitled the fabric to the name St.
Martin-le-Grand.
We are as yet, however, more than three centuries in
advance of that Norman structure. When King Withred
built the residence of the Canons and their first Church on
the west side of the Dour, the valley was not regarded as
a safe place, the main part of the Civil population being
then clustered under the walls of the Castle and on the
unenclosed part of the hill-top next the sea-cliff. The
population, according to Darell, had two Churches — the
174 ANNALS OF DOVER.
ancient Church of St. Mary, in the fortress ; and a small
Church dedicated to St. Giles for the civil population.
When King \\ithred planted his little colony in the
valley they were followed by other inhabitants, and it
is stated by Darell: " That the people of Dover might
live in greater security and be better able to defend
themselves against their enemies in time of war, he
caused a wall for that purpose to be erected on the side
towards the sea."
The Secular Canons of Dover, who formed that Dour-
side Mission, were a remarkable body, and, as pioneers of
Christianity in East Kent, they had great privileges, being
free from the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
and responsible only to the Pope and to the King. They
were granted special franchises at a Royal Council held at
Bapchild A.D. 697, and, being directly patronised by the
King, their College was endowed with large grants of land.
For three centuries before the Norman Conquest the Canons
of Dover exercised a missionary influence, and were the
living embodiment of Christianity in I ) ver and East Kent.
The Gospel which they preached tinged with light and hope
the grey and toilsome lives of the tc.iants, borderers, and
bond-servants employed on the land ot some nineteen manors
around Dover. They were called Secular Canons because,
instead of being isolated in a monastery, they lived and
worked amongst their people, teaching them that the religion
which they proclaimed had to do with their daily lives and
conduct as well as their future state. These Canons were
in no sense monks ; they lived domestic lives as heads of
families on the manor lands of East Kent, as far inland as
Sibertswold, and as far north as St. John's, Thanet. On
their manors they had churches, at fir ;t constructed of wood,
but, later, more substantially built. A:^ the centuries rolled
on, towards the close of the Saxon Period, tney became
richly endowed, holding, in common, about 4,800 acres of
land. They would not have been human if this increase of
riches and dignities had not clogged their spiritual activities.
Eight of the Canons — Baldwin, Alwi, Spirites, Alric, Esmelt,
Lewin, Edwin and Aldred — were Chaplains of the King, and
it is alleged that in consequence their lives lost their primitive
purity and simplicity. They were ceri dnly exposed to the
envy and jealousy of the Norman ecclesiastics who came over
with the Conqueror, although they were not forthwith deprived
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1 75
of their land, as other Saxon landowners were. Their
Church was destroyed by the fire which occurred when the
Town and Castle were taken, and probably the greater part
of their dwellings were destroyed, for it is recorded that Odo,
the new Earl of Kent (better known as the Bishop of
Bayeux) provided dwellings for them annexed to their manors
at Sibertswold, Buckland, Charlton, Farthingloe, Guston,
and St. Margaret's-at-Clifife. This Odo had not the reputa-
tion of being a philanthropist. It is not recorded that he
provided a re-housing scheme for the poor burgesses of Dover
who were burned out at the Conquest, and it is assumed that
his great interest in the Canons of Dover was excited by
their wealth. At their expense he built the new Church
of St. Martin, in a style justifying its new name
of St. Martin-le-Grand, and befitting a rich collegiate
body. Also, it is probable, that under the guidance of Odo,
the Canons built other Churches soon after the Conquest,
in Dover, at St. Margaret's-at-Cliffe, and in Thanet. Odo
was noted for his greed in seizing Kentish manors which had
been held by Saxons, but he appears to have left the manors
held by the Canons of Dover untouched; and when Odo was.
banished by the Conqueror for insubordination, it was
alleged of the Canons, as a body, that their lives had
become tarnished by vice. Some say that they were
slandered for the purpose of having their wealth and
privileges transferred to a new religious house directly
controlled by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Whether
there was any foundation for these slanders or not, the
transfer was eventually effected.
176 ANNALS OF DOVER.
III.
THE FOUNDING OF THE PRIORY.
Some writers have represented St. Martin's Priory at
Dover as being a continuation of the religious house
originally established at the Castle by King Eadbald and
transferred by King Withred to the bank of the Dour; but
although that first change, in Saxon times, was merely a
change in location for the sake of convenience, the change
in early Norman days was the establishment of another Order
in a new house supported by the revenues of the old one. The
Priory was first projected by Archbishop William Corboil in
the year 1124, when he told Henry I. that the Canons of
Dover had added to the crime of lewdness, worldly cares,
temporal pursuits and dissipation; that they could not be
cited to answer in any Court, and that the K-ng, who was
their patron, was answerable to God for all their sins.
These serious allegations were frequently repeated, and
eventually in the year 1131 the King gave the Archbishop
his desire embodied in a Charter, as follows : —
Henry, King of the Angles, to the Archbishojis, Bishops, Abbots,
Earls, Barons and all sons of the Holy Church in England settled,
greeting : Know ye that I have given and granted in alms to God
anil William Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of Christ
at Canterbury and to all their successors canonically appointed (for
the salvation of the souls of my parents and for the safety of my
Kingdom) the Church of St. Martin at Dover with all things belonging
to the same, in Land and Sea, in Toll and all other ap])urtenances,
for constituting an Order of Canons Re.;;ular in the same Church at
Dover, and that the Abbot of the sime order may be therein
appointed by Canonical Election of the Chajiter itself with the
Assent and Examination of the Arcl bishop ; which church shall be
in the proper hands, government and protection of the Archbishop
as his Dcmense is. Nor may it hereafter be changed into any other
religious order. Therefore, this, my gift and grant made, and by
all the underwritten approved, I confirm and strengthen by my
royal authority and the power by God to me delivered to remain entire
and unshaken.
Witness all the underwritten persons, in whose hearing this
was made and confirmed, to wit. Thurstan, Archbishop of York,
Hugh, Archbishop of Rouen ; Roger, Bishop of Salisbury ; Henry,
Bishop of Winton ; Gilbert, Bishop of Eondon ; William, Bishop of
Exon ; Robert, Bisho[) of Hereford; Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln;
Simon, Bishop of Worcester; Elbronius, Bishop of Norwich; Godwin,
Bishop of Bath; GeofTry, the Chancellor, Robert de Sigill ; Isegellas,
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1 77
the Bishop's grandson ; R. Earl of Gloucester ; William, Earl of
Warren ; Ranulph, Earl of Chester ;R. Earl of Legr ; Brian, son of
the Earl ; Hugh Bigot ; Humphrey dc Boun ; Milo dc Gloucester ;
Paganus, son of John ; Richard, son of Gilbert ; Robert dc Vcre ;
Robert d'Essex; Richard Baset ; Albric de Vere ; and many others
at Northampton, given granted, but at Westminster confirmed in the
celebrated General Council, in the year of our Lord 1131, happily held
in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
The Charter of Dover Priory was confirmed by Innocent,
Pope of Rome, as follows : —
Innocent, servant of the servants of God to our Reverend
Brother William, Archbishop of Canterbury, and his successors
canonically to be appointed for ever. The desire, which is evidcntally
for the interest of religion, and the salvation of souls is without
delay to be complied with, and whenever anything is requested of
us which is known to be agreeable to reason, it becomes us willingly
to grant it. We therefore. Reverend Brother, out of the accustomed
Benevolence of the Apostolic see allow your reasonable petition, and
confirm to you and the Church at Canterbury, and through you to
your successors for ever, the Church of St. Martin at Dover, by our
most dear son Henry, the illustrious King of the Angles, to you and
the Church at Canterbury granted and fully confirmed, with all things
which, at present it lawfully possesses, or which, b} the liberality of
Kings or Princes, or proceeds of the faithful, or any other just
means it may hereafter gain. And at the request of our said son.
King Henry, we decree that in the aforesaid Church of St. Martin,
an order of Canons according to the rule of St. Augustine be instituted
and inviolably preserved in time to come, and the Abbot, who shall
j)reside over the Brethren, shall be chosen according to the same in
the aforesaid Church. Whoever, therefore, shall endeavour rashly
to subvert this, our decree, let him be deprived of his honour and
office and be punished with excommunication, unless he duly atone
for his presumption. But let those who keep it obtain from the
Father of Mercies, and the God of all comfort a perpetual crown and
the favour of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
Thus the Church of St. Martin's Dover, and all that
belonged to it was given by Henry I. to the Archbishop of
Canterbury in the presence of the heads of the Church and
Realm before written, to found an order of regular Canons
according to the rule of St. Augustine, and the same was
solemnly blessed by the Pope. But in spite of the Royal
grant, the Papal confirmation and the array of high and
mighty witnesses, the spoliation of the Canons of Dover
brought a legacy of trouble on all who subsequently took
part in it.
The proposal of Archbishop Corboil to e.stabli.sh at
Dover a house of Canons Regular after the Order of St.
Augustine (the Order to which he had belonged) was fiercely
opposed by the Prior and monks of Christ Church, Canter-
IjS ANNALS OF DOVER.
I)ury. To avoid opposition, the Archbishop kept his scheme
secret as long as {)ossihle, and hastened the building of the
new house in the fields at Dover ; and before it was finished
(for the cloisters and other buildings were completed later)
in the year 1134 Archbishop Corboil fell sick, and being
anxious to introduce the Canons Regular of his Order at
Dover without delay, he commissioned two Bishops and the
Archdeacon of Canterbury for that purpose, but when they
attempted to instal the Augustine Canons in the new Dover
Priory, a Monk of Canterbury objected, contending that the
King had not given the new Priory to the Archbishop, but
to the Priory of Christ Church. The two Bishops had no
authority to refute that claim, for Henry I. was then at
the point of death in Nf)rmandy, and as the Monks of Canter-
bury appealed to the Pope, nothing was done. Within a
few days, Archbishop Corboil died, leaving the object on
which his heart was set unattained. The times were not
favourable for an equital)le settlement. Soon after the affairs
of Dover Priory were left in thi> unsettled state King Henry J.
died; Corljoil, the Archbishop, was dead; and Stephen,
the grandson of William the Conqueror, and Matilda, the
daughter of Henry I., immediately commenced a civil war
to decide w'ho should wear the Crown. During this state of
things the Monks of Christ Church took possession of the
Priory, with WilHam de Longville as their Prior, and they
appear to have held their ground during the reign of Stephen,
who died at Dover Priory on the 25th October, 11 54. King
Stephen's presence there implied sanction of the existing
state of things, and the new Archbishop Theobald .^ approval
of the Benedictines gave them additional security Never-
theless, the Monks of Canterbury knew the defects of their
title to the Dover Priory. There was the express provision
in the Charter of Henry I. that it was always to be held by
Canons Regular of the Order of St. Augustine, and that the
members of the Dover Priory were to elect the Prior from
amongst themselves. Soon after Henry H. came to the
Throne, a new Charter in favour of the Benedictines was
obtained from the King, as follows: —
Hcnrv, KinK of England, {greeting : " Know ye that I have
granted and cfinfirmed for an alms and a perpetual possession to God
and the Cliurrh of Christ at anterbury, and to the Archbishop
Theobald and his successors, the Church of St. Martin, Dover, and all
things thereunto belonging, in land and sea, and in toll, with the
old toll of herrings and the new tvthe of fishery, uliic h the Burgesses
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1 79
of Dover have given and offered u})On the aUar, and with all other
its appurtenances which it at present possesses, or may in future
justly acquire, for the souls of myself and my parents and for
the remission of my sins, and for the state and safety of my kingdom ;
and chiefly for the soul of King Henry, my grandfather, the first
giver of the same church. I, therefore, appoint, and by my royal
authority, command that the Monastic Order instituted in the
Church of St. Martin by the authority of Pope Innocent of blessed
memory, and Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury ; according to the
rule of St. Benedict, be for the future inviolably preserved for ever,
nor may it be lawful for any man further to change the said church
to any other Order. I also will, and by my royal authority, command
that the aforesaid Church of St. Martin shall always remain in the
hands and power of Theobald, the Archbishop, and all the Arch-
bishops succeeding him, and shall have none but the Archbishop of
Canterbury as Disposer, and Director of Exteriors and Interiors."
Witnesses : — Roger, Archbishop of York ; N. of Ely ; Robert of
Lincoln Bishop, Thomas the Chancellor ; John, Treasurer of York ;
Regevius, son of the Earl of Gloucester; Richard Peccat ; Archdeacon
Froi^'ern : Archdeacon Nicholas de Hamtune ; Earl Regenald ; Earl
Hugh ; Henrv d'Essex, Constable ; Richard de Hamlet ; Robert de
Dunstanville ; Manaster Biset, Steward ; \Vi!liam de Bekamp ; Henry
de Pomeray ; John Mareschal, at Dover.
It will be ob.served that the last document, while it gives
the Dover Priory to the Order of Benedictines, does not give
the Monks of Christ Church, Canterbury, the right to
nominate the Prior of Dover; and the Archbishop Theobald,
to gratify the Monks of Canterbury, carried the matter a
step further by himself granting a Charter to the Prior and
Chapter of Chri.st Church, Canterbury, providing that the
Prior of Dover should always be taken from the Convent of
Canterbury and from no other place; but the " Monastican
Anglicanum " states that that Charter was made without the
consent of the King.
In that irregular way, the Monks of Canterburj' obtained
the entire control of the temporalities and the internal
government of the Dover Priory from the beginning of the
reign of Henry II. down to the thirteenth year of the reign
of Edward I., a period of more than 140 years. During
that time its revenues and endowments were squandered by
a succession of nineteen Priors, nominated by the Monks of
Christ Church, Canterbury, the last of whom, Asceline. the
sub-Prior of Canterburv, was appointed Prior of Dover in
1275. In the year 1284 this Prior was deprived for dilapida-
tions, whereupon the Monks of Dover Priory, by presenting
a petition to the King, once more claimed their ancient
right to elect their Prior from amongst themselves, and it
l8o ANNALS OF DOVER.
appears from the " Monastican Anglicanum," Vol. II.,
page 2, that the Prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, was
summoned to show cause why he made claim to nominate the
Prior of Dover from his Monastery. This matter was heard
in the King's Council, and his decree, after examining the
Charter granted by Archbishop Theobald, was that that
Archbishop, having exceeded the will of the donor, the
Archbishops Charter was of no validity, therefore the
nomination of the Prior ot Dover should be taken into the
King's hands, and that the j\rchbishop for the time being
should receive the Prior of D.tver nominated by the King,
into whose hands the advowson had lapsed. So the arrange-
ment stood from the thirteenth year of Edward I. until the
beginning of the reign of Edward II., when the Prior of
Canterbury again claimed the nomination. Hearing after
hearing took place in the Court of Chancery, the litigation
being dragged along by a succession of Kings, Priors and
Monks for 220 years. Both in the spirit and the letter of
the law, the Monks of Dover were always in the right, but
the Monks of Canterbury pugnaciously held on to the richly
endowed Church of St. Martin until the thirtieth year of
Edward III., when, owing to so many years of expenditure,
the Monks of Dover were unable to continue the contest ;
and, finally, the nomination of the Prior of Dover, contrary
to all three of the Charters, was allowed to be in the hands
of the Prior of Canterbury. So it remained until the dissolu-
ion of the Dover Priory in 1535. The whole period of the
existence of the Priory — in round numbers, 400 years — may
be divided into two equal parts ; the first 200 years were
spent in continual strife and wasteful expenditure, and the
last 200 years in penury ; a very miserable picture compared
with the 400 years of valuable mission work carried on by their
}>redecessors, the Canons of Dover. The Dover Priory might
have done more for Dover if its revenues had not been
wasted; but, on the other hand, its comparative impotence,
especially towards the close of its career, left freer .scope for
religious work and for the development of municipal
government outside its walls.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION, iSl
IV.
TWO ANCIENT HOSPITALS.
Seventeen years after the dedication of ^he Dover Priory,
two Brothers of that Monastery, named Osborne and Godwine,
undertook, with the sanction of the Prior and with the
encouragement of Archbishop Theobald, the founding of a
hospital for lepers, on the green hill overlooking the Dourside
Meadows at Buckland. The hospital was seated, probably
for sanitary reasons, on a hill, but its lands extended down
the slope as far as the river, for at that time the London
Road which now intersects the estate did not exist. The
main building being on the hill-top, on the sloping ground
below it was St. Bartholomew's Chapel, after which the
place is still called Chapel Hill. The disease of leprosy
became a terrible scourge in England from the Eleventh to
the Fifteenth Century, therefore this hospital met one of
the great wants of that time. Lepers, owing to the danger
of infection, had to be isolated, and were not allowed to
enter an ordinary church or dwelling house, and it was only
in countries where Christianity prevailed that any provision
was made for these poor outcasts. Such outcasts from the
town of Dover and the outlying parishes of East Kent found
St. Bartholomew's Hospital a place of refuge.
There is a manuscript copy of the rules of St. Bar-
tholomew's Hospital in the Boflleian Library, Oxford, from
which it appears that the Society consisted of e'ght brethren
and eight sisters, on whom, as a return for the gift of the
buildings and lands, was imposed the condition of praying
for all the monks of St. Martin. A small contribution was
made by each leper for admission ; and they yjledged
themselves to sobriety and usefulness, and at their deaths to
leave half of their property to the Hospital. The inmates
were substantially provided for; pr)rk, barley and beer was
their common fare, but at Church festivals they enjoyed extra
luxuries. The Brethren and Sisters were agriculturists ami
dairy farmers, and shared in common the profits of their
crops, dairy, poultry and pigs. The head of the house was
called the Warden, whose duty it was to see that no one
departed from the premises without leave, and that the
1 82 ANNALS OF DOVER.
brethren and sisters behaved with modesty and decorum.
As far as possible, the Httle Society was shut out from the
world, their dwellings having no windows that commanded
an outward view. To recruit their funds, the Brethren
were given a roving commission to beg, and until the dis-
solution they were granted the annual profits of St. Bar-
tholomew's Fair, which was continued annually long after
the Hospital ceased to exist. The disease of leprosy had
disappeared from Dover in the reign of Henry VHl.,
therefore the dissolution of this Hospital took place at the
same time as the Priory and the Maison Dieu ; and its land
and houses, which were of considerable value, were taken
over by the Crown ; but the Hospital building and cha])el,
together with the land on which they stood, were bestowed
by Henry VHI. on John Bowles (who was Mayor of Dover
in 1539-40, the year of its dissolution) for the term of his
natural life. This man only lived three years to enjoy the
King's gift, but during that short time he demolished the
whole of the buildings and is said to have rifled the graves
and plundered the dead. Mr. Lyon, in his history of Dover,
says that the Mayor did this without any commission, but it
appears from a grant of the Bartholomew lands made by
Edward VI. in 1542, that Henry VHI. made a grant of the
lands to John Bowles for his life.
The Maison Dieu, the venerable remains of which are
incorporated with the Dover Municipal Buildings, was one
of the ancient religious houses of Dover generally known by
its Latin designation, the Domus Dei. Founded by a
Constable of Dover Castle, Hubert de Burgh, A.D. 1203, it
was enlarged after the canonisation of Thomas a Brcket,
when the flood-tide of pilgrims to his shrine at Canicrbury
rendered it necessary to afford, at Dover, hospitality to
devotees coming across from France. A part of tlic addi-
tional buildings was a chapel, which was dedicated with
great pom}) in July, 1227, in the presence of Henry HI.
This house does not appear to have existed under the
name of the Domus Dei until 1229, when it received a
Charter from the King granting large pri\ileges. In the
Charter of 1227, in which the King confirms the grant of
the Manor of Eastbridge, the gift of Hubert de Bur;:;h, the
institution is referred to as the Hospital of Dover. At that
time the Hu.spital had been in existence on a smaller scale
twenty-four years, and during that time it seems to ha\c been
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 183
referred to as St. Mary's Hospital. On this point William
I.ambarde wrote, in 1570; "There was lately in Dover,
also, an hospital of St. Maries, founded by Hubert de
Burghe, Earle of Kent, and rated at fifty-nine pounds ;
another house of the same sorte, called Domus Dei (or
Maison Dieu), reputed worth one hundred and twentie
pounds." This passage, which was written by Lambard
soon after the dissolution of the Maison Dieu, with the full
facts at his command, seems to suggest that the original
Hospital of St. Mary, founded by Hubert de Burgh, was
amalgamated with the Maison Dieu in the time of Henry HI.,
but that the accounts of the two branches were kept separate
until the end.
In the later years of the Maison Dieu the duty of
entertaining Royal personages and pilgrims seems to have
been seldom exercised; and in the reigns of Henry VH. and
Henry VHI. the Masters appear to have been men of leisure
who uiterested themselves in the affairs of the Town and used
their influence in inducing those two Tudor Kings to assist
tlic Corporation in building the Harbour at Archcliffe Point.
When the house was dissolved, its land and other sources
(jf revenue were taken by the Crown, including the building
which still stands at the top of Biggin Street ; but St.
Mary's Church, which had lieen a Parsonage connected with
the Maison Dieu ever since its establishment in 1203, was
given by Henry VI II. to the inhabitants of Dover. The
Master and two of the Brethren were providerl with j)ensions
for life, but two other brethren and the Bailiff, John Guyver,
and his wife, who was the Matron, were left to shift for
themselves. The Maison Dieu Building was retained by the
Crown, and has, c\'cr since the dissolution, been used lor
public purposes.
184 ANNALS OF DOVER.
V.
THE ANCIENT CHURCHES OF DOVER.
Turning to the evidences of religious life in Dover, in
early times, outside the walls of the Priory, St. Bartholomew's
Hospital, and the Maison Dieu, we have to consider the seven
ancient Churches in Dover mentioned by local historians, and
two in adjoining parishes in its Liberties.
Within the narrow limits of the little town of Dover,
which had grown up along the Dour-side, the Canons of
Dover are said to have built seven Churches, namely: —
I. — St. Martin-le-Grand, Market Place.
2. — St. Martin-the-Less, King Street.
3.— St. Peter's, Market Place.
4. — St. Nicholas', Bench Street.
5. — St. John the Baptist, Biggin Street.
6. — St. Mary's, Cannon Street.
7. — St. James's, Warden Down.
Of these Churches probably all, with the exception of
St. Martin-the-Less, were built after the Conquest, and only
two of them — St. Mary's and St. James's — now remain. To
widen Bench Street, in 1836, the tower and ruins of St.
Nicholas' Church were removed. Some remains of St.
Peter's Church were found on the north side of the Market
Place when Lloyds Bank was built early in the Twentieth
Century. St. John's, in Biggin Ward, on the west side of
the street, not far below the Maison Dieu, was demolished
in 1537. St. Martin-the-Less was on the west side of King
Street, and probably was the original Saxon Church of St.
Martin. Of the Church of St. Martin-le-Grand, built after
the Conquest, there are some parts on the west of the
Market Place built into the modern premises of Messrs.
Hart and Co. and the Carlton Club. The Market Place,
in ancient times, was St. Martin's Churchyard, in the centre
of which was a cross around which the weekly market and
the annual St. Martin's Fair were held, under the jurisdiction
of the Prior of Dover until the Reformation.
It might be wondered what all these Churches were built
for, in such a circumscribed area ; but in those days church-
going was a great duty, in which rich and poor, old and
young, bond and free took part; and as the population in
the Century after the Conquest was supposed to be about
10,000, there were plenty to fill all those Churches. Those
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1 85
seven centres of religious worsliip, grouped about the river
bank, with the chief Church of St. Martin-le-Grand in the
midst, formed a striking demonstration of the vitahty of
Christianity in Norman times.
Although the town of Dover, in ancient times, was not
reckoned to extend beyond the Maison Dieu, the bounds of
the Liberties included Charlton and part of Buckland ;
therefore, in considering the religious life of Dover in ancient
times, we must take in the Churches of those two parishes.
Buckland is the oldest, being mentioned in Domesday,
but that was a small Saxon Church, of which no trace is left.
Harris says it was a chapel, and for that reason was not
mentioned in the King's books. That old chapel was built
by the Canons of Dover, who erected rude structures, often
of wood, on the principal manors round Dover, for which
they, as land owners, were responsible. Godrie, one of the
Canons, having a residence there in the time of Edward the
Confessor, it is probable that this chapel was built for his
manor. Buckland did not share in the church building
activity which prevailed in Dover during the Norman Period.
Charlton Church, a small cruciform edifice, was built
on the right bank of the River Dour during the Primacy
of Archbishop Theobald, about the middle of the Twelfth
Century. The manor on which this Church was built was a
part of the possessions of the Dover Canons, and was held
as a prebend by a Canon named Lewin during the reign of
Edward the Confessor. A century later, during the process
of depriving the Canons and installing the Benedictine Monks
at the Dover Priory, this Charlton Manor was detached from
the Canons' lands and became the private property of one
of the Knights of Dover Castle. In the Thirteenth Century
it had become annexed to the Barony of Chilham, which
was then a knight's fee attached to Dover CasMe. This left
the rectory isolated, and the fact that the advowson was
held by an outsider may account for the Church remaining
small and the living poor for many centuries. There is in
the Lambeth Librar}' an interesting manuscript, dated 1258,
relating to land adjoining the Churchyard, which the Rector
had then bought, making it clear that the Prior of Dover had
then lost control of the Manor of Charkon.
Buckland Church was entirely re-built by the Monks of
Dover Priory in the Thirteenth Century, no traces of the old
Saxon Chapel having been left, although it is presumed that
the present building is on the site of the old one.
lS6 ANNALS OF DOVER.
VI.
BEFORE THE REFORMATION.
In the early English period, strife for place and
power raged between high ecclesiastical officials. ^^'e
get glimpses of it in local history as early as
1098 when Anselm, Archbishop of Canterl)ury, ha^•ing
quarrelled with the King, William Rufus, about the tilling up
of the Abbacies, sought refuge from the ecclesiastical storm
by embarking at Dover in the disguise of a humble
pilgrim. Further light is thrown on local history by the
records of the before mentioned contentions, between the
monks of Dover and Christ Church, Canterbury, and a
greater flare casts a lurid light when King John, who, having
incurred the displeasure of the Pope, surrendered his crown
to the Pope's Legate at Dover. A century passed, during
which the light and life of Christianity was nearly extin-
guished. New light came on the scene, produced by the
teachings of Wyckliffe and the Lollards, but this was so dis-
pleasing to the Bishops that the followers of these teachers
were arrested. The fires of persecution were frequently
lighted in Kent, one of the most conspicuous Kentish
men. who then recci\c(l the cmwn of martyrdom
being Sir John Oldcasrle. Lurd Cobhain. Between
that vcar and 1557 no less tlian se\onty-se\'en Kentish
martyrs were buiiit, most of them in the reign of
(^ueen Mary, and niaiiv more, who v.-ei'e condemned for
their faith, died of want and starvation in filthy holes, called
prisons in Canterbury. As far as can be ascertained, there
was no martyr for the Protestant faith from Dover burnt, but
there is abundant evidence, that if Queen Mary had lived
another year, the recusants of Dover and its surrounding
villages would have been dragged to the stake. The visitation
of the Dover rural deanery by Cardinal Pole in 1556, indicated
that the feeling of the commoti pco])le was running very
strongly against Popery ; altars and images were broken down,
mass-books, ornaments and vestments were carried away. It
is mentioned in the record of that visitation that, at Buckland,
in Dover, when tlie Host was elevated, the people kept their
eyes fixed on the ground that they might not be even supposed
to be adoring it. At Buckland too, a parishioner named
Thomas Hide, destroyed a crucifix by ca.sting it into the fire
saying, " If it be a God, let it rise and come out of the fire !"
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 187
VII.
AFTER THE REFORMATION.
Whatever changes the Reformation may have brought
about in other directions, it appears that the sphere of
religious life in Dover was narrowed. With the exception
of the ancient church in the Castle there appears to have
been but two places of worship in the town — the Churches of
St. Mary and St. James'. There were, it is true, the
churches of Charlton and Buckland, but they were regarded
then as being outside the town. There was a depressing air
of ecclesiastical desolation in Dover. The great Church of
the Priory, raised by the zeal of Norman Christians, was in
ruins, the Chapel of the Maison Dieu and St. John's in Biggin
Street were dismantled; St .Martin le Grand, St. Peter's and
St. Martin the less presented a scene of wilful destruction
round the Market Place, the Tower of St. Nicholas and its
deca}ing undercrofts remained in Bench Street, and of the
Chapel of St. Bartholomew's Hospital there was not left one
stone on another. If it had not been that St .Mary's was
gi\-en by Henry VHI., to the inhal)itants and that St. James'
was in some sort under the protection of the Ca.stle, the
.scene might have l)een still more depressing. Later, the old
church in the Castle fell into ruin, so that for cixilians and
soldiers there were but two places of public worship.
During the latter part of the Civil War and the time (jf
the Commonwealth the old authorities in Church and State
were swept aside and an opportunity made for the uprising of
Nonconformity. In Dover the ministers of the two churches,
the Rev. John Reading at St. Mary's, and the Rev. John
Vaughan at St. James' were ousted, and their places taken
l)y Presbyterian ministers, who were installed by the Order
oif Parliament. While the ministers of the new order occupied
the pulpits of the two parish churches other places of religious
worship, called Protestant Meeting Houses, were opened in
the town, one by Baptists and another by the fore-runners of
those who now form the large body of Congregationahsts.
This arose, partly from the greater religious liberty allowed
during the Commonwealth, and partly from the rebellion
against any form of State religion — even that taught by the
ministers otficiating in the Parish Churches by Order of
Parliament.
l88 ANNALS OF DOVER.
The Parliamentary successors of the Rev. John Reading
at St. Mary's, between 1643 and 1660 were Mr. John
Goodwin, 1643, the Rev. Michael Porter, 1643-7, the Rev.
John Dykes, 1647-50, the Rev. John Robotham, 1650-3, the
Rev. Nathaniel Norcross, 1653-4, and the Rev. Nathaniel
Barry, 1654-60. St. Mary's Church continued to be re-
garded as the Church of the Corporation and its minister, the
Chaplain of the Corporation. In 1645 the Rev. Michael
Porter was requested by a resolution of the Common Council
to act in that capacity. The minute was as follows: — " It is
ordered that the Minister of St. Mary shall be entreated at
the beginning of all future assemblies to be present there to
perform the duty of prayer." A similar order was made
by the Common Council in the reign of James II. During
the Commonwealth, in August J65S, Mr. Nathaniel Smith,
the Mavor, died during his Mayoralty. Mr. Davis and Mr.
Barry, Ministers of the Gospel, are mentioned as attending his
funeral at St. Mary's Church. The first Minister to St.
James's Church appointed by Parliament was Mr. Vincent
in 1646, and he was succeeded by the Rev. John Davis, who
was ejected by the Bartholomew Act in 1662. Of the Rev
John Davis not very much is known, nor is there much
on record concerning the ministers who officiated at St. Mary's
during the Interregnum, but of the Rev. John Reading, who
was deprived of his office at St. Mary's during the Common-
wealth, there are a good many details recorded. He was a
native of Buckinghamshire, who, after taking his degrees at
Oxford, came to Dover as Chaplain to Lord Zouch when
he was appointed Lord Warden and Constable of Dover
Castle in 1614. St. Mary's Parish then being without a
mini.ster he preached there occasionally, and. in 1616. he was
elected l)y the parishioners as the regular minister. He also
obtained the appointment f)f Chaplain to Charles I.
Immediately after Dover Castle was seized l)y the Parliamen-
tary party, in August 1642, he preached a vehement sermon
against Parliament in St. Mary's Church after which his
residence was visited, his manuscripts seized, and he was
imprisoned in Dover Castle. The King, hearing of the
deprivation and imprisonment of the Rev. John Reading,
Archbishop Laud, on the advice of the Sovereign, presented
him with the Rectory of Chartham, but the Hou.se of
Commons vetoed the appointment. A prebend at Canterbury
Cathedral was next presented, but Mr, Reading was not
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1 89
allowed to enjoy that. He being released from Dover Castle
in July 1644, Sir William Brockman presented him to the
living of Cheriton, to which retreat he retired, but in 1646, it
being alleged that he was implicated in a plot by the Royalists
to retake Dover Castle, Mr. Reading was arrested at
Cheriton, and again lodged in Dover Castle prison, but was
afterwards remo\ed to Leeds Castle, near Maidstone. After
about six months he was discharged from Leeds Castle, but
owing to all his livings being sequesterated, and he being
unable to pay his debts, he was for some time in the Fleet
Debtors' Prison. At the Restoration, the Rev. John Reading
was re-instated at St. Mary's, but being then advanced in
years, he did not resume his regular ministry at Dover. He
held the otiice, nominally, until August 1662, he having
meanwhile, been re-instated in the Rectory of Chartham and
made a Canon of Canterbury. He died at his Rectory at
Chartham, 26th. October, 1667, and was buried in the
chancel there.
190 ANNALS OF DOVER.
VIII.
THE UPRISING OF NONCONFORMITY,
At the commencement of the Restoration Period many of
the Kentish clergymen, who had held their benefices during
the Commonwealth still continued in office. At St. Mary's
Dover, the Rev. Nathaniel Barry was ousted immediately
after the landing of Charles II., owing to the strong personal
and party claims of the old Pastor, the Rev. John Reading,
but at the Church of St. James' the Rev. John Davis
continued to retain the Rectory, he having obtained a very
strong hold on the affections of many of the people of Dover
whose religious \iews were then not much swayed by the
affairs of State. The Rev. Nathaniel Barry did not leave
Dover when the pulpit of St. Mary's was closed to him. He
continued to [)reach in Meeting Houses as opportunity
offered. The Baptist Church in Dover, which had been
founded during the Commonwealth, survived the Restoration.
The first Pastor, in 1643, was the Rev. Richard Hobbs, and
the Baptists had a Meeting House in some place in Dover,
not identified, in 1655. He was succeeded by the Rev.
John Foetness, the Elder of the Congregation being Mr.
Edward Prescott, of Guston Court. The Bap»tists were not a
sect favoured by the Puritans, who were in power up to the
Restoration, nor with the Churchmen, who ruled afterwards.
Even during the Commonwealth they were persecuted, and
had to hold their meetings in fields and woods. During one
of these meetings, at which Mr. Edward Prescott, of Guston,
was giving an address, Capt. Samuel Tavener, the Common-
wealth Governor of Deal Castle, in passing from Deal to
Dover, overheard the speaker, and listened with the
expectation of hearing something that would warrant his
being silenced, but Capt. Tavener was so impressed that he
joined the Baptists, and allowed them to meet in his house
during the fiercer jjersecutions after the Restoration.
The persecutions of the Lollards and the frequent
burnings in Queen Mary's reign, had already aroused the
spirit of hostility to the State Church, but Dissent was still
more firmly established on Bartholomew's Day, 1662, when
about 2,000 Puritan clergymen were ejected from their
livings by an Act of Parliament, which made it impossible
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 191
for them, as honest men, to retain them, and those
two thousand, with their famiUes, were so harried by
other Acts of Parliament that they were driven into the rural
districts where it was not possible foi them to earn a living.
The law that drove the Puritans out of the Church was made
more severe by subsequent enactments to prevent the ejected
ministers forming new religious societies outside the estab-
lished church ; and, although there were in Dover a great
number of Nonconformists and several Nonconformist
ministers in 1662, no trace can be found of any regularly
established Chapel or Meeting House where they could
lawfully assemble for worship until after the end of the
Stuart Period.
In Dover, from 1662 until 1688, it was a time of trouble
for everyone who could not see eye to eye with the Church
of England. The Corporations Regulation Act of 166 1,
passed to purge the Corporation of tho.se members who did
not sign a declaration against the Solemn T.eague and
Covenant, and take the Sacrament according to the rites of
the Church of England, was put into force by a Commission
that visited Dover in August 1662. By order of that
Commission seven Jurats and twenty-three Common Council
men were removed from office, and a few weeks later eighty-
two Freemen were struck off the roll. That bold stroke did
not reduce the number of Dissenters in Dover, but it
debarred them from taking any part in public affairs.
After this purging of the Corporation there was, for
a few years, some show of toleration. As long as the
Nonconformists worshipped privately in their own houses, and
the Pastors' voices were not heard in public, no steps were
taken against them. But Dissent grew bolder, and timidity
gave place to scarcely concealed religious meetings, in which
some of the leading men of the town were habitually present.
This was observed and reported. Towards the close of the
year 1669, a Dover Jurat, named John Carlisle, holding the
office of Clerk of the Dover Passage, acted as Informer,
writing to the Privy Council as follows : — " We wish the King
to know the distracted state of this town and port. Should
any visitors be sent to Dover they would find us, as Cicero did
the tomb of Archimedes, overgrown with thorns and nettles.
We are overrun with schisms and factions, apparalled in
several shapes and publicly owned under several names and
sections. The bell-wethers of the faction are Nathaniel
192 ANNALS OF DOVER.
Barry, Nichols and Stiliard. The places of their seditious
and unlawful meetings are many, but His Majesty's
Victualling Yard is now used." In consequence of this
information, at the beginning of January, 1670, Richard
.Matson, Edward Dell, Samuel Tavener, Nathaniel Barry,
Symon Yorke and Anthony Street were summoned to attend
the Privy Council, and were reprimanded for attending
Conventicles and unlawful meetings. This we gather from
a letter which James, Duke of York, Lord Warden (after-
wards James II.), wrote to his Deputy, the Lieutenant of
Dover Castle, on January 21st, 1670, stating that his
Majesty, Charles II., had been informed that there were
divers Conventicles and unlawful meetings at Dover, and
that the Magistrates were remiss in enforcing the laws against
them; therefore the Privy Council had seen fit to summon
before them Richard Matson, Mayor of Dover, Edward Dell,
Samuel Tavener, Nathaniel Barry, Symon Yorke and Anthony
Street, and, after being heard, they were reproved for their
misdemeanours, and His Majesty had been pleased to order
the shutting up of all such houses in the town of Dover as
should be made use of for meetings of persons disaffected
towards the Government under the pretence of religious
worship ; therefore, he desired the Lieutenant of Dover
Castle to give strict and effectual orders to the Magis-
trates of Dover to cause all meeting houses to be shut,
and pulpits, benches and seats pulled down, and particularly
the pulpit and seats in the house of the aforesaid Samuel
Tavener. These men who were called before the Privy
Council were all of good standing in Dover. Richard Matson,
the Mayor, was a wealthy Dover shipowner, who owned
considerable estates in East Kent ; Symon Yorke was a wine
merchant, the grandfather of Lord Chancellor Hardwicke;
Nathaniel Barry was the Presbyterian minister ejected from
St. Mary's Church at the Restoration, then an aged man.
Owing to age and infirmities, Mr. Barry quietly submitted
to the dictum of the Privy Council ; but Captain Tavener,
who had been a Captain of Horse in Cromwell's Army, was
not so submissive. He resisted, and was imprisoned in Dover
Castle.
The T,ord Warden's letter to the Lieutenant of Dover
Castle led to decisive action. The meeting houses were
closed, and the pulpits and benches removed, but the
Protestant Dissenters found other meeting places. On
THE HISTORY Of RELIGION. 1 93
June 13th, 1670, an assemblage of 200 Dissenters was
reported to the authorities ; and there being a like assemblage
on June 21st, in the same year, the congregation was dis-
persed by soldiers from the Castle. Other Nonconformist
meetings were dispersed in July and in September, 1670, there
being great disorders on the occasion of the election of the
Mayor. In February, 167 1, by order of the Privy Council,
the pulpits and benches of the Anabaptists were broken down
and the doors of their meeting house fastened with padlocks ;
but on the following Sunday morning the doors were broken
open and meetings again held. The Presbyterians had also
found out the use of locks inside, for the officers of the
Mayor and Jurats reported: "At the Presbyterian meeting
house we could not get in; those that hired it were so
obstinate that they would not open the door." Symon Yorke,
the grandfather of Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, was one of
that Presbyterian congregation; and the result of these
proceedings was that he retired from the Common Council,
and both he and his son, Philip, took no further part in
Corporation affairs.
Another " Conventicle " that was shut up at that time
was the Friends' Meeting House in St. James's Street,
opposite Youden's Court. Although the members of the
Society of Friends were, as a rule, non-resisters, their
leader, Luke Howard, a shoemaker, living at the bottom of
Queen Street, next to the Guildhall Tavern (who had been a
Baptist), refused to submit, and he, too, was imprisoned in
Dover Castle. The persecution of Nonconformists continued
until the end of the Stuart Period.
194 ANNALS OF DOVER.
IX.
THE FIRST DISSENTERS' CHAPELS.
When William III. ascended the Throne there were
three bodies of Nonconformists in Dover — the Baptists, who
still worshipped in a part of Captain Tavener's house off
Market Lane ; the Society of Friends, who met in a loft in
Mr. Samuel Walton's carpentry establishment near the bottom
of St. James's Street; and the Presbyterian followers of the
Rev. John Davis, the ejected minister of St. James's Church,
who met in a part of an old malt house in Last Lane.
Prolonged persecution had made these Dissenters timid, and
had so reduced their circumstances that when the day of
comparative religious liberty came they were not prepared
to launch out in chapel building. The private houses that
had sheltered them during the storm had still to serve.
It was Zion Chapel, on the site of the old malt house,
at the junction of Last Lane and Queen Street, that first
came into existence. It looks as though the small congre-
gation of Presbyterians that had gathered round the Rev.
John Davis had occupied the old malt house on suffrance;
and in the year 1703, the year following the death of Mr.
Thomas Papillon, M.P., his son, Philip, who was a
candidate for the representation of Dover, purchased and
leased the old malt house to the Presbyterians, who trans-
formed it, without much structural alteration, into a chapel.
In 1708, when David Papillon succeeded Philip as Member
for Dover, he gave them the chapel and helped to improve it,
but Presbyterians being few in Dover, the congregation
dwindled, and the chapel was closed from 1769 to 1771.
Then some preachers of the Countess of Huntingdon's
Connexion re-opened it, and re-built it, with the exception
of the north wall, in 1782. In 1802 the chapel was handed
over to the Congregationalists, the Rev. W. Mather being
the minister; and in 18 14 the chapel was re-built and
enlarged.
The Baptists were the next body of Nonconformists to
build a chapel. After Captain Tavener's imprisonment in
Dover Castle, he went to London, where he remained until
he could safely return. He then acted as Baptist minister
in Dover, the congregation meeting in his own house, where
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1 95
Messrs. Dickeson's and Co.'s warehouses and counting
houses are, in Market Lane. In 1692, the south-west end
of his house was regularly licensed as a place of religious
worship. Tavener died in 1696, and was buried in the
adjoining ground, which now forms part of St. Martin's
Churchyard, but the congregation still continued to worship
in his house, Richard Cannon (a descendant of Captain
Cannon, who was Deputy Governor of the Castle in the
Commonwealth time, and the second son of John Cannon, of
Cannon Street, sometime Mayor of Dover) succeeding
Tavener as minister. So the meetings were continued in the
private house until 1745, when their first chapel was built
at that part of Market Lane where the central block of the
business premises has since been erected.
The last of the three before mentioned Nonconformist
bodies to build a permanent meeting house was the
Society of Friends. The exact date of its erection is in
doubt, but it was about the year 1797. A meeting of the
Society of Friends was originated in Dover in the year 1655,
and in the early part of 1660, just before the Restoration,
the members purchased a piece of land outside the Town
wall at Eastbrook Gate as a burial place; hence it is
supposed that their first meeting place was thereabouts.
Owing to the persecution which they suffered from the
Presbyterians before the Restoration, and from the Govern-
ment afterwards, for many years they had no certain
abiding place. In the Eighteenth Century their meeting
was held in a loft near the bottom of St. James's
Street, which they vacated about the year 1797, when
their permanent meeting hou.se in Queen Street was
ready. It is curious that the exact date of the building
of the Queen Street Meeting House is left in doubt by
local historians. One records it as 1790; another 1802; and
others 1800. It seems pretty certain, however, that it was
built in the year 1797, or a little earlier. A prominent Dover
Quaker, Richard Low, who di&d on the 20th October, 1797,
made a bequest in his will, as follows: — "Upon trust to
lay out and invest such sum of money in the names of the
said trustees, Richard Baker, George Finch and Thomas
Barton Beck, as will accomplish the purchase of one hundred
pounds capital stock in the funds of 5 per cent, annuities at
the Bank of England, and I direct that the interest and
dividends thereof shall from time to time for ever, as occasion
196 AJMNALS OF DOVER.
may require, be applied to and expended in repairing the
Meeting House belonging to the Society of People called
Quakers in Dover." As it is natural to infer that the
Meeting House was in existence when this bequest for its
repair was made, it may be safely inferred that the Meeting
House was built in 1797, or earlier. At that time the days
of persecution were then lon^! past, and moiit of the members
of the Society called Quakers in Dover were people of good
social position; but this Richard Low was one of Dover's
early passive resisters. He did not like to pay the King's
taxes because they were used fur war purposes, and when
the tax-gatherer called at his boot and shoe shop in Last
Lane, he used to point to the open till, saying, " Take
what thou claimest as the King's dues." So the good
Quaker's conscience and King's demands were satisfied.
The Meeting House in Queen Street was built on a strip of
land between the street and the boundary of St. Martin's
graveyard, a high brick wall screening it from the public
thoroughfare.
Such were the three first meeting houses where the
Dover Nonconformists worshipped.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1 97
X.
EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY CHURCHES.
At the opening of the Nineteenth Century, as at the
beginning of the Seventeenth, the old town of Dover had
but two Churches, St. Mary's and St. James's — both of them
badly needing restoration and enlargement; but, before the
Century was half gone, two new ones had been raised — Holy
Trinity and Christ Church — and St. Mary's had been re-built.
The Church building boom began in the Pier District,
where a considerable area of reclaimed land had been
added to St. Mary's parish. There had never been
a Church in that, then populous, locality, except
a small building at Archcliffe Point called " The
Church of Our I,ady of Pity," which was too small for a
place of worship, bemg a thanksgiving oratory chapel erected
by a Northern nobleman in the Middle Ages as a memorial
of his having been saved from shipwreck at that point of
the coast, and it fell into ruin in the Sixteenth Century.
The building of Holy Trinity Church was not entirely a
local effort; half the money was contributed by the Par-
liamentary Commissioners for building Churches in populous
places, and the other half by public .subscription, the total
outlay being ;^7,973. The foundation stone of the Church
was laid by Dr. Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury, in
September, 1833; and the consecration took place in Septem-
ber, 1835. This Church was built on land reclaimed from
the sea in the Tudor Period, but at the time the Church
was built it was the centre of a thickly populated district
which in the two and a half intervening centuries had grown
up around the Harbour. The style of the Church is Gothic,
designed by Mr. W. Edmunds, of Margate.
The building of Christ Church for a district formed,
partly from St. Mary's parish and partly from Hougham,
was the next step in Dover Church building, the site of the
Church being beside the Folkestone Road in the area known
as Hougham-in-Dover. In March, 1843, the Board of
Ordnance gave the land, on condition that there should be
sittings reserved for about 160 soldiers. For the building
and endowment of the Church ;^4,6oo was subscribed; of
which £^i,ioo was invested as an endowment, and ;£3,5oo
198 ANNALS OF DOVER.
spent on the building. The trust deed was drawn in terms
providing that the successive incumbents should be of the
*' Low " division of the Church of England. The foundation
was laid on the 2nd August, 1843, and the Church consecrated
by Dr. Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, on the 13th June,
1844. The Church immediately became popular, and, owing
to the crowded congregations, north and south galleries were
added within the next seven years.
In the middle of the year 1843, the Rev. John Puckle,
Vicar of St. Mary-the-Virgin, wrote: " I found myself free
to seek architect's advice, having during the first year after
my institution to thi.s ancient Vicarage cleared away all
parochial opposition to any work of Church restoration."
The clearance which the Vicar had had to make was very
considerable. His institution had been preceded by a popular
election, in which Mr. Puckle polled 737 votes, and his
principal opponent 550. That opposition continued active
after the Vicar's institution. His desire was to re-build the
Church entirely, with the exception of the tower and the
vestry, at an estimated cost of ;^4,6oo, but the parishioners
in vestry called for an independent survey and estimate ; and
three who undertook it — two builders and an architect —
reported that the Church could be put in repair completely
for ;^i,400. Mr. Puckle and his Churchwarden, Mr. VV.
Sankey, to settle the matter, offered to rel)uild the Church
entirely with the exception of the vestry and tower, and be
responsible for all the expense, if the vestry would contribute
^1,600. On those terms the re-building was undertaken,
on the plans of Mr. John Chessell Buckler, architect, of
Oxford. The tower and vestry being left standing, the
external appearance of the Church, viewed from Cannon
Street, was not much altered, and the principal feature of
the interior, the six western nave columns and their serai-
circular arches, were restored as though they had not been
touched, for, respecting these, Mr. Puckle said: "We
numbered and stored carefully each stone, so that in due
time we had only to replace them in the order in which they
were taken down ; and thus the cement in the joints is
literally the only thing in which the restored work is other
than that which our Saxon fathers built." Mr. Puckle and
his predecessor, Mr. Lyon, had a fondness for believing this
old Church was of Saxon origin, but a much greater authority
on Church architecture, the Rev. Stephen R. Glynne, Bart.,
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. I99
says it is " of Norman origin," to which the most ancient
parts of the interior stand as silent witnesses.
The estimated cost of the re-building was ;£4,470,
towards which there was ;^i,8oo raised by subscriptions;
there was ;^8oo granted by the Church Building Commis-
sioners; and ;^i,6oo provided by the vestry on the security
of a church rate; leaving a floating balance of ;£27o, which
was soon afterwards liquidated.
The building of Christ Church and the re-building of
St. Mary's Church, while they were important results of the
Church revival in the first part of the Nineteenth Century,
are also memorials of a cleavage in the Church of
England, which was a marked feature in Dover and else-
where at that time. The Rev. John Puckle, who came to
St. Mary's, Dover, as the assistant minister under the Rev.
John Maule, in 1838, soon was generally esteemed as a
clergyman of much more than average ability, but he was
a High Churchman, in sympathy with the Oxford Movement.
The Low Churchmen in the parish were, no doubt, in a
majority at his first coming, but the well-to-do class were
his admirers, and they had means of influencing their
poorer neighbours, so it came to pass that, in 1842, when
there was a poll of the parish to choose a successor to the
Rev. John Maule, who had resigned, Mr. Puckle secured
187 more votes than Mr. Seaton, the Low Church candidate.
The defeated party had amongst them a great many earnest
men and women, who felt that it would be for the good of
Dover to seek Diocesan authority to build a new Church
in the Folkestone Road district, where there was a prospect
of a large population. The arrangements were soon made;
the Church rapidly built; and a minister whose views were
in accord with the large number who supported Mr. Seaton
drew great congregations. There was really no bitterness
between the congregations of St. Mary-the-Virgin and Christ
Church, but there was healthy rivalry, and it was owing to
the warmth engendered by the parochial contest that the
funds were so quickly raised to build Christ Church and to
re-build the ancient Church of St. Mary-the-Virgin. The
other two Churches, which had now come to be reckoned as
being within the boundaries of Dover — Charlton and Buck-
land, ancient parish Churches — were restored and enlarged
in the early part of the Nineteenth Century.
200 ANNALS OF DOVER.
XI.
THE ORIGIN OF METHODISM AT DOVER.
Several writers have ascribed the origin of the Wesleyan
movement at Dover to the Rev. Charles Wesley, who
preached in Biggin Street in the year 1760; but the Rev.
John Wesley preached in Dover in 1756. He had preached
at Canterbury eight years earlier; but the 28th of January,
1756, was his first recorded visit to Dover, and it was at that
date that he established his first Society here. The Wesleyan
movement in Dover formed a dominant feature of religious
life in this town during the last half of the Eighteenth
Century, and it will be interesting to trace its rise and
progress as shown by the entries, which John Wesley made
in his journal, of his annual visits. The first on record
runs as follows: —
"Wednesday, 28th January, 1756. — 1 preached at noon at Dover
to a very serious, but small, congregation. We afterwards walked
to the Castle, on the top of a mountain. It is an amazingly fine
situation. From here we had a clear view of that vast piece of the cliflF
which a few days ago divided from the rest and fell down upon the
beach."
After a three years' interval, there is the following
entry : —
"Wednesday, 19th September, 1759. — I preached at Dover in the
new room which is just finished. Here also the hearers increaie,
some of whom are convinced and others comforted daily."
The next year he came in December, and he was
methodical enough to come about the same time of the year
in subsequent visits. He wrote in his journal : —
"Wednesday, 3rd December, 1760. — I rode to Dover [from
Canterbury]. Who wouUl have expected to find here some of the best
singers in England? I found, likewise, what was better still, a serious,
earnest people. There was a remarkable blessing among them, both
in the evening and the morning, so that I did not regret having been
wet to the skin on my way to them."
After an interval of four years, Mr. Wesley wrote a
brief note to the effect that he visited the Society in Dover
on Wednesday, December 12th, 1764. His next entry has
more details: —
"Tuesday, 3rd December, 1765. — I rode to Dover and found a
little company more united together than they had been for m&nj
years. While several of them continued to rob the King, we seemed
to be ploughing upon the sand; but since they have 'cut ofl the
right hand,' the Word of God sinks deep into their hearts,"
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 201
This refers to the rebukes administered to members of
the Dover Society, who were smugglers, and it was probably
to show his displeasure that Mr. Wesley had for three years
omitted his annual visits. At this time the room at the
Cooperage in Queen Street had been abandoned, and the
Society had its meeting house in Limekiln Street, two
dwellings having been thrown into one, making a good-sized
room. The next entry in the journal runs thus: —
" Wednesday, loth December, 1766. — I went to Dover. At all
the sea ports we have multitudes of hearers. I preached at Dover."
The next two years he wrote . —
" Monday, 23rd November, 1767. — In the afternoon I rode from
Canterbury to Dover ; but the gentleman I was to lodge with was
gone a long journey. He went to bed well ; but was dead in the
morning. Such a vapour is life ! At six I preached, but the house
would by no means contain the congregation. Most of the officers of
the Garrison were there. I have not found so much . life here for
many years."
"Wednesday, 30th November, 1768. — I rode to Dover, and came
in just before a violent storm began. It did not hinder the people ;
many were obliged to go away after the house was filled. What a
desire to hear runs through all the sea port towns wherever we
come ! "
In 1769 Mr. Wesley was too pressed with other affairs
to pay his annual visit to Dover. When he came in 1770
he made an entry in his journal of special local interest,
thus : —
"Wednesday, 5th December, 1770. — We went to Dover where,
with some diflSculty, we climbed to the top of Shakespere's Cliff. It
is exceedingly high, and commands a vast prospect both by sea and
land ; but it is nothing so terrible in itself as it is in his description.
I preached to a very serious congregation in the evening as well as
in the morning."
The next year he journeyed via Canterbury and Ashford,
and after mentioning that he preached at those places, his
journal records: —
"Wednesday, 4th December, 1771. — Hence we hastened to
Dover, where the house was quickly filled with anxious, well behaved
people. Here I found L H 's Preachers had gleaned up most
of those whom we had discarded. They call them ' My Lady's
Society,' and they have my free leave to do them all the good they
can."
The reference above is to the Preachers of Lady
Huntingdon's Connexion, who had that year re-opened Zion
Chapel after it had been closed for a time, owing to the
discontinuance of the Presbyterian services. The preachers
in question were two young men named William Aldridge
and Joseph Cook, who had been trained at one of Lady
202 ANNALS OF DOVER.
Huntingdon's Colleges for Preachers. The Huntingdonites
were a branch of the Methodists, founded by Mr. George
Whitfield, who separated from Mr. John Wesley on a point
of doctrine ; and it may be that it was on this account that
Mr. Wesley felt keenly the unfriendliness that was manifested
towards him by these young men at Dover. He made
reference to the subject again in his journal on his next visit
to Dover, thus: —
"Tuesday, December 8th, 1772. — I went on from Canterbury to
Dover. The raw, pert, young men that recently came hither (vulgarly,
though very improperly, called students), though they have left no
stone unturned, have not been able to tear away one single member
from our Society. I preached here two evenings and two mornings
to large and much affected congregations."
Staying two days and preaching four times at Dover
was a departure from Mr. Wesley's usual practice, taken,
no doubt, to strengthen the bonds of unity in the Dover
Society, owing to the counter attraction.
Mr. Wesley did not come any nearer than Canterbury
in 1773; and on his visit in 1774 he met with a mishap. In
his journal he wrote : —
"Tuesday, 6th December, 1774. — I preached at Dover. As I
was setting out from thence on \Vednesday morning a waggon
jostling us, disabled our chaise. Our coachman went back to procure
another, saying he would soon overtake us. He did so after we had
walked nine or ten miles, and brought us safe to Canterbury."
It may be mentioned that the class book made up at
this visit showed that at Dover there were 34 members, and
for purpose of comparison it may be interesting to mention
that the nine Societies then in Kent had 282 members,
distributed as follows: —
Dover
Canterbury
Ashford
Sandwich
The journal mentions the next visit thus: —
"Tuesday, 12th December, 1775. — I preached at Dover; as
many as could squeezed into the house, and the rest went quietly
away."
The next year, 1776, he visited Dover, and briefly
journalised the fact : —
"On Tuesday, December 17th, I preached at Dover;
Wednesilay, about eleven, at poor, drv, dead Sandwich, but I now
found more hope for the poor people. '
Mr. \\'esley did not come to Dover in 1777. About
34
Margate
-. 34
57
Faversham
... 16
II
Sittingbourne
... 8
8
Chatham
... 68
Sheerness
... 46
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 2O3
the time of his usual annual visit he was very busy collecting
materials for the first number of his Magazine. On Monday,
7th December, 1778, he wrote: —
" I took a little journey to Canterbury and Dover, and was
much comforted amongst a loving, earnest people."
In 1779 he makes no special note; but under date,
November 29th, he says he started on that day, Monday,
to visit the Societies in Kent, and returned to London on
the following Sunday. Under date, December 4th, 1780,
he made a similar note as to his visits to the Kent Societies,
but gave no details of Dover. In 1781 his annual v'sit was
omitted ; and there is a note that on Tuesday, November
loth, 1782, he preached at Dover, but no details. In 1783,
he preached at Dover on November 25th ; and again at
Dover on Tuesday, December 14th, 1784. On the 29th
November, 1785, he preached here, and noted in his
journal : —
"I found at Dover also a considerable increase of the work
of God."
In 1786 he did not come further than North Kent. On
the 23rd October, 1787, Mr. Wesley preached at Dover. He
remarks : —
" In the evening I strongly applied the Parable of the Sower
to a crowded audience."
He preached at Dover again the next momaig, and then
went on to Sandwich, which he had not visited for fifteen
years. On his next visit to Dover his journal has the
following : —
"Tuesday, 25th November, 1788. — Though it blew a storm and
was piercing cold, we were sufficiently crowded at Dover, where the
work of God is very lively and continually increasing."
The last reference to Dover in John Wesley's journal
is as follows: —
" Monday, 14th December, 1789. — I went to Canterbury and
preached in the evening. ... It pleased God to give me
uncommon liberty of spirit, as also at Dover the next evening, where
the New House, large as it is, was far too small, so that many could
not get in."
This was the last visit of the Founder of Methodism to
Dover. Several writers have said that he came in 1790 to
(/pen the new Chapel in Elizabeth Square ; but the visit was
jiaid on the 14th December, 1789, and the new Chapel is
what he termed the New House. It is true that there is
nothing said in his journal about any special dedication; but
204 ANNALS OF DOVER.
he never made any ceremony except in the case of the larger
London Chapels, his chief concern being to have the title
deeds accurate. Besides, at that time, he was a feeble man,
in his 87th year. He wrote in his journal a fortnight later: —
" I am now an old man, decayed from head to foot ; my eyes
are dim; my right hand shakes much; my mouth is hot and dry
every morning. I have a lingering fever almost every day. My move-
ment is weak and slow. However, blessed be God, I do not slack my
labour. I can preach and write still."
It is of some interest to note that the mahogany used
in the construction of the pulpit in Snargate Street Wesleyan
Chapel is the identical wood of the pulpit in the " New
House " in Elizabeth Square, in which the Rev. John
Weslev preached on his last visit to Dover, 14th December,
1789/
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 205
XII.
EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY CHAPELS.
The Wesleyan Methodists were the first to commence
Chapel building in Dover in the Nineteenth Century. John
Wesley's earnest desire was that the members of his
Societies should not be classed as Dissenters, but that they
should continue their membership of the Church of England.
He, however, found it very difficult to restrain some of his
extreme followers, and he had quite as much trouble to
circumvent the action of some of the Bishops who strove to
drive the Wesleyans out of the Church. In applications
for licences for preachers and preaching places, Mr. Wesley
strongly advised his leaders not to describe themselves as
Dissenters, but as Preachers of the Gospel; yet certain
Bishops refused to grant licences unless, in accordance with
the wording of the Toleration Act, they described themselves
as Protestant Dissenters. In the last year of his life John
Wesley wrote a strong letter of protest to a Bishop in whose
Diocese persecution was prevalent, but, receiving no satis-
faction, an attempt was made to repeal the Conventicle Act,
which rendered licences necessary. John Wesley died,
leaving that project unaccomplished, and soon after his
death it became the custom for the Wesleyans to obtain
licences for their Chapels and other preaching places as
Dissenters. That was the case at Dover in 1806, when a
licence was obtained for a preaching place at Buckland in
the following terms : — ' ' Memorandum : That a certificate
under the hands of William Clayton, William Farr, Ann,
Russell, Rebecca Popkiss, William Rogers and William
Francis, Dissenters from the Church of England, commonly
called Protestant Dissenters, certifies that a certain building
in the occupation of William Farr, in the parish of
Buckland, in the County of Kent, intended to be set
apart for the worship of Almighty God, according to
the rules and ceremonies of the Church of England,
was registered in the Consistory Court of Canterbury,
according to Act of Parliament, this 6th day of
September, 1806." That meeting place was rot a chapel,
but four years later, in 1810, a Wesleyan Chapel was built
at Buckland on the east side of the London Road, and that
206 ANNALS OF DOVER.
was the first movement for providing accommodation for
religious worship in Dover, outside the Church of
England in the Nineteenth Century. The Baptists took
next step, in 1819, when the foundation was laid of
a new General Baptist Chapel just below the town wall, off
Adrian Street, to take the place of the smaller structure
built in Market Lane by Captain Tavener's successors. In
1823 the Particular Baptists built a Chapel on the Pent
Side to accommodate 500 persons. The members of that
section of Baptists fell off in the latter part of the Nineteenth
Century, and it being thought the locality was disadvan-
tageous, the congregation migrated to Zion Chapel, which,
owing to the erection of a larger and more central fabric, had
become vacant.
Also, in 1823, St. John's Chapel in Middle Row. at
the Pier, was built by Mr. Iggulden for a congregation of
Wesleyan Dissentients, who, a few years later, transferred
it to the Independents. In 1839 an evening service in con-
nection with Trinity Church was commenced there, and con-
tinued until November 1842. In 1843 the Rev. F. Richardson
of the Countess of Huntingdon's connexion, preached there
and conducted a service in which the Liturgy of the Church
of England was used. The Chapel was then intended for
the benefit of mariners, and was maintained by Captain
Marryatt (of literary fame) and his .sister. Want of success
induced the Marrj-atts to abandon their efforts, and then
General Cosmo Gordon and Admiral Sir W. G. Parry, being
anxious that the services for sailors should be continued,
the Rev. William Yate, a clergyman of the Church of
England, was installed there in 1846. Mr. Yate subsequently
established the National Sailors' Home on an adjoining site,
and the Mariners' Chapel was carried on by Mr. Yate in
connection therewith, although on an independent financial
basis, for about 30 years. In the year 1877 the Rev. William
Yate died, ripe in age and full of honours, but after his
day, partly owing to the loss of his influence and also on
account of the decrease of the residents in the Pier District,
the congregation fell off and eventually St. John's Mariners'
Chapel was closed.
The Wesleyans entered on another building enterprise
in June, 1834. Their Chapel built forty-five years previously
in Elizabeth Square was too small, and too far from the
centre of population. Their new Chapel was built under
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 207
the cliff in Snargate Street, adjoining the Grand MiUtary
Shaft. The Duke of VVeUington and his assistant Com-
missioners of Dover Harbour granted a lease of the site for
99 years. The foundation was laid on the 3rd June, 1834,
by Mr. Whitje, who had been a member of the Society
when John Wesley preached in Elizabeth Square new Chapel
in 1789. The building was quickly raised, and was opened
for public worship on the 3rd October, 1834.
Five years later the Wesleyans built another large
Chapel at Buckland, opposite the smaller one erected in
1810. This was one of the many Chapels built, in various
parts of the world, in 1839, in celebration of the Centenary
of Wesleyan Methodism. It was commenced in June and
finished in December, 1839. The cost of the building was
;j£^i,839; the figures representing the cost and the date of
erection forming a curious coincidence.
The Independents — now better known as Congrega-
tionalists — in 1838, built a large Chapel in Russell Street
at a cost of _;^ 1,700, which, owing to the building of a
larger and more central fabric in High Street, is now used
for Sunday School and Mission purposes.
Salem Chapel, in Biggin Street, was built in 1840 by
a portion of the Pent-side congregation, who were described
as " Open Communionists, " and who seceded from Pent-
side on that point. The Chapel was built and opened in
the year 1840, the first service in it being held in thje month
of August. The Rev. James P. Hewlett was the first
Minister, and there have been seven since, including Major
Passingham, an Army officer, who, finding the cause at a
very low ebb in 1871, took charge, without stipend; and
having, in the course of about five years, brought together
a large congregation with a flourishing Church and Sunday
School, he transferred the charge to a regular Minister.
In the year 1850, Mr. Steriker Finnis, who built the
first part of the district known as Tower Hamlets, gave to
the Wesleyans a site to build a Chapel, on the north side
of Tower Hamlets Street. The Chapel, which is a small
one, was built and opened in 1850; a Sunday School as
well as Sunday evening services are carried on there.
The Roman Catholics — who first (since the Reformation)
had public services in Dover in 1822 — in the year 1835
purchased the old Wesleyan Chapel in Elizabeth Street,
which had been vacated when Snargate Street Wesleyan
208 ANNALS OF DOVER.
Chapel was opened in 1834. The CathoUcs gave ^425 for
the Chapel, and spent ;£75o more in restoring it and building
a priest's house. This old Chapel, originally opened by John
Wesley in 1789, was used by the Roman CathoHcs from
1835 until their new Church was opened in the Maison Dieu
Road thirty-three years later.
The Jews opened their first Synagogue in Hawkesbury
Street, Dover, a small but neat building, on the ist April,
1836, and it continued to be used until 1862.
The Primitive Methodists first missioned Dover in 1848,
but at that time they had only two small preaching places,
one in Round Tower Lane at the Pier, and another in a
cowshed loft at Brook Street, Charlton, their ministers being
Messrs. J. Calvert and W. Jull. At the same time there
was a meeting place of Hyper-Calvinists, in a building
called " The Ark," near the Stembrook Mill in Castle
Street, and a meeting house of the Latter Day Saints in
Chapel Place. Thus it will be seen that in the first half of
the Nineteenth Century congregations of nearly all the
religious sects had meeting places in Dover.
THE mSTORY OF RELIGION. 5209
XIII.
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AFTER 1850.
The most important Church building, in central Dover,
after 1850 was the erection of St. James's new Parish
Church. That parish had long been short of Church accom-
modation, owing to the closing of the Castle Church in 1690,
after which St. James's Old Church had to provide accom-
modation for the Castle population. When the question of
re-building was raised in i860 it was found to be impossible
to erect a sufficiently large Church on the old site at the
top of St. James's Street; therefore a .spot was selected
further north where a new suburb was extending along the
Maison Dieu Road. The building was designed by Mr.
Talbot Bury in the Early English Decorated style ; the cost
was ;^ 1 2,000; and accommodation was provided for 1,400
persons. A graceful tower, surmounted by a spire, gives
the west front a picturesque appearance. When this new
building was opened in 1862 it became the Parish Church.
The old edifice, at the top of St. James's Street, was used
for a time as a French Protestant Church; but in 1869 it
was restored and used, under the control of the Rector, as
a Chapel-of-ease.
The old Church of St. Mary-in-thc-Castle was restored
at the expense of the War Department by Sir Gilbert Scott,
and re-opened in i<S62, after being in ruins for 172 years,
and the principal Military Chaplain ofliciates there for the
Military population in and around the Castle.
On the W^estern Heights, just within the ramparts,
overlooking the North Military Road, a Garrison Church,
which is a spacious and substantial Gothic structure, was
erected in 1859. It is in the vicinity of the foundations of
an ancient round church, said to have belonged to the
Knights Templars, but it was so small that it seems more
likely to have been a shrine on the wayside in the Middle
Ages when the main road from Folkestone passed over these
Heights into Dover.
The first effort of the Church of England to provide for
public worship in Tower Hamlets was the building of a small
Mission Room in Black Horse Lane, since called 'Tower
210 ANNALS OF DOVER.
Hamlets Road ; and further accommodation was provided
in 1873 by the erection of an iron church beyond the
railway in Tower Hamlets Street. The Rev. Walker Flower
first ministered there, and was succeeded by the Rev. E. F.
Churton, who continued the services until St. Bartholomew's,
in the Early English style, was built at a cost of ;^7,5oo,
a short distance from where the original Tower Hamlets
Mission Room stood. The Iron Church up in Tower
Hamlets was disposed of, but a brick building, called St.
Michael's Mission Church, was built near the same spot.
Later, that Mission Church was used as a Girls' Elementary
School, and a new Mission Hall was, in 1905, erected in
Curzon Road, Tower Hamlets, at a cost of ^1,200.
Buckland Parish Church was further enlarged in 1880.
At that time there was a debt of ^80 left from the enlarge-
ment of J 85 1, and an attempt was made in 1876 to raise
that amount by a Church Rate, Init that being overruled by
an appeal to the House of Eords. it was raised l)y voluntary
contributiuns. .so the way was cleare<l for U\o enlargement
of 1880. The nave was extended by adding three more
arches, 250 additional sittings were provided, at a cost of
;^2,ooo. The great expense was partly due to the fact that
the historic yew tree at the west end had to be remove 1
sixty feet westward to make room for the extension. The
tree, which is supposed to be a thousand years old, has
maintained its vitality in the new situation, and is now more
than ever an object of curiosity.
The small Parish Church of Charllcjn, which from the
Thirteenth Century had stood beside the mill-pond, a
picturesque fabric, was taken down in 1893, and a large
new Church of Early English '^esign was built a short distance
eastward. The cost of the ne.v building was about ^12,000,
the prime movers in the buildi ig movement being Mr. George
Fielding, solicitor, and the Rev. Canon Walker Flower, both
of whom have passed to their res*^. The English Church
Union contributed ;^ 1,200, the inuntion being to meet the
cost of the Chancel as a memr rial of the saciifice of position
and personal liberty made, 1 ir Church [irinciples, by the
then Rector, the Rev. S. F. <ireen, M.A., when he was in
the Diocese of Manchester.
A new Church, in Buckland parish, near the boundary
of Charlton, dedicated to St. Barnabas, was built on a part
of Barton Me.idow in the year 11,01. the memorial stone
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 211
being laid by the late Mr. Robert Hesketh Jones, J. P. The
plans, in decorated Gothic, were prepared by Mr. B. Ingelow,
and the cost was ;£6,it^o as far as the permanent work was
carried out, which included the chancel and portions of the
nave and aisles. A corrugated iron annexe provides the
further accommodation intended to be supplied eventually by
the completion of the nave and aisles. The first Vicar was
the Rev. Cyril Golding-Bird, who, in 1907, was appointed
Dean of the Falkland Islands, and in 1914 became the first
Bishop of Kalgoorlie, West Australia.
In the suburb of Maxton, at the entrance to Elms Vale,
a modern Church has been built, dedicated to St. Martin,
the patron saint of Dover, in an ecclesiastical district formed
partly out of Christ Church district and partly out of the
old parish of Hougham, of which the first Vicar was the Rev.
Arthur Jephson.
The population of Dover having increased in the period
between 1850 and 19 10 from 20,000 to 45,000, the above
mentioned additional Church accommodation had become
absolutely necessary.
212 ANNALS OF DOVER.
XIV.
NONCONFORMISTS AFTER 1850.
The formation of a Dover Free Church Council in 1896
brought into closer union all the bodies of Nonconformists
in the town, and from about that time the name " Church "
instead of " Chapel " was applied to the fabrics of Non-
conformist places of worship.
The Primitive Methodists in this period took the lead
in Chapel building. The Primitive Methodists had been at
work in various parts of England nearly fifty years before
they made much headway in Dover, and their first regular
Chapel, built in Peter Street in the year i860, was one of
the Jubilee Chapels of the Primitive Methodist Connexion.
In 1874, the Rev. Thomas Russell, one of the pioneers of
Primitive Methodism, wlio had his last station at Dover, laid
the foundation stone of a Chapel in Round Tower Street
at the Pier, near the spot where the Primitive Methodists
had their first preaching place in Dover; but when the
Dover and Deal Railway was made in 1879 the Chapel was
bought by the Railway Company and demolished. A little
before that time the Rev. Thomas Russell, having been
superannuated, built for himself a residence at Maxton, and,
adjoining it, erected a Primitive Methodist place of worship,
called Maxton Tabernacle, being the first place of worship
in this suburb of Dover. To meet the necessities of those
who had been displaced liy the demolition of Round Tower
Street Chapel, services were for a time conducted by the
Primitive Methodists .n the Wellington Hall, Snargate Street,
but eventually the C( mpensation money paid by the Railway
Company for Round Tower Street Chapel was used towards
building a new Primitive Methodist Chapel at Belgrave Road,
Clarendon, the foundation stone of which was laid by the
Mayor, Mr. John Lide Bradley, in 1882. In 1901 the
Primitive Methodists built a large Church, affording accom-
modation for 600 persons, in London Road, Charlton, at a
cost of ^5,500. 'I'o make up that sum, ;^i,ooo was
contributed by the Primitive Methodist Mission Fund, ^£450
was obtained for Peter Street Chapel (which was then dis-
used), and the balance wrs mot by local subscriptions.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 213
The recent action of the Dover Congregationalists has
been in the direction of consolidation. They have built a
large and handsome Church at the bottom of High Street,
a few paces above the Maison Dieu. Its tower, rising to a
height of eighty feet, is a striking feature, and the whole is
an ornament to the town. The cost of the building was
between ;!(^9,ooo and ;^io,ooo. The general style is Gothic
of the Lancastrian Period. When this new Church was
opened on the 7th September, 1904, Zion Chapel, the original
home of the Dover Congregationalists, was disposed of to a
Baptist congregation, and their other Chapel in Russell
Street was retained for Sunday School and Mission purposes.
The Baptists, too (exclusive of the General Baptists)
have concentrated themselves in one spot, Salem Chapel,
Biggin Street, which was much enlarged and improved in
1879, while during the first decade of the Twentieth Century
large additional buildings for Sunday School and week-day
meetings have been built off Edwards Road at the rear of
the Chapel. The public thoroughfare that leads to these
additional buildings was named in memory of the Rev. E. J.
Edwards, the Minister who was the means of greatly enlarging
and strengthening the then Baptist community in Dover.
About the year 1873 a Baptist congregation met on
Sundays in the Wellington Hall, Snargate Street, under the
ministry of the Rev. J. F. Frewin. In 1880 a place of
worship, known as the Memorial Hall, was built for this
congregation in Priory Road, mainly at the cost of the late
Mrs. Hyde, who had been the chief supporter of the cause
from the beginning. The congregation fell off, and in 1896
the building was sold to the Salvation Army to be their Dover
Barracks.
The Salvation Army was established in Dover in 1886,
having their first Barracks at the Wellington Hall, Snargate
Street. On their first night, 2nd September, 1886, they met
with a hostile reception, their windows at the back of the
hall being smashed, and after the meeting a howling mob
hustled the leaders through the streets. The voice of
authority and public opinion strongly condemned the per
secutors, and ever after the Salvationists in Dover were
unmolested. Many of the first night opposers afterwards
joined the movement. In 1896 the Memorial Hall in Priory
Road was purchased by the Salvation Army for ;^ 1,000. and
their " Barracks " were established there until 191 2, when
214 ANNALS OF DOVER.
those premises were sold to make room for a new Post
Office; and new Barracks, at a cost of ^5,465, were, in
1 9 13, built for the local corps of the Salvation Army, with
a good frontage and roomy interior in High Street, facing
Wood Street, the meetings having been held, in the interval,
at various ])ublic halls.
The Wesleyans have e.\j)ended large sums in improving
their two large Chapels in Snargate Street and Buckland,
and have taken steps to provide another Chapel on a more
central site to meet the convenience of modern Dover, which
straggles a long way up two valleys. They have secured
the site at the point where the two valleys diverge at the
foot of St. Martin's Hill, part of the site of the old Priory.
There they have built a handsome Wesley Hall for meetings
and Sunday Schools, which was opened in November, 1910,
and have acquired the adjoinhig property, on which they
intend, later on, to build a large central Wesleyan Church.
About ;!{^3,ooo has been spent at this centre up to date, and
probably further building will be postponed for a few years
so as to l:)e able to estimate what the future requirements of
Dover will l)e. As far back as 1880 the leading Dover
Wesleyans set their minds on this locality, which had attracted
religious leaders in Dover in 1131, when they were looking
for a new site for the Dover Priory; and the Wesleyans,
having made so good a beginning here, in the course of a
few years they hope to build on the historic site a crowning
citadel of Wesleyan ^tethodism.
A large and convenient " Bethel "' for the sailors of
the Port of Dover has been opened on the site of the old
Post Office at the bottom of Northampton Quay. This is
the worthy lineal descendant of a " Bethel " located in a
loft a little higher up Northampton Street which was
established by the late John Gilbert, who was Seamen's
Missionary at the Port of Dover for more than forty years.
When the Rom. ;' L'atholics, in 1868, opened their new
Church on the Mals^n Dieu Road they vacated their old
Chapel in Elizabeth Street ; yet, still keeping their attention
on that quarter of the town where the Roman Catholic
Chapel of " Our Lady of Pity " had several centuries earlier
existed, they, in 1906. built and opened, on the cliff side of
Snargate Street, at a fost of ;£![ 1,300, a second Church of
" Our I.ady of Pit},' providing ample accommodation for
the Catholics residhig in that part of the town.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 215
A Jewish Synagogue at the top of Northampton Street,
the successor of one m Hawkesbury Street, was built in 1862,
and opened in 1863. The western part of it is over the
strong tunnel through which flows the River Dour into the
Wellington Dock. The foundation stone of the Synagogue
was laid with Jewish ceremony by Mr. Barnett Nathan, of
Dover, on the 10th September, 1862, corresponding with
the Jewish date of the 15th day of EUul, 5622. The style is
Greek, the edifice is designed to accommodate 250 persons,
and the cost was one thousand guineas. The consecration
ceremony was performed by the Chief Rabbi, Dr. Adler, on
the loth August, 1863.
Looking back to the first half of the Nineteenth Century,
w^e miss the Hyper-Calvinists from " The Ark " in Castle
Street, and the Latter Day Saints from their room in Chapel
Place; but there are added Christadelphians and Christian
Scientists, who both meet in the Arthur Hall, St. James's
Street, where also meetings of the Dover Branch of the
Theosophical Society are held.
2X6 ANNALS OF DOVER.
XV.
THE CORPORATION Ax\D THE OLD CHURCHES.
During the Middle Ages there grew up a close relation-
ship between the Corporation of Dover and the Ecclesiastical
Authorities. St. Martin's Churchyard became the Market
Place; the Muniment Box of the Corporation was kept in
Si. Martin's Church, where the Common Assemblies were
held; the Mayors and Members of Parliament were elected
in St. Peter's Church; and St. Nicholas' Church, when it
fell into ruin, became the property of the Corporation.
At the Reformation Henry VHI. seems to have
recognised this relationship, and considered the Corporation
to be entitled to some of the old Churches then left derelict.
The fabrics of St. Martin's and St. Peter's Churches
were given to the Corporation without any special arrange-
ment as to what should be done with them. St.
Martin's and St. Peter's, which had belonged to the Priory,
were cuinpletely stripped of their endowments, but the Church
of St. Mary, which had been attached to the Maison Dieu,
wa? given, with such endowments as belonged to it, to the
Corporation for the use of the inhabitants.
What the intentions of Henry VIII. really were with
regard to the destiny of St. Mary's Church will probably
never be disclosed. There has been a great deal of litigation
in the Ecclesiastical Courts on various matters with regard
to this Church, and the investigation brought together a
great deal of the Church's history, more especially with
regard to the right of the Vestry to deal with the endow-
ments, appoint ministers, and to allow the Corporation
special seats in the Chancel. There was also much that
was ancient disclosed in invr^tigating the right of the Arch-
bishop of Canterl)ury to a | ".l;^ion of 20/- a year that used
to be paid from this Church to the Prior of Dover in
pre-Reformation days.
In preparation for the litigation, a "case" was drawn
up by Mr. Charles Wellard. Town Clerk, in 1730, in which
he alleged the following points: — (i), That the Church was
built by the Prior and Convent of St. Martin, and that the
advowson was given by }Iul)ert de Burgh to the Maison
Dieu; (2), That the Registry at Canterbury shows that
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 21 7
when the advowson was given to the Maison Dieu about the
year 12 16 there was reserved a pension of 10/- a year to the
Prior of St. Martin; {3), That, according to a record in the
Augmentation Office, the Priory was sunendered to the
King on the i6th November, 1535; (4), That in 1537 the
Priory property was transferred by the King to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury in exchange for other property ; (5),
That, from records in the First-fruits Office, it appeared
that at the Dissolution, St. Mary's was a Parsonage of the
Maison Dieu of the vahie of J^6 a year, that there were
rents amounting to ^^15 a year, out of which a pension of
20/- a year had been paid to the Prior of Dover. To this
the Town Clerk added: " I have made search for a grant
from the Crown to the parish of St. Mary of this Church
but can find none, but for several reasons, founded on the
Church books and the continued uninterrupted possession
by the parishioners, it is to be presumed that the parish had
a right to the Church time out of mind, or that the Crown
did, about the time of the Dissolution, make some gift or
grant thereof to the parishioners, but that the paper of the
Churchwardens wherein the grant was recorded was lost."
On the case prepared by the Town Clerk, the opinion
of Dr. Andrews, of Doctors' Commons was given on the
24th July, 1730. It is a lengthy document, of which the
following is the substance: —
"The present Parish Church of St. Mary-the-Virgin, in Dover,
was, at the Reformation, a Parsonage belonging to the Maison Dieu
there, which the last Master, Sir John Thompson, returned as a
Parsonage of £6 per annum, and he held the same until the year
1542. From my memoirs of this town, it appears King Henry VIII.
was fretiucntly here about that time, supervising the works of the
Harbour, in which he took great delight, having put them under
the direction of the above mentioned Sir John Thompson, who appears
to have been a gentleman of such ingenuity that the said King
raised him from being a Parson of St. James's, in Dover, to be
the Master of the Maison Dieu, a place then worth ;^i2o a year.
King Henry VIII. was a humorist, of which, I think, histor}-, as
well as our own records, give a sufficient proof; for, in 1537, that
King's footman was paid two shillings for a forfeit because the bells
of the Church of St. Mary were not rung at his coming. In the year
1538 King Henrv VIII. was again at Dover, and they rang the bells
of St. Mary's Church when His Majesty came in and when he went
out ; that they sealed up the Church doors at the King's departure.
It appears that at this time the pews of St. Martin's Church were
pulled down and put up in tliis Church at the expense of the
parishioners, but it does not appear that they paid anything for
them. It is presumed that St. Mary's and St. Peter's Churches were
2l8 ANNALS OF DOVER.
given to the Mayor and Jurates by the King (for whom, in 1541,
was expended upon those that did ring at the King's grace coming
into the town, threepence). The latter Church (St. Peter's), in which
the Mayors and ^lembers of Parliament were made, falling into
decay about the year 1581, a decree of the Common Council was
made to remove such elections from St. Peter's to St. Mary's Church,
in which thoy have been hold ever since, alihonyh we havo
a spacious Town Hull e(|ually (it for the purpose. The Church of
St. Peter was sold bv the Corporation about that time, and the
proceeds carried to the Chamberlain's account. From the year 1537
the jiarishioners of St. Mary have chosen their own Ministers, as
the Church seems to have been given them by the King and exemtit.
Mr. Elame, the Mayor of Dover that year, gave his commandment
for the new paving the Church ; and from that time also the Mavor
and such of the Jurats as are of that Parish have been named at the
vestries Head Managers, for the principal inhabitants.''
The Vestry Books of St. Mary's Church support these
statements, and afford many other curious facts as to the
Church's history since and before the Reformation. The
Churcli hooks in existence go back thirteen years before the
dissohition of the Maison Dieu, to which this Church was
attached. The entries in the Church l)ooks of that ])eriod
record the receipts of a luunber of small rents of Church
property. In the year 152:: tl^erc are: —
"Rent for Nicholson's house, -';'- for Martin C.irdner's
house at tlie Stolp, 20 - rei\t ol grazing land, -•/- ; a
<|Uarter's rent nl the house in liroad Street (i.e., the upper
|)art of .^1. James's Street), (>/- ; three i|uavters' rent of the
luuises against tlie ('liurch, 7.6; \ear's rent of Churili land at
Cowgatc, 7/-;'" etc. .\lso, there are entries of i)re Reformation Churth
I iistoms, thus : — "Received for J53 hoiiseling jieoi^le at the Feast
of Kaster, of evervbodv one halfpenny to the Church. Paid for
top[)ing a tree which the Master of the Maison Dieu gave to the
Church, one penny." Wages paid to the Priests are mentioned thus :
— "Paid Sir Marry for his bread-roll, Sd. ; to Sii Robert T-ong,
curate, Sir 'I'homas Cockeram and Sir J. Hope, every of them for
their services, 4d., total, lad. Paid the Clerk for his labour, 2d.;
pnid the Wardens for labour, 2/- T^iid to Mr. Edward Monin for
manorial rent of Church lanils at Sib<-rstone, 8d." Entries, of whidi
the foregoing are samples, are numertms. After the Reformation,
in the Vestry Bo(»k there are entries of payments made for the
labour of taking down pews in vSt. Martin's Church and setting
them up in .St. Mary's. Under date, 1 53S, is this entry: — "Paid for
a lyger l)ook to write in it the Marriages, Cliristenings and Hurials,
iSd." This, it may be assumed, was the beginning of .St. Mary's
Register, which was probably one of the earliest Parish Registers of
tlie Kingdom, for it was in that same vear that llie decree of the
Priw Council ordered such books to be kept. St. Mary's Parish
Register dates from af)out the same time as the P.irisli itself.
There does not ap])ear tn have been any Parish ol Si.
Mary earlier than the Reformalioii. There is 110 niciition
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 2ig
of it in old deeds, although there are frequent references to
the Parishes of St. Peter, St. Nicholas and St. John the
Baptist. Those three are supposed to have covered the
whole area of Dover (with the exception of St. James's
Parish), and that area was eccelesiastically provided for by
the Priory, the Parsonage of the Maison Dieu having no
parochial area until after the dissolution of the Priory. iVftcr
J 538, there is no doubt St. Mary's Parish was made up of
the old ])arishes of St. Peter, St. Nicholas and St. John, to
which was added, a century later, the Pier District which
the Harbour Works had reclaimed from the sea.
The relations f)etween St. Mary's Vestry and the
successive Ministers are fully recorded in the Vestry Book : —
In the month that Henry VIII. died the Vestry Book
mentions that the Vestry ordered Church plate, to the value
'■'^ £9 8s. 4(1., to be sold to pay their debts. To pay
the Jitinister's wages they gathered, after the olil custom,
53 '4; and J 6/- was ])ai(l according to agreement. For a
time tliere was no regular Minister, the Churchwar<lens depending
on " supplies,"' as, for instance : — '' Paid a Priest to help in the
(,'hurch on All Hallows and All Saints' Day, 6d. Paid old Sir
Robert to help to serve at Candlemas and for the space of four
Sundays, i6d. Paid old Sir Robert 7/4 for his pains in serving the
C'hurch eight days." Money was then scarce. At Master, 1547, the
chalice was missing, and it was discovered that John Hibbing, the
I'arish Clerk, had pawned it because his wages were unpaid, and
the Churchwarclens had to pa\- twenty shillings to \''al. Rutland to
redeem it for use at the l^aster Festival.
The first regularly hired Minister was Sir Moiige
Thornton, who was engaged at ;^S a year. The Priests
were styled " Sir "" instead of "" Reverend ' down to 1558.
The following is a list of the Ministers of St. Mary's from
Sir Monge Thornton's time down to the Rev. John Puckle,
who was the last Minister elected by the parishioners : —
1549 Sir Monge Thornton.
1550 Sir Harrie Caine.
1551 Sir Christopher James (disqualified by marriage).
1554 Sir JefTery.
1554 Sir John Lambard (relative of the historian).
1558 Sir William.
1562 Rev. Thomas Turpin.
1573 Rev. Peter Joy.
1587 Rev. Richard Pickering.
1600 Rev. Walter Richards.
1608 Rev. John Gray.
1616 Rev. John Reading (imprisoned as a Royalist).
1644 Rev. "Micli,M-l Porter.
1648 Rev. John Dyckes.
1650 Rev. John Robotham.
2 20 ANNALS OF DOVER.
1653 ^^^- Nathaniel Northcross.
1654 Rev. Nathaniel Barry (ejected at Restoration).
1660 Rev. John Reading.
1662 Rev. Samuel Hind, D.D.
1 67 1 Rev. John Lodwick.
169S Rev. John Macqucen.
1729 Rev. William Nairn.
1 731 Rev. William Byrch (he first occupied Parsonage).
1756 Rev. Thomas Edwards.
1772 Rev. John Lyon (Dover historian).
1817 Rev. John Maule (elected by poll, 1817).
1842 Rev. John Puckle (elected by poll, 1842).
Whatever income there was from endowments went to the Common
Fund of the Vestry. The salaries paid to the Ministers was, down
to 1616, small and irregular. From that date down to 1671 it was
supposed to be ;^ioo a year, but in some cases less. In 1697 the
salary was reduced to .^^So, because a Minister who had been dismissed
would not vacate his post ; and after 1698 it was slightly increased.
In 1871 the Vestry resolved to place the appointment of the Minister
in the hands of a Trust, composed of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and the Lord Lieutenant of
the County of Kent ; and since then three Ministers, who are now
styled Vicars, have been successively appointed: — 1894, The Rev.
Arthur Lindsay Palmes, M.A. ; 1901, the Rev. Canon Henry Bartram,
M.A.; and 1912, the R-ev. William G. Elnor, M.A. The Minister of
St. Mary's h&& long been regarded as the Hon. Chaplain of the Dover
Corporation.
The Ministers and their salaries having been mentioned,
it should be stated that there was no reliable source from
which those salaries could be paid. The endowments were
insufficient to keep up the fabric, so the first idea was to
raise voluntary subscriptions to pay the Minister, but that
arrangement speedily Ijroke down. Next it was decided to
make a regular assessment on the householders. That
method of raising the money was continued with varying
success for fifty years; but, in the year 161 1, it was resolved
to take proceedings in an Ecclesiastical Court to recover
the arrears of the assessment, but that was a failure. A
further effort was made to collect the Cess, and those who
did not pay were sued in the Dover Chancery Court of the
Cinque Ports. By that means, the money for the payment
of the Ministers and for other Church expenses was raised
for more than a hundred years. The time came when the
local Chancery Court was superseded by the Courts at
Westminster, and it being found that no Court would enforce
a rate for salaries and Church exj)enses, in 1841 it was
resolved thenceforth to raise the Minister's salary by pew-
rents. In 1 87 1, when selection of the Minister was vested
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION. 221
in a Trust, the Archbishop of Canterbury held out definite
hopes that, in consequence of that step being taken, some
endowment might be provided by the Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners, but those who were instrumental in bringing
about that desirable transfer passed away without the
anticipated endowment being secured. Amongst other inter-
esting facts culled from the Vestry Books it may be mentioned
that the bells — two of them — were in the tower in 1497;
previous to the Reformation there were five; and, in 1663,
the sixth bell was added. In 1724 Samuel Knight, the
well-known bell-founder, re-cast the whole of the six bells,
making eight tunable bells out of the old metal, and those
are the eight bells now in the tower. Lord George Berkeley
and Mr. Philip Papillon, M.P.'s for Dover, subscribed ;£ioo
each to pay for the work. In 1733 ^^^- Peter Monin (who
was Mayor in 1736) gave a new clock, with chimes, for St.
Mary's Tower, and that remained until 1867, when the
present clock was placed there by the subscriptions of the
inhabitants. The sun dial on the south face of the tower
was fixed there in the time of the Commonwealth.
Of the three ancient Churches handed over to the
Corporation by Henry VIII., the Corporation and inhabitants
having undertaken to keep up St. Mary's for public
worship and other public uses, St. Martin's and
St. Peter's, were closed and very soon demoli.shed.
The site of St. Peter's, which occupied the whole
of the north side of the Market Place, lay waste
until the early part of the reign ot Charles I.,
when it was claimed by the Crown, and soon after passed
to James Huggeson, of Linstead, who leased the frontages
for building, and a piece of the Churchyard in the rear was
used in 1639 to enlarge St. Mary's Churchyard.
The Church of St. Martin-le-Grand, the Corporation had
been using as a quarry from which to obtain building stones
for their new Court Hall, the Harbour, and other purposes ;
and the land on which it had stood and a plot attached to
the rear, the Corporation let on lease as grazing ground, the
Corporation reserving the right of a lawful way into it from
the Market Place to bury the poor. After the Corporation
had exercised this ownership for about sixty years, in 1605
their right was questioned. The Corporation were astonished,
and made a strong effort to maintain their hold on the
222 ANNALS OF DOVER.
property, but the Crown overpowered the Corporation.
There was some mystery about the matter, but what really
happened appears to have been that Charles I., in the days
of his necessity, laid his hand on every shred of property
to which he had the least shadow of right, and with regard
to the sites of St. Peter's and St. Martin's at Dover
he made an exchange with Sir Ralph Freeman, Lord
Mayor of London, and Sir Ralph disposed of his interest
in the sites to James Huggeson, who approached the
Dover Corporation with the surprising information that
the site of St. Martin's Church was his; also that the
whole area of the Market Place, having been St. Mar-
tin's Churchyard, as well as the land beyond the Market
Place up to Queen Street, including the Sailors' Alms-
houses, was his also, together with the site of St. Peter's
Church. The Corporation fumed and raged, but at length
Captain Teddiman, the Mayor, was astute enough to see Sir
Ralph Freeman behind James Huggeson, and the King
behind Sir Ralph, so they had to make the best terms
possible. The Corporation had already, thirty years before,
built their Court Hall and Market in I tie centre of the
Market Place without investigation as to their right to the
site, and they had established their Almshouse on another
part of the land adjoining Queen Street. They stipulated
for holding on to these, and James Huggeson, who was as
generous as he was just, at once decided that all he asked
for was an undisputed title to the sites of the two Churches
and their building frontages facing the Market Place ; and
the Market Place, the Court Hall, the land in the rear on
which was the old Almshouses, and on which the Market
and Museum have been since built, he offered to the
Corporation as a free gift, and on those terms in 1633 was
made the final arbitration as the Dover Corporation's ecclesi-
astical inheritance.
SECTION V.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION.
CONTENTS :
I. Saxon Origin-,
II. NORMAX AND LaTER.
III. Boundaries, Limbs, and Liberties.
IV. In the Middle Ages.
V. Tudor and Stuart Periods,
VI. The Revolution and After.
VII. Local Rule by Statute.
VIII. Parliamentary and Municipal Reform.
IX, Women in the Corporation.
X. Borough Records,
XL The Municipal Buildings.
XII. Dover of To-day.
XIII. A Roll of Municipal Service,
SECTION FIVE.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION.
I.
SAXON ORIGIN.
Dover claims to be a Saxon Borough by prescription.
By that phrase the text-books mean that the burgesses acted
in a corporate capacity without any formal Charter of
incorporation. But Dover claims more than that ; it claims
that its privileges of independent jurisdiction and free courts
in the Saxon time were acknowledged, although they possess
no Charter by which those privileges were conferred. The
acknowledgment is clearly written on the first page of the
Kentish section of Domesday Book thus : ' ' The burgesses
gave to the King twenty ships once a year for fifteen days,
and in each ship were twenty men. This they did in return
for his having endowed them with sac and soc.'' The lawyers
interpret " sac and soc " to mean the right of independent
jurisdiction and free courts. That historic record is as good
as a Saxon Charter to Dover; it testifies to something much
more definite than prescription; it proves that in Saxon
times Dover actually had a Royal grant, and that the ship
service rendered to the King by the burgesses was in return
for that grant. It is not stated to which of the Saxoii Kings
the ship service was first rendered, but considering the great
need there was for coast protection all through the Saxon
period, it seems highly probable that the mariner burgesses
of Dover at an early period took up the duties which had
been performed at Dover by the Count of the Saxon Shore
in the time of the Roman occupation. The entry in Domes-
day Book makes it clear that the burgesses of Dover held an
important position on the neck of the narrow seas, and that
the valuable and honourable grant made to them by the
King was for the purpose of ensuring a continuation of their
services, which were of great importance to the nation.
226 ANNALS OF DOVER.
Such were the burgesses of Dover in the Saxon period,
possessing ships by the score, trained mariners by hundreds,
ever ready to convey travellers across the Straits, to ward off
pirates and sea robbers, or to go forth on the sea to encounter
the King's enemies. It is impossible to coirectly estimate
how long this had been going on before the Norman Con-
quest ; but the Saxon municipal rule at Dover appears to
have been well established under a Civic Chief called the
"Reeve." Certainly, Dover was not then a newly made
borough, carved out of some Kentish Manor by the will of
its lord. The Dover Hundred had never been numbered
with the Manors of the County of Kent. The Roman town
had been transformed into a Saxon borough, and its bounds
had been the same from the time beyond which the memory
of man runneth not to the contrary. Time out of mind it
had contributed its share towards public expenditure, two-
thirds of the contribution going to the King, and one-third
to the Earl of Kent. Dover, too, was a place of trade, for
there was a mint here in the reign of Edward the Elder. The
borough Court was held three times a year, according to
Edgar's Law, and it so continued to be held until an Act
of the Nineteenth Centuiy made the Sessions quarterly.
Dover, owing to its haven being at the point nearest
to the Continent, must have been a place of importance since
the dawn of history, but the first solid ground we touch is
in the official de.scription given in Domesday Book, which
we will quote: " In Dover there are twenty-nine houses, of
which the King has lost the custom," which means that
the quit rent of those houses had passed from the King to
the Earl of Kent. Dover was one of the old " Third Penny "
Boroughs — two-thirds of the custom was paid to the King
and one-third to the Earl of Kent — from which it may be
inferred that there were then in Dover fifty-eight houses that
paid quit-rent to the Kiii'j; and twenty-nine to the Earl. The
record continues: " ;)iid all in respect of these twenty-nine
houses avouch the Bishop of Baieux [then Earl of Kent]
as their protector. ' ' The burgesses of Dover who held those
twenty-nine houses are named in Domesday Book as follows:
Robert of Romney liad two of them.
Ralph Curbspine, three.
William, son of Tedal, oik.
William, son of Orger. one.
William, son of Tcd.il, and
THE HISTOftY OF THE COftPORATIQN 2 27
Robert Niger, six.
William, son of Godfrey, three (one of which was the
Guildhall of the Burgesses).
Hugh Montford, one.
Durand, four.
Ralph Columbel, one.
Wadard, six.
The son of Madbert, one.
This detailed list is a raalistic picture of a section of the
property holders in Dover in the far-back year of i®86 ;
and one point of it, which is specially interesting for our
present purpose, is the fact that William, son of Godfrey,
was the holder of three of those houses, and that one of>
them was the Guildhall, or Gilhalla, of the Burgesses. That
William is the man who, as Prepositus, heads the roll of
Dover's Civic Chiefs, as far back as it has been compiled.
The Domesday Book also gives a clear view of the
town and port both in the time of Edward the Confessor,
and in the year of Domesday, thus: " Dover, in the time of
King Edward (the Confessor), rendered eighteen pounds, of
which money King Edward had two parts and Earl God-
wine the third .... the Burgesses gave the King
twenty ships, once a year for fifteen days, and in each ihip
twenty men. This they did in return for his having endowed
them with sac and soc. When the King's Messenger came
there (to use the Passage to France) he gave for the pas-
sage of a horse, threepence in Winter and twopence in
Summer, but the Burgesses found the pilot and one to
assist him, and if he wanted more he hired it at his own
cost. From the Festival of St. Michael (29th September),
to that of St. Andrew (November 30th), the King's truce
was in the town (immunity from arrest for debt or civil
actions) and if any one broke it the Reeve received a com-
mon amend (fine). Whoever resided constantly in the town
and rendered custom to the King, was quit of toll throughout
England. All these customs were there when King William
came to England. On his very first arrival the said town
was burnt, therefore no computations could be made of
what it was really worth when the Bishop of Baieux received
it. Now it is appraised at forty pounds, yet the Reeve
rendered fifty-four pounds for it, to the King twenty-four
pounds in pence, and to the Earl thirty pounds by tale."
Then follows the list of the holders of the twenty-nine
228 AJ4NALS OF DOVER.
houses before quoted, after which was written, " Roger of
Amsterdam built a house over the water where there had
never been one, and there he collected the King's customs.
In the entrance of the Port of Dover there is one Mill
which shatters almost every ship by the great swell of the
sea, and it was not there in the time of King Edward.
Concerning this, the Nephew of Herbert says, the Bishop
of Baieux granted leave to build it. '"
Fairly paraphrased this Domesday record means that
Dover, when William son of Godfrey, the first Civic Chief
on the roll, ruled, was a well organised community of
Burgesses, who received from the King the right of self-
government by contributing twenty ships to the King's
service, with twenty men in each, — 400 able sea warriors
who kept themselves fit, by fifteen days manoeuvres at sea
every year at their own charges, and in readiness to serve
for the defence of the Kingdom in any emergency. The
ability of the Port to put to sea so many ships and such
a large body of mariners was due to the fact that the
ancient Passage Ser\ice, between England and France was
then maintained at Dover under royal authority ; thus the
daily avocations of burgesses of Dover had from early
times fitted them to defend their country. For this service
they had been raised to the honourable position of being
barons of the realm, having thftir own local government,
and their own free courts which were open to all.
Such was the community that flourished at Dover in
Saxon and Xorman times, under rulers elected by them-
selves and subject to no one else but the King, and the
Earl of Kent whose seat was at the Castle. The borough
was then a going concern with a considerable historj'
behind it, and a large population. Those 58 houses
which paid quit rent to the King and the 29 that were
under the Earl of K'-\i were additional to the freehold
property of the Cancn.- of Dover and to the Barony held
by the Corporation and let out to the burgesses, subject
to the ship service due to the King- The 400 men who
annually manned the twenty ships, together with their
families represented a large section of the population, but
there were other crafts and vocations making it clear that
Dover was a large and important community when the
Norman rule began.
THE mSTORY OP THE CORPORATION 229
II.
NORMAN AND LATER.
There are but few details available as to the development
of Municipal rule in Dover during the Norman period.
The old Saxon Hundred Court was continued without any
apparent change except that the presiding official, the Saxon
Reeve was called by the Normans the Prepositus It is
almost certain that the Saxon Reeve had, according to the
custom of those times, selected twelve of his fellow bur-
gesses to assist him in the Administering Justice and so
introduced the order of Magistrates, known in later centuries
as the Mayor and Jurats, and which without material change
has continued for fully a thousand years.
Although the title of the Civic Chief was changed from
the Reeve to the Prepositus, the Norman Chief like the
Saxon was a burgess of Dover selected from his fellows, and
both appear to have discharged the two-fold duty, of collecting
the King's dues and upholding the rights of the burgesses.
Looking at the general history of Dover in the Norman
period it appears to have been a busy time, but no great
changes seem to have been made in the borough rule which
was continued 191 years after the Conquest, under the
Prepositus. In the year 1257 it v»'as found necessary,
owing, no doubt, to the development of the Cinque Ports
organisation, that the Municipal Chief should be more essen-
tially the representative of the burgesses and he was then called
the Mayor, while instead of the Prepositus, an official called
the Bailiff was appointed by the King's writ to represent the
King and to assist the Mayor and Jurats in their judicial
duties. There appears to be no actual record as to when
the elections of the Civic Chief began to take place annually
but it seems probable that it was from the 8th September,
1257, when James Lucas, the Chief Magistrate, first bore
the title of Mayor.
The customs and usages of the Borough from this time
until the year 1,356 are set forth in the Customal of Dover,
which was drawn up in that year for the guidance of the
Lord Warden, the Earl of March, in dealing with appeals
made from the Mayor's Courts, to him, as the Judge of th?
230 ANNALS OF DOVER.
Court of Shepway. The Customal, which emphasizes the
important fact that the succeasion of Mayors was designed to
be automatically continuous, says: — "They claim prescription
and of old time used to choose the Mayor every year
gn the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady ; and then the
Common horn sounded in fourteen diverse places in the
town for the Common Assembly in the Church of St. Peter,
and there was brought the Common Box, the Seal and
other Muniments ; and the Mayor that was, on resigning
his office doth charge the next Mayor then chosen that he
shall be true and lawful to the King of England and to his
heirs, and rightfully maintain the franchises and liberties of
the town, and rich and poor may right. God him help and
all the holy saints, and so he kiss the book. The Jurats
shall swear the same oath. And if the Mayor so chosen be
not there to take the charge, the Mayor that was shall not
be discharged, and it is to be understood that there shall
be no Jurat in the election."
This statement of usage as to the election of the Mayor
is mainly a description of the procedure at the time the
Costumal was compiled. There is allusion made to the
Jurats who were .sworn after the Mayor, and there is mention
made of an " understanding " that if the Mayor chosen was
not present to take the charge no Jurat .should be put in
election, but that the old Mayor should remain in office.
The ancient mode of election was for the Mayor to be chosen
by the Burgesses from amongst themselves, and after the new
Mayor had taken the oath, the Mayor selected from the
burgesses twelve to assist him in his office, and they, having
taken the oath, were called Jurats. This simple procedure
was gradually changed, ard it became the custom for the
twelve existing Jurats to be re-sworn, so giving permanence
to the Judicial Bench instead of each Mayor selecting twelve
men to his own liking. That stage seems to have been
reached in 1.356, when the Do^•(^r Customal was compiled.
The burgesses at that time siill maintained their right
to elect a Mayor from amongst themselves, for which
reason there was an understanding that no Jurat should
be nominated ; but in the Tudor Penod the Freemen's
privilege to elect a Mayor from amongst themselves was
taken away by an arrangement that the Mayor should
alwa^^s be chosen from the Bench of Jurats. Conten-
tion on tluu point was continued for about 150 years,
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 23 1
but It was eventually ruled by the Privy Coi.ncil in the reign
of Queen Anne that the Mayor should be chosen by the
Burgesses out of three Jurats nominated by the Bench of
Jurats. The Mayor and Jurats, as a Bench of Magistrates,
held their Court once a week, on Fridays, except that during
the month of harvest the Court was held on Sundays; and
from the Friday before Christmas until St. Hilary, and
from the beginning of Passion Week until fifteen days after
Easter there was no Court but for the deliverance of
strangers.
The general l)usiness of the Town was transacted in
Common Assembly, where all Freemen had a voice. This
method of dealing with the bu.siness of the Town and Port
was continued until 9th October, 1556, when it was resolved
that thirty-seven Freemen should be elected out of the whole
body of the Commonalty to form a Common Council, and
that they, together with the Mayor and Jurats, should
transact all the business of the Town and Port, except that
CommoH Assemblies should be called to elect the Mayor,
the Burgesses of Parliament, the Bailiff for the Yarmouth
Fishery, and the officers of the Corporation.
The BaiUff was a Freeman of Dover nominated by the
Sovereign, his commission being under the great Seal; but
before entering on his duties he had to appear before the
Mayor and Jurats to exhibit his commission and to be sworn
in the same way as the Mayor. After that he was admitted
to sit on the right hand of the Mayor in the Hundred Court,
where all sorts of pleas were heard, nicluding pleas Royal
and those could not be dealt with without the presence of
the Bailiff. This Bailiff, also, sat with the Mayor in the
Court of General Gaol Delivery, until the beginning of the
Stuart Period, when the appointment of the Bailiff lapsed
and a Barrister-at-T,aw was appointed as " counsel with the
Corporation an<l the assistant of the Mayor and Jurats at
Sessions and Trials," and he was commonly called The
Recorder.
The miscellaneous duties of the Mayor under the
Charters and Customals were extensive. In the Criminal
Courts he had to pass sentences — sometimes the sentence of
death; and in the Hundred Court he had to adjudicate in
Civil suits. That tribunal being a Court of Record, the
decisions were recorded in triplicate, the writing being called
232
ANNALS OF DOVER.
a Dover Charter, one copy being given to the parties on
each side, and the third was preser\'cd in the Dover Archives,
many of which exist now. The Mayor was also the Coroner,
and was paid by fees, which arrangement continued until
1836. When felons claimed sanctuary at the Altar of St.
Martin-le-Grand, the Mayor had to visit them ; and if, after
taking the cross, they left the town by the King's highway,
they were secured from arrest; but if they turned back to
the Town they were executed by being thrown over the cliff
at Sharpness, now known as " The Devil's Drop." The
Mayor was the Clerk of the Market, and it was his duty to
set the price of provisions sold. He was also the Guardian
of all Dover orphans ; he administered the estates of all
burgesses who died intestate ; and, in cases where the wills
of burgesses were proved in the Archbishops Court, the
Mayor required accounts and acquittances to pass under the
Seal of his Office, and, says the Costumal, " this rule ha»
been used peaceably, without interruption, from the first
foundation of Dover." The Mayor was invarial)ly one of
the Barons of the Cinque Ports who attended Coronations,
and down to the close of the Tudor Period he was frequently
one of the Members of Parliament. Finally, if the Mayor
died during his year of office, he had a public funeral, and
one of the canopy cloths that had been used at the Coronation
was used a.s a pall to cover his coffin. The dead Mayor's
authority was .sustained by the " most ancient Jurat," who
acted as his deputy, and gave the charge to the new Mayor,
who was elected in the Church immediately after the funeral.
Of the insignia of the Corporation, the only article
handed down from ancient times is the horn which was
used for calling together C ommon Assemblers. The Mayor's
most ancient badge was the wand. The Mayor still carries
a white wand, and it has been said that it was white as a
sign that the Dover Corporation were partisans of the Yorkists.
Pepys, in his diary, mentioned ihat when Charles II. landed
at Dover, " the Mayor of the town came and gave him his
staff, the badge of his place, which the King did give him
again."
The maces were very ancient emblems of the Dover
Corporation. In 1354 Edward III. gave the City of London
the right to have maces garnished with the King's Arms.
The Dover Corporation used threr- maces from about that
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 233
time. They were of silver, and small. One was carried
by the Mayor's Sergeant, one by the Town Sergeant, and
one by the Bailiff's Sergeant, until 167 1, when, by order of
the Common Council, they were sold for £^(i los. 6d., and
an order was given for the present large silver- gilt mace to
be made. It has long been a tradition that this mace was
presented by Charles 11. in memory of his landing at Dover.
That was not so. The mace was paid for by the members
of the Corporation, who were repaid out of the Court-fines;
although there is no doubt but that the mace was intended to
be a memorial of the landing of Charles II. at the Restoration,
for it bears the inscription: — " Carolus — Hic-Posvit-Prima-
Secundus. May 25th, 1660 "; and underneath is engraved,
" Will. Stokes, Mayor, 1676." The ancient horn,
previously mentioned, is of the Thirteenth Century, and the
Corporation possess a curious hand-bell of brass-gilt, which
appears to bear date 1491. There are eight ancient seals,
the largest known as the Corporate Seal, bearing date 1305.
All the seals have the device .showing St. Martin dividing his
Cloak with a beggar. Other parts of the Mayor's para-
phernalia are modern, consisting of Corporation plate given
by Mr. Jonathan Taylor, 1769, Mr. J. M. Fector and Mr.
Henry Pringle Brugers, 1828; a Mayor's gold chain and
badge, given by Sir William Henry Bodkin, the Recorder,
1867; a jewelled Mayor's badge, given by Sir Harry Bodkin
Poland, the Recorder, in 1898; and a lighter gold chain and
badge, for the Deputy Mayor, given by the late Mr. Walter
Emden, in 1908.
234 ' ANNALS OF DOVER.
III.
BOUNDARIES, LIMBS, AND LIBERTIES.
In Saxon and Norman times Dover was a self-contained
Borough, having no outlying limbs and liberties, excepting a
small semi-circle area outside the wards, which had been
the fringe of the Borough from Roman times. That outer
border was within the boundary' of the ancient town, but
outside the limits, which, at a later date, were enclosed by
the walls. Those ancient bounds were ridden, ceremoniously,
once in every seven years.
The following is a statement of the Bounds of Dover as
they existed in the 17th Ed. IV., 1478: — "These are the
metes and bounds of the franchises of the town and port of
Dover (one of the ancient towns of the Liberty of the Cinque
Ports), which they were wont to ride once in seven years,
with the Mayor, Jurats, and certain of the Combarons of the
town, with the voung ])eople of the same, according to the
cu.stom of the town and port of Dover, used and approved
from the time whereof the memory of many is not to the
contrary : —
" From the Market Cross of Dover to Snargate, and
from Snargate down to a low-water mark and as far into the
sea as a man on horse can ride with a .spear and touch
ground. And so from thence to Hound Hyethe by the low-
water mark, and from thence up to Franchise Stone adjoining
the lands of Elphynes. and from thence along the Dyke, and
as the Dyke leadeth down into .St. Nicholas Close, and
through the hither end of the same, and from thence into
the highway leading to Hofam ; and from thence to Rich
Close, and from Rich Close to St. Bartholomew's lands, and
so to the further end of St. Andrew's Close, and from thence
over the King' highway, and so to go through the close of
Highe Adame at the further end next unto St. Bartholomew's
lands, and so over the water down to the Cross and Haithorne
there, and so through the lane to Croches Crosse, and from
Crorhes Crosse to the Castell Crosse, and from thence over
Mayle Hill, along under the Butts there to the Franchise
Stone at the Castle Hill, and from thence alongest above
Hunt's garden and so to the Cliff, and from thence straight
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 235
down unto the low-water mark and so far into the sea as a
man can ride with a horse and a spear and touch ground,
and from thence along the low-water mark straight against
Snargate, and so unto Snargate, and from Snargate to the
Market Cross again, as the metes and bounds more plainly
appeareth time out of mind, used and accustomed."
Owing to the difficulty of identifying the ancient places
named, and the absence in the directions of the cardinal
points, some portions of the circuit above described are
obscure, which the following outline prepared for the guidance
of the Corporation when making the circuit of the bounds
in 1764 will make a little clearer: — " From Snargate south-
east to low-water mark ; from thence west-south-west to the
hither part of High Cliff, called Hounds Hyethe ; from the
top of High Cliff north-west to the mark stone in the Folke-
stone Road ; from thence west-north-west to the top of
Gorse Hill to the stone at the corner of Maxton Lane ; from
thence north to the West Hougham Road; from thence
west-north-west to Winless Down ; from thence north-east
to the top of St. Bartholomew's Hill; from thence east to
St. Bartholomew's Close sheer-way; from thence east-south-
ea.st to the mark stone on the London Road ; from thence
north-east across the brook up the Sandwich Road to the
stone at Cross Vents ; from thence east to the top of Mayle
Hill; from thence south-south-east through the Castle gate
postern ; from thence south-east along the top of the Castle
ditch by Hunt's garden (now called Shoulder of Mutton
Field) to the Cliff, crossing The Mote Bulwark down to low-
water mark; from thence west-north-west in a right line
with Snargate to where the bounds set off." As the whole
of the Harbour was anciently within the limit where a man
on horseback could touch ground with a spear, it was held
that everything within the old North and South Pier-heads
was within the jurisdiction of the Dover Corporation.
The walls of Dover were not the Borough boundary,
but works of defence erected at points best calculated to
secure the safety of the Town. The first walls of Dover
were, of course, the Castle walls, and the ancient Civil
inhabitants clustered beneath their shelter; but when the
estuary of the River Dour had partially silted up, leaving
habitable land on the seashore, Withred, King of Kent,
provided a Church and dwellings for the Canons of Dover
236 ANNALS OF DOVER,
on the west bank of the river, and, the Civil population
following them, the King built a wall along the shore so
that they might live in peace and security. That was the
first wall of the town of Dover authentically mentioned in
history. The fact is stated by Barrel in the history of Dover
Castle written in the reign of Elizabeth, Darrel having
extracted it from a Castle record now lost. Modern writers
have stated, without any authority at all, that the Romans
built the walls of Dover. To the gate that stood at New
Bridge they have given the name of Servius Gate, and to
the one up Adrian Street, Adrian's Gate; but older records
name the gate at Xew Bridge Boldware Gate, and the one
up A.drian Street, Upwall Gate. The Roman name given
to the gate at Xew Bridge may be disposed of by recalling
the fact that the mouth of the valley was a deep and wide
estuar)' in the Roman Period, and it may also be remarked
that at a time when there were no inhabitants in the valley
a gate on the edge of a cliff, as Upwall Gate was situated,
would not have been built by the Romans.
The Saxon wall along the seashore during a lapse of
about six centuries must have fallen into decay, and when
the French pirates began to be troublesome, in the Thirteenth
Century, it became necessary to rebuild it. It was on that
occa.sion carried over the west branch of the river and con-
tinued a little way down Snargate Street, where old Snargate
was built, nearlv opposite Chapel Street. As there was
alwavs a danger of maurauders landing at Archcliff and
coming over the ^^'estern Heights slopes into the Town, the
wall was then, or a little later, carried roimd the back of
Last Lane, enclosing the lands of .St. Martin-le-Grand, and,
turning east, crossed Biggin Street, and went as far as the
western branch of the river. From that point to as far as
the slopes of Castle Hill the swampy remains of the old
estuary and the eastern branch of the river offered a sufficient
protection, and the wall about 180 yards from Biggin Street
turned southward on the west bank of Westbrook until it
reached Stembrook, where the river passed inside the Town
wall, and the wall continued south until it joined the sea
side wall, so enclosing in its circuit that part of the Town
which was the ancient seat of Municipal government. A
century later the reclamation of land from the sea under the
Western Cliff made it necessary to extend the Town waU
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 237
from old Snargate further down the shore, to prevent
enemies from landing under the cliff between ^Vellington
Lane and the place where Snargate was built in 1370. Up
to that point the sea still flowed to the foot of the cliff;
and from thence the Town wall was carried up the cliff
for which reason the gate in Adrian Street, which was built
at that time was called Upwall Gate. Houses having
been built on that slope, the wall from Upwall Gate took a
wider sweep westward, enclosing a region then called
" Above Wall," where a new highway was made, coming from
the ford at Wellington Lane, up lower Adrian Street, along
Chapel Place and York Street (then called Priory i-ane) to
the Priory, which was outside the walls.
In the Fourteenth Century, this Town Wall had twelve
gates, all of which were removed at the times here men-
tioned, (i) Butchery Gate, which was a water gate off
Townwall Street, removed in J 819; (2) Servius, otherwis*
lioldware Gate, New Bridge, also a water gate, finally
demolished in 1762; (3) Old Snargate, the ford gate, off
Wellington Lane, superseded in 1370 ; (4) New Snargate
lower down the street, built in 1370 and taken down in
1683; (5) Adrian, otherwise Upwall Gate, removed about
i68o;(6) Cowgate, top of Queen Street, taken down in
1776; (7) St. Martin's Gate, a postern at the rear of St.
Martin's Church '^'ard, disused at the Reformation; (8)
Biggin Gate, owing to its cramping the entrance to the
town it was taken down in 1762; along the return wall by
the river side there were two towers, names doubtful ; (9)
Dolphin Lane Gate over Dolphin I>ane, removed at an
early date, the foundations being found near the Brewery
about 100 years ago; (10) Fisher's Gate, leading from the
lower part of St. James' parish to shipyard below East-
brook ; (ir) Cross Gate, which led to the -sea oi)posite the
Fox Inn; and (12) East Brook Gate leading from the
Eastern Harbour up to St. James' Church. The three
last mentioned gates were removed early in the Tudor
period, but the walls between them remained until the
beginning of the Nineteeth Century. In addition to the two
towers before mentioned, there was a tower named Standfast,
adjoining Butchery Gate, in Townwall Street, which in the
Eighteenth Century was used as a prison, and in the early
Nineteenth Century as a watch-house and police station.
238 ANNALS OF DOVER
The foundations of most of these gates, towers, and con-
necting walls may, in many places, be found underground,
and much of the stonework of these walls may be seen in
modern buildings near where the walls stood. *
Dover's more extended liberties and limbs, as one of the
Cinque ports included the incorporated limbs of Folkestone
and Faversham ; and the unincorporated liberties of Mar-
gate, Birchington, Ville de Wood, St. John's and St.
Peter's, Broadstairs, including nearly the whole of North
Thanet ; also Ringwould and Kingsdown near Dover. In
later years the unincorporated liberty of Margate grew up,
as a sea-side town around St. John's Church and was incor-
porated as a Mimicipal Borough in 1859.
Ihere is a statement as to the walls of Dover in Hammond's
MSS. which agrees with the above, except that it states that the
wall, when it reached the Castle Cliff, was continued north, taking
in St. James's Church and Churchyard, then it passed across the
field at the foot of Castle Hill to the house called Upmarket, and
from thence went across Day Stone and beside St. Mai-y's Church-
yard to Biggin Gate. This latter part of the route has never
been traced by the excavation of the foundations, whereas the
route that gives the wall on the east side crossing the lower part
cf St. James's parish was carefully traced by examination and
excavations in the year 1846 by the Rev. F. A. Giover, Rector of
Charlton, and Mr. William Bachellor, who was then writing his
"History of Dover." Both accounts may have been correct
although relatmg to different periods. Possibly, the north-
western loop was abandoned soon after it was built because the
Castle was a sufficient protection on the north, and the gradual
ehifting of the river bed made it difficult to maintain on the west.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 239
IV.
IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
Dover, in the Middle Ages was a thriving town and
port, having the sea passage to France, protected by
Royal decrees and many other privileges. The whole
of the Burgesses, as members of the Corporation, had
the right to speak and vote in Common Assemblies ;
and, according to their several trades and callings, were
formed into guilds to protect and promote their special
interests. The Town Guilds in Dover, of which the oldest
and most important was the Fellowship of the Passage,
reached their zenith during the short reign of Henry V.
and the long minority of Henry VI., when " Good Duke
Humphrey," as the then Regent was called, was Constable
of the Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports.
That period, in Dover, was one of peace and pros-
perity. The townspeople seemed to have been a happy
family ; their Burgesses of Parliament, their Mayors and
Jurats were from time to time elected unanimously. Those
trusted men Walter Stratton, John Garton. Thomas Arnold,
John Braban, Thomas Crouchc. and William Brewys all
took their turns in the Mayoralty, in the Cinque
Ports Brotherhood and hi Parliament; but at the
end of the Minority of Henry VI. there came a
blighting change, when the young King and Queen, influ-
enced by foreign advisers originated a policy which disturbed
the harmony of Dover and a few years later involved the
country in that civil war called the Wars of the Roses.
Duke Humphrey, the Lord Warden, in 1435, unfortunately
became the next in succession to the Crown, and the Queen,
jealous of his popularity, alleged that he was plotting
against the King's life. Persecution against the Lord
Warden and his wife Eleanor (one of the Cobhams of Kent)
became so bitter, that not only were they involved, but the
Mayor and Jurats of Dover, some of whom were Castle
Officials, were suspected of being the Duke's partisans.
This strife lasted ten years, from 1436 to 1446- The
Duchess Eleanor Cobham was charged with practising witch-
craft against the Kings life, was sentenced to a shameful
24© ANNALS Of DOVEft.
penance and imprisoned for life in Peel Castle. Duke
Humphrey, thus severed from his wife was charged with
High Treason, and before he could be brought to trial
was poisoned in prison.
In the midst of this crisis, when the imprisonment of
Eleanor Cobham and the persecution of the good Duke
Humphrey had aroused hostility to the King and Queen,
amongst the men of Kent it was thought desirable by the
King's party to conciliate the men of Dover. The plan
adopted was to threaten them with all kinds of pains and
penalties for what they were alleged to have done and then
to win their alliegence by a general pardon. The pardon
was issued in November 1446 when the impeachment of
the Duke was pending and the Duchess was in prison. The
pardon was specially addressed to the Corporation of Dover.
Opening with the usual formal greeting, it proceeded: —
" Know ye that of our special grace, etc, we have par-
doned, remitted and released to Ralph Toke, Mayor of the
town of Dover, and Walter Nysham, Bailiff, and the
commonalty of the said town all manner of trespasses,
offences, etc, committed by the said Mayor, Bailiff, and
Commonalty, before the 9th of April last past," etc. The
document continues to recite, in an enormous num!)er of
words, eleven different classes of offences accumulated up
to various dates. The full meaning of the legal jargon
and the significance of the special dates mentioned would
require an intimate knowledge of the day l)y day proceedings
in Dover during the previous ten years. Seeing that the
Mayor, Bailiff, and the whole Commonalty of Dover were
fully and freely forgiven, the details were of no consequence
except the outstanding fact that for the Duchess Eleanor
there was no ])ar(lon, the prison in the Isle uf Man, where
she then lay being destined to retain her till death came to
her release. The celebrated Dover pardon was no doubt
intended to cover up an ugly past, but the reckoning had
to be settled a few years later in a different way, when
Jack Cade's Rebellion brought matters to an i.ssue by a
fearful sacrifice of life, including the beheading of the
Lord Warden, who succeeded Duke Humphrey, in London
and the Duke of Suffolk, the Queen's favourite, was
executed at sea, and his head was cast on the shore at
Dover.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 241
The Wars of the Roses following quickly on the
dramatic climax 6i the Cade Rebellion was a cause of great
anxiety to the Dover Corporation; and the trouble was far
from being over when Edward of York ascended the throne
in the room of the unfortunate Henry VI. who had vainly
tried to clean the slate by the Dover Pardon. The final
crisis came after Edward IV. had reigned ten years, when
Earl Warwick, the Lord Warden, went over to the Lancas-
trian side, and, for a brief period, — from the 9th October,
1470, until the 14th of April, 147 1 — kept Henry VL on the
throne. In the performance of that surprising .feat
"Warwick, the King Maker" was supported by the
Cinque Ports. If Warwick had not been slain in the final
battle of Barnet, the Lancastrians, after all their reverses,
might have prevailed, and English history might have been
written in a different way. The impartial historian is bound
to record that Dover and the Cinque Ports generally, were
more moved by a great leader than by a just cause. They
sided with Earl Warwick as a Yorkish leader, and with
equal enthusiasm they fought with him when he turned
Lancastrian ; with the result that two months after the
final defeat of the Lancastrians and the death of the Earl
of Warwick, Edward IV. su.spended the chartered rights of
Dover. The document by which the suspension was effected,
dated 9th July, 1471, was as follows: —
" Edward, by the grace of God, King of England, etc., to all
to whom these present letters shall come, — Greeting. Know that,
as the Liberties and Franchises of our town of Dover and its Limbs
stand seized in our hands for reasonable and legitimate causes ; we,
therefore, wishing so far as pertains to us to properly provide for
the sound and suitable government and the happy ruling of our
Town and Limbs aforesaid, and of our people there, and for the
safety of others daily going to the same, and also for notable
causes especially moving us and our Council, with the assent and
advice of our said Council, we have constituted our beloved and
faithful Thomas Hexstall, in whose discretion and fidelity we repose
full confidence, as Warden of our Town and Limbs aforesaid, during
our pleasure, giving and granting to him, by the tenor of these
presents, full and suflBcient authority and power for ruling and
governing the said Town and Limbs, and our people of the same,
and others going to them, and for doing, exercising and executing
all other and singular things which pertain to the good ruling and
sound government of the said Town and Limbs, according to the
laws and customs hitherto justly and reasonably used in the said
Town and Limbs, also for having the keys and officers, as the
Mayors of the Town aforesaid, by virtue of certain Liberties conceded
by us and our progenitors on 'that behalf, hitherto had, until we
otherwise order for the governance of the said Town and Limbs :
We give it also firmly in command to the officers of the Town and
242 ANNALS OF DOV£R
I^imbs aforesaid, and also to all and singular our Lieges and
subjects of the said Town and Limbs, by the tenor of these presents
that they be aiding, consultant and obedient in all things, as is seemly,
to the said Thomas, as Warden of the said Town and Limbs, in all
things which pertain to the rule and governance aforesaid.
" Witness myself at Westminster on the Ninth day of July,
in the eleventh year of our reign." [By the King himself, and on
the date aforesaid, by the authority of Parliament.]
The Parliament in which the above decree was made
was hastily summoned in July, 147 1, immediately after
Edward IV. had finally overcome the rebellion. In that
stage of the Wars of the Roses, the Cinque Ports men having
been against the King, it was thought necessary to take
immediate steps to place Dover, which was then in reality
the Gate of the Kingdom, in reUable hands; and it was
also resolved to send out a Commission of Judges to try
and, if necessary, punish those who had been responsible
for using the Cinque Ports forces against the holder of the
Crown, as it was one of the most ancient and cherished
franchises of Dover that its Freemen should not be tried
except by a Cinque Ports tribunal, the King deemed it
necessary to suspend the ancient liberties so that his Judges
might come down to the Ports and 'ry the rebels. What
happened in the other Cinque Ports tovns forms no part of
this narrative, but at Dover the proceedings of the Royal
Commission were little more than a formality. Although
the Mayoralty was suspended, Thomas Hexstall, who hati
been Mayor up to the time of the Commission, was retained
in ofHcc as the King's Warden, with exactly the same power
and authority that Mayors had always h.'^<l. In the calendar
of persons to be trieil, Thomas Hexstall, Receiver of the
Lord Warden, was one, yet, six months before the Com-
mission sat at Dover, Thomas Hexstall was described, in
the King's own words, as " our beloved and faithful Thomas
Hexstall, in whose fidelity and discretion we repose full
confidence." Whatever he had done was partloned.
The Commission which sat in the Cinque Ports consisted of
the following Judges : — Nicholas Statham, Baron of the
Exchequer, Thomas Bourchier, Knight. T. Dynham, John
Fogge, Thomas Echyngham, Knight, and William Notting-
ham. There are various entries about thi'; date in the White
Book of the Cinque Ports, which indicates that the trials
by the Royal Commission extended to all the Cinque Ports,
but at Dover no one seems to have been " one penny the
worse," for Thomas Hexstall, in the course of 147 1-2, was
again holding the office of Mayor in the ordinary way.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 243
V.
TUDOR AND STUART PERIODS.
Henry VII. had little to do with Dover beyond giving
a modest sum of money to encourage the commencement of
a new harbour. Henry VIII. had largely to do with the
Castle, the Harbour, and the religious houses, of which
details appear in other Sections ; and mention may be made
here of a picturesque event in which the Corporation took
part during his reign — his embarkation at this port in May,
1520, to take part in the festivities of the Field of the Cloth
of Gold. That embarkation has been portrayed in a well
known picture, which is re-produced in one of the stained glass
windows of the Maison Dieu Hall, where the King is depicted
standing on the high deck of a gorgeous ship in Dover
Harbour — the little Harbour at Archcliff, on which this King
afterwards spent much of his time and money. On the
adjoining quay are represented the Mayor of Dover, Mr.
Thomas Vaughan, and other Burgesses bowing before the
King, while the heralds' trumpets are blaring in the Royal
ears, and the little cannons on Sir John Clark's Round
Tower are preparing to give a Royal salute, which, if
actually given, was probably the first Ro>al salute ever fired
at this port, for cannons (with two " n's ") had then been
very recently introduced at Dover.
In the twelve years occupied by the uneventful reign
of Edward VI. nothing occurred to advance the prosperity
of Dover. On the contrar)-, the sudden stoppage of the
Harbour Works and the bad accommodation for the Passage
Packets plunged the Town into poverty, which so lowered
the standard of independence and love of order amongst the
Freemen that the Common Assemblies became disorderly
gatherings. During the reign of Queen Mary, owing to
religious persecutions, disorder continued, and afforded an
excuse for excluding the main body of the Freemen from
participation in local affairs and the formation of an inner
circle of rulers, called the Common Council.
The establishment of the Common Council dates from
the last year of the reign of Queen Mary, and after that
year it appears, from the minutes of the Corporation, that
244 ANNALS OF DOVER
disorder and uncharitableness amongst the leading mem-
bers of the Corporation prevailed, being apparently a
continuation of strife from the reigns of Edward VI. and
Queen Mary, when there had been bitter feelings between
the Catholics and the Protestants.
Owing to these protracted local disorders, (^ueen
EHzabeth, acting on the advice of William Hannington, who
was the Queen's Superintendent of the Victualling Office at
the Maison Dieu, Dover, sent down a Commission to establish
peace, the result of which is given in a quaint minute worth
reproducing. It runs: —
"O yez ! That on the 15th daye of the moneth of Ap'ell,
1559, came Thomas Keyes and WiUiam Hannington, Esquires, byfore
the Worshipfull Thomas Collye, Mayer, Thomas Foxley and seven
other Jurats, who (Thomas Keyes and William Hannington) being
Commissioners appointed by the Queen's Council by virtue of their
letters unto them directed, to enquire of all manner of griefs, discords
and dissentions between the said Mayor, Jurats and Commonalty.
The letters being read, the Mayor, Jurats and Commonalty then
assembled, in the presence of Thomas Keyes and William Hannington,
the Commissioners, at which time the inquisiticni made, and the said
Mayor, Jurats and Commonalty were all in pcrict peace, amity and
concord, thanks be given unto God. and liath openly promised so
to continue by God's grace."
The peace made in the presence ut the Queen's Com-
missioners, in April, 1559, was soon broken, for in July, the
same year, it was ordered "' that John Robbyns and Thomas
Warren, Jurats, for their disobedience to the Mayor s
commandment shall forfeit four pounds apiece to be levied
of their goods and chatties." The spirit of insubordination
shown by the members also infected the officials, for, in the
month of August of the same year, the luwn Clerk, Roger
Wood, caused trouble by falsifying the accounts, and, having
been arrested, he broke prison, and was heard of no more.
In the following year, Thomas Te'])per, the Mayor,
brought about another peacemaking, the Mayor and Jurats
agreeing " that from this day forth all manner of old griefs
and slanderous words that have moved and stirred between
the Mayor and Jurats be clearly forgotten and forgiven, and
never to be remembered or spoken of again, but to be lovers
and friends, knit in one unity f(jr ever, whereby
justice may be better administered for the better gov-
ernment of the Town; and he or ihey that from
henceforth do infringe this present act be clearly
dismissed from the Juratship, nev£r to be of the fellowship
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 245
again." Eight days later one of the Jurats who signed the
bond of peace was dismissed for infringing it.
In the beginning of the Stuart Period the Dover Cor-
poration lost control of the Dover Harbour, which lowered
their prestige and diminished their responsibilities. The first
of the Stuarts, being ambitious enough to meddle in
European affairs, brought a great deal of trouble on the port
by making it the embarking place of a riotous hireling force
raised in England to fight ingloriously in the Palatinate.
In the tragic reign of Charles I. one Mayor had to conduct
festivities at the King's marriage, and another had to proclaim
to the Town his execution. In this sad reign the Civil War had
a blighting effect, and the only local event of a striking
character was the capture of the Castle by a small number of
townspeople on behalf of the Parliament, with which the
principal members of the Corporation were in sympathy.
For eighteen years — from 1642 to 1660 — there was no Royal
flag flying from the Castle Keep.
The period of the Commonwealth in this Town and
Port was the dreariest time on record. The population was
then very small, 200 of its houses being empty; the people
were in abject poverty owing to military exactions and the
stagnation of business.
On the landing of Charles II. at Dover, on the 25th
May, 1660, to resume the monarchial rule, the inhabitants
rejoiced, because they expected to have settled government
and freedom, but local history, during the quarter of a
century over which the rule of Charles II. extended, indicates
that the bitter strife through which the people had passed
had left scars which took long to heal. The Party that had
been oppressed during the Commonwealth retaliated as soon
as they had sufficient power. Two years after the joyful
reception of the exiled King at Dover, Commissioners came
down in his name, and, by a threat of expulsion from the
Corporation, induced the Mayor and fifty-six other Freemen
to conform to religious ceremonies which they had not
previously observed, and they removed .seven Jurats and
twenty-three Common Council men from office because they
would not conform. Those who expected settled government
and freedom were disappointed. Three times over the purge
was applied by means of laws made in the Restoration Period
which undermined the chartered rights which the Corporation
246 ANNALS OF DOVER
had enjoyed for many centuries. Eventually the Charter
was cancelled, for alleged legal reasons, but really to enable
the Crown officials to exact fees for issuing a new one. In
one way and another Dover was made to suffer smartly for
the absence of the Royal flag from the Castle Keep from
1642 until 1660. So drastically did the purge operate that
Captain Stokes, who brought over the King at the Restora-
tion, was ejected from his office as Mayor of Dover, and
Thomas Papillon, the Member for Dover (who gave the
Town the Papillon Charity) had to seek refuge in Holland
until the Stuart rule was over.
The short reign of James II. — the last of the Stuarts —
did not affect Dover very much. James, as Duke of York,
during his brother's reign was popular at Dover as the Lord
High Admiral of the Fleet ; and his installation at Dover
as Lord Warden, in 1668, was a great local event. John
Carlisle, the Clerk of the Passage at Dover, wrote the
following account of the procession passing through the
Town from the Castle and up to Bredenstone Hill on the
Western Heights: —
" First there came the Guard of Dover Castle, with a horse
and pistol each ; then Dr. Jenkins, in scarlet, and the Judge of
the Admiralty Court, in black ; the Admiralty Court-Sergeant, with
silver oar and anchor on it, and the Boder of the Castle, with his mace,
all bareheaded. Colonel John Strode, the Lieutenant of the Castle,
came next, and was followed by the Duke of York, accompanied
by the Duke of Lenox. After them followed Mr. Jermyn and several
persons of tjuality, succeeded by the five Mayors of the Ports — Dover,
Hastings, Sandwich, Hythe and Romney, and the two Mayors of
the ancient Towns, Rye and Winchelsea, all in black g^owns, on
horseback, only the Mayor of Dover had a white rose. Then seven
Bailiffs, who are Mayors, in their station, in black gowns. Then
forty-two Jurats, who were returned to wait upon the Lord Warden,
each attended by a sergeant in livery; then Sir Thomas Armstrong's
Troop of Horse, to bring up the rear. There was a sermon
preached before the Lord Warden in St. James's Church, and, after
the ceremony in the tent, which was erected over the Breden Stone,
they all returned to the Castle, where great provision was rrnde,
including ten fat bullocks, and a great concourse of people all fed
free."
The popularity which the Duke of York evoked as Lord
Warden and Admiral of the Fleet to some extent remained
when, as James II., he, in 1685, bfcame King; but, the
majority of the people of Dover being out-and-out Protestants,
his attempts to trnmple underfoot the laws of " this Pro-
testant Kingdom'" alienated from liim the greater number
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 247
of his subjects in this Town. If it had been a matter of
popular feeling, the warm-hearted Duke of York would have
stood far above the cold-blooded WilUara of Orange, but
the majority of the people of Dover were swayed by their
religious principles causing them to join heart and hand in
the Revolution.
When William of Orange anchored off Dover on his way
to Torr Bay, Dover was ready to welcome him as the
defender of the Faith for which so many Kentish folk had
>'ielded up their lives at the stake a century earlier.
248 ANNALS OF DOVER
VI.
THE REVOLUTION AND AFTER.
There is very little of local interest left on record
respecting the reign of William III. The King was a friend
and patron of Thomas Papillon, the senior Member for
Dover, and he appointed a very discreet Constable and
Warden in the person of the Earl Romney ; but it is doubtful
whether the King was ever any nearer Dover than when he
sailed through Dover Bay on his way to land in Dorsetshire.
He frequently crossed to the Low Countries, but he usually
embarked and landed at Margate.
Queen Anne, in the year 1702, granted Letters Patent,
usually described as a Charter, to the Corporation to appoint
a Water Bailiff. The original Bailiff appointed in the Norman
Period was an officer of great authority, who had two sub-
Bailiffs, one for the water and one for the land, but when
the Baihff ceased to be appointed at the close of the Tudor
period, their still appeared a necessity for a Water Bailiff,
and Queen Anne's Charter supplied it. The muniment,
which is framed and hangs in the Council Chamber, is as
follows : —
"Anne, etc., to all to whom these presents shall come, —
Greeting. Know ye that we, for divers good causes and considerations
us thereunto moving, of our special grace certain knowledge and
mere motion, have given and granted by these presents for us, our
heirs and successors, do give and grant to our trusty and well-beloved
the Mayor and Jurats and Commonalty of this Town and Port of
Dover, in the County of Kent, and their successors, the office and
offices of Water Bailiff and Keeper of the Prison of the aid Town
and Port of Dover and the Liberties thereof for ever, to-^ether with
all fees, profits, advantages, emoluments whatsoever, to the said
ofiBcc and offices in any wise appertaining; and our further will and
pleasure is and we do hereby empower the said Mayor, Jurats ind
Commonalty, their heirs and successors, under their Common .Seal
to make whom they please their deputy to exercise the office of
Water Bailiff and also in like manner to make whom tliey please
their Deputy or Keeper of the said Prison, and they when so made,
or either of them, as often as the said Mayor, Jurats and Commonalty
shall sec cause, to remove and displace a' their will an I pleasure
and to put others in their stead ; and we do hereby grant these
our Letters Patent, or the enrollment or c: emplification thereof, shall
be good, firm, valil nnd effectual in law, and shall be taken,
construed and adjudged as well in all (.ir Courts as elsewhere for
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 249
the best advantage of the Mayor, Jurats and Commonalty of the
Town and Port of Dover, in witness whereof we have caiised these
our letters to be made patent. Witness ourselves at "Westminster
the 37th March, in the first year of our reign. By writ of Privy Seal.
— Cocks."
A change, touching the election of the Mayor, was made
by an Act of Parliament in the year 171 1, which provided
that an outgoing Mayor could not be re-elected until he had
been out of office for a full year. This rule had the effect
of causing a greater number of burgesses to graduate as
Common Councilmen, Jurats, and Mayors; but the Muni-
cipal Corporations Act, of 1835, did not contain that
provision, and in the new Town Council the election of the
same member of the Council for several years in succession
to fill the office of Mayor has been of frequent occurrence.
Municipal Government at Dover was consideraljly
affected by the accession of George I. This first sovereign
of the House of Hanover, made it his chief aim to secure
the support of the Whig Party in England, because that
Party .seemed likely to be useful to him in defending his
claim to the crown against the Jacobites, who were then
inclined to bring about another Stuart Restoration, and his
preference was based on common sense. The action which
George I. took with regard to Dover Corporation, was to
assure himself that the Chief Magistrate was a supporter of
the House of Hanover, for which reason John Hollingbury
was removed from the Mayoralty in 1722. The thirty years
following the accession of George H. was a dull period in
Dover. The few changes introduced were so insignificant
that they made ver)' little difference between the aspect of
the Town and Port in 1727 and 1760. The Market-Place
had been enlarged a little, by the demolition of some houses
on the side next to St. Martin's Church Yard. The old
place looked much the same; but its peaceful sleepy aspect
was disturbed by the noise of martial drums, and the drilling
of companies, called the militia, while the Mayor and Jurats
sat permanently in the old Court Hall, as a committee of
defence owing to rumours of invasion. There was no
invasion, but war followed in which the men of Dover, who
had ceased to be called upon for Cinque Ports ship service,
fitted out Privateers and did valiently in maintaining British
supremacy in the English Channel. The House of Hanover
had done very little to en- murage the Mariners of Dover,
250 ATSTNALS OF DOVER
foreigners being preferred by George I. and George II.
before Dover men as captains of the Mail Packets on the
Dover Passage. In the form of Local Government there
was no change, and very little betterment in the buildings
of the streets, although, towards the end of that period,
improvements both for public convenience and on sanitary
grounds were badly needed.
The period now arrived at in the history of Dover is
the commencement of its transition from mediaeval simplicity
to the condition of a well ordered town. The transition
was slow, for the people clung to old ways and were
desperately in love with the lanes and nooks, the crooked
streets and maladorous slums of Old Dover. Even to this
day many of the natives of this old town, both at home
and abroad have a great affection for the old place as it was
in their childhood, and when some of those who left it
in early life make a pilgrimage hither from far off countries
they pay but little attention to our "improvements," but
wander through the old narrow Lanes and around the ruins
of ancient buildings hoping to light upon some of the old
nooks, which their fathers had told them of.
If we could get a true picture of Dover which the
Corporation ruled in the first sixteen years of the reign of
George III., we should see a community unmolested by
Sanitary reformers, houses built to suit the whims of the
owner; lanes as narrow, and streets as crooked as the most
romantic mind could imagine. Down to the year 1776
Dover had not been built to any regular design, town-
planning had not been thought of. Somebody of course
had planned the town walls with gates to keep intruders out,
and towers to keep prisoners in. but those things were for
the security of the state rather than the good of the people.
Within those walls and gates the little community was
huddled together, and there were only a few straggling
houses outside the mural boundary. The chief diversions
of the people were when some great Kings, Queens,
Warriors, or Military prisoners landed ; or when erring
townspeople were consigned to the stocks, the ducking stool,
the pillory, or the gallows, all of which were close at hand ;
whilst, once a year, at any rate, all the Freemen went to
Church to elect one of their townsmen for the office of
Mayor. That style of Old Dover may be said to have
existed unalloyed until 1778.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 25 1
VII.
LOCAL RULE BY STATUTE.
Down to the year 1778 Dover was governed in accordance
with its Charters, prescriptive rights and its Customal; but
those conglomeratic regulations were inadequate for a
modern Community. In the year 1776 reformers began
to agitate for larger powers, and in the year 1777 a Dover
Local Government Bill was introduced in Parliament. It
became law in 1778, and it was from time to time
supplemented by other Local Acts which we will briefly
summarise : —
The Act of 1778, known as the first of the Paving Acts, only
affected the parishes of St. Mary and St. James. The preamble of
that Statute states that the Town was then " very ill paved, and
not sufficiently cleansed, lighted and watched," and that the streets
and lanes, owing to " annoyances and encroachments therein, are
incommodious and dangerous," and that for the convenience and
safety of the inhabitants and travellers it was desirable that powers
should be obtained to make improvements. It was provided that,
for the purpose of putting the proposed powers into force, an enlarged
local authority should be constituted, consisting of (a) the Mayor and
Jurats of the Town and Port ; (b) the Members of Parliament for
the same ; (c) the Recorder ; (d) the Common Council-men for the
time being ; and (e) forty-nine other townsmen. The authority
constituted was called The Paving Commission. The Mayor and
Jurats named in the Act were Mr. Matthew Kennett (Mayor),
Messrs. Christopher Gunman, Michael Russell, James Hammond,
John Latham, John Coleman, Thomas Bateman Lane, Edmund
Barham, Sampson Farbrace, Henry Jelley, James Gunman, and
Phineas Stringer. The names of the forty-nine nominated townsmen
were also embodied in the Act, and they, together with the before
mentioned ex-officio members, made up a cumbrous body of
eighty-eight persons, who, with the exception of the two Borough
Members, were not only appointed for life, but the vacancies arising
from deaths or other causes were filled by themselves. The qualifica-
tion to be a Commissioner was the possession of real estat*
of the annual value of £,^o, or ;^5oo personal property.
To give this body a locus standi, the surface of the streets was
vested in them, and no other authority had any right to interfere
with them. The Commissioners were empowered to cause gravel
and stones to be dug up from the shore for paving purposes, but
the Harbour Authorities would not allow beach and boulders to be
taken from the jurisdiction except with their consent. Sidewalks in
the streets were introduced, and the Act provided that they should
be " paved with Maidstone flats, Swanage pitchers, or other smooth
pavement," bordered by a kerb -tone. The carriage ways were to
252 ANNALS OF DOVER
be made with good Kentish blue stones, sized pebbles, or otherwise
as the Commissioners thought proper. For the next threescore years
the Commissioners judged proper to have the carriage ways paved
with good-sized pebbles, sloping from each side to a gutter in the
middle.
For lighting the streets the Commissioners were empowered to
fix lamps [oil lamps], and defray the cost of lighting the same. Up
to this time the householders were required to show forth candles
in their windows, except on a few nights before and after the full
moon. Previously there had been a certain allowance to the Mayor
for torches, which was then discontinued.
For the pui'pose of watching, the Commi>ssioner.s were empowered
to appoint able-bodied men, not exceeding twenty-four in number,
armed as may be expedient, to watch, patrol and guard the streets;
and thereafter the personal duty to " watch and ward,"' which, up to
that time, had devolved on all householders, ceased.
The revenue to meet the necessary expenditure was threefold : —
(i) Tolls, taken at toll-gates then set up, as follows: — For carriages
with four or more horses 1/-, with two or three horses 6d., one-horse
vehicles 3d., and for every horse, mule or ass not drawing id. ; (2)
Coal dues, being a tax of i/- per ton or chauldron of all sorts of
coal brought into the Town or landed at the Port, the dues being
paid to the Collector of Customs and handed to the Clerk of the
Commissioners ; (3) A rate of sixpence in the pound on all property
within the two parishes. Also, on the security of these tolls, dues
and rates, the Commissioners were authorised to borrow to the extent
of ;^8,ooo. The ordinary revenue was for the purpose of cleansing,
watching and paving the streets, while the money to be borrowed
was for permanent improvements.
It had previously been the duty of the householders to keep
the streets clean in front of their property, and this Act provided
that it should be the duty of each occupier to sweep the pavements
and the road to the middle of the street every P'ridav between the
hours of six in the morning and two in the afternoon, putting the
rubbish in heaps ready for the scavenger to take away, but the
Commissioners had power to comjjound with owners to do the sweeping
in front of their property on the owners {)aying the agreed sum in
advance. The side j)avements were strictly reserved for pedestrians,
and no barrow or other wheel vehicle was allowed to go thereon,
and that is the Dover law still, except as regai-ds perambulat.ors.
Houses were to be numbered, and new ones were to be built with
]jerpendicular fronts. Property, required for street widening, was to
be paid for at a valuation made by a jury of townsmen appointed by
the Quarter Sessions.
Such is a brief summary of the first of the Paving Acts
under which Dover was governed from 1778 until 1810.
Its main defect according to modern ideas was that those
who paid the rates, tolls and dues, had no right of choosing
those who .should spend the money. To remedy this and
other defects, three other Dover " Paving Acts " were
obtained between 1810 and 1835.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 253
The preamble of the Act of i8io says that the previous Act
for paving, watching and lighting was found " insufficient to carry
into effect the purposes thereby intended," that its provisions were
inadequate, and that it was expedient that so much of that Act as
relates to cleansing, paving and watching should be repealed, and
other provisions made in lieu thereof. It was also deemed necessary
to extend the powers to some parts of the parishes of Charlton and
Hougham. The Act of 1810 provided that persons, duly qualified,
residing in the parishes of Charlton or Hougham might be appointed
Commissioners. As to sweeping, this Act required occupiers to sweep
the footpaths opposite their premises twice or more times every
week, but not, as before, any part of the roadway. As to preventing
projections, the powers were amplified generally, but in some cases
modified. For instance, if any house steps were removed, it must
be at the cost of the Commissioners. There was a give-and-take
arrangement with regard to building out and setting back houses. In
cases of re-building, the fronts of houses might be brought out in a
line with adjoining buildings, but, where projecting houses were taken
down for re-building, the Commissioners might order them to be set
back, compensation being given for the land surrendered. No cellars
were to be under the pavements " unless allowed by the Commis-
sioners " ; but many were allowed. No building, in the future,
was to be covered with " thatch." From that time until 1816 the
roofing in Dover was tiles, mainly Dutch ; but in 1816 Welsh slates
were first shipped to Dover. With regard to street widening, this Act
says : " Whereas the entrances into Dover from the towns of Deal
and Folkestone are narrow, circuitous and dangerous, powers are
necessary to purchase certain houses and buildings " ; and the Act
specifies how such powers are to be exercised, by summoning a jury
of " twelve indifferent men," to assess the i^alue of the premises. A
pound was provided to secure beasts straying in the streets. Power
was given to water the streets, and to sink wells and erect pumps
to obtain the water. The principal pumps were in Red Pump
Square (now- Blenheim Square), the Market Place, Ladywell, and at
Charlton Green.
To facilitate the watching of the streets, power was given to set
up watchmen's boxes and watch-houses, and victuallers were forbidden
to allow watchmen in their houses during (heir time of duty. With
regard to the extension of the Commissioners' jurisdiction, the Act
says : " When either the footway or the carriage way of any streets,
lanes or public passages in Charlton or Hougham are paved, cleansed,
lighted or watched, then, and no sooner, shall all the powers of this
Act extend to such parts of those parishes." The financial provision
of the Act were : — Permission to add another sixpence to the rate,
another shilling per ton on the coals, and power to borrow au
additional ^^i 1,000.
It was under the Act of 1810 that the Commissioners first licensed
porters and sedan chairmen, but there was a saving clause to preserve
the ancient rights of the Mayor and Jurats in respect of old cstabLshed
Town Porters.
There were twelve lots of houses, buildings and lands scheduled
in the Act mainly for the purpose of widening the entrance to the
Town from Deal and from the Folkestone Road. The upper part
254 ANNALS OF DOVER
of St. James's Street and the corner between Old St. James's Church
and Castle Hill House were widened, and for the same purpose power
was taken to widen the cross lane from Townwall Street to upper
St. James's Street by the " Fox " Inn, but not carried out. A piece
of meadow land near the " Red Cow " Inn and four small houses in
Biggin Street were scheduled and acquired to make Priory Street, the
way to the P'olkestone Road being previously through Worthington's
Lane or York Street. Several of the properties scheduled were for
the widening of Bench Street and the bottom of Queen Street, but
Bench Street was widened by a later Act.
We will now describe the third Pa\ing Act of 1830: —
The preamble states that the population had considerably
increased since the passing of the previous Paving Acts, and that the
Town had become a place of great resort for visitors and strangers,
and that further powers were required. The constitution of the
Commission was radically changed by this Act, and provision made
for the election of the members. The names of fifty-six members
were embodied in the Act, in addition to the Mayor and Jurats, and
power given to elect fifty-six more, making a total of 118. One-third
of the members (exclusive of the Mayor and Jurats) retired annually
by rotation in the second week of January, and an equal number
were elected, each inhabitant ratepayer having a vote.
The Nuisance Clauses of the previous Acts were all repealed
and replaced by others more drastic and effectual, which are still in
force with regard to wrongfully using and obstructing pavements,
and prohibiting furious driving, the keeping of ferocious dogs, driving
without reins or on the wrong side, trundling hoojis, blowing horns,
lighting' bonfires and playing football in the streets. The inhabitants
were, by this Act, required to clear snow from the pavements in front
of tlieir houses, and, gas having been introduced, there were regulations
lor laying the pipes under the streets. Power was given to prevent
the pollution of the Dour ; and to license hackney carriages and to
fix their fares, as well as to purchase and maintain a fire engine.
Sea bathing regulations, froni bathing machines, three-quarters of a
mile east of the Harbour and one-quarter of a mile westward, were
sanctioned. An addition to the borrowing powers of _,fio,ooo was
granted, making a total borrowing under the three Acts of ;j^29,ooo.
The fourth and last Paving Act, passed in the year
1835, was mainly for the widening of Bench Street and
the opening of Castle Street to the Market Place, Castle
Street having been previously laid out at the expense of
private speculators. The cost of the widening of Bench
Street was ^g,o6o, and of making the opening through
the Antwerp Stables into Castle Street ;,<;4,i49, and other
improvement e.xpen.ses incurred by the Paving Commis-
sioners made a total debt of ^23,725, borrowed on the
joint security of the rates and the coal dues, which was
"carried forward," and nothing but the annual interest
paid until the year 1888, when the Borough Loans were
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 255
consolidated, and arrangements made for automatically paying
off that old Paving Debt by annual instalments. That
Paving Act of 1835 also provided for the appointment of
officers to weigh the coals subject to coal dues; and it
extended the jurisdiction of the Borough Magistrates to the
whole of the Parliamentary Borough, as it had been fixed
by the Representation of the People's Act, 1832.
Within the period covered by the Paving Acts other
local Acts of Parliament were passed, two immediately
affecting the government of the Borough, and three which,
although not promoted by the Corporation, closely affected
the welfare of the town. It will be convenient to briefly
state the effect of those five statutes, the names and dates
which were as follows: —
The Court of Requests Act, 1784.
The Dover Gas Act, 1822.
The Dover Turnpike Act, 1823.
The Dover Market Act, 1826.
The Dover Harbour Act, 1828.
The Court of R-equests Act was int-ended to supplement, bait in
no way to interfere with, tho Ancient Court of Record, which from
time immemorial had been held by the Mayor and Jurats to try Civil
actions. But that Court was cumbersome and expensive, and the
Court of Requests was established to deal with small affairs with
little cost or ceremony. In stating the reason why this new Court
was needed, in 1784, the Act recites that "the I'own of Dover is
populous, that there is a commodious harbour belonging to the Port,
bv means of which a considerable trade is carried on ; that many
persons contract small debts and frequently refuse (although well
able) to pav, presuming on the expense of proceedings for recovery;
that it would promote industry and support useful credit if some
easy method of recovery of small debts were established." For that
purpose sixty inhabitant householders, duly qualified by the possession
of real estate of the annual value of £2,0, or ^500 personal property,
were appointed to act as Commissioners of the Court, serving by
rotation eight at a time. The debts over which the Court had
jurisdiction ranged from 2/- to 40/-. No solicitor, unless he were a
Mayor or a Jurat, was allowed to sit as a Commissioner, and no
solicitor was allowed to plead in the Court. The fees varied from
twopence to tenpence, the whole arrangement being ordained to
make the recovery of a small debt as cheap and expeditious as possible.
This Court continued to sit in Dover until the introduction of the
County Court, 9th April, 184;. This Act applied to all parishes
now included in the Dover Union.
The Gas Act of 1822 constituted the present Gas Light Company.
Down to that time, the streets had been lighted with oil lamps, but the
preamble of this Act stated that it would be an improvement to light
the thoroughfares with '• inflammable air," which could be obtained
256 ANNALS OF DOVER
from coal, and conducted to the street lamps and houses by means
of " tubes." The Act gave the Company power to break up the
6tr«ets to lay pipes and to raise ;^9,ooo capital in ;^5o ohareB- Th«
first gas works were in Trevanion Street.
The Dover Turnpike Act of 1823 was a consolidation of all
previous Acts. The first roads " turnpiked " under those Acts were
the Grabble Hill route to Canterbury and the Bulwark Hill route
to Folkestone. The last turnpike gate remaining under this Act
was that at the Elms Turning on the Folkestone Road, which was
abolished on the let November, 1877.
The Dover Market Act of 1826, promoted by the Corporation,
was mainly for widening the Market Place by taking down the west
side of King Street, setting back and building the present frontage.
The same Act provided for removing the elections of Mayors and
Members of Parliament from St. Mary's Church to the Guildhall in
the Market Place.
The Dover Harbour Act of 1828, promoted by the Dover
Harbour Commissioners, in its preamble recites the previous Acts,
II and 12 William IH., 2nd Anne, 4th George L, 9th George I.,
nth George U., 34th George H., 26th George III., 34th George HL,
and 47th George HL All those Acts, covering the period from
1700 to 1807, were repealed, and the new Act constituted the
warden and assistants " a body politic " supplying safeguards against
the personal liability of the Commissioners not contained in the
Charter of 1606 and intermediate Acts. This Act was, in effect, a
new Charter, superseding that of James I. and the subsequent
Statutes, but the Corporation of Dover had no interest in it, except
that the Mayor, as before, was one of the Commissioners.
Briefly expressed, the foregoing are summaries of the
nine Acts of a local character passed between the years
1778 and 1835.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 257
VIII.
PARLIAMENTARY AND MUNICIPAL REFORM.
In the tranquil period which followed the death of
George III., domestic affairs occupied public attention, and
the people of Dover earnestly joined in the agitation for
Parhamentary and Municipal Reform. Parhamentar>'
Reform came first. In 1832 the Corporation was deprived
of the privilege which had existed since the Thirteenth
Century of sending Burgesses to represent the town and
port in the House of Commons. The wisdom of that change
was not questioned at the time, for it was the will of
Parliament that the door should be so wide that every
British subject, with money enough to pay the election
expenses, might seek to represent the Borough in Parlia-
ment; and from thenceforth it was not necessary for
Parliamentary candidates to be Freemen.
Next came the Municipal Reform Act, which displaced
the old Corporations which had governed by prescription
and charter since the Saxon times. A sentimental sigh on
the passing of a venerable institution is natural, but, other-
wise, there was no room for regret, for the change was
desirable in the public interest. The Municipal Corpora-
tions Art, however, in its effects at Dover, was more a
political than a social reform — a change in names more than
things. For fifteen years after that Act came into force
the Paving Commissioners had to deal with most of the
business affecting sanitary affairs, and the great work in
front of the new Town Council could not be touched until
the Public Health Act came into force. The control
maintenance and improvement of the .streets, as well as the
drainage and scavenging, were still in the hands of the
Paving Commissioners ; but the lighting of the town was
transferred to the Town Council, who had power to extend
gas-light to the whole of the Parliamentary Borough. The
watching was also taken over by the Town Coimcil. The
old watchmen were thenceforth called constables, and the
watch-house was called a police station. The style of the
Corporation, which had been " Mayor, Jurats, and
Commonalty." was changed to "Mayor, Aldermen, and
Burgesses." The basis of the Corporation was enlarged
by making every rated and registered occupier a burgess of
258 ANNALS OF DOVER
the Corporation; and the boundary of the Borough was
extended to include all those parts of the parishes of
Charlton, Hougham and Buckland that had, by the Act of
1832, been included in the ParUamentary Borough. The
name of the new governing body had been changed from
the Common Council to the Town Council, and its
constituent parts changed from Mayor, Jurats and Common
Council-men to Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors; and the
number of the Council was reduced from thirty-six to
twenty-four members. Such was the new Municipal machine
set up in 1836, but the new Town Council was not fully
empowered to undertake the sanitary reform required until
the Public Health Act was carried in 1848; yet, even then,
the Town Council, being mainly composed of owners of
property, were loth to put that Permissive Act in force,
because it would increase the town rates and the expenditure
that would fall on the landlords. The slackness of the
Town Council aroused agitation in 1850, v. liich compelled
them to adopt the Act and enforce it. Public opinion on
this subject was demonstrated at a Common Hall in 1849,
with the Mayor in the chair, when the vote was three to
two in favour of the Act being adopted. Then a local
Inquiry was held by Mr. Rawlinson, a Board of Health
Inspector, before whom some of the principal townsmen
made shocking disclosures as to the reeking cesspools and
polluted wells in Dover. Even the evidence of property
owners and lodging-house keepers, intended to convince
the Inspector that the Public Health Act was not needed
in Dover, showed that the new lodging-houses on the Sea
Front, some of them letting at ;£i6o a year, were depending
entirely on cesspools, excepting a few of the best liouses
in Waterloo Crescent, which were " drained into the Pent " !
As to the greater part of the dwellings of the poor, it was
proved that they had neither cesspools, closets nor drains,
and were dependent on " tubs," which the scavengers
charged twopence each for emptying! The result of the
Inquiry was that the Public Health Act, by means of a
Provisional Order, was appUed to Dover, and that Order
embodied such of the provisions of the four Local Paving
Acts as were not inconsistent therewith, and further provided
that the Paving Commissioners should he abolished and their
powers conferred on the Town Cour.cil. The confirminn;
Act of Parliament by which that change was accomplished
was passed in May, 1850.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 259
The Town Council first met as a Local Board of Health
in October, 1850, and their first act was to order a town
map, which it was estimated would cost ;;^i,5oo. The
estimate was subsequently reduced to ;£8oo, and that sum,
borrowed to pay for it, was the first loan raised by the
Local Board of Health.
The greater work of providing a complete arterial
system of drainage, with branches to all parts of the town,
together with a public water supply, was undertaken after
various plans and proposals had been deliberately considered.
In 1853 a contract for works of sewerage and water supply
was made. The plans for the drainage provided for one
sewer artery, commencing with a moderately sized pipe, on
Grabble Hill, and extending through the main thoroughfares
down the valley to Oxenden Street, in the Pier. That
main artery was gradually enlarged to accommodate the
sewage from branches extending right and left to all
parts of the town. At the Pier an engine house was
built, containing two 35-horse power engines, to pump the
sewage up to a level that would allow it to flow into an
outfall extending into the tideway outside Shakespeare Bay.
As the latteral sewers were rather flat, the engineers provided
forty flushing wells, to hold from t,ooo to 2,000 gallons
each, to be filled daily from the Waterworks to flush the
side sewers, but this was found, in practice, to be
unnecessary, and they have all been filled up. At the
terminus of the main sewer at the Pier, it was found that
at low water the sewage would flow into the outfall by
natural gravitation, and as the well was sufficient to hold
the sewage at high water, the pumping engines for some
years were not needed, but when the volume of sewage
increased the pumps were used as originally designed. The
cost of the original sewage system was ;^65.ooo. The
Waterworks, on the side of the Castle Hill, which were
commenced at the same time, including wells, reservoirs,
and pumping power, cost, ;^25,ooo, making a total of
_;^QO,ooo borrowed at that time to place the town in a fair
sanitary condition. Added to that was the debt of ;;^24.ooo
left owing by the Paving Commissioners, and with that
debt of ;;^T 14,000 on their shoulders, the Corporation could
not enter upon any other great undertaking in the way of
local improvement for nearly a quarter of a century.
26o ANNALS OF DOVEP
IX.
WOMEN IN THE CORPORATION.
An innovation in Municipal affairs was made by the Act
of 1869 which conferred on single women householders the
right to vote in the election of Town Councillors; but
although that was the first time women had had a vote, they
had previously had an interest — women had played their
part as Mayoresses ever since the long line of Mayors began.
For many centuries, Mayoresses in Dover had assisted their
worshipful husbands, and although the records give but
little definite information concerning them, there are a few
examples that may be quoted. What the wives of those
old Mayors of the Middle Ages did is not recorded, but
there is no doubt they were busy in preparing ihose great
banquets of sweetmeats which were given at the several
Mayors houses year after year, to celebrate their elections.
Mrs. Kempe, the wife of Edward Kempe, a wealthy resident
of St. James' Parish, who was Mayor in the reigns of Queen
Elizabeth and James I., is mentioned in the Corporation
Minutes. She may be termed a double Mayoress, for she
was the wife of John Tench, who was Mayor in 1588, and
as Mayoress she assisted in the rejoicings of that year, on
the completion of the Great Pent, carried out by the bounty
of Queen Elizabeth. Of Mrs. Tench's doings then, however,
there is no special record, but she is especially mentioned
later, because her second husband, Edward Kempe, died
during his second Mayoralty in 16 12, and had, as wr.s
customary, a public funeral. The Minutes say that in the
funeral procession, immediately after the Jurats and Common
Councilmen followed " Mrs. Mayoresse and her daughters
in mourning gowns." Another Mayoress of some note was
Elizabeth, daughter of Captain William Stokes, R.N., who
was Mayoress in some of her father's later Mayoralties in
the time of Charles II., and she subsequently marrieil
Edward Wivell, who was thrice Mayor in the reign of WilUani
III. and thre« times in fhe reign of Queen Anne. Mrs.
Wivell was more than a Mayoress. It was the fact that she
was the daughter of Captain Siokes, a Freeman, that qualified
her husband to enter the Corporation and to become a Jurat
iHE raSTORY OF THE CORPORATION 26 1
and Mayor, so that she really gave him his seat in the
Council, as well as helped him as Mayoress. She too "was
the mother of another Mayoress of some distinction, Madame
Elizabeth Gunman. As the daughter of Edward and
Elizabeth Wivell, she was a rich heiress, and she brought
to her husband, Captain James Gunman, R.N., Buckland
Manor, and other property. She assisted her husband in
his Mayoralty of 1737 and was a pall-bearer at the funeral
of Mrs. Isaac Minet. It is presumed that the Gunman's
were of foreign origin for their wives were styled
" Madame." There was another Madame Gunman who
was Mayoress, the wife of Christopher Gunman, who was
Mayor three time in the reigns of George II., and George
III. They occupied Gunman's Mansion in Biggin Street,
were very rich and it was a common saying that " Madame
Gunman might have curled her hair with bank-notes";
hence it may be inferred that this Mayoress wore ringlets,
the graceful adornment of many stately dames of those
days. A third Madame Gunman, who was Mayoress in
1776, 1784, and 1789, was the wife of James Gunman the
second. She assisted as Mayoress in the etablishment of
the Charity School in Queen Street, and her name is on
the list of foundation donors. She was the last of the
Gunman Mayoresses who dispensed hospitality at Gunman's
Mansion which has since been demolished for street widening.
Lady Mantell was a popular Mayoress. In her maiden
days, as Miss Oakley, she was clever in amatuer theatricals
at Mr. Fector's private theatre, before the Theatre Royal,
in Snargate Street, was established. Later, she married Sir
Thomas Mantell, the Government Agent for the exchange
of Prisoners of War at Dover, and, after the Peace of 1815,
Agent for the Mail Packets. He was Mayor four times during
the war and twice after it, so that the dramatic Mayoress
saw much that was dramatic in connection with her husband's
official life. She was first Mayoress in 1795 and last in
1824. In the latter year her tresses were turning grey and
she had taken up grey subjects, frequently contributing
papers on antiquarian subjects to the journals of the learned
societies.
These were other Mayoresses who took their part in
Municipal work:— One of the Fector family, Jane Laurie,
wife of Captain Henry Pringle Bruyers, who was Mayoress
262 ANNALS OF DOVER
in 1829; and Mrs. Mummery, a lady well known in her day
for the philanthropic work she did in Dover, who was
Mayoress from 1865 to 1867, the Mummery's residence
being at the Maison Dieu House, adjoining the Town Hall.
The list of notable Mayoresses is by no means exhausted;
but in 1869 women were legally admitted to the Corporation
as burgesses, therefore the types of womanhood who assisted
the Corporation as Mayoresses need not be carried any
further.
The appearance of women Burgesses at the polls in
Municipal Elections, before and after the introduction of
the Ballot-box made no great difference in the political
complexion of the majority. One incident may be mentioned
of the third year in which women Burgesses voted in Dover,
and the last time of open voting, November ist, 187 1, when
a woman's vote turned the majority in the Pier Ward,
and the Councillor elected by that vote gave the Liberals a
Majority in the Council Chamber and enabled them to
elect Mr. Richard Dickeson as Mayor ; and Messrs Steriker
Finnis, S. M. Latham, and Rowland Rees as Aldermen.
Probably in no subsequent Municii»jl Election has a woman's
vote so strikingly affected the balance of parties in the
Town Council.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 263
X.
BOROUGH RECORDS.
The Records of the Dover Corporation, if only the more
important of them had been carefully preserved, would have
been a collection that would not in many cases have been
surpassed in interest. Unfortunately, however, the records
have been neglected. Many of the earlier ones have been
entirely lost, while others which had passed into private
hands have found their way to the British Museum. The
records left in Dover, in passing from one Town Clerk to
another, suffered owing to the want of a convenient public
muniment room to retain them.
The necessity for a better system of dealing with the
Borough records was pressed upon the Corporation in 1875
by the late Mr. Edward Knocker, F.S.A., and he so far
aroused their interest in the subject that they created for
him the office of Honorary Librarian, with a free hand to
spend a moderate sum in collecting and translating, and in
constructing a muniment cabinet in which the records would
be safe and convenient for reference. Mr. Knocker, who
was a keen antiquarian himself, and possessed special local
knowledge, derived from having held the office of Town
Clerk, put his heart into the work, and when he had com-
pleted it, in the summer of 1877, the Cabinet, which had
been built under the South windows of the Council Chamber,
was formally opened by the Mayor, Mr. George Fielding,
and Mr. Edward Knocker gave an interesting statement of
the muniments and records that had been salved from the
wastage and wreck of centuries.
The earliest records in the possession of the Town
Council, he said, are those relating to the Maison Dieu, the
first being a Charter granted by Henry HI. in the year
1227, confirming a grant of land that Hubert De Burgh
had made. The same King, in 1230 granted a second
Charter, extending the liberties and franchises of the Maison
Dieu. In 1236 Henry HI. granted another Charter which
enlarged the first; and a fourth Charter was granted by
Edward HI. in April, 1338. In addition to those four
Charters, the Corporation possess seven deeds by which
264 ANNALS OF DOVER
property was conveyed to that religious house. There
are two very interesting deeds relating to the regulation of
the ships of the Passage, and twenty royal charters connected
with the Town and Port, granted by various Sovereigns from
Edward II. to Charles II. There are also ninety-five deeds
to which the Corporation were parties, ranging from 1365
to 1 806, and sixty-one other ancient documents connected
with the Town and Port.
The minute books of the Common Assemblies and
Common Council, which have been preserved by the
Corporation, commence with the year 1557, but are only
continued until 1560, after which date the minutes are lost
up to 1603. Commencing again at that date the Common
Council Minutes are continued until 167 1. From that year
the original minutes have been lost, leaving a gap of ninety-
seven years, from 167 1 to 1757; but those minutes have
found their way into the Egerton Collection of MSS., which
have been purchased by the British Museum, and a copy of
them from 1673 to 1768 has been made and placed in the
Dover Muniment Cabinet; and from 1757 the original minute
books have been preserved complete down to the present
time. The early Chamberlains accounts are missing but
from 1 38 1 to 1546 they have found their way to the British
Museum, and the continuation of the accounts from 1547 to
1835 are in the Muniment Cabinet at Dover, as well as Copies
from the British Museum of a portion of the older accounts,
for a few vears, commencing 1365. Also there are two books
of the Court of Record, one containing the transactions from
1684 to 1692, and another for the period from 1729 to 1740,
as well as entries of cases from 1684 to 1801. There are
enrolments and lists of Freemen from the beginning of the
Stuart Period in the Muniment Cabinet at Dover. The
Corporation records as preserve d at Dover, are, as before
stated, very incomplete; but, happily, the original records
at Dover, together with those in the Egerton and additional
MSS. at the British Museum, gi\ e a fairly continuous account
of the Dover Corporation affairs from 1365 until modern
times. Of course, it is inconvenient to have part of the Dover
Records in London, but that mi;jjht be remedied by having
the remainder of them copied and brought to Dover. That,
and the proper arrangement of more modem records, would
require additional accommodation.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 265
The Borough Miuiiments may be classed as records of
historical interest and documents of practical utility. If the
missing early records were copied, as suggested, and lodged
in Dover, the historical side would be sufficiently dealt with ;
but the modern muniments demand methodical and careful
treatment. When Mr. Edward Knocker, in 1876, undertook
the arrangement of the Dover Corporation Records, he acted
in the spirit of the keen antiquarian that he was, sparing no
pains in collecting and arranging the old documents, but he
made no suggestions as to the arranging and preservation
of the modern records, probably because he presumed that
they were in safe and convenient keeping ; but that is now
forty years ago. Since then the muniments have largely ac-
cumulated. The minutes, which are bound in yearly volumes,
and other modern documents must require a good deal of
room. Every document that is impressed with the
Corporate Seal is a muniment of more or less value, securing
some advantage or accepting some responsibility. They are
l)ublic documents, and there ought to be lists of them
with a brief description of their contents printed and
published every year, so that members of the Town
Council and the ratepayers may know what documents
there are in existence bearing on matters that come up for
discussion in the Town Council. Such knowledge is neces-
sary' to equip Town Coimcillors for their duty in the
Town and to enable ratepayers to keep Town Councillors
up to their duty. The publication of such annual lists would
l)e a safeguard against the loss of records, for if such lists
had been kept in early times, and properly compared with
the records in posses.sion, those piles of records, accounts
and minutes belonging to the Corporation from the Four-
teenth Century to the Eighteenth Century would not have
been transferred to private libraries and eventually sold to
the British Museum. It would be a great public advantage
to keep the burgesses interested in both the ancient and
modern history of their native or adopted town ; that
was one great object that the late Mr. Edward Knocker had
at heart, and, to further that, he .suggested that as soon as
the contents of the Muniment Cabinet were arranged they
should be catalogued, and that the catalogue should be
printed, so that, under proper safeguards, the burgesses
might have an opportunity of consulting the records. If
the ancient and modern records were so catalogued, more
266 ANNALS OF DOVER
room than the present Muniment Cabhiet affords would
certainly be necessary, both for the safety of the documents
and for convenience in examining them. The great leakages
of valuable records in the past evidently arose from
the Corporation having no place of their own where the
records could be conveniently kept. Previous to the
passing of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, the
Mayor for the time being was the only person really
responsible for the Muniments and he fairly discharged that
responsibility while the Muniments were so few that they
could be carried in a box into St. Mary's Church and
handed over by the old Mayor to the new one; later the
Town Clerks had charge, but had no special authority as
Muniment Keepers until the Municipal Corporation Act
made them the respon.sible custodians. At a later date the
Corporation came to the conclusion that further help was
needed in the keeping of their records and some forty years
ago they deputed the care of those documents possessing
historical value to their Honorary Librarian, to which office
there have been three presons successively appointed since
1875, viz., Mr. Edward Knocker, F.S.A. (who had previ-
ously been Alderman, Mayor, and Town Clerk), Sir
Wollaston Knocker, C.B. (who was Town Clerk for forty
years), and Mr. John Ravington Jones (author of several
l)ooks on Dover, and Editor of the " Dover Express " for
more than forty years.)
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 267
XI.
THE MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS.
Reference has been made in earlier chapters to the
Guildhall of the burgesses, which served the purposes of the
Corporation a thousand years ago ; also to the old Guildhall,
part of St. Martin's building near King Street, and to the
Court Hall, sometimes called the Guildhall, which was
built in the Market Place in the reign of James I. These
only call for passing notice, having been, one after another,
abandoned, the last move of the Corporation having been
to the present Municipal Buildings at the Maison Dieu.
The historical associations of the Maison Dieu have
been mentioned, it having been one of the famous religious
houses of Dover; and it has been stated that, after its
dissolution, it became the Dover headquarters of the Royal
Victualling Department. When the Victualling Department
closed, soon after the Peace of 181 5, it was for a few years
used by the Ordnance Department, and the red-brick
mansion on the adjoining site was the residence of the Head
Official of the Victualling Department, and subsequently,
of the Chief of the Ordnance Department. In 1834
the whole establishment was offered for sale at a
London Auction Mart, and was " knocked down " at
j£7,6So; but the Ordnance Department, hearing that
the Corporation of Dover wanted the Maison Dieu Hall
for public purposes, they separated the lots, selling the
mansion privately, and the Maison Dieu itself, with the land
down to the river, was then purchased by the Dover
Corporation, who immediately proceeded to transform the
building into a Sessions Hall and Prison. It was first used
in 1836 as a Council Chamber, a Court for Quarter and
Petty Sessions and a Prison. The new Town Council having
then recently come into existence, and the members being
in an economical mood, they left the grand old Maison Dieu
Hall in dilapidation with its series of ancient south windows
bricked up, and so it remained for fifteen years.
Soon after the Corporation bought the Maison Dieu
Hall they passed resolutions to restore it, and Mr. Ambrose
Poynter, a well-known architect, drew designs for the work,
including those six south windows, and the large one on the
268 ANNALS OF DOVER
west, corresponding with the style in which the hall was
originally built. Those plans were laid aside until 1851,
when the Town Council began to push forward the work.
The windows having been put in according to Mr. Ambrose
Poynter's drawings, were filled with plain glass, but a few
years later the architect's son, Edward, who was born in
Paris in 1836 (now Sir Edward Poynter, R.A., D.C.L.,
President of the Royal Academy), drew a set of cartoons,
remarkably appropriate for filling each of the windows with
stained glass. Those cartoons were also laid aside with the
hope that from, time to time, the townspeople would provide
funds for their insertion as memorials. That expectation
was realised, the series being completed in 1873. The
windows are described in " Dover: A Perambulation," as
follows : —
" The first window inserted was the large one with five lights,
over the south-west entrance, given by Mrs. Bell, of Maison Dieu
House, in memory of her cousin, Mr. William Kingsford, who died
in 1856. In the central light is the figure of Hubert de Burgh, the
founder of the Maison Dieu ; in the two divisions on the right are
effigies of Henry HI. and Richard II., and, on the other side,
Henry VI. and Richard III. The artistic treatment, both as to design
and colour, is superb. The six windows on the south-east side,
which had the pictorial cartoons inserted at various times, are as
follows, commencing at the top of the Hall: — (i) "Relief of Dover
Castle, by Sir John de Pencester, A.D. 1216," inserted, by public
subscription, in memory of our soldiers who fell in the Crimean
War and the Indian Mutiny, 1854-7; (2) "Henry Til. confirming the
Charter of the Maison Dieu, A.D. 1227," inserted by merchants and
citizens of London as " a memorial to the commercial honour and
uprightness of Richard Dickeson, 1872 " ; (3) '' Embarkation of
Edward HI. for France at Dover, A.D. 1359-" inserted as a
memorial to Robert Taylor, Commander of the Roval Navy, who
died at Dover, 1873; (4) "Landing of the Emperor Sigismund
opposed at Dover, A.D. 1414," presented by Mr. H. P. Mackenzie,
the builder employed in the restoration of the Hall, 1862; (5)
" Embarkation of Henry VIII. at Dover for the Field of Cloth of
Gold, 1520," inserted by Mr. Thomas Baker Bass, Town Clerk, in
memory of his relative, William Allen, a native of Dover, who died
in South Australia, 1856; (6) "Landing of Charles II. at Dover, on
his Restoration, 25th May, 1660," erected in memory of Mr. George
T. Thompson, Lieutenant of the Dover Company of the Artillery
Volunteers, who was killed by the bursting of a gun during practice
at ArchclifFe Fort, 9th August, i860. Alike for their artistic merits,
the subjects depicted, and the occasions of their erection, these
winrlows form a series scarcely equalled in any public building in the
kingdom."
After the restoration of 1851 had been completed,
partly by public subscriptions and i)artly at the cost of the
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 269
Town, the Maison Dieu continued to be used, the part
re-constructed as a Borough Prison, on the Ladywell side, the
large hall on the south side used for public meetings, and
the ancient chapel at the north-east end re-constructed as a
Sessions House and Council Chamber. In 1867-8 the
Prison was rebuilt, with a square tower on the north corres-
ponding with the ancient tower on the south of the entrance.
A new Council Chamber was built on the south-east. In
1882-3, the prison having been disused, was demolished,
and a large hall was erected on its site, called the Connaught
Hall, after the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, who came
to open it in July, 1883. At the same time, a " Mayor's
Parlour" was built at the upper end of this hall; and in
1894 a handsome building for the use of the School of Art
and Technology was added, facing I.adywell. The entire
cost of these Municipal Buildings (excluding ;^8oo public
subscriptions and the original purchase money paid by the
old Corporation) has been more than ^60,000.
The Maison Dieu House, a red-brick Elizabethan
Mansion, originally built as the residence of the Chief Officer
of the Dover Victualling Department. After the Ordnance
Department in 1834 sold the Maison Dieu, this Mansion
became private property, but in 1904 it was purchased by the
Corporation for the use of the Officials of the Corporation.
In addition to " storied windows," before described,
the most interesting feature of the interior of the Municipal
Buildings are the historical pictures possessed by the Cor-
poration. Amongst the portraits of Sovereigns more or
less associated with Dover are. Queen Elizabeth, purchased
in 1598; Charles II. and WilHam III., presented by John
Hollingbery, Mayor in 1703 ; Queen Anne, presented by
Captain Ball, 1713; George I., presented by A. Wellard,
Mayor, 1758; and an equestrian portrait of George IV.
Portraits of Lord Wardens are Lionel Sackville, ist Duke
of Dorset, presented by the Duke in 1761; the Duke of
Wellington, painted by Lilley of Dover; Viscount Palmerston,
painted by E. Butler Norris; Earl Granville, painted by H.
J. Brooks; the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, painted by
Prince Troubetzkoy ; and Earl Brassey, of Hythe. Portraits
of Mayors: Charles Lamb, 1853; James Poulter, 1854 ; John
Birmingham, i860; and Dr. Ferrand Astley, 1858. Portraits
of Recorders: Philip Yorke, Lord Hardwick, 17 18-1764;
270 ANNALS OF DOVER
Mr. Robinson, 1771-1807; Sir William Henry Bodkin, 1834-
1874, (painted by R. W. Waters, Dover); and Sir Harry
Bodkin Poland, Q.C, 1874-1901. Portraits of notable
inhabitants: Peter Fector, banker, 17 14-1790; the Rev. John
Maule, Minister of St. Mary's, Dover, 1817-1842. Portraits
of Dover Members of Parliament: Sir John Rae Reid,
1 800-1 847; Edward Royds Rice (painted by R. W. Waters),
1835-1857; Right Hon. George Wyndham, 1889-1913;
and there is in the Council Chamber a portrait of the late
Sir Wollaston Knocker, Town Clerk. Up the side of the
Maison Dieu Hall are shields exhibiting the arms of the
principal Lord Wardens and Constables of the Castle, as
well as other pictures, documents, plans, and charts of local
interest. In addition to the memorial windows in the
Maison Dieu Hall there is one in the Council Chamber
inserted in recognition of the Municipal services of the late
Mr. Steriker Finnis ; and in the Connaught Hall are stained
glass windows, as follows : — Two in memory of the wife
and children of Mr. W. P. Mummery; one in memory of
Mr. C. K. Freshfield, M.P., 1865-85; another in memory
of Major A. G. Dickson, M.P., 1865-1889; one put hi by
Sir Richard Dickeson on the occasion of his being pre-
sented with the Freedom of Dover; and one erected in 1906
in memory of Mr. Edward Worsfold Mowll, Register of Dover
Harbour.
.*. The window, above mentioned, put in on the occasion of
Sir Richard Dickeson being presented with the Honorary Freedom
of Dover, is in the Council Chamber.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 27 1
XII.
DOVER OF TO-DAY.
From the time when the great sanitary improvements
were made by establishing the Water Works and carrying
out the arterial sewerage system in the middle of the
Nineteenth Century, very little was done to alter the general
character of Dover until towards the close of the Victorian
Period. Old Dover has been described as a town of narrow
and crooked streets and lanes. Much of that was greatly
altered in the last two decades of the Nineteenth Centur)';
more particularly the main thoroughfares from the Market
Square to the Maison Dieu, and to the Priory Station were
greatly improved. Many new houses, adapted to the wants
of all classes of the inhabitants were built, most of them
comprised in areas known as the Dover Castle Estate,
Clarendon, Winchelsea, Maxton, Barton, Buckland, and
Crabble; and, in addition to covering ground to a great
extent new, large additions were made to Tower Hamlets and
a much over-due effort was made to improve the dwellings
in the Pier area.
A decided social advantage was the introduction of
electricity, which began to be generated and used in Dover
for light and power in 1894; and the widening of the streets
having made it possible to introduce street tramways, the
electricity was used as the motive power, providing a great
facility for locomotion, which a far extending town like Dover
greatly needs. At a cost of ^,^28,000 the tramways were
made and equipped in 1897, and in 1905 they were extended
to River. Later the Electricity Undertaking, which was
first taken in hand by a Company, was transferred to the
Corporation, and the Town Council controls both of those
commercial enterprises.
The Corporation have entered largely into the provision
of Pleasure and Recreation Grounds. The earliest effort
was their obtaining a lease from the War Department of the
Northfall Meadow, a pleasant glade, north east of the Castle,
formerly a place for tilting matches, called Knights'
Bottom. It has in later vears been used as place
for a semi-rural stroll, and for golf. The Connaught
272 ANNALS OF DOVER
Park, also leased from the War Department, a part
of Dover Castle Farm, was laid out and planted by
public subscriptions in 1883. It has charming walks and
extensive views of the sea and the western hills ; and by
passing through it from end to end the pedestrian has an
unrivalled walk from the upper end of Charlton, right away
to the Castle entrance at the Constable's Tower. The
Danes Recreation Ground on the side of Frith Road, on the
way to Guston, is a fine level plateau, opened in 1891,
dedicated to cricket and football, and occasionally used for
fetes. Near the sea, between the Marine Parade and
Waterloo Crescent, are the Granville Gardens, with a band-
stand, around which visitors and towns people gather to
listen and promenade to the music of Militan- Bands, which
are provided during the summer at considerable cost by the
Corporation. Up the valley, near the extremity of the town,
alongside the tramway route, is the Dover Athletic Ground,
at Grabble, where the matches of the Kent County Cricket
Week are annually held, and all the year round cricket or
football. The ground is a fine oval, in charming sur-
roundings, and on the margin of the oval is a track for cycle
races. On this Athletic Ground the Dover Corporation
spend about ;£3oo a year for its upkeep, in addition to
capital charges. The Corporation also have pleasant
gardens on the South side of the Maison Dieu, the main
feature of which is a fine bowling green.
The Corporation Baths are a fourfold arrangement.
The most important for summer visitors are the bathing
arrangements on the shore from bathing boxes. On the side of
the Promenade at East Cliff are ladies' and gentlemen's
Swimming Baths, as well as private baths. Near the Maison
Dieu there are hot and rold baths, more centrally .situated
for the townspeople, and in the same locality is a ver)' well
arranged Turkish Bath. These bathing conveniences are a
great advantage to the town, both for residents and visitors,
and well worth the five or six hundred pounds that the
Corporation has to provide to balance the working expen.ses.
Land hunger does not trouble the inhabitants of Dover
much, there being a good deal of available garden ground
around the fringe of the building estates, nevertheless the
Corporation has invested between two or three thousand
pounds in the purchase of allotment ground, which is situated
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION 2/3
at Buckland, near working class houses that have only small
gardens.
For the purposes of education the Corporation have in
recent years had to spend much more than in former times,
for until compulsion came by Act of Parliament, the
Corporation's educational expenditure was very small. There
was a Museum established about 80 years ago, which, when
it commenced, was a centre of mutual help in higher
education, but after it came entirely into the control of the
Corporation its educational value declined. There has been
a long agitation in Dover in favour of the establishment of
a Public Library, and although it has to be recorded that
Dover of to-day does not possess such a centre of enlighten-
ment, public opinion appears to be growing in favour of
spending public money in a moderate way, not only for
mental recreation but for liberally furnishing the minds of
citizens with information on public affairs to enable them to
rightly exercise the duties of Citizenship.
274 Annals of doveii
XIII.
A ROLL OF MUNICIPAL SERVICE.
The Roll of Mayors will be given in the next section,
therefore it will be a fitting addenda to the History of the
Corporation to give a roll of some of those who have rendered
Municipal service outside the Mayoralty. In giving a list
of that kind the space required will not allow us to go further
back than the date of the Municipal Reform Act, of 1835,
but from that date we will place on record the names of
all who have served as Aldermen, Councillors, and Magis-
trates of the Borough of Dover down to the present time.
When the Municipal Corporations Act came into force
in the last week of December 1835, the eighteen Councillors
were first chosen and on the first day of the year 1836, the
Councillors chose the six Aldermen and then the twenty-four
members of the Council chose from amongst themselves
Liie Mayor. After that the Magistrates were appointed by
the Crown, chosen mainly from the old Bench of Jurats,
V:)Ut some townsmen from outside were appointed. In the
following lists the names will be given in the order in which
they were originally elected or appointed ; Councillors first,
Aldermen next, and Magistrates following. In the first
election all the eighteen Councillors were chosen and those
who had been members of the old Common Council have
an asterisk placed against their names. In sul)sequent years
the number of new names varied, and in some years there
were no new ones, that depending on the number of old
members who retained their seat by re-election, the rule
having been from the beginning that two Councillors in each
of the three wards should retire every year.
THR COUNCILLORS.
i835*Court, R. S. Marsh, John
Dalawav, John •Payn, A. F.
*Elwin, Michael *Pool€, Edward
Gale. A. R. •Preswtt, William
•Goldsmith, John •Pembroke. J.
•Hammond, R. •Rutley, Thomas
Harrison, George San key, William
•Jenningrs, G. F. Worsfold, James
•Lamb, Charles •Worsfold, John
*Were uicmbers of the old Corporation.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION
275
1836
Mowll, William
Payn, W. H.
Loud, G. H.
Steward, Edward
Nazer, Daniel
1837
HaU, John
Squier, Thomas
1838
Barton, Robert
Going, Philip
Elve, Henry
Latham, S. M.
1839
Mackie, Samuel
1840
Pierce, John
Birch, Thomas
Foord Stephen
Friend, John
I84I
Clark, William
Kettle, John
1842
Hunt, John
1843
Dannells, Thomas
Hollyer, Joseph
1844
Robinson, Thoma;s
1845
Hatton, Thomas
Spain, John
Hughes, Henry
Birmingham, John
1846
Watson, R. W.
Hart, Henry
1847
Bass, T. Bak-r
Page, Alfred
Finnis, Sterik;r
McLeod, T
1848
Boner, John
Mackenzie, H. P.
Hayward, J.
1849
Mowll, W. R.
Metoalf, William
1850
Griggs, H.
Duke, James
Chalk, Stephen
Jell, H.
1851
(No New Members.)
1852
Hill, Andrew
Wo<xJ, J.
Otfcoway, J. C
1853
Hipgrave, George
Dickeson, Richard
Johnson, Stephen
Walter, John
1854
Bussey, W.
18c; =;
Weston, Lambert
1856
Gaskin, G.
Sims, John
1857
Clark, John
Freeman, William
Moxon, William
Terry, W. J.
1858
Stoekwell, Hptirr
Peirce, F. S.
Norwood, Thomas
i8s9
Rutter, Edward
Back, Thomas E.
1S60
Briggs, J. A.
Hills, Edward
Parks, G. T.
Spice, Charles
1861
Poulter, James
Wakeling, W.
Smith, J. George
1862
Adamson, George
Fox, Thomas
Pound, G. C.
Rees, Rowland
1863
Thorpe, J. C.
Stiff, Philip
1864
Agate, John
Richardson, John
Mummery, W. R.
iS6q
Evenden, J.
1866
Barter, Timothy
Lewis, Thomas
Larkins, Stephen N.
1867
Ayers, Parker
Mowll, Edward Rutley
Churchward. Joseph G.
Smyth, S. R.
1868
Gravenor. William
Stone, Henry
Jones, Robert Hesketh
1869
Brown, Thomas Viney
Fry, Edward Wickens
276
ANNALS OF DOVER
1870 Bradley, John Lade
IroUj Richard
1871 Adcock, William John
Wilson, Archibald
1872 Peake, Henry
Tapley, E. J.
1873 Ayers, Alfred W.
Fuller, William
Matthews, Alfred
1874 Hambrook, J. B.
1875 Chandler, George W.
1876 Phillips, John
1877 Carder, Eugene
Robinson, Edward P.
1878 Bordeaux, John
Sharpe, Marcus
1879 Hearn, John Thomas
Muminery, W. G.
1880 Marshall, Dr. John
1881 Fry, George Fred
1882 Birch, George
1883 Crundall, W. H.
Prescott, F. W.
1884 Bussey, James W.
1885 Baker, Henry Minter
MowU, Havelock
1886 Earl, William
Barnes, W. J.
1887 Hay ward, Henry
1888 Mowll, E. Worsfold
1889 Edwin, Henry Francis
1890 (No New Members.)
1891 Lewis, W. G.
Mowll, H. Martyn
1892 Bradley, Montague
Goodwin, C. S.
1893 Finnis, Frederick
1894 Chitty, Fxlward
1895 Wright, Froderick George
1896 (No New Members.)
1897 Bromley, William
1898 (No New Members.)
1899 (No New Members.)
1900 Best, W. J. Duncan
1 901 (No New Members.)
1902 Baird, John
1903 Appleton, Thomas
Bradley, William
1904 Austen, Edward
Davidson, C5ol. C. M.
igoi; Farley, E. W. T.
1006 Ford, Hubert H.
Worsfold, E. M.
Crundall, William (senr.)
Page, George
Kingsford, Flavius
Fry, Thomas Wickens
Webb, Henry
Fletcher, J. Ismay
Finnis, John
Killick, George Reynolds
Thorpe, Henry William
Kingsford, Cottenham
Cullen, John
Howard, James Fred.
Lukey, Edward
Smith, William J.
Bottle, Alexander
Pepper, Matthew
Qark, Frank
Fielding, Ernest J.
Mowll, George H.
Burkett, William W.
Dawes, E^lwaixl
Mackenz::, P. W. J.
Caspall, TTenry Freeman
Coveney, Benjamin
Hobday, Henry
Ragget, G. F.
THE HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION
277
1907 G«ddes, H. R.
1908 (No New Members.)
1909 Chitty, Edward Ernest
1910 Stone, Dr. F. W.
Beaufoy, C. G.
191 1 Barwick, R. James
191 2 Hollis William
1913 Norman, Madgetfc
Leuey, Hugh
Shone, H. E. Vernon
THE
1836 Boxer, Capt. Edward, R,
Dickenson, W. R.
Rutley, Edward
1838 Steward, Elward
Court, R. }',
1S41 Elwin, Mic]:;>il
Poole, Edward
1844 Clark, William
1847 Lsmay, Thomas
Jennings, G. F.
1850 Page, Richaixl
Finnis, Steriker
1853 Astley, Dr. E. F.
1856 Rogers, Lawrence
1858 Birmingham, John
1859 Knocker, Edward
1862 Noble, Capt. J. W.
Robinson, Thomas
1S65 Court, Percy Simpson
1868 Claris, Percy Brcck
Norwood, Thoma.s
187 1 Recs, Rowland
1874 Peirce, F;:-.!. Samuel
1877 Adcock, W. J.
Bottle, Alexander
1880 StifE, Philip
1883 Finnis, John
Killick, G. R.
1886 Stone, Henry
1889 Birch, George
Smith, W. J.
1892 Howard, J. F.
Pepper, Matthew
1891; (No New Aldermen.)
1898 (No New Aldermen.)
1900 Mowll, Henry Martyn
1904 Bussey, W. J.
1907 (No New Aldermen.)
iqio Lewis, W. G.
1912 Walmisley, A. T.
191 3 Bradley, William
Prescott, F. W.
Winter, S.
Wreford, Raymond
Hogben, George
Gatehouse, John W.
Morgan, R.
ALDERMEN.
N. Cocke, William
Pilcher, Joseph Webb
Thompson, Edward Pebt
Jeken, John
Kestermann, M.
Hallans, Captain
Sankey, William
Poulter, James
Latham, S. M.
Chalk, Stephen
Pound, G. 0.
Worsfold, James
Churchward, J. G.
Fielding, George
Fletcher, J. I.
Marshall, Dr. John
Fry, Edward Wickeus
Baker, H. M.
Peake, Henry
Wright, G. P.
Sellensj C. J.
278
ANNALS OF DOVER
BOROUGH
1836 Ck)leman, John
Boxer, Edward
La,t.liam, Hensliaw
Pilcher, Joseph Webb
1842 Cocke, William
Dickenson, W. E.
Elve, Henry
Elwin, Michael
Graham, G.
1851 Elsted, W. P.
Jennings, G, F.
1855 Noble, Jeffery W.
1857 Astley, E. F.
Birch, Thomas
Finnis, Steriker
1863 Back, Thomas E.
Dickeson, Richard
1866 Birmingham, John
1868 Churchward, J. George
Crooks, J. F.
1870 Rees, Rowland
1873 Jones, Robert Hesketh
1876 Pierce, Fred Samuel
1879 Bottle, Alexander
Adcock, William John
Barton, F. E.
1880 Brown, Thomas Viney
Fielding, George
1884 Finnis, John
Marshall, John
1886 Hay ward, Henry
1889 Pepper, Matthew
1890 Fry, George F.
Peake, Henry
1892 Barnes, W. J.
Smith, W. J.
1893 Bagshaw, W. J.
Prescott, F. W.
1896 Aycrs, Alfred W.
Mackenzie, P. W. J.
1897 Cay, Captain R. B.
Finnis, Frederick
1905 Burkett. W. W.
Rubie, G. C.
Back, J. H.
1906 Chitty, Edward
Bradley, William
1914 Atkins, W. D.
Hobday, Kenry
Wood, D)-. Charles
In the poriod from 1835 to
elected, 60 new Aldermen, and 8
MAGISTRATES.
Shipden, John
Stringer, George
Rutley, Edward
Jarvis, G. K.
Poole, Edward
Russell, Henshaw
Wilkins, C. B.
Latham, S. M.
Sibbett, Edward
Smithett, Luke
Knocker, J. B.
Stride, Lewis
Worsfold, James
Mowll, W. R.
Ottawiy, J C.
Smith, J. George
Stein, Charles
Bradley, J. L.
Court, Percy S.
Crundall, W. H.
Killick, G. R.
Liikey, Edward
Toomov, G. E.
Thorpe, Henry W.
Edwin, H. F.
Tei-scn. T. A.
Hills, Edward
Biissfv, W. J.
Wright, F. G.
Scott, John
Clark, Andrew
Pabnor, W.
1914 llirro were 197 new Councillors
2 Bovoiigh Magistrates appointed.
SECTION VI.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES.
CONTENTS :
I. The Early Civic Chiefs.
II. The Roll from Domesday.
III. From the First Mayor.
IV. From the Writing of the " Customal."
V. From the Suspension of the Liberties.
VI. From the Establishment of the Common Council.
VII. From the Transfer of the Harbour.
VIII. From the Charter of Charles II.
IX. From the Paving Commission.
X. From the Town Council.
XI. From the Public Health Acts.
XII. From Widening of Biggin Street to the Pier Viaduct.
SECTION SIX.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES.
I.
THE EARLY CIVIC CHIEFS.
The Roll of the Chief Magistrates of Dover from the
Saxon times until the present day would have been an unique
record if it had been preserved in its entirety; and, even as
it stands, with some gaps in its earlier period, it is unsurpassed
in Municipal armals. Owing to changes in the fashions of
the times, the titles of the Chief Magistrates of Dover have
varied; but the whole list is usually referred to as "The
Roll of the Mayors " — a Roll on which any man may feel
proud to have his name inscribed.
In the Saxon times the Civic Chief was called " The
Reeve." There must have been a considerable number of
Reeves, but, unfortunately, none of their names have been
preserved. In the Norman time the Chief Officer of the
Corporation was called "The Prepositus " ; and in Early
English times the title was changed to "Mayor." The
Prepositi ruled for 191 years, yet the names of only seven
of them have been preserved ; and of the Mayors, whose
line commenced in 1298, the list is incomplete until the
year 1353, from which date it is perfect. Of the Prepositi
the seven names will be given, and, like the names of all
the Mayors on the Roll, will be accompanied by notes
relating special incidents of their times.
The long period over which the Roll extends is divided
into epochs, forming natural divisions of Dover's Municipal
histor}.-. The names of the Mayors are inserted opposite
each year in which they held office, but the note on each
Mayor is appended to his first Mayoralty.
2 52 ANNALS OF DOVER
II.
THE ROLL FROM DOMESDAY.
1086 TO 1257.
It is a distinct compensation for the loss of the earlier
part of the Roll to be able to commence it from the epoch
of Domesday; and, further, it is probable, that the wide
gaps which intervene in the 191 years — from the Conquest
to the end of the Prepositi rule in 1257 — only robs us of
mere names of persons of whom we could learn little or
nothing, while each of the seven that have been left on
record have some distinctive individuality. Of the first, our
information is derived partly from the Domesday Book, and
particulars of the other six are taken from ancient
documents : —
1086 WiUiam, son of Godfrey (i) 1168 William Cade (2)
(1) William, son of Godfrey, as already stated was not the
first of the Dover Civic Chiefs, but his is the earliest name that has
been discovered. What manner of man he was personally is unknown,
but the epoch when his official term occurred marks him ae import-
ant, for as Chief Magistrate of Dover he must have had a hand in
the compilation of the Domesday Book and as one of his houses was
used as the Guildhall of the Burgesses, it is possible that it was in
his own house the Norman Scribes assembled to make their record
of the property and people of Dover at that time, together with a
comparative statement of Dover in the days of Edward the Confessor.
The Kentish Section of the Domesday Book was commenced at Dorer
because Dover Castle was then the seat of the Earl of Kent ; and
the Domesday record says that William, son of Godfrey was tenant,
under the Earl, of the Guildhall and two other houses. There came
later in the Mayorality, others bearing the surname of " Atte Hall"
and they are supposed to have taken their name from the same
Municipal Meeting Place.
(2) William Cade is mentioned in state papers as having been
Prepositus of Dover in the year n68. He may have been an
ancestor of .John Cade, who was a leader of men in Kent three
hundred years later.
1203 Joseph Fitzwolf (3) 1215 Solomon de Dover (4)
(3) Joseph Fitzwolf, Propositus of Dover in the year 1203
signed his name as a witness to a Dover Charter in the Hundred
Court in that year, the document being in relation to the transfer
of a meadow that lay near the present Ashentree Dairy in St. James's
Parish. In this year King .John, under the odium of having caused
Prince Arthur to be put to death in France, hurriedly arrived' at
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 283
Dover to call out the Cinque Ports Forces to assist him in retaining
his Crown.
(4) Solomon de Dover is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls as being
Prepositus of Dover in the year 121 5. King John at that time was
at Dover waiting for a force of mercenary troops from the Continent,
to assist him in his war against the Barons, but he was disappointed
their ships beiiig wrecked while crossing from Calais to Dover. A
few months earlier King John had tried to appease his Barons by
Bigning the Magna Charta, and Hubert de Burgh, who was acting
as the King's Minister at that time, brought the original copy of
that document to Dover Castle and it was the fact that Hubert de
Burgh had then in the Castle documentary evidence of the King's
Concessions that stirred him to fight so valiantly in the King's cause
when Dover Castle was beseiged in the following year. In these
stirring times Solomon de Dover was Dover's Chief Magistrate.
1226 Henry TurgLs (5) 1233 Peter de Ravallis (6)
(5) Henry Turgis is mentioned in " Jeake's Charters of the
Cinque Ports" as "Furgucius Prepositus of Dover" in the year 1226
and the same authority says that he was associated with the
Constable of Dover Castle, William Averanches, as Joint Warden
in the Custody of the Cinque Ports. That statement is doubtless
correct, except that the short name of Turgis, by the combined effects
of latinisation and the error of deciphering an initial was trans-
formed into Furgucius. Furth.sr particulars of Henry 'l\irgis and hi«
connection with the Cinque Ports will be found on the 46th page.
(6) Peter de Ravallis of Pointon, is mentioned as being Pre-
positus of Dover in 1233. In fact he is described as being Custodian
of the Town and Port of Dover, which seems to intimate that instead
of being one of the regular line of Chief Magistrates he was nomin-
ated to the office by the Crown at a time of National disturbance.
He was one of the foreign favourites of Edward III. and for a short
time was in charge of Dover Castle.
1256 Thomas, son of Virgile (7)
(7) Thomas, son of Virgile is mentioned in Dover Charters
as having been Prepositiis of Dover in the year 1256. He was th«
last of the Chief Magistrates who retained that Norman title.
284 AKNALS OF DOVER
III.
FROM THE FIRST MAYOR.
1257 TO 1353.
The title of Prepositus appears to have been given to
the Chief Magistrate of Dover in the Norman time, because
he was not so supreme in the Town and Port as the Saxon
Reeves had been. Probably, at the time of the Conquest
the Civic Chiefs had been, for the safety of the realm, made
subject to the Constable of the Castle. It has been
mentioned that during the time of Henry Turgis, Prepositus,
there were some fundamental changes. Previously, the
King (no doubt, by the aid of the Constable) had called out
the Cinque Ports Forces when required, but, owing to
irregularities in the reign of Henry HI., that King had in
1226 appointed the Constable and Henry Turgis, the Pre-
positus of Dover, to temporarily act as joint wardens of the
Cinque Ports; and, immediately after that time, the
Constable of the Castle was appointed Warden, the two
offices being held by the same person ever after. That
change, in addition to permanently altering the status of the
Constable, also affected the Cintjue Ports' organisation.
From that time the Mayor of Dover seems to have had more
absolute authority in his own Borough; and about twenty-five
years after that change the Municipal Chief of Dover was
called the " Mayor." 'I'hat title, which was of Norman-
French origin, had been used in the Corporation of London
since the reign of Heniy II., and it was, doubtless, because
the Chief Magistrate of Dover had been raised to a more
independent status that the title Mayor was introduced in
Dover in the forty-second year of the reign of Henry III.
It was at that time that the Bailiff, an officer of Magisterial
character, was appointed for Dover by the King's writ, and
that officer, being subordinate to the Mayor, seems to have
added new dignity to the Mayoralty. The twelve Mayors
whose names are next recorded were in office from the first
adoption of the title of Mayor down to the year 1353, after
which date the Roll of Mayors is continuous. The period
over which these twelve Mayors extend is eighty-seven
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 285
years. It is not known when the Mayor's term of office was
fixed as one year. In the City of London the Mayors were
first elected for life; then for irregular periods; and, later,
annually. According to the " Customal of Dover," which
was compiled about the year 1355, the Mayoral elections
were said to have been annual " time out of mind."
1257 James Lucas (8) 1274 William atte Hall (9)
(8) James Lucas, the Chief Magistrate who in the year 1257
first received the title of Mayor, is mentioned as Mayor in two Dover
Charters, on© relating to a gift to the Maison Dieu and on© relating
to the enlargement of Charlton Church Yard.
(9) William atte Hall was Mayor im the year 1274. This
surname " atte Halle " is supposed to refer to the place of residence
of hie ancestors which was near St. Nicholas's Church.
1294 Thomas Poynte (10) J295 Thomas Godspenny (11)
(10) Thomas Poynte held the oflfice of Mayor in the year 1294
when there was « sort of unofficial war between the French Mariners
and those of the Cinque Ports. The French landed at Dover and are
eaid to have burnt all the town with the exception of the Churchoa
and the religious houses. They pillaged the Priory, but, as thoy
could not find the money chest, they slew one of the Monks, Thomas
de la Hale, because he would not tell them where the money waa.
Hale was Canonized.
(11) Thomas Godspenny was Mayor in 1295 and owing to the
loss the town sustained by the French raid the burgesses began to
build walls round the town, the old Saxon ■wall along the shore
having decayed.
1299 John atte-Sea (12) 1323 John atte-Hall (13)
(12) John atte-Sea, alias John de Mari, was Mayor in 1299,
as appears from two of his signatures in Dover Charters.
(13) John Atte-Halle, Mayor in the year 1323, was the son of
William Atte-Halle, and Annabella his wife. John had a sister
named Annabella, who married Henry de Haute, a man of wealth, who
left her a rich widow and she had considerable influence in Dover.
John atte-Halle acted with the Lord Warden, Edmund Earl of Kent,
in the settlement of an agreement between the Corporation and the
Fellowship of the Passage, whereby a portion of the profits of the
Passage were regularly paid to the Corporation.
1326 William Virgile (14) 1329 William Hurtyn (15)
(14) William Virgile, who was Mayor in 1326, was the Head
of the Passage Fellowship in 1323.
(15) William Hurtyn, who was Mayor in 1329, was of a family
who were Jurats and Mayors for a good many years. He was one
of the Fellowship of the Passage. The Hurtyns (whose name was
also spelled Hortim) held land which had been reclaimed from the
estuary of the Dour, at present forming part of the sit© of Castle
Street and ihe Tan Yard.
286 ANNALS OF DOVER
1340 John Monin (16) 1342 Nicholas Valentine (17)
(16) John Monin was the first, on the existing records, of a
family which came from Normandy at the Conquest. John Monin
is mentioned as holding an appointment under Edward III. in 1328.
He was Mayor in the years 1340, 1372, and 1375, but there is some
doubt whether the John Monin, Mayor of the two last mentioned
years, was the same individual who was Mayor thirty years earlier.
(17) Nicholas Valentine, Mayor in 1342, was one of the owner*
of Passage ships.
1344 Alexander Hurtyn (18) 1353 Nicholas atte-Hall (iq)
(18) Alexander Hurtyn was Mayor in 1344 and 1363. He
had been Bailiff in 1342.
(19) Nicholas atte-Hall was Mayor six times, commencing in
1353. He was accused at the Court of Shepway, in 1358, with
having given a false judgement against John Archer, one of the
Company of the Passage Fellowship, but he was acquitted.
tHE MAYORS AUD THEIR TIMES 287
IV.
FROM THE WRITING OF THE " CUSTOMAL/
1354 TO 1470.
The writing of the " Dover Customal " marked an
important epoch in the history of Dover. It was written,
or commenced, during the Mayoralty of Peter Reade,
^354-5- Up to that time there had been only the Domesday
Book of the Cinque Ports, a record that contained much of
importance concerning the Five Ports and the Two Ancient
Towns ; but about Dover in particular there were in exist-
ence only some fugitive memorials known as charters, dites
and decrees. They had never been digested into a con-
secutive history, and many had been lost. Just at the
middle of the Fourteenth Century the Earl of March,
Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports,
having been called upon, as the President of the Court of
Shepway, to hear appeals from the Courts of the various
Ports and Towns, asked the Mayors to deliver to him copies
of their customs and usages to assist him in forming his
judgments. Up to this time, " the oldest inhabitant " had
frequently been called upon to say what he remembered and
what his forefathers had told him, but the Earl of March
wanted a written record, and there being nothing at hand
but fragments, the Cinque Ports' scribes were immediately
busy collecting, digesting and transcribing. The Dover
scribes had the Castle and the Priory to fall back upon, and
there were records in the Muniment Box kept in the
Church of St. Martin-le-Grand which contributed something,
so from such sources the " Dover Customal " was written. It
is a curious, rambling record of about seven thousand words,
giving a statement of the various forms and ceremonies
used in Dover both as a Town and Port, and as a member
of the Cinque Ports, a full print of which will be found in
the Catalogue of the Dover Records. Apart from its
interest, the age of the " Customal " demands respect, it
having existed as a complete record of 560 years, which had
2 88 ANNALS OF DOVER
passed into history before the times of the twenty-seven
Mayors mentioned in the following list.
1354 Peter Reade (20)
(20) Peter Reade was Mayor in the years 1354, 1356, 1357,
1359 and 1384. Also in 13S4 he was Lieutenant of Dover, being then
advanced in years. During his last Mayoralty he received King
Richard Tl. and his Queen at the Castle.
1355 Nicholas atte Hall 1356 Peter Reade
1357 Peter Reade 1358 Nicholas atte Hall
1359 Peter Reade 1360 Thomas Spisour (21)
(21) Thomas Spisour, Mayor in 1360 and twice later, was an
ancestor of John Spisour who had the Stembrook Tannery in 1420.
1 36 1 Simon Monin (22)
(22) Simon Monin, Mayor in 1361, was in the Corporation a«
Jurat at the same time as John Jlonin before mentioned.
1362 Nicholas atte Hall 1363 Alexander Hurtyn
1364 William Denne (23)
(23) William Denne, Mayor in 1364 end twice later, had been
a Jurat ten years before his first Mayoralty.
1365 William Denne 1366 Nicholas atte Hall
1367 Nicholas atte Hall 1368 Thomas Spisour
1369 Thomas Spisour 1370 Simon Monin
137 1 John atte Hall (24)
(24) John atte Hall, Mayor in 1371, held the office six times.
1372 John Monin 1373 John atte Hall
1374 William Denne 1375 John Monin (senr.)
137^ John Ceroid (25)
(25) John Ceroid had been Bailiff seven times before he waa
Mayor.
1377 John Ceroid 1378 John Street (26)
(26) John Street was Mayor in 1378 and ten times later. Hig
name appears seven times in the Charters of the Hundred Court.
1379 John Street 1380 John atte Hall
1381 John atte Hall 1382 John Ciles (27)
(27) John Giles was Mayor in 1383, and seven times after.
1383 John Giles 1384 Peter Reade
13^5 John Street 1386 John Monin
1387 John Monin 1388 John Monin (28)
(28) John Monin, the second. Mayor in 13S8, was, it is presumed,
the son of John Monin who was Mayor in 1375. The second Joba
was Mayor six times.
1389 John atte Hall 1390 John Giles
1391 John atte Hall 1392 John Giles
1393 John Giles 1394 John atte Hall
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 289
1395 John Monin 1396 John Monin
1397 John Street 1398 John Street
1399 John Giles 1400 John Giles
1 40 1 John Giles 1402 Peter Reade
1403 John Monin 1404 John Street
1405 John Street 1406 John Street
1407 Thomas Giles (29)
(29) Thomas Giles, chosen Mayor in 1407 and 1413, wag a
son of Jobu Giles previously Mayor.
1408 John Street 1409 John Street
1410 John Street 141 1 John Evebroke (30)
(30) John Evebroke, Mayor in 141 1, was an active Jurat tor
many years.
141 2 John Garton (31)
(31) John Garton, who was Mayor in the years 1415 and 1416,
was made a Jurat in the previous century.
1413 Thomas Giles 141 4 Walter Stratton (32)
(32) Walter Stratton was eleven times Mayor between 1414
and 1439. His name appears in a Dover Charter, dated 2nd July,
1420, which throws light on a moot point in Dover Church history,
confirming the opinion of most local historians that the old structure
in Bench Street was the old Church of St. Nicholas. During Walter
Stratton's first Mayoralty news came to Dover that Henry V. had
vanquished the French Army in the Battle of Agincourt, and, sub-
sequently, when the King landed at Dover the Barons carried him in
triumph fronn his ship to the beach. At the beginning of Stratton's
second Mayoralty another campaign in France was in progress, and
on that occasion an army of 35,000 had embarked at Dover, and
after some hard fighting they marched in triumph to Paris. Yet
another French campaign was fought in Stratton's fourth Mayoralty,
on which occasion 24,000 archers and 4,000 men-at-arms embarked
at Dover in 500 ships. Before that Mayoralty terminated news came
across the Straits that the English were victorious — but that the
King was dead.
1 41 5 John Garton 14 16 John Garton
1417 Walter Stratton 14 18 Walter Stratton
141 9 Thomas-att-Crouch (34)
(34) Thomas-att-Crouch, who was Mayor in 1419 and 1420,
appears to have been closely associated with the Priory.
T420 Thomas att Crouch 142 1 Walter Stratton
X422 Thomas Arnold (35)
(35) Thomas Arnold, Mayor in the years 1422, 1424, and 1430,
was in his first Mayoralty when the stately funeral procession of
Henry V. passed through Dover en route from Paris to Westminster.
This Mayor, in 1426, held from the Prior of Dover the land bounded
by part of Bench Street, upper Snargate Street, Chapel Street and
290 ANNALS OF DOVER
Chapel Lane, which had been St. Nicholas's Churchyard. It wa«
during Thomas Arnold's second Mayoralty that Margate and other
parishes in Thanet, with Kingsdown and Ringwould, were added to
the Liberties of Dover.
1423 Walter Stratton 1424 Thomas Arnold
1425 John Braban ($6)
(36) John Braban, who was Mayor five times, from 1425 to
1434, acted with John Bakere, of Caldham, in selling St. Nicholas
tower and the ruins of the Church to the Corporation.
T426 Walter Stratton 1427 John Braban
1428 Walter Stratton 1429 William Brewys (37)
(37) Willia,m Brewys was Mayor seven times between 1429
and 1443. In his first Mayoralty the long-standing controversies between
Dover and Faversham as to contributions in connection with the
Cinque Ports, and the right of laversham to share with Dover the
privilege of representation in Parliament was settled by a formal
agreement.
1430 Thomas Arnold 1431 Walter Stratton
1432 Walter Stratton 1433 John Braban
1434 John Braban 1435 William Brewys
1436 William Brewys 1437 William Brewys
1438 William Brewys 1439 Walter Stratton
1440 William Brewys 1441 John Ward (38)
(38) John Ward was Mayor in the years 144 1 and 1442— two
fateful years — during which the minority of Henry VI. came to an
end, and when " Good Duke Humphrey," who had been Lord "Warden
for thirty-two years, was poisoned in prison.
1442 John Ward 1443 William Brewys
1444 Ralph Toke (39)
(39) Ralph Toke, alias Touke, described as a knight, was
Seneschal and Marshal of the Castle. He was Mayor in five successive
years. This Mayor made a valuable bequest of land in Hougham to
St. Mary's Church.
1445 Ralph Toke 1446 Ralph Toke
1447 Ralph Toke 1448 Ralph Toke
1449 Thomas Gore (40)
(40) Thomas Core, otherwise Goore, an officer of Dover Castle,
was Mayor seven times between 1449 ^^*^ '465- He was of Gore
Court, Kent.
1450 Thomas Core 1451 Richard Grigge (41)
(41) Richard Grigge was chosen Mayor in the early part of
1451, to fill the VT.'.-icy caused by the resignation of Thomas Gore.
He also was Mayor ia the two successive years.
1452 Richard Grigge 1453 Thomas Doyley (42)
(42) Thomas Doyley, described as a knight and an official of
Dover Castle, was Mayor three years.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 29I
1454 Thomas Doyley 1455 Thomas Doyley
1456 Thomas Gore 1457 Thomas Gore
1458 Nicholas Burton (43)
(43) Nicholas Burton was Mayor in 1458 and 1459; and he
was Bailiff three years.
1459 Nicholas Burton 1460 Richard Palmer (44)
(44) Richard Palmer was Mayor five times between 1460 and
1479. -^^ "^^^ ^ staunch Yorkist, and the first of the Mayors of
Dover who wore the White Rose.
1461 Thomas Gore 1462 Thomas Gore
1463 Richard Palmer 1464 Thomas Pety (45)
(45) Thomas Pety was Mayor in 1464. His name appears in
the Dover records as a Chamberlain,
1465 Thomas (i.ire 1466 Richard Palmer
1467 Richard I'dl-ier 1468 Thomas Hexstall (46)
(46) Thomas Hexstall was Mayor eight times between the
years 1468 and' 1481 ; and in 1470 he was Warden of Dover while
the Corporation liberties were suspended. He was the son of Richard
Hexstall, of Hexstall Court, East Peckham, Kent, and he became
Steward of Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham and Lord of
Penshurst. When the Dtike was appointed Lord Warden and
Constable of Dover Castle in the year 1450, Thomas Hexstall came
with him to Do^^r to act as the Lord Warden's Receiver. In the year
1460 this Lord Warden was slain when fighting at the head of the
Lancastrians, and" the Earl of Warwick, the leader of the Yorkists,
became Lord Warden. Hexstall continued to hold the oflBce of
Receiver under him. Thomas Hexstall bought Hougham Court as
his residence, obtained the Freedom of Dover, and became a Jurat.
The two Lord Wardens for whom he acted as Receiver having been
slain in the Wars of Cie Roses, he, in those years of surprises, acted
with so much t.ict that when Edward IV. suspended the liberties
of Dover on account of the part the Corporation had taken, Thomas
Hexstall was put in of&ce as the King's Warden of the Town and
Port of Dover until the following year, when Civic liberties were
restored. That crisis having passed, Thomas Hexstall was Mayor six
times more.
1469 Thomas Hexstall 1470 Thomas Hexstall
292
ANNALS OF DOVER
FROM THE
SUSPENSION OF
1470 TO 1556.
THE LIBERTIES.
1472 Thomas Toke (47)
1^74 Thomas Hexstall
1475.
not oth.erwisa
The seizure of Dover's Liberties by King Edward IV.
at the close of the Wars of the Roses is dealt with in the
History of the Corporation, therefore the event is only
mentioned here as one of the notable land-marks which arrest
attention as we follow the incidents of the Mayors and their
Times from the Wars of the Roses to the fires of martyrdom
in the reign of Queen Mary :-
1471 Thomas Hexstall
(47) Thomas Toke, Mayor in 1472, was a son of Ralph Toke,
a former Mayor.
1473 Thomas Hexstall
1475 Richard Pleysington (48)
48 Richard PleysingtfOn, Mayor in
mentioned.
1476 Robert Vincent (49)
(49) Robert Vincent, who was Mayor tliree times, in his first
Mayoralty is said to have strengthened and completed the walls of
Dover.
1477 Thomas Hexstall 1478 Thomas Hexstall
1479 Richard Palmer 1480 Thomas Fcuche (50)
(50) Thcma« Fouch, Mayor in 1480, was a yeoman. His name
appears several times in Llio Hundred Court records.
1481 Thomas Hexstall 1482 John Byngham (51)
(51) John Byngham, elected Mayor in 1^82, filled that office
six times between that date and i4ri8. In Pyngliam's third Mayoralty
1484, Richard HI. granted a poll-tax of " ono penny on each goer
and comer," as well as a toll on horses, oxen, sheep and merchandize
imported at Dover for the maintenance of tb.e Castle Quay at East
Brook Harbour.
1483 John Byngham 1484 John Byngham
1485 Robert Vincent i486 John Templeman (52)
(52) John Templeman, Mayor in i486, is stated in the Charter
to have received from the Corporation, in 1477, grant at fee farm
of a plot of land hi Mankin war'l with the reservation: "Provided
always that the aforesaid Mayor, Chamboilain^ and Commonalty and
their successors shall have in the aforesaid plot of land their common
park for imparkiri? pigs." This "park" \va=; on the west side of the
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 293
river adjoining Mill Lane, and was probably used as the pig market.
He was a Clerk in Holy Orders. That park for pigs, in 1623, had
passed out of th© hands of the Corporation, and had to be purchased
from an inhabitant of Coldred.
1487 John Byngham 1488 Robert Vincent
1489 Robert Vincent 1490 Edward Hexstall ($t,)
(53) Edward Hexstall, Mayor four times between 1490 and
1506, was the son of Thomas Hexstall, of Hougham Court.
1491 Robert Vincent 1492 Henry Balgy (45)
(54) Henry Balgy, Mayor in 1492, is only otherwise mentioned
as witness to a Charter in 1499.
1493 William "Warren (55)
(55) William Warren, Mayor in 1493, is not otherwise mentioned.
1494 Edward Kexstall 1495 Edward Hexstall
1496 Richard I'yneaux (56)
(56) Richard Fyneaux, Mayor, 1496, and four times later, waa
a eon of John Fyneaux, who was Clerk of Dover Castle in 1488.
1497 John Byngham 1498 John Byngham
1499 William Stone (57)
(57) William Stone, Mayor in 1499 and 1500, was Mayor when
Sir John Clark's " Paradise Harbour " was commenced at Archclifife
Point.
1500 William Stone 1501 John Pocock (58)
(58) John Pocock, Mayor in 1501, is not otherwise mentioned.
1502 Richard lyneaux 1503 Richard Fyneaux
1504 Oliver Lythgo (59)
(59) Oliver Lythgo, Mayor in 1504, held from the Prior of
Dover a house on the lower side of Market Lane, at Queen Street
corner, which was acquired by the Corporation for an almshouse, and
was used as a Seamen's Hospital until 1873.
1505 Robert Nethersole (60)
(60) Robert Nethersole, Mayor in 1508, held the office twice in
the reign of Henry VFI., and three times under Henry VIII. He was
a native of Womenswould, Kent.
1506 Edward Hexstall 1507 Richard Fyneaux
1508 Robert Nethersole 1509 Richard Monin (61)
(61) Richard Monin, Mayor in 1509, was e member of the
ancient Monin fa.mily of Ringwould. /
1 5 10 Nicholas Terapleman (62)
(62) Nicholas Templeman, Mayor in 15 10, held land in Snargate
Street.
1511 John Broke (6;^)
(63) John Broke, Mayor in the years 151 1 and 1526, was a
member of the Dover family called "atte Broke." Hie father,
William, was Bailiff.
294
ANNALS OF DOVER
151 2 Robert Nethersole 15 13 Nicholas Aldy (64)
(64) Nicholas Aldy, was Mayor in 1513 and 1517.
1514 Richard Fyneaux 1515 Thomas Vaughan (65)
(65) Thomas Vaughan, Mayor in 1515, was Mayor three times
after, and wae also Bailiff. During Thomas Vaughan's first Mayoralty
the Duke of Suffolk and his retinue crossed from Dover to Calais in
six ships, provided by the Mayor, oonceming which Stowe's M.S. 146,
in the British Museum has the following: — "By the Duke of Suffolk.
" — Pleasyth it your lordship to understand that on the XXth day
" of Jaunary I passed the sea to Calise with VI. shippys of Dover
"wherfore I pray you to be so godd lord to the poor men of Dover
" as to apoynt them payment of XXIIII. L. sterling for the same
"•writen at Calise the XXI day of January, by your servant
" Charles Suffolke." Then follov?s a receipt for the money :—
" Received by me, John Paynter, servant to Thomas Vaughan,
" Dover, for and in the name of the said Thomas and to his use
"of Sir John Daunce Knt, by the King": Commandant the Xlth
"day of February anno. VI., to Regni Henrici VIII. twenty-four
" pounds sterling for the payment of the hyre c( certeyn shippea
" for settinge over of the Duke of Suffolke from Dover to Caleys
"sent as ambassade 10 the French Kyng, John Paynter to be
" Right-reverent Fathv^r in god my lord Archbyschopp of Yorke."
Thomas Vaughan was also Mayor in June 1520 when Henry VIII.
embarked at Dover on his way to the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
That famous embarkation scene is depicted in one of the stained
glass windows in the Maison Dieu Hall.
15 16 John Gregorie (66)
(66) John Gregorie, Mayor in 1516, is not otherwise mentioned.
1517 Nicholas Aldy 1518 Ilobert Weltden (67)
(67) Robert Weltden was Mayor only once.
1519 Thomas Vaughan 1520 John Elam (68)
(68) John Elam, Mayor in the years 15^0 and 1543, had land
and a house adjoining Turn-again Lane, nov/ called New Street.
152 1 Robert Stelman (69)
(69) Robert Stelman, Mayor i;i the years 1521 and 1522, waa of
a family that had Jurats in the Corporation in the Reign of Henry
V.
1522 Robert Stelman 152^^ Robert Dyer (70)
(70) Robert Dyer, Mayor in 1523, was of a family who
derived their name from their occupation.
1524 John Broke 1525 John Warren (71)
(71) John W .rren was Mayor in 1525, 1536 and 1540. During
his last Mayoralty Henry VIII. took po'-Jossion of the Castle Guard
Lands to pay fo" repairs and to establi h a new Castle Guard to
take the place of the Knights and their retain : 3, who previously were
iiuppofied to man Iho walls and towers.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 295
1526 Richard Crouch (72)
(72) Richard Crouch, Mayor in 1526, was probably of the old
Dover family atte Crouch, of the reign of Henry V.
1527 Thomas Vaughan 1528 Robert Fluce (73)
(73) Robert Fluce, Mayor in 1528 and 1529, lived in & faou£e
next the gate in Snargate Street.
1529 Robert Fluce 1530 Robert Nethersole
1531 Robert Nethersole 1532 Thomas Vaughan
1533 Edward May (74)
(74) Edward May, Mayor in 1533 and 1538, "was one of th«
experienced Dover Mariners consulted by Henry VIII., before com-
mencing his great Harbour Works, and May was one of the Overseers
of the operations.
1534 Edward May 1535 John Paynter (75)
(75) John Paynter, Mayor 1535, was in office during the period
of greatest activity at the Harbour.
1536 John Warren 1537 Ralph BufFkin (76)
(76) Ralph BufFkin, Mayor in 1537, when the Priory was sur-
rendered to the Crown, is said to have had valuable "pickings"
from the dismantled buildings, and his son was lessee of the Priory
lands.
1538 Edward May 1539 John Bowles (77)
(77) John Bowles, Mayor in 1539.. the year when St. Bartho-
lomew's Hospital and lands were surrendered to the Crown, rPceived
a grant of the hospital buildings and the site they stood on for his
life. He died in 1542, but before that time the whole structure
was demolished.
1540 John Warren 1541 Thomas Foxley (78)
(78) Thomas Foxley, Mayor in 1541, remained on the Bench
of Jurats during the subsequent reigns of Edward, and Mary.
1542 Robert Justice (79)
(79) Robert Justice, Mayor in the years 1542 and is^i, was
another of the Mariners consulted' by Henry VIII., as to the Harbour
and commiesioned to take oversight of the work.
1543 John Elam 1544 William Fisher (80)
(80) William Fisher, Mayor in 1544, was in office during the
year that Henry VIII. embarked at Dover to commence the War
with France, which began with the seige of Boulogne, from whence
the King returned in the Autumn with the gates of Boulogne as a
trophy which he gave to Sir Thomas Hardres, one of his principal
officers, who set them up in the boundary wall at Upper Hardres,
between Hardres Court and the Churchyard.
1545 Thomas Collye (81)
(81) Thomas Collye, who was Mayor in the years 1545, 1546,
and 1558, was a sheep farmer and, also, a Municipal Reformer. He
insisted on good rule at inns and victualling houses, and made it
compulsory that each one should have a sign over their front door.
296 ANNALS OF DOVER
Likewise, he made stringent rules that the hackney men who pro-
vided horses for travellers both locally and on the Dover roed to
London should have good and reliable horses to let at fair prices.
But the principal reform that he introduced was a novelty in the
form of a regular system of town scavenging. The ordinance on
that subject as written down by John Beverley, the Town Clerk,
shall be given as he recorded it, thus : — " By the assent and consent
of the Mayor, Jurats and Commonalty, it was enacted to have a
common carrier for the purifying and keeping clean of the town and
streets of the same in form following, that is to wit, twice a week
weekly, viz., Wednesday and Saturday, and the stipend of the said
carrier, then and there taxed at five pounds quarterly, to be paid
him by the hands of the Mayor for the time being, and to be levied
of every householder ; and that every such householder, twice a week,
cause the dust, compost and suUage of the housesi to be laid in heaps
before their street doors ready for the said carrier to take up and
carry away ; provided always that this Act does not charge the
said common carrier to carry away the dung and suUage of the
stables of any innholders or other person inhabiting the said town,
unless they agree with him for the same." But, although Thomas
Collye was strict on the victuallers and innholders, he encouraged
wine and beer drinking at what he considered the proper time, for,
being Mayor in the year 1558, when Queen Elizabeth came to the
throne, he caused to be set in the Market Place a hogshead of wine,
a tun of beer to be drunk by the townspeople while they made a
bonfire, " to the Queen's Majesty's honour and to the praise of Gcd
for her Majesty's reign."
1546 Thomas Collye (until January, 1547)
1547 Richard Fyneaux (from January to 8th September) (82)
(82) Richard Fyneaux, Mayor for a year and a half, from
January 1547 to the end of the next Municipal year. He took
oflBce in January, 1547 on the accession of Edward VL, because the
Privy Council had some political objection to Thomas Collye.
1547-8 Richard Fyneaux (for a whole year)
1548 Hugo Brackett (from September to December 31st) (83)
(83) Hugo Brackett, elected Mayor on September 8th, 1548
was also unacceptable to the Privy Council and was removed after
being in of&ce three months. The Corporation Minutes say there was
a supper given to celebrate his election which cost 12s. 6d.
1549 Thomas Mauncell (from January to September 8th) (84)
(84) Thomas Mauncell, elected Mayor in January 1549 (on th«
removal of Brackett), held office until September 8th in that year.
He was e Tavern Keeper and on the occasion of his election 13s.
was spent in treating the Freemen, 4s. was paid for a hogshead of
beer set in the Mnrket Place for the Commoners.
1549 Thomas \\'aren (from September 8th) (85)
(85) Thomas Warren was Mayor five times. In his first
Mayoralty the Chamberlains accounts show various sums spent in
mending the ducking stool, putting a new lock on the stocks, and
setting up a new gallows.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 297
1550 Thomas Warren (from September 8th to December 31st)
1 55 1 Thomas Portways (from January to September) (86)
(86) Thomas Portways, who was Mayor from January to
September 1551, was put in by the Privy Council in the room of
Thomas Warren, who was not acceptable to the Privy Council.
1551-2 Robert Justice 1552 Thomas Finnett (87)
(87) Thomas Finnett, Mayor in 1551 and 1552, lived in an
old brick house, still standing, in Chapel Place.
1553 Thomas Finnett 1554 WiUiam Hannington (88)
(88) William Hannington was elected Mayor in 1554 and
in 1561 was nominated Mayor by the Privy Council, owing
to the disturbances in the Corporation, and he held the
oflSce for a year and a half. He was the head of the
Victualling Ofl&ce in Dover, and resided at Hougham Court. There
is a monument to him and his family in Hoixgham Church, on which
is the following inscription : — " Here in their silent urns (again wedded
after death's divorce) lie William Hannington, Esq., and his wife,
daughter of William Monin, Esq., some time Lieutenant of Dover
Castle, expecting a blessed resurrection of the just. These happy
olives budded fruitfully, in two sons and five daughters, two as
soon blasted as blown. His works made his own demonstration under
Henry VIII. and his successive heirs, the last of whom, by special
favoured order, sealed him twice in the Mayoralty of Dover. Qui
10 May, 1607; quae 21 September, 1574."
1555 Adrian Whitt (89)
(89) Adrian Whitt was Mayor in the years 1555 and 1556.
In the first of these Mayoralties the Corporation moved the Curfew
bell from St. Peter's to St. Mary's Tower, and in the second the
Common Council was established.
1556 Adrian Whitt
298 ANNALS OF DOVER
VI.
FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMON
COUNCIL.
1556 TO 1605.
The establishment of the Common Council in the year
1556 was, in a way, the commencement of representative
government in the Council of the Borough. Up to
that time every Freeman had had a place and the
right to speak and vote in the Common Assembly, but
it was thought desirable to confine the deliberative
and executive authority to a more select body. At
that date (9th October, 1556) the Burgesses in Common
Assembly elected the members of the Common Council, but
ever afterwards, until the passing of the Municipal Corpora-
tions Act of 1835, all vacancies in the Common Council were
filled by themselves. That greatly impaired the Council's
representative character; but it was in accordance with the
customs of the times, and, therefore, was tolerated for 280
years.
1557 Thomas Warren 1558 Thomas Collye
1559 Thomas Pepper (90.
(go) Thomas Pepper, Mayor in the years 15591 1563, 1565 and
1567. Previous to his first Mayoralty there had been disorder in the
Corporation, to remedy which, it appears from the minutes, that in
the sixth month of his first Mayoralty the Jurats formed themselves
into an association to promote harmony and prosperity.
1560 Richard Gibbs (91)
(91) Richard Gibbs, Mayor in 1560, went as a Baron to the
Cinque Ports Court of Brotherhood during that year, and was fined
40/- for disorder.
1 56 1 Richard Elam (92)
(92) Richard Elam, Mayor in 1554 and 1569, was one of the
Jurats who took a great interest in St. Mary's Church after it was
handed over to Corporation for the townspeople. He ordered the
floor of the Church to be paved.
1562 WilHam Hannington 1563 John Robbins (93)
(93) John Robbins, Mayor in the last half of the year 1562-3,
being the last half of the year of William Hannington's second
Mayoralty. It appears that the Commonalty, after a year and a half's
discipline by the nominee of the Crown, was sufficiently orderly to
be again allowed to exercise their ancient franchises.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 299
1563 Thomas Pepper 1564 William Burden (94)
(94) William Burden, Mayor in 1564, was a man of some
standing in Dover. His brother was styled the " Comptroller."
1565 Thomas Pepper 1566 Thomas Watson (95)
(95) Thomas Watson, Mayor in the years 1566 and 1584, was
the last Mayor elected in St. Peter's Church.
1567 Thomas Pepper 1568 John Edwards (96)
(96) John Edwards, Mayor in 1568, who, in the last month of
his Mayoralty, leased to his brother, Thomas, "one piece of voyd
ground, sett, laying and beinge under the Townewall of Dover,
betwene the Penyles Bench and the Towre, called the Comon Prison,
contayninge in length a hondretc and tenne footte, be it more or
lesse, and in breadth from the said Townewall downe to the lowe
watter marke, and it is further grawnted by the said Maior and
Chamberlains that the same Thomas Edwardes shall have the occu-
pienye of the voyd grownde under the Penyles Bench until such
tym© as the said Maior and Chamberlaines shall have neyd thereof
for buildinge or any other necessary cause."
1569 Richard Elam 1570 Thomas Burnell (97)
(97) Thomas Burnell was Mayor in 1570-r. During his
Mayoralty unofficial war was raging, which was worse than the real
thing. The Straits of Dover were blockaded by British and Dutch
privateers, who were chasing and seizing Spanish ships, which they
brought into Dover Harbour, where they sold their cargoes and the
Spaniards who manned the ships were brought up into the Dover
Market Place, where they were sold at a hundred pounds each and
then placed in irons in the Market Place Prison until their friends
came to purchase their liberty. Complaints were made about it to
the Privy Council by the Spanish Ambassador, and when this Mayor
retired he was Mayor no more.
1571 Thomas Andrews (98)
(98) Thomas Andrews was Mayor five times between 1571
and 1583. During his last Mayoralty, in 1583, he was removed from
office because of his hostility to the Romney Marsh men who were
being employed by the Royal Commission who were superintending
the construction of the Great Pent.
1572 Thomas Andrews i573 Thomas Andrews
1574 Thomas Andrews 1575 Thomas Warren
1576 John Lucas (99)
(99) John Lucas, who was Mayor in the year 1576, was
a brewer and a shipwright, and his residence was near
the top of Snargate Street. He died about four years
after his Mayoralty. There is in the Borough Archives
a letteft" of * introduction, countersigned by Mr. Lucas as
Mayor, introducing a Mr. A. Powler to Mr. Robert Peter, of the
House of Receipt, George Square, Dover. George Square is not
otherwise mentioned in the Dover Records, but there is no doubt
but that it was a space at the top of Snargate Street where the
bench stocd, on what is now called New Bridge. The Custom House,
30O ANNALS OF DOVER
■which is referred to as the "House of Receipt," stood there; while
on the east side of the Square was the opening to the Fish Market;
and on the west side the "George Tavern" (now the "Shakespeare"
Hotel).
1577 Robert Finnett (100)
(100) Robert Finnett, Mayor in the years 1577 and 1578, in
his first Mayoralty received from the Privy Council e renewal of
the Charter of the Corporation.
1578 Robert Finnett 1579 Thomas Allyn (loi)
(loi) Thomas Allyn was Mayor only one year. During his
Mayoralty, on the 6th April, 1580, there was an earthquake in Dover,
and part of the Castle wall, next Canon Gate, fell.
1580 John Garrett (102)
(102) John Garrett was Mayor in the years 1580 and 1581. He
was an innkeeper.
1 581 John Garrett 1582 Thomas Warren
1583 Thomas Andrews 1583 William Willis (103)
(103) William Willis, Mayor in part of the year 1583 and 1585,
was the first Mayor elected in St. Mary's Church.
1584 Thomas Watson 1585 William Willis
1586 Thomas Bredgatte (104)
(104) Thomas Bredgatte, Mayor in 1586 and 1587, was a Jurat
who was a superintendent of the cart traffic in the making of the
Pent.
1587 Thomas Bredgatte 1588 John Tench (105)
(105) John Tench, chosen Mayor in 1588, died in the next
year, and Edward Kempe (afterwards Mayor) married his widow.
1589 Henry Leonard (106)
(106) Henry Leonard, Mayor in 1589, had previously been a
Chamberlain.
1590 Jeffery Glydd (107)
(107) Jeffery Glydd, Mayor in 1590, was very strict with victuallers.
1 591 Humphrey Meade (108)
(id8) Humphrey Meade, Mayor in 1591, was a canopy bearer
at the Coronation of James I.
1592 Thomas Elwoode (109)
(109) Thomas Elwoode, Mayor in 1592, died in 1612, and
bequeathed an annual rent of 20/- to be distributed in bread by the
St. Mary's Overseers.
1593 Robert Burnett (no)
(no) Robert Burnett, Mayor in 1593, continued to be a Jurat
until the reign of James I.
1594 John Skeythe (in)
(ill) John Skeythe, Mayor in 1594, is not otherwise
mentioned.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 301
1595 George Bynge (112)
(112) George Bynge, Mayor in 1595, 1596, 1604 and 1605, in
his third Mayoralty was associated with the building of the Court
Hall in the Market Place. The minutes say that the Corporation
resolved to build a structure " to be bewtefied with faire windowes,
fitt for such a house, and to have a garrett there made." In his
fourth Mayoralty, in June, 1606, the new Court Hall wais finished,
and it was found to be too much ornamented, the minutes having
the following thereon : — " Whereas the carver of the work about the
new Court Hall, either of himself or at the request of some others,
hath cutt and carved certain scuttchions, letters and marks of
particular persons which doeth rather deface the work than bewtefie
the same, it is therefore decreed at this assembly that order be given
to the said carver, or to the carpenter, to cutt out the scuttchions,
letters and marks before the same be paynted, egcept the arms of
the Cinque Ports, which is to remain."
1596 George Bynge 1597 William Leonard (113)
(113) William Leonard was Mayor in the years 1597, 1610 and
1611.
1598 Jeremy Garrett (114)
(114) Jeremy Garrett, of the same family as John, before
mentioned, was Mayor in 1598.
1599 Edward Kempe (115)
(115) Edward Kempe was Mayor in 1599 and in 1612. He died
during his last Mayoralty, and had a public funeral at St. James's
Church, where there is a monument to his memory.
1600 John Bachelor (116)
(116) John Bachelor, chosen Mayor isi 1600, was the keeper of
the " Guildhall Tavern," near the Market Place.
1601 John Bredgatte (117)
(117) John Bredgatte, Mayor in 1601, wae a son of Thomas
Bredgatte, previously Mayor.
1602 Richard Siseley (118)
(118) Richard Siseley was Mayor when Queen Elizabeth died.
1603 William Nethersole (119)
(119) William Nethersole was elected Mayor in 1603, when,
contrary to custom, the Corporation went to St. James's Church, where
a sermon was preached by Mr. Vincent HufEam, the Rector, because
Mr. Walter Richards, Minister of St. Mary's, refused to preach there
unless he was paid, whereas there was never any such demand before.
1604 George Bynge 1605 George Bynge
303 ANNALS Ul'" DOVER
Vll.
FROM rill': TKANSl'KK OV 1111', llAKHOUR.
i6o() TO i()S-:.
'l\u- (r;msltM- dt' the Harbour I'lom tin- CiMpuralion ti)
Harbour Coiiuuissiuncrs by Chaitt-r of James 1. in i(io6
liuulc j;irat cliatigt'S hi Dover, by lU'livniug the Harbour
over to a JMiani on whieh only one burgess ol Dover had a
seat. II (he sealarui}'; eoiuuumilv of Doxim \v(Mt' best
(lualifietl to uianaj'.e llu- llaibnui loi the beiielit oi the Town
antl the Kiuj.Miom, then the Iraiistei was a calauiity ; but it,
as some suggested, the men ot DovcM were not broail inincK'd
enough to use the llaibi>ur and its uinivalled position on (he
coast tur local and national advantage, then the constitution
of a new authoiity oH wiiler inthunce was a blessing, although
it was then in disguise:
i6o6 John Tooke (uo)
(\io) Jt)hn Tooko, Ma.viir iii Kmt), presided o\cr (Ixn (hst
Coumil int'<'tiiii,' [w\{\ in tlm now C-iiurt !lnll, j.-tul Mtiy, \(yoy. I'tio
HailH)iir (Junior of Jntiuvs 1. wiin };>'»'>t('<l '» ll"it MuyniuKy.
1607 I leniv Stt>ede ( 1 .• 1 )
(iji) "lloury ^!ti>i»l('. Mayor in llm yt'iuti i(.o7 and it>.'j, is
iu>t. «>thonvis»> inoiitioiiiHl.
1608 Robert C.arrett i.-.-)
(laj) Kolwrt. (Junott, who wiis Mayor in tlio yotira ifmi;. 1(114
Rml ifiii, kt^pt llui " (5«'ort,'«> 'l"uv«"rn." tn>w tlio " Stiaktispeun* " llotol.
mid ho al.'io itintml St, Nicholas' 'l\)VVor in Immu-Ii Stroi^t fivni tlio
('orpondion, Tliis Miiyor was coiwiuittt^l (ov a short tJnu< to
Mar^tialstia I'rlson, Iiondon. fur not. «rrostin|^ sv foivij^u privatv<'r
whii^li ctnno into l)<)Vor Harbour.
j6oi) Robert Austin (123)
{ii\) IviklxM't Aiistrn was I\1ay<>r in itnn). "«'' t^'I'iistHl to
comply with a niandato to join willi Iho ("onnty «>f K<M>t in raising
a ftnlisidy for kni^;lit in-; l*rin(^i llonry, <'Ulost- son tif Janx's 1.. his
wnmiu lifin^ that. it. wan »'i>ntrary to th<^ (."h!irt«M-s v>f tho Ciniiue
I'orts.
i6ic^ William I eoiKird i(>ii William Leonard
i()i.' I'alward Kempe, i>b. \(m 2 William Warde (1--O
(i.*.)) VVilliani Warxlo was Mayor four tinu's. in tho yonrs i(>ij,
itii?, idiS and idii). Ho was !>«ipnty l.iontonaiit. t>f tho I'astlo, and
on rnch oroasiou that ho was e>l«n-t<Hl Mayor a salnto of thr*<f> j^iins wa«
firtxl from th*> Cantlo.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 303
1 6 13 William Warde 1614 Robert Garrett
1615 John VVaade (125)
(125) John Waade was Mayor in the years 1615, 1623 and
1624. In hib first Mayoralty there was a Select Baud and a General
Uand trained in the town. In his third Mayoralty, in December, 1624,
his Worship was called upon to enforce martial law in Dover, and
to call out the Select and the General Bands for active t>crvico. In
reply to a report, made by the Mayor and the Committeo of Defence,
the Privy Council sent to the Mayor the following letter (No. 743,
fol. 56, of Stowe's MSS., British Museum) : — " Our hearteo com-
iriendacions. Whereas we understand by the accompt which you
give, as well as by your letters to this Boarde, as in particular to
our very good Lord, the Earl of Montgomery, His Majesty's Lieutenant
of that County, how carefully you have laboured to discharge your
ducties both in repressing the disorders and outrages of the soldycrs
and for the prevcncion of the lyke insoloneies, wo have thought it fit
to signifie unto you that we approve of and commend the care and
paines which you have taken herein, and doe withall expect and require
that as you have already given good testimonie of your diligence in
that behalfe, so ye shall carefully continue the same for the good of
His Majesty's service, and for the ease and quiet of Ilis Majesty's
loving subjects, the inhabitants of those parts, and that you may do
this vvilh the more assurance and autoritie, we eend you herewith a
Commission under the Great Seal whereby you have power to pi rform
that service efl'ectually ; and if you shall find requisite you may
increase the number of the Trained Bands which you have ordered
before to draw together, thereby to reduce all to order by punishing
the ofTonders and mayntaining the publiquo peace, and every
particular man in his own private interest, and as in this we are
confident of your tender care not to err in the severe way of sh(<Iding
blood, without great cause; so we rely so farrc upon your wisdom
and justice, that by want of applying the sovraigne rem:-dy of tho
executing of some for example, you will not give way to insoloneies
which may otherwise spread themselves to a general mischicfe, and
for the better facilitating this we have thought good to direct you
to procure that the market may be served at reasonable prices, and
that all nccessarie provisions may be brought in with safety; and
that the Count Mansfeldt be dealt withall so that the C<jlonclR and
Captaincs may be furnishrd with money weekly, so as tho soldyers
may bo now payed at such rates as they shall be continually payed
with; and we do further require you to charge tlic saide Captaines
and OtBcers that they see the soldycrs duely payed, or else duo
payment made to thow with whom thoy lodge, and publiquo notice
given that no man trust any eoldyer more than the value of his
weekly pay. Last, we will and require you to advise with the Count
of Mansfeldt and the Officers how these things may be ordered in the
best manner and withall to reformo the soldyers, and also, if need be.
to constraine them to rest eatisficd with the pay that is allowed thorn
and in all things to be obe^lient to fheir officers. And so we bid you
hoartilv farewell; frrm Whytehall, the last of December, 1624.
Tour loving frier'l< >; " (signed by G. Cantuar and twelve other
members of the Privy Council). Addressed, "To our loving friendes,
304 ANNALS OF DOVER
the Mayor of Dover (John Waade) and the Committee of Defence,
31st December, 1624. Letters of Ye Counsell Commission of Martial
Law att Count Mansfeldt's being att Dovor." Dover at this time
was greatly disturbed by the presence of about 12,000 undisciplined
soldiers, who had been seized by press-gangs throughout England and
marched to Dover under the command of a foreigner. Count Ernefst
Mansfeldt and his officers, to be embarked for the expedition to recover
the Palatinate, which the Austrians had taken from Frederick Palatine,
the son-in-law of James I. These pressed men when they arrived at
the Port of Dover objected to leave the country under the control
of a foreigner, and they, being an undisciplined mob, became mutinous,
and the Mayor had to resort to extrenle measures, which the Royal
Commission under the Great Seal was sent down to cover. The main
effort of the Dover authorities was to get the ragged and mutinous
army shipped off as soon as possible. This was accomplished early
in January, 1625. The men left Dover, packed like herrings in the
little ships, and on arriving at Calais they were not allowed to land.
They sailed up the coast to Holland, and when, after much delay,
they landed there, most of the men deserted, while the remnant,
who followed Count Mansfeldt to the Palatinate, were slaughtered by
superior forces. Count Mansfeldt was so worn by work and worry
that he died the year following his departure from Dover. It is
supposed that Mansfield's Corner, near St. James's Church, was
named after this troublesome adventurer.
1616 Thomas Foord (126)
(126) Thomas Foord was Mayor in the years 1616 and 1625.
In his second Mayoralty, 1625, Charles I. met Henrietta of France
at Dover Castle.
161 7 Nicholas Eaton (127)
(127) Nicholas Eaton, who was Mayor in the years 161 7, 1630
and 1631, was a wealthy merchant.
16 1 8 William Warde 1619 William Warde
1620 John Brounger (128)
(128) John Brounger was Mayor for one year only.
162 1 Robert Garrett 1622 Henry Steede
1623 John Waade 1624 John Waade
1625 Thomas Foord 1626 John Pringle (129)
(129) John Pringle was chosen Mayor in September, 1626, and
at the same time he was a Burgess of Parliament. In the early part
of his Mayoralty there was an invasion " scare," arising out of the
dissatisfaction of the French with the treatment which the Queen
Henrietta received from the English Protestants. At that time, at
Archcliffe Bulwark, the cliff was cut sheer to prevent any passage
up or down. Fortifications were erected at the sluice near the
bottom of Snargate Street, and a watch house was built at Mansfield's
Comer, near St. James's Church, where the great market bell was
ordered to be hung up "until the fear of danger shall be passed."
The French were engaged in other wars at that time, and could not
attend to the affairs of their countrywoman who was then Queen of
England ; so " the fear of danger," on account of which the market
bell was hung up near St. James's Church, passed.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 305
1627 Stephen Monin (130)
(130) iStephen Moniu was Mayor in the years commencing
September 8th, 1627, 1628, 1629, 1636 and 1637. The first was the
most eventful year. About three months before that Mayoralty
commenced, Charles I., on the advice of the Duke of Buckingham,
then Lord Warden, had sent from Portsmouth an expedition to
Rochelle to relieve the Huguenot Protestants there. Tlie force, which
consisted of one hundred ships and 7,000 land troops, was under the
command of the Duke of Buckingham; but when they arrived at
Rochelle the authorities refused them a landing, but suggested that
they should take possession of the Isle of Rhe, about two miles off
the Port of Rochelle. They landed there but were soon compelled
by the French to return to their ships with great loss, without accom-
plishing anything. Hoping to win some laurels before returning,
the Duke sailed along the Prench coast and summoned Sir John
Hippesley, the Lieutenant of Dover Castle to consider a scheme for
making an attack on Calais with the object of recovering it as an
English possession. Eventually that project was abandoned and the
troops were landed at Dover and the other Cinque Ports, where
they were billeted, pending arrangements to employ them again for
the relief of the Huguenots at Rochelle. The troops became so trouble-
some to the inhabitants that a commission for enforcing Martial
Law was issued to the Mayors of the Cinque Ports. The original
Commission was lecently presented to Dover Corporation by the
Recorder, Mr. Bodkin. The Mayors of the several Ports were not
only authorised, but urged to erect gallows and jibbets in public
places and hang the ringleaders, to over-awe the others. At Dover
this unthankful office, devolved on Mr. Stephen Monin in his first
Mayoralty. Eventually Dover and the other Cinque Ports were
relieved of those undesirable visitors, who were marched away to
Portsmouth, where, in September, 1628, they were to embark again
for Rochelle ; but on the morning of the intended embarkation the
the Duke of Buckingham, the Lord Warden, who was going to lead
the expeflition, was assassinated by John Felton, and the expedition
was abandoned. Sir John Hippesley, the Lieutenant of Dover Castle,
who was standing beside tlie Duke when he was assassinated, was
an M.P. for Dover. His public conduct was attacked in Parlia-
ment and he retired from public life. Under the next Lord Warden,
Stephen Monin, the Mayor, became the Lieutenant of the Castle.
1628 Stephen Monin 1629 Stephen Monin
1630 Nicholas Eaton 1631 Nicholas Eaton
1632 Thomas Teddiraan (131)
(131) Thomas Teddiman was Mayor in the years 1632, 1633
and 1640. He was a Captain in the Navy during the Common-
wealth. After the Restoration he was made what was called the
Dover Admiral, and in 1662 and 1664 he distinguished himself in
naval actions against the Dutch. Of Teddiman, in 1661;, according
to Pepys, "the King and all the world spoke highly"; he was
knighted for valour, his portrait was painted by Lilly for the Duke
of York, and in 1667 he was appointed Port Admiral of Dover. In
May, 1668, he died in London and was honoured with a public
funeral.
3o6 ANNALS OF DOVER
1633 Thomas Teddiman 1634 Luke Pepper (132)
(132) I-Tike Pepper, Mayor in the years 1636 and 1637, was
of the same family as earlier and later Mayors of that name
1635 Luke Pepper 1636 Stephen Monin
1637 Stephen Monin 1638 Thomas Day (133)
(133) Thomas Day, Mayor in the years 1638, 1639 and 1648,
saw gloomy times. lu his first Mayoralty the Plsgue visited Dover,
and in his last he had to proclaim the execution of the King to the
inhabitants.
1639 Thomas Day 1640 Thomas Teddiman
1641 Thomas Cullen (134)
(134) Thomas Cullen was Mayor in the years 1641 and 1642.
It was during his second Mayoralty that Dover Castle was seized
for the Cromwellian party.
1642 Thomas Cullen 1643 Luke Braylsford (135)
(135) Luke Braylsford, Mayor in 1643, ^^ °°t otherwise men-
tioned.
1644 John Colder (136)
(136) John Golder, was Mayor in the years 1644, 1645, 1646,
and 1 66 1. He was a Doctor.
1646 John Colder 1647 Nicholas Robcr*^s (137)
(137) Nicholas Roberts was Mayor only once — in 1649 — and
maxie no figure in hiBtory.
1648 Thomas Day 1649 William Richards (138)
(13S) William -Richards, Mayor in 1649, had a resivhace called
the Green House at the Pier and when Isaac Minct, as a b^-y, made a
Slay of two years in Dover to get a knowledgs of the English
language in 1674-5, ^e then lodged with this William Richards.
1650 John Broome, ob. (139)
(139) John Broome, Mayor in 1650, was a royalist who re-
gai'ding the t'ommonwealth as a eoUlod form or Govrnment, accepted
office under it. He died during hie Mayoralty.
1650 Edward Prescott (140)
(140) Edward Prescott, Mayor in 1650 and 1653, took the
office of Mayor when John Broome died, and he was. Mayor
twice during the Commonwealth. Edward Prescott held tlis Manor
of Guston as his ancestors and his descendants did. The Preecotts
had been Y^omon in the parishes of Guston and Whitfield in the time
of the "".Var? of the Roses.
165 1 William Cullen (141)
(141) William Cullen, Mayor in 1651, and three years later.
He cause<l the Royal Arms to be taken down from the front of the
Court Hall, and the Arms of the Commonwealth were put in their
place.
1652 William Cullen 1653 Edward Prescott
1654 Valentine Tatnell (142)
Ct4:0 Valentine Tatnell, Mayor in 16^4, was very active in
promoiing good order, especially on Sunday's, it being decreed by
tHE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 307
the Common Assembly "That the Mayor, one Jurat, two Common
Councilmen, two Constables and a Churchwarden, shall every Lord's
Day, forenoon and afternoon, in turn walk through the town, visit
Inns, Ale houses, and other houses, and take notice of disorders."
1655 Thomas White (143)
(143) Thomas White, asked the Common Council to order that
the three small maces should be sold and one large one obtained
instead. The small maces were sold, but the new large one was not
bought until after the Restoration.
1656 Thomas White 1657 Nathaniel Smith (144)
(144) Nathaniel Smith died on the 23rd August, a fortnight
before the date when his Mayoralty would have closed. The death
is recorded in the minutes thus : — " Memorandum, that on Monday
the three and twentieth day of August, 1658 it pleased God to take
unto Himself, Nathaniel Smith, Mayor of this town — that good
Magistrate."
1657 William Cullen 1658 William Cullen
1659 Thomas Broome (145)
(145) Thomas Broome was a Sergeant at Law. At the time
of his election there was some expectation of the restoration of the
Monarchy and it is understood that this Mayor saw the coming event.
On the landing of Charles II. at Dover, on the 25th of May, 1660,
it is recorded in the Corporation minutes : " That on coming ashore,
the Mayor of this town, Thomas Broome, Esq., made a speech to his
MajCiCy on his knees, and that Mr. John Reading, Minister of the
Gospel, presented His Majesty with the Holy Bible, as a gift from
the town, and his gracious Majesty, laying his hand upon his breast,
told the Mayor, nothing should be more dear to him than the
Bible."
1660 John Loome (146)
(146) John Loome, the first Chief Magistrate, chosen after the
Re?!tr:at;ct:, was a royalist, and had been on the Register of Sus-
pected xCiions in Dover during the Interregnum.
1661 John Colder 1662 Richard Jacob (147)
(147) Richard Jacob, chosen Mayor in 1662 and again in the
years 1672 and 1673, was a French Huguenot. During his last two
Mayoralties the Corporation farmed from the Warden and Assist>-
ants the Harbour Droits and Ballastage at a rent of £60 a year.
1663 William Eaton
(148) William Eaton, Mayor in 1663 was a Notary connected
with the Custom House.
1664 Nicholas Eaton (149)
(149) Nicholas Eaton, Mayor in 1664 was the last Mayor's
brother.
1665 George West (150)
(if;o) G€orge West, Mayor in the years 1665, 1683 and 1687,
was a Maltster, and during the Commonwealth had been " a suspected
person."
3o8 ANNALS OF DOVER
1666 William Stokes (151)
(151) William Stokes, chosen Mayor in 1666, was subsequently
elected to the ofl&ce six times. He was a Captain in the Fleet and
had charge of the ship in which the King came to Dover at the
Restoration. In his last Mayoralty the Charter of Charles II. was
abrocated by proclamation.
1667 William Stokes 1668 John Matson (152)
(152) John Matson, Mayor in 1668, was elected to the oflSce
twice afterwards, but his last election in 1670 was declared void
owing to an informality in the nomination.
1669 John Matson 1670 John Carlisle (153)
(153) John Carlisle, Mayor in September 1670, held the
oflSce only a few weeks, his election also being informal. He was
the Clerk of the Passage.
1670 Richard Barley (154)
(154) Richard Barley, who was Mayor in 1670 and 1672, had
hia election in 1670 disputed, but in a second election the same year
he gained the office. In 1678 he attempted to upset the established
mode of election by an unauthorized blowing of the town horn, for
which he was fined £200.
167 1 Richard Barley 1672 Richard Jacob
1673 Richard Jacob 1674 John Bullack (155)
(155) John Bullack was Mayor twice in the Stuart Period and
once in the reign of William III. In his second Mayoralty the
Mayor and Jurats were appointed to remove the Harbour Bar, the
money being granted by the Crown.
1675 John Bullack 1676 WilHam Stokes
1677 William Stokes 1678 WilUam Stokes
1679 Nicholas Cullen (156)
(156) Nicholas Cullen, Mayor, ordered the seats of the Corpor-
ation to be re-erected in the east end of St. Mary's Church. He was
Mayor four times.
1680 Nicholas Cullen 1681 Nicholas Cullen
1682 Nicholas Cullen
tHE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 369
VIII.
FROM THE CHARTER OF CHARLES II.
1683 TO 1777.
The Charter of Charles II. was granted in 16S3 (in
place of one granted by Elizabeth) with the hope of trans-
forming the Dover Corporation, then leaning towards
Nonconformity, into a tool that would send members to
Parliament to support the Government. That Charter did
not answer the purpose of its authors, and it remained
practically a dead letter, being eventually repealed by Pro-
clamation in the first year of the reign of William III. More
particulars of this Charter will be found in the " History
of the Corporation," in Section Five.
1683 William Stokes 1683 George West
1684 Thomas Teddiman (157)
(157) Thomas Teddiman, who was Mayor in 1684, was a son
of Admiral Teddiman, a Mayor of the time of Charles I.
1685 Robert Jacob (158)
(158) Robert Jacob, chosen Mayor in 1685, was elected to the
office three times. In his first Mayoralty the Corporation resolved
to revive the decree of 1587, that the Common Prayers of the Church
of England, including the prayers for the King and the Royal
Family, should be read at the beginning of every Common Council.
He was a member of the French Protestant Church, which then haxi
a meo'iing place in Dover, and in his second Mayoralty he was re-
moved from office by the Privy Council, in the reign of James II.
His third Mayoralty was in the reign of Queen Anne, when he was
advanced in years, still a staunch Huguenot.
1686 Richard Cook (159)
(i:;9) Richard Cooke, Mayor in 1686, found the Corporation
money chest so bare owing to expenditure connected with the Charter,
that it became necessary to sell some Corporation property, includ-
ing a piece of land near " Day Stone," end the Chamber over
Biggin Gate, which the Corporation Minutes state was sold " by
the Candle."
1687 George West 1688 Robert Jacob
1688 Edward Roberts (160)
(160) Edward Roberts, who only held the office of Mayor six
weeks, was a stop-gap. Robert Jacob, who had been elected on
8th September, 1688, was removed by the Privy Council, and
Edward Roberts put in his place, but after six weeks, the Privy
Council removed him to allow one of the old Jurats. Captain
William Stokes, to be elected Mayor. This was a few days before
the abdication of James II.
3IO ANNALS OF DOVER
1688 William Stokes 1689 John Bullarke
1690 Thomas Scott (161)
(161) Thomas Scott, Mayor in 1690 and 1691, was the father-
in-law of Michael Russell, a later Mayor. This Mayor ordered the
ringing of the Cxirfew BeU to be revived, and the three silver maces
to be sold.
1691 Thomas Scott 1692 Clement Bucke (162)
(162) Clement Bucke, Mayor in 1692 and 1693, was a resi-
dent of St. James's Parish, and his tomb is in St. James's Old
Church. In his Mayoralty Edward Boyter was elected Town Sergeant
in the room of Thomas Pepper, deceased.
1693 Clement Bucke 1694 John Hollingbery (163)
(163) John Hollingbery, first chosen Mayor in 1694, was in
the office eight times during a period of twenty-seven years. He
was a Maltster, and a Colonel in the Dover Trained Bands. He
presented to the Corporation the portraits of Charles II. axid
William in.
1695 John Hollingbery 1696 Edward Franklyn (164^
(164) Edward Franklyn was a naturalized Dutchman and a
friend of Mr. Isaac Minet, yet in his Mayoralty it was ordered that
Isaac Minet's permit to "keep shcp " did not give him a vote.
1697 Edward Franklyn 1698 Edward Wivell (165)
(165) Edward Wivell was the head of the Dover Victualling
Department. He was Mayor six times from 1698. He obtained the
Freedom of Dover by marriage with the daughter of Captain William
Stokes, a former Mayor. His wife died before his first Mayoralty,
but the Common Assembly resolved, "That the death of his wife,
Margery, did not make void his being a Jurate, Justice of the Peace,
and Mayor; he being a freeman of the Corporation by marriage with
the said Margery, who was the daughter of William Stokes de-
ceased." In Mr. Wivell's second Mayoralty, 20th January, 1799,
it was resolved to present the freedom to Mr. Isaac Minet.
1699 Edward Wivell 1700 Edward Wivell
1 701 John Hollingbery 1702 John Hollingbery
1703 John Hollingbery 1704 John Hollingbery
1705 Peatley Sturgesss (166)
(166) Peatley Sturgess, Mayor in the yars 1705 and 1706, is
not otherwise mentioned.
1706 Peatley Sturgess 1707 Edward Wivell
1708 Edward Wivell 1709 Edward Wivell
1710 Richard Bax (167)
(167) Richard Bax was Mayor in 1710 — the year in which
the Statutory Regulation was made that a Mayor shmjld not be
re-elected until he had been one whole year out of office.
1711 Robert Jacob 1712 Thomas Broadley (168)
(168) Thomas Broadley, Mayor in 1712 and 1728, was a
Surgeon who resided in a large house near the top of Snargate
Street; oa the seaward side, called Broadley's Mansion,
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 311
1 7 13 James Flinder (169)
(169) James Flinder wae Mayor in the years 1713, 1717 and
1720. In his first election to the Mayoralty he was opposed by
Robert Daines, who was proposed by the Freemen without being on
the list nominated by the Bench of Jurats. Daines obtained the
majority of votes, but the Court of Common Pleas declared Flinder
duly elected. In Mr. Flinders first Mayoralty Hubert Randolph was
appointed Recorder.
1 7 14 John Knott (170)
(170) John Knott, Mayor in the years 1714 and 1721, was
elected on the second occasion to fill the vacancy caused by the
removal of John Hollingbtry from office because George I. disliked
Tories.
1 7 15 Samuel Walton (171)
(171) Samuel Walton, Mayor in 1715 was a Carpenter and
Builder in Walton's Lane, a thoroughfare that used to be near
Finnis's Hill, with a workshop adjoining St. James's Passage, in St.
James's Street.
1716 John Cannon (172)
(172) John Cannon was an owner of property on both sides
of Cannon Street at the time when he was Mayor in 17 16. His
father was Captain Cannon, who was Deputy Governor of the Castle
during the Commonwealth. John Cannon was a baker and a farmer.
His residence and bakery was on the east side of the street and
his farmyard on the west. He was, after the Kennetts, owner of
Queen's Garden.
17 1 7 James Flinder 1718 John Hollingbery
1 7 19 Henry Blindstone (173)
(173) Henry Blindstone was a Captain of a Mail Packet on
the Dover Station. He was chosen Mayor in 1719 and 1729, but
died soon after his second election.
1720 James Flinder 1721 John Hollingbery
1721 John Knott 1722 Henry Blindstone
1723 John Perkins (174)
(174) John Perkins was chosen Mayor in 1723; Dover was
then in a very depressed condition owing to disturbances by the
Jacobites.
1724 Matthew Kennett (175)
(175) Matthew Kennett, was a .son of Basil Kennett, 'Vicar
of Postling, and brother of White Kennett, who was Bishop of Peter-
borough. The Kennetts continued to hold municipal offices in Dover
down to Matthew Kennett, Clerk to the Justices, who died in 1857.
1725 Charles Smith (176)
(176) Charles Smith, Mayor in 172^ and 1729, in his fir.<!t
Mayoralty ordered the Corporation's old Store House, standing on
the low cliff on the west side of Limekiln Street, to be leased to the
Overseers of St. Mary's Parish, to be converted into a Poor House.
3t2 ANNALS OF DOVER
1726 James Lamb (177)
(177) James Lamb, who was Mayor in 1726 was a Brandy
Merchant.
1727 John Perkins 1728 Thomas Broadley
1729 Henry Blindstone, ob. 1729 Charles Smith
1730 Goddard Gay (178)
(178) Goddard Gay was of a Kentish family of French origin
and wrote their name Le Gay. They owned the Manor of Evington
in Elmsted Parish. Richard Gay, a descendant of this family, had
a Mustard Mill above Worthington's Lane, in Biggin Street, which
was destroyed by fire in 1849.
1 73 1 Thomas Underdown (179)
(179) Thomas Underdown, a merchant and ship owner, was
Mayor in 1731 and 1733.
1732 James Hammond (180)
(180) James Hammond, who was Mayor in 1732 was Clerk
of the Cheques of Dover Harbour and a son of James Hammond, the
owner of Hammond's Quay in 1670. In 1727 he bought some old
property that had been St. Martin's Churchyard, where the Carlton
Club now is, and built a house there which encroached on land where
stocks, cage, and pillory used to stand. On this encroacliment an
action was fought at the Kent Assizes in 1735, 'when the Court
allowed Mr. Hammond's house to remain, but ordered him to pay
a rent to the Corporation of 5s. a year for the ground for 900 years.
That time has not yet expired, but the rent does not survive.
1733 Thomas Underdown i734 Thomas Wicks (181)
(181) Thomas Wicks was a wig-maker.
1735 John Matson (182)
(182) John Matson, Mayor in 1735, was Agent Victualler at
Dover. His salary from the Crown was £200. In October, 1745,
while he held that office a great part of the Victualling Office on the
premises of the Maison Dieu was destroyed by fire. It was recon-
structed at a cost of £1719, and John Matson's salary was reduced
to £150. He died four years after the fire.
1736 Peter Monin (183)
(183) Peter Monin, who was Mayor in 1736, gave a new clock
which was set up in St. Mary's Tower in place of the old Town
Cloc'^. r''inove<l from St. Martin's Church in 1539- In this Mayoralty
the Common Council granted a new lease to James Willes (in place
of one granted in 1711;, to James and Joan Willes), for twenty-one
years at 4s. a year, of the cow house and three pieces of land, at a
place called "Upmarket," in the parish of St. James's.
1737 James Gunman (184)
(iSi) James Gunman, who was Mayor in 1737, wn<! a retired
Commanrl'^r of the N?vy. He made a survey of the Channel and
at one ti;ne the Varn bank was named after him "Gunman's Shoal."
He married Elizabeth Wivell, daughter of a former JIayor, and
through her inherited Barton and Goombe Manors. His residence
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 313
was Gunman's Mansion in Biggin Street. His wife predeceased him
and he, being a rich widower, there was a rumour that he was
about to marry a young widow. This rumour, reaching the ears of
his friend, Lord Chancellor Hardwick, his lordship wrote to Captain
Gunman a letter, which is curious reading, begging him, for the
sake of his family, not to take that step, and Captain Gunman
replied that the report was without foundation. The original of
that letter is in the possession of Mr. Martyn Mowll, of Dover, and
it is printed in Mr. C. York's "Life and Correspondence," of Lord
Hardwicke.
1738 John Dalgliesh (185)
(185) John Dalgliesh was a Captain of a Naval Packet on the
Dover Station.
1739 Goddard Gay 1740 Richard HoUingbery (186)
(186) Richard Hollingl:)€ry was a malster, a Colonel of the
Dover Trained Band, and a Barrack Master at the Castle.
1741 Robert Wellard (187)
(187) Robert Wellard was a descendant of William and Alice
Wellard, who owned the " Cock " Brewhouse, which in 1650 stood on
the site of Trinity Church. Before being elected Mayor, Robert
Wellard had been for twenty-one years Town Clerk, and he held
that office during his Mayoralty.
1742 Nathaniel Smith (188)
(188) Nathaniel Smith was the "Stormy Petrel" of the Jurats'
Bench, and frequently was clever enough to upset the plans of the
ruling clique.
1743 Vincent Underdown (189)
(189) Vincent Underdown, Mayor in 1743 and 1745, at the
end of his second Mayoralty, owing to some unpleasantness, continually
absented himself from the Jurats' Bench, for which he was expelled
from the Corporation.
1744 Cuthbert Hodgson (190)
(190) Cuthbert Hodgson, a Huguenot, and a Captain of one
of the Mail Packets at Dover, was a friend of Isaac Minet.
1745 Vincent Underdown 1746 John Dalgliesh
1747 Robert Walker (191)
(191) Robert Walker, who was Mayor in 1747, afterwaixJs took
but little interest in the Corporation.
1748 Richard Rouse (192)
(192) Richard Rouse wae a wine merchant, and resided at
Archer's Court.
1749 Thomas Bean (193)
(192) Thomas Bean was a brewer (with Richard Rouse
as his partner), having his place of business where Messrs. A.
Leney and Co.'s brewery now is. The place was then called
" Bean's Corner." The business passed from Bean and Rouse to
the Walker's, and from them to the present owners.
314 ANNALS OF DOVER
1750 Henry Jelly (194)
(194) Henry Jelly was the land surveyor of the Dover Customs
House. The building of the Castle Jetty was commenced in his first
Mayoralty.
1 75 1 Christopher Gunman (195)
(195) Christopher Gunman was the son of James Gunman, and
filled the of&ce of Collector of Cxistoms at Dover.
1752 John Broadley (196)
(196) John Broadley, surgeon, another of the family residing
at Broadley's Mansion, near the top of Snargate Street, was Mayor
in 1752- He acted as Judge of the Cinque Ports Admiralty Court, in
1754-
1753 Nathaniel Smith 1754 Henry Jelly
1755 Michael Russell (197)
(197) Michael Russell, elected Mayor in 1755, was not acceptable
to the '"ruling clique," because he was a "linen draper." They had
striven to prevent his election as a Jurat with the object of keeping
him out of the Mayoralty. But he had powerful supporters, and by
the influence of the Earl of Hardwicke and Lord Anson, ne was
appointed Agent Victualler in the Maison Dieu, to the disappointment
of many other Dover men who sought the appointment. Having
found his way to the Mayoralty, he acquitted himself well. His son,
Henry, entered the legal profession, in which he was helped forward
by Lord Hardwicke, and eventually Henry Russell became Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of Bengal. Michael Russell died at
Dover in 1793, and Henry Russell, the Chief Justice, retiring in 1812,
was created a Baronet and a Privy Councillor. He settled at
Swallowfield, in Berkshire, and distinguished men have from time to
time succeeded to that baronetcy, one of whom was Sir George Russell,
a County Court Judge, who vised to sit as Judge in the Maison
Dieu, where his great-grandfather superintended H.M. Victualling
Department.
1756 John Bazely (198)
(198) John Bazely, previous to his first Mayoralty, made himself
famous as the captain of the privateer, "The Eagle." He had adopted
this career owing to a Royal Proclamation, issued in 1743, which
sanctioned and encouraged privateering as a help to the nation's
cause. When John Bazely was chosen Mayor in 1756 he was an
important man, and five years later, when he was again Mayor, his
good reputation had ripened. In his first Mayoralty he took the lead
in sending a petition to Parliament, to secure a larger share of the
tonnage dues to carry out necessary Harbour works at Dover. The
petition, which, has since become historical under the title of "The
Case of Dover Harbour stated, 1756," resulted in securing to Dover
one half of the tonnage dues instead of one-third. In his second
Mayoralty Captain Bazely succeeded in piloting through Parliament
clauses in a Turnpike Bill, which resulted in the making of the first
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES
315
turnpike road to Dover from Folkestone— the one that entered Dover
by Archcliffe Road and Limekiln Street, the Pier being at that time
the busiest part of Dover.
1757 Alexander Wellard (199)
(199) Alexander Wellard bad been Town Clerk for thirteen
years, and continued to hold the office of Town Clerk while he was
Mayor. His residence was in Bench Street, at the corner of Chapel
Lane, but he sold it in 1754 to the Churchwardens of St. Mary's
Church, and it was used as a minister's house.
1758 Thomas Richards (200)
(200) Thomas Richards was a captain of a Mail Packet at
Dover. His appointment to that post in 1751 was the first time a
Dover man had been placed in command of a Dover Mail Packet since
the accession of George I.
1759 Richard Rowse 1760 Christopher Gunman
1 76 1 John Bazely 1762 Michael Russell
1763 James Hammond (201)
(201) This James Hammond, chosen Mayor in 1763, was Mayor
three times. He may be calletl James Hammond III. His grand-
father was the original owner of a quay at the Crosswall in the
year 1676. His father was the Clerk of the Cheque of Dover
Harbour, and this James Hammond in his youth had control of
Harbour works on behalf of his father. He placed on record many
facts concerning old Dover, partly from his own observations and
partly extracts which he took from records at the Haihour, the
Castle, and St. Mary's Vestry. During his Mayoralty, in 1763, the
Three Gun Battery, which stood on the margin of the Pent where
New Bridge now is, was repaired for the use of the Dover Volunteers.
1764 Robert Wellard (202) 1765 Hughes Minet (203)
(202) Robert Wellard was a retired captain uf the Navy, who
had charge of a Mail Packet at Dover. He resided at the top of
Biggin Street, where the " Prince Albert " Inn and the houses below
it stand.
(203) Hughes Minet, elected Mayor in 1765, was a grandsSn
of Isaac Minet, and the son of the Rev. John Minet, the Rector of
Eythorne. He was named Hughes after his mother, who was of the
Hughes family of the Manor of Capel-le-Ferne. He was a partner in
the Bank of Minet and Fector.
1766 David Sutton (204) 1767 John Latham (205)
(204) David Sutton was a captain in the Dover Mail Packet
Service.
(205) John Latham, Mayor in 1767, 1779, and 1788, was the
first of the Latham family who took part in Dover Corporation affairs.
Samuel Latham, who came from Lewes, settled in Dover in 1664. His
son became a Freeman of Dover, and his grandson, John, was the
Mayor above mentioned. Like the Minets, the Lathams first started
in the shipping businoas and then became bankers.
3l6 A^INALS OF DOVfeR
1768 Thomas Broadley (206) 1769 John Coleman (207)
(205) Thomas Broadley, Mayor in 1768, was the son of John
Broadley, and grandson of Thomas Broadley, former Mayors, and
they all three were successively " Doctor Broadley," of Broadley's
Mansion, Snargaie Street.
(207) John Coleman, Mayor in 1769, was a well known surgeon,
whose residence was in Stroud Street, where the Harbour Railway
Station now stands.
1770 T. Buteman Lane (20S) 1771 Edmund Barham (209)
(208) Thomas Bateman Lane had the distinction of being the
first Mayor on the roll who had two Christian names. He was Deputy
Lieutenant of Dover Castle.
(209) Edmund Barham, a member of the Kentish Barham family,
was the son of John Barham, and brother of Richard Barham, the
father of Thomas Harris Barham, who wrote the " Ingoldsby Legends."
1772 Sampson Farbrace (210)
(210) Sampson Farbrace, Mayor in 1772, was the owner of
Buckland Manor, the Manor House at that time being north of the
river, opposite Buckland Ford.
1773 Christopher Gunman 1774 Henry Jelly (211)
(211) Henry Jelly, Mayor in the years 1774, 1781, and 1790,
was the son of a former Mayor of that name.
1775 James Hammond 1776 James Gunman (212)
(212) James Gunman was a son of Christopher Gunman, and
a grandson of Captain James Gunman, all of whom were Mayors,
and resided at Gunman's Mansion, Biggin Street. They were
Hanovarians, and their ancestors came over with George I.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 317
IX.
FROM THE PAVING COMMISSION.
1778 TO 1835.
The introduction of the Paving Commission in 1778
was a conclusive proof that Dover was in a very bad way
in respect to its sanitary arrangements and general local
government. Nothing could have been more distasteful to
the old governing clique than to let in forty outsiders, some
of whom had been their keenest critics, to take part in the
government of the Town. But the dose had to be swallowed.
The streets were narrow and crooked; there was no town
drainage except what emptied directly into the river or the
docks. The surface of the streets was unpaved, their general
form being that of a gutter with a channel for the rainfall
down the middle. Other towns, which had been in an
equally bad condition owing to the inability of old
Corporations to carry out sanitary reform, had applied to
Parliament for the appointment of local governing bodies
called Paving Commissioners, endowed with statutory powers,
and Dover was bound to follow suit, or sacrifice the pros-
pect, then coming into view, of making seaside attractions
a source of benefit to the town. Such were the causes
which led to the promotion of the Dover Paving Acts.
1777 Matthew Kennett (213) 1778 Thomas Stringer (214)
(213) Matthew Kennett took the leading part in framing the
Dover Paving Act of 1778, vrhich became law during his Mayoralty.
(214) Thomas Stringer was the first of the Stringer family
who made a prominent figure in Dover. His residence was Castle
Hill House. Victoria Park was then called Stringer's Field.
1779 John Latham 1780 T. B. Lane
1781 Henry Jelly 1782 Phineas Stringer (215)
(215) Phineas Stringer was a son of Thomas Stringer. He
married the daughter of Richard Rouse, a former Mayor, and so
inherited Mr. Rouse's country residence, Archer's Court.
1783 James Hammond 1784 James Gunman
1785 T. B. Lane 1786 Thomas Boyton (216)
(216) Thomas Boyton served in the Navy during the Jacobean
Rebellion and was for some time a prisoner at Perth. After the
Scottish War he became surveyor of Customs at Dover, which ofiBc^
he held in 1786, when he waa Mayor.
3l8 ANNALS OF DOVER
1787 Robert Thompson (217)
{217) Robert Thompson was Mayor but one year.
1788 John Latham 1789 James Gunman
1790 Henry Jelly 1791 Matthew Kennett (218)
(218) This Mathew Kennett was the son of Matthew Kennett
who was Mayor in 1777.
1792 Robert Westfield (219) 1793 William King (220)
(219) Robert V/estfield, Mayor in 1792, had been Town Clerk.
He was also Clerk to the Court of Brotherhood, and Clerk to the
Dover Paving Commissioners.
(220) William King was a ship builder, his building yard
being on the bsach where the South Eastern Railway Station now
is. He built ships for the Passage, and a good many of the smaller
ships that were in the actions that Nelson fought.
1794 T. B. Lane 1795 Thomas Mantell (221)
(221) Sir Thomas Mantell, who was Mayor six times between
1795 and 1824, was a Surgeon, born at Chilham. In early life he
settled in Dover as a Surgeon, but ceased to practice in 1793 when
he was appointed agent at this port for prisoners of war. After the
War he held the post of .agent for the Mail Packets during the
remainder of his life. He married Miss Oakley, a lady of literary
ability. He was knighted for long services in connection with
the Passage. He read the Riot Act when a body of smugglers came
from Folkestone and the Marsh towns to liberate smugglers from
Dover Gaol, which they succeeded in doing. He laid the founda-
tion stone of a new prison. He did his best to keep the town
quiet when Queen Caroline landed at Dover in 1820, when there was
groat papular excitement. His act, best remembered, was the laying
of the foundation stone of the New Bridge (which is still called
New Bridge) in June, 1800.
1796 Robert Finnis (222) 1797 William Knocker (223)
(222) Robert Finnis was a timber merchant, who bad his
residence and timber yard at Finnis's Hill. He also had a timber
yard where Camden Crescent now is.
(223) William Knocker was Mayor four times between 1797
and 1832. During his first Mayoralty in 1798 the men of Dover
wore formed into eight Volunteer Companies, and William Knocker,
the Mayor, was the Captain of one of them.
1798 William King I799 Thomas Mantell
1800 T. B. Lane 1801 George Stringer (24)
(224) George Stringer was Mayor at the time of the Peace
Proclamation m May, 1802, and had a grand illuminated trans-
parency shown in front of his house on Castle Hill exhibiting the
figure of Peace.
1802 Williarr Knocker 1S03 Jonathan Osborne (225)
(225) Jonathan Osborn was an iron founder. In the year
i8no, when the Three Gun Battery was dismantled, he bought and
melted down the historic three guns.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 319
1804 Robert Walker (226) 1805 Phineas Kennett (227)
(226) Robert Walker was the senior partner of Dolphin Lane
Brewery. Towards the end of his first Mayoralty, in August, 1805
the soldiers Regulare and Volunteers stood to arms for three or
four nights along the shore waiting to resist the Invasion, which
did not occur.
(227) Phineas Kennett was Mayor when the guns, twenty-four
and twelve pounders were landed at Dover to arm the Martello
Towers, which were then being erected round the coast from Folke-
stone to Lydd.
1806 Robert Hunt (228)
(227) Robert Hunt, during his first Mayoralty, read the Riot
Act, when a mob tried to release smugglers from the Court Hall.
The Mayor committed the smugglers and sent them under an escort
of Dragoons to Newgate Prison.
1807 William King 1808 Edward Thompson (229)
(229) Edward Thompson had a quiet time as Mayor, but he was
a Jurat in 1S20 when the Dover rioters broke open the Dover Gaol,
and, was wounded by a stone thrown while the Riot Act was being
read.
1S09 Thomas Mantell iSio George Dell (230)
(230) George Dell was a surgeon, son of Captain Dell, of the
Mail Packet Service.
181 1 Edward Thompson 181 2 Thomas Mantell
1813 James Walker (231) 1814 Henshaw Latham (232)
(231) James Walker was Mayor in 18 14, when the Allied
Sovereigns landed at ArchclifE Fort at the end of the rei-insular
War. He was the managing partner of Messrs. Walker's Dolphin
Lane Brewery.
(232) Plenshaw Latham was Mayor three times. He was the
managing partner of Latham's Bank. In his first Mayoralty he
organised a general subscription for the wounded and widows of the
slaia in the Battle of Wuterloo.
1 81 5 George Stringer 18 16 Jonathan Osborne
1 81 7 William Knocker 181 8 Robert Walker
1819 Thomas Mantell 1820 George Dell
1821 Henshaw Latham 1822 John Jeken (233)
{27^) John Jeken was Mayor when the foundation stone of the
York Sll-eet Almshouses was laid, the Mayor being the Master of the
Almshouse Charity.
1823 Jos. Webb Pilcher (234)
(2341 Joseph Webb Pilcher presided at the first public meeting
held to promote the construction of the South-Eastern Railway from
London lO Dover. In his last Mayoralty the Corporation purchased
the Maison Dieu to convert it into a Town Hall.
320 ANNALS OF DOVER
1824 Thomas Mantell 1825 John Finnis (235)
(235) John Finnis, Mayor in 1825, was a timber merchant and
builder, son of Robert Finnis, a former Mayor. By a local Act of
Parliament passed in his Mayoralty, the Corporation obtained power
to remove the election of Members of Parliament and Mayors from
St. Mary's Church to the Court Hall.
1826 George Stringer 1827 John Shipdem (236)
(236) John Shipdem was Mayor in the years 1827 and 1835.
At the end of his second Mayoralty he handed " the badge of his
place " to a new Mayor selected under the Municipal Corporations
Act of 1835. John Shipdem, who resided at the Round House. Town-
wall Street, had been a Dover official nearly fifty years. He was
Town Clerk from 1791 to 1826, and Register of the Harbour from
1806 until his death in 1840.
1828 Mattliew Kennett (237) 1829 H. P. Bniyers (238)
(237) Matthew Kennett, chosen Mayor in 1828, was the last of
the Kennett family in the Mayoralty.
(238) Henry Pringle Bruyers was a French Canadian, and
married Jane Laurie, daughter of Mr. John Minet Factor, sen., and
he was a captain of one of the Dover Mail Packets.
1830 Henshaw Latham 1831 John Coleman (239)
(239) John Coleman was a surgeon residing in Coleman's Pier
Mansion in Strond Street. He was Mayor when the Parliamentary
Reform Act came into force, and disfranchised 800 out-dwelling
freemen.
1832 William Knocker 1833 J. W. Pilcher
1834 William Cocke (240)
(240) William Cocke was Mayor six times. He was so popular
amongst the working people of Dover that after his last Mayoralty
he was presented with a £50 gold watch and an illuminated address
raised by a shilling subscription.
1835 John Shipdem
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 32 1
X.
FROM THE NEW TOWN COUNCIL.
1836 TO 1850.
The changes introduced by the Municipal Corporations
Act of^ 1835, and which began to operate in Dover at the
beginning of 1836, are fully set out in the " History of the
Corporation," contained in the previous Section. The
changes specially affecting Mayors were that they were
chosen on the 9th November instead of the 8th September,
that they were elected by the members of the Town Council
instead of by the Freemen at large, and that the statutory
regulations made in Queen Anne's reign that the Mayor
should not be re-elected until he had been one year out of
the office was no longer in force. It was also permitted
by the new Act that a Mayor who had been an Alderman,
but whose term expired when he was elected Mayor, might
continue to hold the office of Mayor notwithstanding that
he was not otherwise a member of the Council. Many of
the Mayor's duties and privileges under the customal and
usage of the old Corporations passed away under the new
Act, the most important uf which were his presiding at the
Borough Quarter Sessiuiis and acting as Coroner.
1836 (January) E. P. Thompson (241)
(241) Edward Pett Thompson, who was Mayor in 1836, was
elected as the first Mayor of the new Corporaticn on the ist of
January in that year, anc! filled the oiSce again in 1838. He had
been a Jurat and a Deputj' Mayor in the old Corporation, in which
two of his ancestors had been Mayor. He was a learned man, devoted
particularly to literature end natural history. He had travelled in
Northern Europe, and had written interesting books on natural
history and travel. He had a large collection of natural history
specimens, which he presented to the Corporation when, under his
auspices, the Dover Museum was established in Febiniary, 1836.
1836 (November) W. Cocke 1837 Michael Elwin (242)
(242) Michael Elwiz:, who was Mayor in 1837, had been a Jurat
in the old Corporation, and was 73 years of age when he was elected
Mayor in the new Town Council. He was by profession a solicitor,
and held an official position in the Dover Navy VictuoUing Departs
ment. He was the First Lieutenant in the Dover Volunteers in 1799,
and was Mayor at the Coronation of Queen Victoria.
322 ANNALS OF DOVER
1838 E. P. Thompson 1839 William Cocke
1840 Edward Poole (243)
(243) Edward Poole, Mayor in 1S40 and 1841, was an kon-
founder, the successor to Jonathan Osborn, a former Mayor, at the
Foundry near the bottom of Snargate Street. Mr. Poole was the
founder of the Dover Benevolent Society, established to siipply the
poor townspeople with coals and bread in the winter.
1841 Edward Poole 1842 William Clarke (244)
(244) William Clarke, elected Mayor in 1842, held the office
for four successive years. He was a native of Londonderry, and
having retired from the post of surgeon in the Navy, he took up his
residence in Dover, and built for himself the first house in EfiBngham
Crescent. He was called "The Railway Mayor," because he exerted
himself to organise the festivities when the South-Eastem Railway
was opened to Dover in 1844. When he retired from the Town
Council, in 1849, lie returned to Ireland, where he died in 1863, but
his remains were brought to Dover a:id interred in Cowgate Cemetery,
where there is a monument to his memory.
1843 William Clarke 1844 William Clarke
1845 William Clarke 1846 William Cocke
1847 William Cocke 1848 A. F. Payne (245)
(245) Anthony Freeman Payn, son of Mr. Anthony Payn, who
founded the " York " Hotel at Dover in the Eighteenth Century, was
the first Liberal Mayor elected in the new Town Council. The Con-
servatives had held the majority in the Council from 1836 to 1847,
and when the Liberals found themselves masters of the situation in
1848, Mr. Payn was the first of their series of Mayors, extending
from 1848 to 1857.
1849 Steriker Finnis (246) 1850 Steriker Finnis
(246) Steriker Finnis was elected Mayor two years in succession,
so that he occupied the chair from November, 1849, until November,
1851. His father, John Finnis, and his grandfather, Robert Finnis,
were Mayors, the latter carrying us back to 1796, and Mr. Steriker
Finnis's career in the Town Council continued until 1883. Mr.
Finnis, after his two years in the Mayoralty, was many times invited
to again accept the ofi&ce, Imt he declined because he held that the
office of Mayor should not be reserved for a favoured few, but taken
?ji turn, as far as possible, by every member of the Council. Some
things that make history happened in Mr. Steriker Finnis's two
Mayoralties. The main thing that wms actually connected with his
oflBce of Mayor was the arloption of the Public Health Act and its
being put into operation in Dover. That Act conferred on the Cor-
poration the power to effectively carry out the town drainage and
to establish waterworks. That iniitortant work was immediately
undertaken, and the danger to the lives of the people arising from
the want of drainage and a pure water supply was removed by the
mach.inery then set in motion. Of course, these works left a large
burden on the ratepayers ; but another movement in the same
Mayoralty— the establishment of Dover Hospital, in High Street— was
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 323
purely benevolent and a lastixig blessing to the town. One other
undertaking accomplished during the Mayoralty, but one in which
*he Mayor only figured as a spectator, was also historic, that was
when the Mayor, in his official capacity, attended at the shore end
of the first submarine telegraph cable at Dover, on the 14th August,
1850, when the following message was sent from Dover to Calais: —
" The Ancient Ports of Dover and Calais must be the great highway
of communication with the whole Continent; in fact, the whole
world." The sentence does not appear to be particularly well worded,
as is often the case when a person is suddenly called upon to write
something in an album, but it served. The great fact was that Dover
and Calais were first united by electricity in the Mayoralty of Mr.
Steriker Finnis.
324 ANNALS OF DOVER
XI.
FROM THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT.
1850 TO 1894.
From the adoption of the Public Health Act in 1850
to the completion of the Municipal buildings in 1894 was a
transition period, during which Dover, having passed through
a stage of chastened economy owing to the previous
expenditure on the sewerage and water supply, rapidly
developed a condition of light-hearted liberality, and, amongst
other large outlays, resolved to spend ^19,000 on a new
public hall, and J£^i 2,000 on a technical school. The notes
on the " Mayors and their Times " during that period will
illustrate the various stages of that transition, which resulted
in creating a Municipal debt compared with which the cost
of the sewerage and water supply was a very small amount.
1851 Thomas Birch (247) 1852 Charles Lamb (248)
(247)4 Thomas Birch was a grocer and auctioneer, having a place
(fi business at the Crosswall. He was 68 years old when first chosen
Mayor in 1851, and he died in June, 1858, during his third Mayoralty.
(24S) Charles Lamb, chosen Mayor in 1852, had been a member
of the old Common Council, and was in his 73rd year when elected
Mayor. He had been for fifty years the Chairman of the Dover Catch
Club, and it was in his Mayoralty that the Mayor's Banquet wae first
held.
1853 James Poulter (249) 1854 W. H. Payn (250)
(249) James Poulter, elected to the Civic chair in 1853, was
the first Nonconformist Mayor of Dover since the passing of the
Corporations Regulations Act of 1662. For that re'Oson his portrait is
hung on the wall of the Maison Dieu.
(250) William Henry Payn, a son of Anthony Payn, of the
"York " Hotel, was Mayor in 1854 — the year in which the Waterworks
■were coanpkted — and he celebrated the event by giving a banquet in
the upper reservoir. There is a picture of the reservoir as it appeared
on that occasion in the Ccunc'l Chamber. Mr. P>ayn will be mentioned
amongst the OiScers of tlo Corporation as a Coroner.
1855 James Worsfold (251)
(251) James Worsfold, elected Mayor in 1S55, had been a
member of the old Common Coimcil. lie had been in the Navy,
but retired after the Peace of 1S15.
1856 Thomas Birch 1857 Thomas Birch
1857 E. F. Astley (25:?) 1858 E. F. Astley
(252) Edward Feivn':' Astley, M.D., was Mayor in 1857-8,
filling the vacancy caufcd by the death of Mr. Thomas Birch, but
his great beneficent work was done sixteen years later, when the
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 325
small-pox epidemic occurred. He then opened an isolation hospital
at Tower Hamlets at his own expense. It was afterwards trans-
ferred to the Corporation and used as a fever hospital by the
Corporation.
1859 J. C. Ottaway (253) i860 John Birmingham (254)
(253) James Cuthbert Ottaway, elected Mayor in 1859, "^^^ *
surgeon. During his Mayoralty he introduced in the Police Court a
Poor Box for the relief of distressed prisoners.
(254) John Birmingham was the well known proprietor of the
" Lord Warden " Hotel at Dover, and had previously been the host
of the "Ship" Hotel.
1861 John Birmingham 1862 James Worsfold
1863 Jeffery Noble (255)
(255) Captain Jeffery Wheelock Noble, R.N., was the Super-
intendent of the Pilots at Dover. He died during his second Mayoralty,
and had a public funeral.
1864 Jeffery Noble W. R. Mummery (256)
(256) William Eigden Mummery, chosen Mayor in March, 1865,
was a son of Mr. W. K. Mummery, of Deal, and he succeeded Mr.
Humphrey Humphrey as proprietor of the Stembrook Tannery, Dover.
In his last Mayoralty, in August, 1867, a new Town clock was purchased
by public subscriptions for St. Mary's Tower, in place of the old one
given by Peter Monins in 1736.
1865 W. R. Mummery 1866 W. R. Mummery
1867 J. G. Churchward (257)
(257) Joseph George Churchward was the contractor for carrying
the mails between Dover, Calais and Ostend. He exercised much
political influence in Dover, and for some years resided at Kearsney
Abbey.
1868 John Birmingham 1869 John Birmingham
1870 Edward Knocker (258)
(258) Edward Knocker, before being Mayor in 1870, had been
Town Clerk and Clerk of the Paving Board. He was a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquarians. Some years after his Mayoralty he was
appointed the first Honorary Librarian of the Corporation.
1 87 1 Richard Dickeson (259) 1872 Edward R. Mowll (260)
(259) Sir Richard Dickeson was a provision merchant, and
founded the firm of Richard Dickeson and Company. He was chosen
Mayor in 1871, and three times afterwards. He entertained, on the
29th June, 1880, 5,184 Sunday School children and 1,000 teachers in
celebration of the Sunday School Centenary. The Connaught Hall
and Connaught Park were opened when he was Mayor, and for his
liberality on that occasion he was knighted.
(260) Ediward Rutley Mowll, elected Mayor in 1872, was a wine
merchant, and a member of a Dover family that had taken a largo
share in local affairs,
326 ANNALS OF DOVER
1873 Frederick S. Peirce (261)
(261) Frederick Samuel Peirce was elected Mayor in 1873 and
the following year. Ue was the originator of the scheme for the
division of the members of the Dover Police Force into classes, so
that the men might be raised froan stage to stage by merit, each step
carrying with it an increase of pay. The system has worked well for
over forty years.
1874 Frederick S. Peirce 1875 P. Simpson Court (262)
(262) Percy Simpson Court filled the office of Mayor in the
years 1875-6 and 1877-8. In his first Mayoralty he attended as Mayor
at the laying of the foundation stone of the Master's new residence
at Dover College ; and in his second Mayoralty, on the 29th June,
1878, he attended at the cutting of the first sod of the Dover and
Deal Railway. In his lasf Mayoralty, too, he saw the initiation of
the movement which resulted in the clearance of Barwick's Alley from
The side of Priory Hill.
1.376 George Fielding (263)
(263) George Fielding was a solicitor. In his Mayoralty in
1877 was obtained an Act of Parliament for carrying out the East
Cliff Sea Defences; and the first Municipal step in the matter of
Elementary Education was taken by the appointment of a School
Warden.
1877 P. Simpson Court 1878 Alexander Bottle (264)
(264) Alexander Bottle, chosen Mayor in 1878, was President
of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Having been
established as a chemist in Dover since the year 1840, he soon after
tliat date took an active part in the agitation for the improvement
of Dover's sanitary condition, which resulted in the adoption of the
Public Health Act.
1879 Richard Dickeson 1880 Richard Dickeson
1881 John Lade Bradley (265)
(265) John Lade Bradley was Mayor in 1881-2, during the time
of the building of the Gonnaught Hall and the laying out of the
Park. In this Mayoralty occurred the opening of the Dover and Deal
Railway.
1882 Richard Dickeson 1883 Rowland Rees (266)
{266) Rowland Rees, Mayor in 1883-4, was then Engineer of the
Dover Harbour.. He had been Borough Surveyor to the Corporation.
1884 Thos. Viney Brown (267) 1885 William J. Adcock (268)
(267) Thomas Viney Biown, Mayor in 1884-5, was a native of
Deal, where his father was several times Mayor; he was a half-brother
of Mr. W. R. Mummery, a former Mayor.
(268) William John Adcock, Mayor in 1885 and iSgo, was a
native of Nottingham, and a builder. During his first Mayoralty,
there being a great many men out of work, this Mayor raised a large
public subscription for their iclief, and, having obtained the permission
of the War Department, hv transformed the old Castle Hill Road
(which had been superseded h ■ a, new road in 1799) ^"^ ^ charming
zig-zag walk, ornamented witli trees and shrubs, which have since
matiired, forming a pleasing approach to the South Gate of the Park.
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 327
1886 W. H. Crundall (269)
(269) Sir William Henry Crundall was Mayor thirteen times.
He took up the pressing matter of street widening, and in the course
of successive Mayoralties he saw the widening of the main thoroughfare
from the Market Square almost up to the Maison Dieu, as well as the
widening of Worthington Street, Priory Place, the High Street, in
front of the Town Hall, Ladywell, and the communications from
Maison Dieu Road to the Sea Front, and of the Marine Drive round
the Bay. Also during one of his Mayoralties the School of Art and
Technology, in Ladywell, was built, adjoining the Maison Dieu, Lady
Crundall laying the foundation stone. Sir William Crundall was also
associated with the introduction of electric tramways, which his
street widening schemes had made possible. His record of thirteen
Mayoralties has not been broken during Dover's history.
1887 W. H. Crundall 1888 W. H. Crundall
1889 Edward Lukey (270)
(270) Edward Lukey, Mayor in 1899, was a son of Mr. John
Lukey, wine merchant, Dover.
1890 W. J. Adcock 1891 W. H. Crundall
1892 W. H. Crundall 1893 W. H. Crundall
1894 W. H. Crundall
328 ANNALS OF DOVER
XII.
FROM THE WIDENING OF BIGGIN STREET TO
THE PIER VIADUCT.
1894 TO 1914.
This last stage is so well within living memory that it
can hardly be treated as history. The retrospect is so
short that any judgment formed upon it might be crude.
Abandoning criticism, it may be remarked that this stage
brings us (tor the present) to the end of a Roll of Mayors
which, probably, no Municipality in the Kingdom could
surpass. The individual Mayors make a total of 281, the
period which the Roll covers from Domesday being 828
years.
1895 Matthew Pepper (271) 1896 Henry M. Baker (272)
(271) Matthew iPepper was elected Mayor in the year 1895, and
he was at the sama time Chairman of the Dover Board of Guardians.
This Mayor's ancctors had filled the offices of Mayor, Town Clerk,
and Clerk to the Court of Brotherhood and Ghiestling.
(272) Henry Minter Baker, a Man of Kent, a wholesale grocer,
farmer, hop-grower, and horse breeder, was in the Civic chair when
the system of electric trams was inaugurated in Dover, he driving
the first car on the opening day from Buckland to the Pier. Queen
Victoria's Diamond Jubilee was celebrated with great spirit during
his Mayoralty.
1897 W. H. Crundall 1898 W. H. Crundall
1899 W. H. Crundall 1900 W. J. Barnes (273)
(273) William James Barnes was a chemist. He was Mayor on
the occasion of the death of Queen Victoria and the Proclamation of
Edward VII.
1901 H. Martyn Mowll (-"74) 1903 Fredk. G. Wright (275)
(274) Henry Martyn Mowll, a solicitor and Register of Dover
Harbour, was one of the Barrens of tlic Cinque Ports who attended
the Coronation of Edward VI 1 . He is one of the leading antiquarians
of Dover, and his library probably contains an unsurpassed collection
of books, prints, and manuscripts relating to Dover and the district.
(275) Frederick George Wright was an ironmonger, of the firm
of Messrs. Wright Brothers. The principle public event of his
Mayoralty, which commenced November, 1902, was the landing at
Dover of M. Loubet, the President of the French Republic; and the
principle Municipal event was the tran -^er of the Electricity Under-
taking from the Electric Light Company to the Corporation.
1903 A. T. Walmisley (276)
W. H. Crundall
(276) Arthur Thomas Walmisley, c!;osen Mayor in November,
1903, was Engineer of Dover Harbour. He, for many years, was
THE MAYORS AND THEIR TIMES 329
President of the Dover Institute, and for several years the lecturer of
Gi-esham Ck)ll€ge.
1904 W. H. Crundall 1905 W. W. Burkett (277)
(277) William Wood Burkett, a baker and confectioner, euo
ceeded during his Mayoralty in raising a thousand pounds for the
benefit of Dover Hospital.
1906 George F. Raggett (278) 1907 Walter Emden (279)
(278) George Francis Raggett, a retired Naval ofiQoer, made his
Mayoralty memorable by undertaking arrangements for commencing
a County Cricket Week in Dover on a permanent basis.
(279) Walter Emden, who was Mayor from November, 1907,
to November, igio, differed from all other Mayors of Dover in that
he was not a member of the Town Council, having been chosen under
the special provision contained in the 15th Section of the Municipal
Corporations Act of 1882, which allows a burgess not a member of
the Town Council to be chosen Mayor when duly qualified. He had
previously been Mayor of Westminster, and) as Mayor of Dover he
was very energetic in many ways, more especially in promoting the
Dover Pageant, held during his first Mayoralty.
1908 Walter Emden 1909 Walter Emden
1 910 W. H. Crundall 1911 William Bromley (280)
(280) William Bromley, builder, was Mayor two years, from
November, 191 1, to November, 1913. In his first Mayoralty additional
Parliamentary powers were obtained for carrying out a new streete'
scheme, known as "The Pier Viaduct," together with a Pier Housing
Scheme, which had stood over since 1895, when the Corporation
purchased from the Harbour Board, with the intention of improve-
ment,a large insanitary area in the Pier District. In his second
Mayoralty a little of the work was done, but, owing to the War
breaking out in the following year, this, like many other public worka,
was much delayed.
1912 William Bromley 1913 Edwin W. T. Farley (281)
(281) Edwin Wood Thorp Farley, on commencing his Mayoralty in
November, 1913, found the Town Council committed to the Pier
Viaduct Undertaking, which was not at all popular. Mr. Farley was
the first Mayor of Dover of recent years elected independent of
"Party" politics, the elections of 1913 having returned a majority
of those pledged to independence of " Party " politics in Municipal
affairs. Afterwards Mr. Farley was re-elected on November 9th, 1914,
and again in 191 5.
1 914 Edwin W. T. Farley 1915 Edwin W. T. Farley
SECTION VII.
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION,
CONTENTS :
I. Offices and Officers.
II. The Bailiffs.
III. The Chamberlains.
IV. The Town Clerks.
V. The Recorders.
VI. The Coroners.
VII. Clerks of the Peace.
VIII. Clerks to the Magistrates.
IX. Borough Survetors.
X. Chief and Other Constables.
XI. Sergeants, Porters, Cryers and Town Messengers.
SECTION SEVEN.
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION.
I.
OFFICES AND OFFICERS.
The Offices and Officers of the Corporation came into
being at various times. Amongst the most ancient were
the Mayor's Sergeant and the Common Clerk. Next^
probably, came the Bailiff and the BaiUff's Sergeant. In
the Fourteenth Century the Chamberlains and ''he Town
Porters came on the scene. The Recorder, as a separate
officer, distinct from the Town Clerk, dates from the beginning
of the Stuart Period ; and the Coroner, apart from the Mayor,
who anciently held the inquests, did not appear until the
passing of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835. The
Clerk to the Magistrates is the lineal successor of the Clerk
to the Mayor and Jurats who existed from the Reign of
Queen Mary. The Clerk of the Peace, as a separate official,
did not come into existence until 1835, but his duties had
previously been discharged by the Clerk to the Mayor and
Jurats, and, earlier still, by the Bailiff. The Police Force
and its Chief, date from 1836, but there had been bodies
of Ward Constables who had guarded the Town nightly, time
out of mind. Rates, called "cesses," had been collected
for various purposes, such as paying Members of Parliament,
building the Town wall and scavenging the streets, from a
very early period, but the first regular Rate Collector was
appointed in 1778, when a rate of sixpence in the pound was
levied on houses to meet the expenses of the Dover Paving
Commissioners. Town Surveyors were first appointed by the
same body. A Nuisance Inspector was called into existence
by the Dover Local Board when the Public Health Act was
334 ANNALS OF DOVER
adopted in Dover in 1850. At the same time it was suggested
that a Medical Officer of Health should be appointed, but
that was delayed until after the small-pox epidemic of 1872,
when Dr. M. K. Robinson was appointed. The Officer
called the Borough Treasurer was first chosen in 1836, but
his duties were similar to those that had been previously
discharged by the Dover Chamberlains. We shall now give
a more detailed account of the various Officers of the Cor-
poration, and in some cases mention names and particulars
of the principal office bearers.
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 335
II.
THE BAILIFFS.
The Officer known as the BaiUff of Dover was first
appointed in the Reign of Edward I. In every one
of the Cinque Ports and their Corporate Limbs there
appear to have been Bailiffs, although in each place
the functions of the Bailiffs differed, and in some places
— Hastings, Hythe and Romney, for instance — the BaiUffs,
until about the Sixteenth Century, were the Chief
Officers of the Corporation. At Dover the Bailiff was
appointed from time to time by the Crown, his duty
being to work in conjunction with the Mayor and Jurats,
in the administration of justice. He was the initiative officer
in all judicial proceedings in the Dover Court; and, although
in the absence of a Bailiff the Mayor had the right to carry
out most of his duties, the Bailiff only could commence actions
known as " pleas royal." When the Mayor required pro-
ceedings to be taken he had to direct the Bailiff to call the
" Hundred " together, to formulate the charges and produce
the prisoners. If the accused were convicted, it was the
Mayor's duty to pass the sentences, but the Bailiff had to pro-
vide for their execution. In appointing a Bailiff for Dover, the
Sovereign always selected a Freeman of the Borough. The
names of many of those who filled the office are on record,
but, as most of them were subsequently Mayors, it does not
seem necessary to present a list of them. It is not definitely
recorded when the last Bailiff of Dover was appointed, but
the Office seems to have lapsed soon after the end of the
Tudor Period, at which time Serjeants, or Counsellors,
learned in the law, known as Recorders, were appointed by
the Corporation to assist the Mayor and Jurats in Sessions
and Trials.
33^ ANNALS OF DOVER
III.
THE CHAMBERLAINS.
In ancient times the Chamberlains of the Corporation
were the financial and administrative officers, described in
the Latin version of The Dover Charters as " Custodes dicte
ville," one of their principal duties being to act as custodians
of the Corporation property. Under date 1387 they figure
in the opening passage of a Dover Charter thus: — "This
Indenture witnesseth that John Monin, Mayor, and John
Hamon, Thomas Lord, Robert Alein, and John at Mill,
Chamberlains of the Port of Dover, in the name and with
the assent of the whole Commonalty, have granted and at
fee fann demised to William Chilton and Johanna, his wife,
one plot of vacant land," etc. The Chamberlains, of whom
there were four, were paid a small salary, and were elected
annually, their accounts being made up and audited after
the close of each Municipal year. It was their duty to
receive all money due to the Corporation and to record all
payments ordered by the common assemblies. The Cham-
berlains may be described as second rank burgesses, for only
a few of them came into the roll of Mayors. In the Stuart
Period the number of Chamberlains was reduced to two, and
during the last decade of the old Corporation's existence
only one was appointed annually. The last Chamberlain
appointed previous to the passing of the Municipal Corpora-
tions Act of 1835 was Mr. Henry Morris, and he, in 1836,
was appointed by the new Town Council as Borough
Treasurer. The office was subsequently held by Mr. Rigden
and by Mr. C. K. Worsfold; but since 1887 the manager
of the London County and Westminster Bank has been the
Borough Treasurer.
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 337
IV.
TOWN CLERKS.
There is no record as to when a Town Clerk, or Common
Clerk (as he was originally called) was first appointed for
Dover; but the Office is older than the Dover Customal,
which was compiled in 1356. The Customal says, : — " When
a Mayor retires from office the Common Clerk retires also,
and the new Mayor, with the Jurats and Commonalty, choose
a Clerk, whose duty it is to keep a record of the acts and
decrees of the Common Assemblies 3 and to prepare the
charters for the transfer of town lands, as well as to keep a
register of the tenants, sales and actions of distress." The
Clerk's salary, in the Reign of Richard II., was forty shillings
a year, with livery, and, in addition, he had fees, he being
paid sixpence for a town land transfer. When the Common
Council came into regular work, in late Tudor times, the
Clerk's duties were increased, and the salary also, but it was
never large. The Town Clerks, while recording other things,
were modest as regards mentioning themselves, but the
following is as complete a list of them as can be gleaned
from the Dover Corporation books of entry : —
1. Henry atte Wood was the Town Clerk from 1499
to the end of the Reign of Henry VII.
2. Henry S'^iPvvoRrH was Common Clerk in Septem-
ber, 1509, and held the office about twenty years.
3. John Elys appears in the records of the Mayor and
Jurats as Common Clerk on the 22nd May, 1535. It is
believed that he held the office a few years earlier and some
time later.
4. Lawrence Elvinden, as Common Clerk, was in
office about 1538. His name appears as such in a deposition
taken before the Mayor as having been present on Christmas
Day, 1539, at dinner with the Mayor, Mr. John Bowles,
and he swore that one of the guests, who was the Arch-Priest
of St. Martin-le-Grand, made a certain declaration as to
some of his property situated at Appledore, and that the
Arch-Priest threw some claret wine over his right shoulder,
a ceremony which indicated that what he then solemnly
asserted he would abide by.
338 ANNALS OF DOVER
5. Joseph Beverley was Common Clerk in 1541, and
continued in the office until 1546. He was the compiler of
manuscript, now in the British Museum, called "A Boke of
the Acts and Decrees of the Common Assemblies passed
during the Mayoralties of Thomas Collye for promoting good
rule in Dover." This Town Clerk was subsequently a Jurat,
and in the year 1558 he was chosen as a Burgess to represent
the Corporation in Parliament.
6. Roger Wood (otherwise Roger-atte-Wood) appears
to have held the office of Town Clerk from 1546. In the
year following his election as Town Clerk he had an exciting
adventure which is recorded in a deposition made before the
Mayor and Jurats on the 13th July, 1547. It appears that
the Town Clerk and his wife, together with his brother,
John Wood, a surgeon, and Captain John Cave, in command
of one of the King's ships at Dover, went for an evening
walk to Hougham to drink the health of Thomas Young,
late of Calais, who had that day been married. When coming
back to Dover the same evening, John Young, brother of
the bridegroom, followed them with a drawn sword and
desired to fight Roger W^ood, the Town Clerk. Mrs. Wood,
who was carrying the Town Clerk's sword, handed it to her
husband to defend himself, whereupon John Young, having
suddenly struck at Roger Wood, Roger, as soon as he could
get hold of his sword, struck back in self-defence. Both were
hurt, but the Town Clerk had the best luck, for the surgeon
and Captain Cave had to carry John Young on their backs
to Dover, where, after lying six weeks, he died. The Mayor
held an inquest, when the evidence was that the Town Clerk
only fought in self-defence, so the matter ended. Roger
Wood was more than a Common Clerk, for, being Clerk to
the Bench of Jurats, he signed himself " Town Clerk and
Recorder of Dover." After holding the office fifteen years
he ended badly. During the first year of the Reign of Queen
Elizabeth he was imprisoned " for interlining the account
of the butchers' tallow." This seems to have been a serious
offence, and Roger Wood broke prison and flew from justice.
There is, however, an entry in the Corporation minutes, 12th
August, 1559, which indicated that the Corporation did not
wish to be harsh towards bim, for they resolved " That Roger
Wood, for his nauglity behaviour against the Mayor and
Jurats, and for breaking prison, shall not only forfeit his
freedom, but also shall pay a fine of jQio, and, furthermore,
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 339
it is agreed if the said Roger Wood do not come in and purge
himself with sufficient witnesses by the i8th day of August
next, concerning the interUning of the record of the butchers'
tallow, that the said Roger shall be discharged from his office
without further delay." Roger Wood did not come in and
purge himself, so his place was filled by another.
7. Thomas Foxley, who took the office of Town Clerk
in 1559, when Roger Wood absconded, was a Jurat, and he
only acted as Town Clerk to the end of the current year.
8. William Chermainton was a member j'of the
Common Council, who was appointed Town Clerk near the
end of December, 1559, and he held the office a little more
than two years.
9. Thomas Dawkes, appointed Town Clerk in 1562,
held the office one year. His writing in the records during
that time is the finest sample of penmanship in the Dover
minute books. Thomas Dawkes was described as a yeoman.
He built himself a house in King Street, which was afterwards
known as the " Flying Horse Tavern."
10. William Knight held the office of Town Clerk
from 1563 to 1573. He was also Clerk to the Bench of
Jurats, describing himself as " Town Clerk and Recorder of
Dover." His writing is difficult to read.
11. Thomas Knoit held the office of Common Clerk
in 1573, for only one year.
12. Edward ^.InctiELL, chosen Town Clerk in 1574,
was an influential man in the Corporation, and was the leader
of a party in the Comm .n Council who opposed the employ-
ment of Romney Marsh men in the making of the Great
Pent. This gave offence to the Privy Council, and, after
holding the office of Town Clerk for eight years, he was
removed from office in 1582 by the influence of the Crown.
13. William Vantwylder was appointed Town Clerk
in 1582 by the wish of the Privy Council, but he was so
opposed by the party who supported the late Town Clerk,
Mr. Mitchell, that within the next year the Common Council
were induced to dismiss Vantwylder from his office.
14. John Goodwin was appointed Town Clerk by the
Common Council in 1583. He was one of the " Mitchell
party," and was very obnoxious to Sir Richard Barry, the
Lieutenant of the Castle, and Sir Thomas Scott, who were
340 ANNALS OF DOVER
then engaged, with a body of i,ooo men and 500 carts,
buildmg the walls of the Great Pent. Owing to the way the
workers were discouraged by the opposing party, John
Goodwin, the Town Clerk, and Thomas Andrews, the Mayor,
were removed from ofifice by the Privy Council.
15. William Vantwylder, by the written mandate of
the Privy Council, was again chosen Town Clerk in the latter
part of the year 1583, and he continued to hold the office
until Queen Elizabeth's Harbour Works were completed, he
retiring in September, 1597.
16. Thomas Harrison, who was appointed Town
Clerk in 1597 by the same influence as William Vantwylder
had been, retired in less than a year to make room for the
next Town Clerk, who was a Castle official.
17. George Fane, who was a member of a family
who held sway at the Castle in the Reigns of Queen EHzabeth
and James I., took the office of Town Clerk of Dover at the
beginning of 1598, and held it until 1603. He was knighted
at the Coronation of James I., was named in the Charter of
Dover Harbour as one of the Lord Warden's As.sistants,
and, a few years later, he was elected one of the Members of
Parliament for Dover.
18. Francis Raworth was appointed Town Clerk in
the year 1603. The Raworths were lawyers in Dover from
the time of Queen Elizabeth until after the Restoration.
There were two Town Clerks of this family, who bore the
same names. The name of Francis Raworth (the first)
appears in the minutes of the proceedings in connection with
the local proclamation of James L, and of the election of
the first Mayor of Dover in that reign. The oldest Freemen's
Roll, now in the possession of the Corporation, was compiled
by this Town Clerk.
19. Francis Rav.orth (the second) was the son of the
former Town Clerk of the same name. He was also Registrar
of the Cinque Ports Courts of Admiralty and Chancery. His
father and he held the Town Clerkship fifty-five years. Being
advanced in years, he resigned three years before the Restora-
tion, but he, being still a Jurat of the Corporation, in 1660,
financed the fund for pro\iding the handsomely bound Bible
which was presented to Charles H. by the Corporation on
his landing at Dover. The Corporation, who were
impoverished at that tiir.e, ordered that the money advanced
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 34I
by Mr. Raworth should be repaid as speedily as possible,
but he died before the account was settled.
20. WiLLLiAM Stratfold, who succeeded Mr. Raworth
as Town Clerk, in 1657, was a Puritan, and when the Cor-
porations Regulation Act was put in force, in 1661, he
decHned to make and sign the declaration against the Solemn
League and Covenant, therefore he was removed from the
Town Clerkship in August, 1661.
21. John Pepper, one of the Common Councillors at
the Restoration, signed the declaration in July, 1661, and
was appointed Town Clerk in the room of WilUam Stratfold
on the 4th August, 1661. This Town Clerk seems to have
been remarkable for force of character, which was manifested
in the wider field of the Cinque Ports. The Court of
Brotherhood appointed him their Solicitor to obtain the
renewal of the Cinque Ports Charter from Charles II., and he
was employed as the Ports' solicitor in several other matters
of litigation that required a strong hand. In the early part
of the year 1683 John Pepper died, just at a crisis when
the Dover Corporation were fighting to retain their Charter,
which the Privy Council desired them to surrender. The
Corporation could not keep up the fight, so the Charter had
to go. During this crisis Philip Yorke, a rising Dover lawyer,
gave the Corporation some legal assistance, and on that
account it has been supposed that he at that time was Town
Clerk of Dover, but that was not so. Local feeling at that
juncture would have favoured Philip Yorke as Town Clerk, he
being stroligly opposed to the surrendering of the old Charter,
but when it was surrendered and the new one granted, the
power of electing a Town Clerk was transferred by that new
Charter to the Privy Council, therefore Philip Yorke's friends
had no power to elect him. Moreover , Philip Yorke was a
very independent person. He had resigned his seat on the
Common Council, and ever afterwards refused to have any-
thing to do with the Corporation.
22. Thomas Russell entered on the office of Town
Clerk in 1683, his name as Town Clerk being written in the
new Charter of that year when it was granted by the Crown,
so the Corporation had no voice in the matter. Thomas
Russell held the office until his death in 1688.
23. Paul Pepper was the next Town Clerk. On the
19th Januaiy, 1688, he presented a letter to the Mayor from
342 ANNALS OF DOVER
James II., which stated that the Duke of Albermarle, by virtue
of the Charter of Charles II., was, by one of the Clauses
of that Charter, empowered to appoint the Town Clerk, but
the Duke of Albermarle being beyond the seas, in his
absence, the King in Council having heard a good character
of Paul Pepper, had appointed him Town Clerk of Dover.
Paul Pepper was unqualified for the ofhce, not being a
member of the Common Council, but the Common Council
immediately elected him and admitted him as Town Clerk.
This Town Clerk only held the office nine months. On the
25th October, 16S8, the Charter of Charles 11., under which
he was appointed, was abrogated by proclamation on the
Accession of William III., and a new Town Clerk was then
elected by the Corporation in accordance with the ancient
usage.
24. Thomas Bedingfield was, on the 29th October,
1688, elected Town Clerk in the room of Paul Pepper. He
held the office sixteen years, resigning at the close of the
year 1704.
25. John Wellard was elected in the room of Thomas
Bedingfield on the 9th January, 1705. He was of an old
Dover family, a grandson of William Wellard, of the Cock
Brewery, Strond Street. He held the Town Clerkship until
the year 1718.
26. Robert Wellard, a son of John Wellard, the
previous Town Clerk, succeeded his father, and held the
Town Clerkship twenty-six years. He was a Jurat, and in
1 741 was chosen Mayor, holding the two offices of Mayor
and Town Clerk at the same time. He continued to be
Town Clerk for three years after his Mayoralty.
27. Alexander Wellard, son of Robert Wellard, the
previous Town Clerk, held the ofiice nineteen years. He,
too, was a Jurat, and was elected to the office of Mayor,
in 1757, holding the two offices at the same time.
28. Robert Westfield, cho.sen Town Clerk in 1764,
held the office twenty-seven years. During his time the
Dover Paving Commission was formed, and he was the first
Clerk to the Commissioners. He lived ten years after his
retirement, dying in 1801.
29. John Shipdem, cho.sen Town Clerk in 1791, held
the office thirty-five years. Part of that time he was the
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 343
Register of Dover Harbour, which office he also held thirty-
five years.
30. George William Ledger was elected Town Clerk
in 1826, as the successor of his father-in-law, Mr. Shipdem.
Mr. Ledger was the son of George Ledger, printer and pub-
lisher of Dover. He held the office nine years under the old
Corporation and twelve years under the Town Council. He
was appointed Clerk of the Peace in 1836, and he held the
office until 1879. He also received compensation for loss of
office as Clerk to the Magistrates under the old Corporation,
of which office he was deprived by the Municipal Corpora-
tions Act.
31. Joseph Walker, who was elected Town Clerk on
the resignation of Mr. Ledger, was merely a stop-gap, and
only held office for seven days. As soon as Mr. Baker Bass
had resigned his seat as a member of the Town Council,
Mr. Walker, who was the proprietor of the Dover Oil Mills,
resigned the Town Clerkship, the majority of the Council
having decided to elect Mr. Bass to that post.
32. Thomas Baker Bass having resigned his seat as
a Councillor for the Castle Ward, was elected Town Clerk
on the 7th December, 1847, and he held the office until his
death in i860. He compiled, on the authority of the Public
Llealth Act and the Dover Paving Acts, a useful series of
Dover bye-laws, which were in force for many years, but are
now almost entirely out of date. During his term of office
the Chamberlains' accounts, from the time of Henry VHI.
to 1784, were collected and bound in seven volumes.
;^;^. Edward Knocker, as Town Clerk, succeeded Mr.
Bass in i860. He was the son of Mr. William Knocker, who
was Mayor four times between 1797 and 1832. Mr. Edward
Knocker had been Clerk to the Paving Commission. He held
the Town Clerkship six years, and afterwards was an Alder-
man and Mayor. Subsequently he interested himself in
arranging the Borough Records, and held the office of
Honorar>- Librarian to the Corporation until his death in
1884.
34. Sir Wollaston Knocker was a Town Clerk from
the beginning to the end of his Municipal career. He held
no other off-ce in connection with the Corporation, with the
exception of succeeding his father as the Hon. Librarian of
344 ANNALS OF DOVER
the Corporation. His election as Town Clerk, as the suc-
cessor of his father, which took place on the 5th May, 1868,
was unanimous, and he filled his place with credit and dis-
tinction until his death, on the 22nd September, 1907, he
having held the office forty years. He not only held the
office for the longest period on record, but he received the
honour of knighthood, the first Town Clerk of Dover so
honoured smce the Reign of James I.
35. Reginald E. Knocker, the present Town Clerk,
is the son of Sir Wollaston Knocker, and grandson of Mr.
Edward Knocker, the two previous Town Clerks. Mr.
Reginald Knocker was unanimously elected to succeed his
father on the 9th October, 1907, he having previously had
experience in the duties by acting as his father's deputy.
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 345
V.
THE RECORDERS.
The Officer known as the Recorder of Dover came into
bemg soon after the appointment of Bailiffs ceased. The
Bailiff used to sit with the Mayor to assist him in judicial
duties; but the Bailiffs were chosen from the same rank as
the Mayors and Jurats, and had no special legal knowledge.
When the Statutes at large became numerous, and barristers
attended at Sessions ready to pick holes in indictments, more
legal knowledge was needed on the Bench, therefore Recorders
were appointed. John Cowell, an English lawyer of the Reign
of Queen Elizabeth, described the Recorder of his day as
" he whom the Mayor or other Magistrates of any city or
town, having jurisdiction or a Court of Record by the King's
grant, doth associate unto them for the better direction in
the matter of justice and proceedings according to law."
That is the service which the Dover Recorders were called
upon to render from their first appointment in the Stuart
Period. Those officials, unlike the present day Recorders,
were chosen by the Mayor, Jurats and Common Council.
Some confusion has been caused in recent years by a state-
ment which styles all the Recorders as Stewards previous to
the Act of 1835. Many of the old cities and Boroughs had
some high personages as Honorary Stewards, and when
Charles II. forced his unsolicited Charter of 1638 on Dover,
that document nominated the Tieutcnants of Dover Castle
as Steward of Dover, and the Duke of Albermarle as
Honorary Recorder, but, on the Accession of William III.,
that Charter was abrogated by proclamation, when the
appointment of a Steward lapsed, and the election of a
Recorder of the Common Council was continued in the usual
way, there having been no vacancy while that Charter was
in force. Again, in the Eighteenth Century, when Lord
Hardwicke was the Recorder of Dover, an attempt was made
to magnify the office by styling him " Steward," and when
his son, the Hon. Charles Yorke, was appointed Recorder
in 1764, he was appointed under the style of Steward, but
he simply filled the same office as all previous and later
34^ ANNALS OF DOVER
Recorders did, who were described in the Common Council
minutes as " Counsel with the Corporation and Assistant to
the Mayor and Jurats at Sessions and Trials, duranto bene
placito," and the fees that they received were 40/- a year
for being the Corporation counsel; 40/- for assisting at
every Session ; and the issue money for assisting at every
Court of Trials." The following is a list of the Recorders
of Dover as far as we have been able to tiace them from the
Corporation Records : —
1. Dr. Lancelot Lovelace, appointed as Counsel
with the Corporation in the year 1620, was probably the first
of the line of Dover Recorders. He v/as a resident of
Canterbury, and also Recorder of that city.
2. Francis Lovelace succeeded his father as Recorder
of Dover in the Reign of Charles L, but was displaced during
the Commonwealth. After the Restoration, he was re-
appointed, and was also made Registrar of the Courts of
Admiralty and Chancery, posts which during the Common-
wealth had been held by Francis Raworth. the Town Clerk.
3. Thomas St. Nicholas was appointed Recorder in
1654, holding the office until the Restoration, when Francis
Lovelace was re-instated.
4. Sir Thomas Hardres, of Hardres Court, Kent, a
Serjeant-at-Law, sought the office of Recorder, and the
Registrarship (a Cinque Ports office), which Francis T>ovelace
had held. He seems to have received the office of Registrar
of the two Cinque Ports Courts, but as regards the Recorder-
ship of the Borough, the Corporation contended that they had
not elected him.
5. Edward Henden, Serjeant-at-Law, was appointed
Recorder in 1664, but Sir Thomas Hardres served a man-
damus on the Corporation, claiming to be restored to the
office. The Corporation replied that they had not elected
him, whereupon Sir Thomas Hardres commenced an action
against the Corporation in the Court of Exchequer, but, the
Corporation having intimated that they were prepared to
defend themselves, the matter dropped.
6. Francis Barrell, Serjeant-at-Law, was appointed
Recorder on the 17th March, 1676. The minutes of the
Common Council being, " Francis Barrell, Serjeant-at-Law,
was appointed to assist the Mayor and Jurats at all Sessions
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 347
and Trials, and to receive fees and salary as Edward Henden
in the same office." Mr. Barrell, who was a native of
Rochester, held the office until his death in 1679.
7. Thomas Turner, Serjeant-at-Law, was appointed
Recorder on the 19th January, 1679, on the same terms as
Serjeant Barrell. Mr. Turner, who held the office ten years,
resided at Ileden, on the Barham Downs.
8. Vincent Denne, Serjeant-at-Law, of Wingham,
was appointed Recorder 6th August, 1689, on the same terms
as his predecessors. It will be observed that Mr. Turner was
appointed before the Charter of 1683 was granted, and held
the office until after that Charter was abrogated, so it appears
that there was no vacancy in the office while the Charter
was in force; and Mr. Vincent Denne, in 1689, was appointed
on exactly the same terms as Mr. Turner had been. Mr.
Denne entered on the office in the year that William III.
was crowned.
9. Jeffery Boys, Counsellor-at-Law, was appointed
Recorder 8th January, 1694, and held the office three years.
10. Edward Crayford, Counsellor-at-Law, was elected
Recorder by the Common Council on the 17th April, 1697.
He resided at Sholden, near Deal, and held the Recordership
sixteen years.
11. Herbert Randolph, by minutes of the Common
Council, appears to have been appointed Recorder on the
23rd November, 17 13, " to have the same fees and allowances
as Edward Crayford, deceased." He was also Recorder of
Canterbury. This Recorder was dismissed to make room
for a local man.
12. Philip Yorke, Counsellor-at-Law, a native of
Dover, was appointed Recorder in the room of Herbert
Randolph on the 3rd October, iyi8. He, like his pre-
decessors, was described in the minutes as being " Counsel
with the Corporation and assistant of the Mayor and Jurats
at Sessions and Trials." This Recorder, who continued to
hold the office until his death — a period of forty-six years —
was a son of Philip Yorke, a Dover attorney, who resided
at Five Post Lane, Snargate Street. Young Philip Yorke,
who had been a " gratis " apprentice to a London attorney,
had recently been called to the Bar when he was appointed
Recorder of Dover, which, being his first legal office, gave
348 ANNALS OF DOVER
him great pleasure. The Dover appointment seemed to bring
him luck. Six months later he was elected Member of
Parliament for Lewes, and in the following year, 1720, he
was appointed Solicitor-General; two years later Attorney-
General; in 1733, he was appointed Lord Chief Justice of
the King's Bench; and in 1736 attained the summit of his
ambition by becoming Lord Chancellor, which post he held
for twenty years. His first office, the Recordership of Dover,
he held longest of all, forty-six years. Only for a few years
did this busy and successful lawyer find time to personally
discharge his duties as Recorder of Dover. They were dis-
charged by a deputy, Thomas Knowler, a Kentish barrister.
As Lord Hardwicke, the Chancellor of England, Philip Yorke
did not forget Dover ; he was frequently in correspondence
with its leading inhabitants, and occasionally found time to
visit his native place.
13. The Hon. Charles Yorke was appointed Recorder
of Dover on the death of Lord Hardwicke, and he was elected
by the Common Council on the 26th March, 1764. He held
the office for six years, but being an eminent lawyer and
having attained the office of Attorney-General soon after being
made Recorder of Dover, his duties were discharged by
deputy until 1770, when this Recorder also received the office
of the Lord Chancellorship, but died suddenly at the age of
48, while his patent as Baron Morden was in preparation.
14. Charles Robinson, Barrister - at - Law, was
appointed Recorder in Januar)', 1770, and continued to hold
the office until 1807. He was a descendant of Mr. Matthew
Robinson, of Monks Horton, Kent, and a nephew of Mr.
Thomas Robinson, author of a well-known legal text book
" Robinson on Gavel-Kind." The portrait of this Recorder,
painted by Mr. Hev/son, of London, was hung in the old
Court Hall in March, 1809, and is now hung in the Maison
Dieu.
15. William Kenrick, appointed iii July, 1807, held
the office of Recorder twenty-two years.
16. George Baker, appointed in 1829, was the next
Recorder. He held the office five years, dying on the 30th
October, 1834, at his residence at Canterbury.
17. Sir William Henry Bodkin, who had been for
some years the leader of the Dover Sessions Bar, was, on the
15th November, 1834, elected Recorder by the Common
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 349
Council. He was knighted in 1867. At the Sessions at
which he first officiated, this Recorder, in his charge, con-
gratulated the Mayor and Jurats on having decided to restore
the Maison Dieu Hall for use as a Sessions House. This
Recorder soon after receiving the honour of knighthood pre-
sented to the Corporation the handsome gold chain which
is worn by the Mayor. Sir William H. Bodkin resigned his
office on the 15th January, 1874, having held the Recorder-
ship forty years.
18. Sir Harry Bodkin Poland was appointed
Recorder by Queen Victoria a few days after the resignation
of the late Recorder, who was his uncle. This was the first
appointment of a Dover Recorder made by the Crown. He
held the appointment with distinction and with advantage to
the Borough and its Liberties for twenty-seven years, and
was knighted in 1895. He highly esteemed his office as
Recorder of this ancient Town, although the duties were
unimportant compared with his doings in other spheres of
public usefulness. He generously followed in the steps of
his predecessor, enriching the insignia of the Coqjoration by
the presentation of a costly jewelled badge, which is worn
by the Mayor on semi-official occasions when the gold chain
is not in use. This Recorder's resignation was made to King
Edward VH. on the 24th June, 1901.
19. Archibald Henry Bodkin, the present Recorder
of Dover, was appointed by the King on the ist July, 1901 ;
and he first presided at the Dover Quarter Sessions on the
8th July of that year. He was cordially welcomed, both on
his own merits and owing to his relationship to two previous
Recorders, Sir William Henry Bodkin, his grandfather, and
Sir Harry Bodkin Poland, his uncle.
350 ANNALS OF DOVER
VI.
THE CORONERS.
In the old Corporation the Mayor was the Coroner
ex-officio, taking the responsibilities of the post as part of
his ordinary duties, tlie Jurats usually sitting with the Mayor
at the inquests; but after the year 1464 there was a change,
when the Coronership devolved personally on the Mayor for
the time being, and he received fees for his services. The
Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 relieved the Mayor of
that duty, and required the Town Council to appoint a fit
person to be Coroner, who was not an Alderman nor a
Councillor of the Borough. The Coroner holds his office
during the pleasure of the Council, and vacancies in the
office have to be filled within ten days. The fees, according
to the Act of 1835, are twenty shillings for every inquest
held in the Borough, and for every mile that he has to
travel, not exceeding two miles from his usual place of
abode, ninepence. Since that time, however, there have been
alterations in the scale of fees and expenses. The following
Coroners have been appointed for Dover and its Liberties
since the passing of the Act of 1835.
1. George William Ledger, the Town Clerk, was
appointed Coroner for Dover and its Liberties at the first
meeting of the Town Council, ist January, 1836; but, soon
after, under the new Commission of the Peace, Mr. Ledger
was appointed Clerk of the Peace, and could not retain the
office of Coroner.
2. George T. Thompson was appointed Coroner by
the Town Council, 1st July, 1836, and, after holding the
office twenty-four years, Mr. Thompson was accidentally
killed by the bursting of a gun, during Volunteer Artillery
practice, at which he was on duty as a lieutenant of the
Corps. This was an incident without a parallel. The
Coroner and his fellow victim. Sergeant Monger, were lying
dead, and there was no one qualified to hold an inquest.
An application was made to the Lord Chief Justice of the
Queen's Bench, who is the Chief Coroner of the Realm, to
appoint someone to act in the emergency, but he replied
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 35 1
that the only authority having power to appoint a Coroner
for Dover and its Liberties was the Dover Town Council,
and advised that that body should be convened for that
purpose as soon as possible.
3. William Henry Payn, who had been a member
of the old Common Council, and Mayor under the new Town
Council, was chosen Coroner in the room of Lieutenant G.
T. Thompson, on the 15th August, i860, six days after the
death of the previous Coroner, a lapse of six days having
been necessary to give the statutory notice convening the
Council. Owing to the urgency of rhe case, the Town
Council met at an early hour, and quickly came to a decision,
Mr. Payn being elected by fourteen votes, while another
candidate, Mr. Thomas Fox, who had been Deputy Coroner,
received four votes. Two or three hours later, the same
day, Mr. Payn opened the important inquest as to the gun
accident, at which, in addition to oidinary evidence,
military and scientific testimony was given, which proved that
the lamentable loss of two Volunteer officers arose from the
long use of a gun of which the metal v;as defective. Mr.
W. H. Payn held the office for twenty-two years — a long
period, considering that he had been an active member of
the Corporation before the Reform Act cf 1835. Mr. Payn
resigned his office owing to advancing years in 1882, but he
lived until 1887, when he died at the age of 85 years.
4. Sydenham Payn, solicitor, son of the previous
Coroner, was unanimously elected to succeed him in the
office on the i6th August, 1882. Mr. Sydenham Payn
filled the office for a longer time than any previous Coroner,
and the kindly consideration shown to all with whom his
office brought him into contact won for him the esteem of
the inhabitants of Dover.
352 ANNALS OF DOVER
VII.
CLERKS OF THE PEACE.
The Office of Clerk of the Peace did not exist in Dover
until the new Commission of the Peace was issued in the
summer of 1836. The preparation for proceedings in the
Dover Courts was anciently arranged by the Bailiffs, and,
later, by the Clerks to the Mayor and Jurats. Since the
date of the new Commission only three Clerks of the Peace
have been appointed : —
1. George William Ledger was appointed Clerk of
the Peace in 1836, and he continued to hold the office until
the first week of January, 1879, when his death occurred at
Boulogne, where he had resided some years. For a long
time he had taken no active part in Dover affairs, and for
nearly twenty years his Deputy Clerk of the Peace had been
Mr. Wollaston Knocker, Town Clerk.
2. Thomas Lewis, solicitor, of Castle Street, son of
Mr. Lewis, surgeon, of Snargate Street, was elected Clerk of
the Peace by the Town Council on the 30th January, 1879.
The filling of the vacancy caused some keen interest, because
parties in the Council were then nearly evenly divided, and
the Town Clerk having been many years acting as Deputy,
there was a strong party in favour of his having the office,
but after all possible supporters had been brought up on
the day of election, it was found that the show of hands
would be in favour of Mr. Lewis, therefore opposition was
abandoned, and Mr. Lewis was elected unanimously. Mr.
Lewis was at that time a Town Councillor, but he, by
accepting this office, vacated his seat automatically. He
discharged the duties of his new post with great credit until
his death, which occurred on the loth February, 1908, in
the thirtieth year of holding the office.
3. Mr. Ernest Pain, a Dover solicitor, had, for several
years been in partnership with Mr. Lewis, and although
there were other Dover soliritors qualified and willing to
accept the office, the Town Council concluded that the best
tribute that they could pay to the memory of Mr. Thomas
Lewis, who, for his good works, was highly esteemed in the
Borough, was to allow the appointment to go to Mr. Ernest
Pain, his partner, who was then unanimously elected, and
is the present Clerk of the Peace.
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 353
VIII.
CLERK TO THE MAGISTRATES.
This Office is under the Corporation, but is in the gift
of the Magistrates. It was so under the old Corporation,
when the Mayors and Jurats appointed their Clerk, who, in
early times, was the Town Clerk, but later it became a
separate appointment. A succession of lawyers of the
Kennet family had held the office in the Eighteenth and
Nineteenth Centuries, but in the last days of the Jurats the
Clerk to the Bench was Mr. George William Ledger. Under
the Act of 1835, Mr. Ledger, who was Clerk of the Peace
and Town Clerk, could not continue to hold the position of
Clerk to the Justices, but he was compensated for loss of
office. The appointment again reverted to the Kennett
family, Mr. Matthew Kennett being appointed, and he held
the office until his death in 1857. He was succeeded by
Mr. James Stilwell, who held the office until his death in
1898. Then the late Mr. Arthur Harby, Mr. Stilwell's
partner, was chosen as Clerk to the Magsitrates ; but, two
years later, he, to the regret of the townspeople, was killed
by being thrown from his horse during the Volunteer training
at Sandwich on July 3rd, igoo. The Magistrates chose as
his successor, his brother, Mr. Travers B. Harby, who at
present holds the office.
354 ANNALS OF DOVER
IX.
BOROUGH SURVEYORS.
The Dover Corporation did not employ a Town Surveyor
until the establishment of the Paving Commission in 1778,
and under that body the appointed Surveyor was also engaged
in private practice.
The first Surveyor on record was Mr. Richard Elsam,
who was also a builder. As Surveyor of the Town he has
left no work by which he may be remembered, but he built
the Borough Gaol which used to stand where the Market
and Museum now stand. He also built the well known
Round House for Mr. John Shipdem, the Town Clerk, in
Townwall Street ; and most people have noticed the legend,
" Elsam 's Cottages," on a row of tenements in Dieu Stone
Lane, which he Duilt out of the odds and ends of material
left from the erection of the Prison, in 1820.
The next Surveyor engaged by the Town was Mr. John
Hall, who resigned in 1848.
There were four candidates for the office in 1848, Mr.
George Fry, Mr. Rowland Rees, Mr. Thomas Marks, and
Mr. Edward Gotto, all well known men. Mr. Gotto was
appointed, and he worked out a plan of Town drainage,
which might have been carried out by the Commissioners
under the Public Health Act of 1848; but the Paving Com-
mission, with the new Town Council overshadowing it, was
in a moribund condition, and had no heart for opening up
new work, so this Sur\'eycr's plans were neglected. Being
ambitious, Mr. Gotto sought a field where his energies would
be appreciated, and obtained an appointment under the
Metropolitan Commissioners of Sev/ers, in July, 1849.
Mr. Rowland Rees was then elected to fill the vacancy
as Surveyor to the Paving Commission, but, although he was
a man of energy, he could not move the Commissioners to
action, so he joined in an agitation to have the whole business
of the Public Health transferred to the Town Council. The
transfer was effected by the Town Council adopting the
Public Health Act in 1850, and on the 14th July in that
year Mr. Rees was elected by the Town Council as their
Surveyor uiuler the Local Board of Health which then came
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 355
into existence. Mr. Rees was not required to give his whole
time to the Town Surveyorship. He was engaged in private
practice as an architect and surveyor, and designed a good
many of the houses built in Dover between 1850 and i860.
The National Provincial Bank, on New Bridge, was his work.
He also had much to do with the Town sewerage and estab-
lishment of the Waterworks, although in both of these
undertakings special professional advice was obtained. In
1861 the Corporation decided to have a Surveyor who was
not engaged in private practice, and they offered Mr. Rees
;^30o per annum if he would accept the post, but he refused.
About that time he became the Engineer of the Dover
Harbour, also launching out as a leading politician, eventually
becoming an Alderman and a Mayor.
Mr. John Harvey, a Gloucestershire man, was appointed
Surveyor on the 6th August, 1861, and he held the office
with much abihty until his death on the 5th November, 1879.
His work was mainly routine, but in one respect he changed
the aspect of the streets of Dover. When he came all the
side-walks were of shingle, with the exception of a Uttle York
paving in the central streets; but he introduced a special
kind of asphalt, which he trained men to prepare and lay
down, and after he had been in Dover ten years he was able
to report to the Council that he had put down in the Dover
streets 13,483 square yards of that asphalt paving, at an
average cost of tenpence per yard.
Mr. Matthew Curry was the next Borough Surveyor. He
was appointed in 1880, selected from 148 applicants, at a
salary of £450 a year. He held the post eight years, and
then resigned to take an appointment in making a foreign
railway.
Mr. Walter Thomas was appointed Surveyor in 1888.
The salary offered on this occasion was reduced to ^300 a
year, yet there were 158 applicants for the post. Mr. Thomas
had been the Town Surveyor of Dorchester, and did not
claim to have had very wide experience. Owing to some
complaints of irregularities, he resigned in 1895, after holding
office seven years.
Mr. H. E. Stilgoe, a rising man of much ability, was
appointed Surveyor 14th March, 1895, selected out of 147
applicants. He had been Surveyor of the Sandgate Urban
Council, and had carried out sea defence works there very
356 ANNALS OF DOVER
efficiently. This Surveyor held the office eleven years, during
which time, in addition to ordinary work, he designed and
prepared plans and specifications for the Dover Electric
Tramways ; and plans for street widening, a scavenging depot,
new waterworks headings, new schools, and the Pier Viaduct.
Everything that Mr. Stilgoe undertook he did well, the only
complamt against him being that his works were rather
expensive. During his eleven years at Dover his salary was
raised from ;^35o to ^600, and at the end of that time he
resigned to take a post as Surveyor under the Croporation of
the City of Birmingham.
Mr. W. C. Hawke was appointed Surveyor on the 26th
June, 1906, selected from 149 applicants, the salary being
^^500. At the time of his election Mr. Hawke was Engineer
in charge of the Admiralty Harbour Works at Dover. In
addition to the routine work of the Town, the long-projected
Pier Viaduct was taken in hand after Mr. Hawke had been
Surveyor about eight years, together with a Pier District
re-housing scheme, but, owing to the European War, those
schemes are not yet completed. Mr. Hawke, holding a
commission in the Cinque Ports (Fortress) Royal Engineers
(T.), went on active service in France, his place being filled
by Mr. R. Crummack as deputy.
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 357
X.
THE CHIEF Ax\D OTHER CONSTABLES.
Watch and ward was kept in Dover by its Burgesses from
time beyond which records rmi not to the contrary. Every
Freeman liad to take his turn of duty as Constable in his
own Ward, under Chief Wardsmen, who were called Alder-
men. Dover was divided into twenty-one Wards in ancient
times, corresponding with the twenty-one ships that the
combined Wards ox the Barony of Dover provided for the
King's service. The earliest record of these Wards that we
have seen is of the Reign of Henry VHL, and at that time
there were twenty Wards, one, which was situated between
the two mouths of the River Dour, having at that time been
swept away by the sea. Those twenty Wards, which formed
the beats of the Ward Constables at that time, were within
the following limits : —
1. Biggin Ward: From I>adywell to Biggin Gate.
2. St. Mary's Ward: From Biggin Gate to the Market Bar.
3. Cannon's Ward: The Market Place and King Street.
4. Moryn's Ward : West side of river, opposite the Market.
5. Snargate Ward: The Bench and Snargate Street to
Chapel Street.
6. Western Ward : Upper part of Queen Street, Cowgate
and Chapel Place.
7. George's Ward: Lower part of Queen Street.
8. Nicholas Ward: Last side of Bench Street.
9. Boureman's Ward: Last Lane.
10. Mankin Ward : Bottom of St. James's Street, adjoining
the river.
11. Shingle Ward: The Shore adjoining Townwall Street.
12. Ball's Ward: Woolcomber and Trevanion Streets.
13. Oxe's Ward: Under the Castle Cliff, outside Eastbrook
Gate.
14. Halvenden Ward: St. James's Street about Fector's
Place.
15. Wolve's Ward: Between Eastbrook and Westbrook.
16. Dereman's Ward: Under the Chff down Snargate Street.
17. Delf Ward: Alongside Eastbrook from Old St. James's
Church.
358 ANNALS OF DOVER
18. Upmarket Ward: Laureston Place and Old Castle Hill.
19. Horsepole Ward: Each side of Ashen Tree Lane to St.
James's New Church.
20. Castle Dane Ward : From St. James's New Church to
Charlton boundary.
The watch in each of these Wards was set nightly by
one or two sworn Wardsmen, called Aldemien of the Ward,
and from two to five Constables in each Ward, according tc
its size, the Freemen on watch each night, when the watch
was properly kept, being about 100. As years passed the
Wards were reduced in number and made larger, but the
same system of keeping watch and ward by the Freemen, as
a gratuitous public duty, was kept up until the year 1778,
when the watching of the Town was undertaken by watchmen
appointed and paid by the Dover Paving Commission. The
watchmen were continued from 1778 to 1836, and then the
present Police Force was established under the powers of the
Municipal Corporations Act.
The Dover Police Force, originally consisting of one
Inspector, three Sergeants, and twelve Constables, was first
turned out for duty on the night of the 20th January, 1836.
The first Chief of the Police, called an Inspector, Henry
Crosoer, had fifteen men under him, the Police Station being
a tower in Townwall Street. In 1S38 a new Police Station,
with lock-up cells, was built at the back of the old Gaol in
Queen Street. In December, 1841, Robert Correl, also
called an Inspector, succeeded Henry Crosoer as Chief of
the Police. He held the office until 1850, and in March of
that year he was succeeded by John Rolf, to whom was given
the title of Superintendent. He came from Walsall, in
Staffordshire, and only remained for one year. Superintendent
Coram, who had been a sergeant in the Metropolitan Police,
succeeded Mr. Rolf, and he successfully superintended the
Police for twenty years, resigning at the close of 1871. He
was succeeded, in 187.7. l-y Superintendent T. O. Sanders,
a native of Wickhambreaux, Kent, but who had also been a
sergeant in the Metropolitan Police. He held his post with
great credit for thirty years, the number of men under him
having increased during his term from 27 to 57. Mr.
Sanders was succeeded, in 1901, by H. N. K. Knott, who
had entered in the Dover Police Force as a Constable, and
risen to the rank of Chief Inspector. He was a worthy
man, but, unfortunately, his health broke down, on which
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 359
account he resigned in 1908, and he died in 19 10. He was
succeeded, in 1908, by Inspector D. H. Fox, who also had
commenced his career in the Dover PoHce Force. Both he
and Mr. Knott were called Chief Constables, and that now
seems to be the recognised title for the Head of the Police
Force. Chief Constable Fox, holding office during the
great European War, his post became a highly responsible
one, the Borough of Dover being, under the Defence of the
Realm Act, a part of the Dover Fortress, necessitating
co-operation with the Military Commander of Dover under
circumstances that have not previously existed since the
Dover Police Force was established.
360 ANNALS OF DOVER
XI.
SERGEANTS, PORTERS, CRYERS, & MESSENGERS.
The present day Town Sergeant is the representative
of a very old official, who is mentioned in the Dover Customal
of 1356, and at that time the office was an ancient one. The
first Sergeant appointed was called the Mayor's Sergeant, and
it was the custom for every Mayor, on taking office, to appoint
a Sergeant, either choosing a new one or re-appointing an
existing one. His duties were to attend the Mayor, serve
warrants, and make arrests. In the course of time there came
to be three Sergeants — the Mayor's Sergeant, having duties
as above mentioned; the Bailiff's Sergeant, who was called
the " Catchpole," because he had to serve processes and
make the arrests ordered by the Dover Hundred Court ; and
there was the Town Sergeant, who largely had to control
tlic Market, and was the custodian of the ancient horn, which
he had to sound in fourteen diverse places of the Town to
call the Burgesses to Common Assemblies. Each of these
three Sergeants, down to the Seventeenth Century, had a
mace to carry, but in the latter part of the Stuart Period
those three maces were sold, and in the year 1676 the present
mace was purchased by the Chamberlains for the Mayor's
Sergeant to carry before the Mayor. When the Bailiffs
ceased to be appointed, his sergeant was dispensed with ; but
the Mayor's Sergeant and the Town Sergeant continued to
work side by side until 1847, when the Town Council decided
to discontinue the appointment of a Mayor's Sergeant. The
Town Sergeant then took charge of the mace, which the
Mayor's Sergeant had previously shouldered, and the ancient
horn was taken in hand by the Town Cryer. The latter
was then an ancient c .Tirer, called the Bellman, because he
rang a bell to attract attention to public notices, which he
proclaimed. The Town Sergeant and the Town Cryer are
still appointed annually.
The Town Porters are also very ancient officers. There
were always four of them, their original duty ha\ang been to
act as executive officers, to assist lawful passengers by the
passage boats, to arrest undesirable aliens, and to prevent
all landings and embarkations when the Dover Passage,
OFFICERS OF tHE CORPORATION 361
which was the only route across the Straits, was closed by
the Sovereign's mandate. There is a tradition that the four
Town Porters were first appointed to bury the dead in the
time of the Plague. They had to perform that unpleasant
duty, but they existed long before history recorded any plague
at Dover, in connection with the Dover town lands and
tenements, they had to attend the Town Clerk and Sergeants
to drive stakes in front of sequestered property, and to
remove the stakes when the sequestration ended. When the
Mayor died during his year of office he was carried to his
grave by the four Porters, and when there were public
executions in Dover the Porters carried the bodies to burial.
In connection with the Passage, they, in later years, attended
the landing and embarkation of carriages and horses, for
which they had special fees, yielding good profits ; but the
introduction of railways and steamboat companies has greatly
changed the old order of things respecting the fellowship.
The Town Messenger is also an officer of long standing.
In the present day his duties are mainly confined to the town,
but in ancient times he had to make long journeys to the
distant Liberties of Folkestone, Faversham, Ringwould, and
Thanet. The ofiice appears to have been always more toil-
some than lucrative. The oldest Town Messenger that we
can remember used to com.plain of the loads he had to carry,
of the late hours that he had to deliver notices round the
town, and the small pay that he received ; but a glance at
the old records shows that his predecessors fared no better.
In the time of Edward III. the following are some of the
payments to the Dover Town Messenger: — " Carrying the
common chest and blowing the horn in fourteen diverse places
of the town at the Mayor's Election, 7d. For letters sent to
Margate, Kingsdown and Folkestone, i2d. For letters sent
to Faversham, i2d. For carrying letters to Folkestone, 46.
Carrying letters to Romney, 4.6.. Going to Kingsdown to
find Marmers, 2d. Bearing letters to Romney, 4d."
Hundreds of pages of such entries show that, for Town
Messengers, the former days were no better than these.
There are, of course, other Officers of the Corporation,
but they are not mentioned because, although they are import-
ant, they are not vested with historical interest.
SECTION VIII.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT,
CONTENTS :
I. Three Electoral Periods.
II. Elections of the Eirst Period.
III. Elections of the Second Period.
IV. Elections of the Third Period.
V. Retrospect of Representation.
I
SECTION EIGHT.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT.
I.
THREE PERIODS.
The representation of Dover in Parliament appears to
date from January, 1265, when Simon de Montford, to gain
popular sympathy, convoked a Parliament, and, hoping to
win the support of the Cinque Ports, invited Dover and the
other Ports to each send four of their Burgesses to sit in
that assembly. The writs on that occasion, and for about
a century later, were sent direct to the Mayors or Bailiffs of
the several Ports, but all the returns to those early writs are
lost. In 1366 Edward III. adopted the plan of sending the
Parliamentary writs for all the Cinque Ports towns en bloc
to the Lord Warden at Dover Castle, and from that date,
with some exceptions, the returns to the writs are preserved.
When regular Parliamentary representation began, the Bur-
gesses of Parliament from Dover — two in number — were
invariably local men, usually the Mayor for the time being
and one of the Jurats.
The mode of election at Dover was for the whole of
the Freemen to be assembled, by the blowing of the Town
Horn, in one of the Churches (originally in St. Peter's, and
later in St. Mary's), and every Freeman on the roll had a
vote. There does not appear to have been much anxiety
to be returned as a Member of Parliament in those days,
and it is probable that the Corporation quietly arranged
the selection, for there are no early records of contested
elections. In the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, however, a
select body, called the Common Council, then recently
formed, sometimes assumed the right of choosing the two
Burgesses of Parliament, without consulting the general body
of the Freemen. At other times attempts were made to
restrict the Parliamentary franchise to Freemen resident
within the Borough ; but the House of Commons, whenever
appealed to, required all Freemen to be given the oppor-
366 ANNALS OF DOVER
tunity of voting, whether resident in the Borough or not.
From the year 1366 the representation of Dover in Parhament
has been continuous, but the roll of Members returned is
not complete, many of the returns to writs having been lost,
but the names of Members on record from 1366 to 1916
number 137.
The whole term of Dover's Parliamentary representa-
tion from 1366 to the present time may be divided into three
periods, the first dating from the fortieth year of Edward III.
to the end of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, which was a
time when no great local interest was taken in Parliamentary
representation. From time to time, two members of the
Corporation were deputed to be " the Burgesses of Parlia-
ment," as they were termed; but there was no fuss about it.
In those early days Parliaments were supposed to be called
annually, hence, there were usually elections every year, and
sometimes twice a year. The chosen Burgesses were paid
three shillings a day for their " wages," in addition to the
expenses of riding there and back. The guinea a week was
well earned, for it was a tiresome and often a perilous journey
to and from Westminster; and as the Parliament was usually
convened during the short days of early Spring and sometimes
during the late Autumn, in the same year, there was a good
deal of coming and going. In addition to the perils of the
road, there were sometimes perils in Parliament, or after
the return home, if the Members did not speak and vote as
the King and his Ministers desired. That, no doubt,
accounted for the absence of contested elections.
The second electoral period, beginning with the Stuart
Kings and extending to the enactment of the Parliamentary
Reform Act of 1832, was marked by fiercely contested
elections. The payment of the Dover Burgesses of Parlia-
ment then ceased, not owing to any change in the law, but
because of the keen competition for seats in the House of
Commons, which induced the candidates not only to render
gratuitous service, but to bribe the Freemen to elect them.
During the time of the Stuart Kings the Court backed the
candidates, and openly did the bribery when necessary, but,
later, in the Georgian times, the contested elections were
fought by rival men of wealth, who were prepared, first of
all, to purchase the Freedom of the Borough for themselves
and then to buy the votes of the Freemen also. Dover during
this second period was represented by a succession of men
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 367
who were in various ways notable. Some made the Borough
a stepping-stone to fortune, while others squandered fortunes
in securing the use of that step, which, in most cases, was
to them of no ultimate advantage. As to the constituency
itself, there was no change in this second period, except that
for a short time during the Commonwealth it was deprived
of one of its Members, but the Restoration restored the
representation to the status quo ante bellum.
The third period, which commenced in 1832, with the
creation of a new representation law, has seen the Parlia-
mentary franchise extended again and again; and if the
great European War had not for a time, at least, blocked
domestic legislation, there might have been more to record
in that direction. The other Parliamentary changes of the
third period are not entirely novel. Dover is again, and now
permanently, reduced to a one-Member constituency, and the
Member for Dover is once again paid " wages," with these
differences, that the wage, instead of being for the days
worked, is for work or play all the year round, and the money
comes out of the National Exchequer instead of the Dover
Muniment Box.
While rapidly reviewing the Dover Parliamentary
elections of these three periods, it is obvious that there is
some danger of the narrative becoming a mere dry list of
names and dates. The patriotism, pathos, zeal and humour,
together with the local colour of the times and circumstances,
cannot be pictured in the few lines devoted to each election.
The old battle-cries cannot be revived, nor the music of
the hired bands re-echoed ; the processions, the banners, the
speeches and the squibs must be all cut out of the story ;
and then — what will be left ? There will be just as much left
as the imaginations of those who follow the narrative can
read into it. If that should amount to very little, there will
be, at least, a plain, unvarnished tale of a long period of
representative government, affording a fair sample of what
the electors of the various constituencies of England were
doing during the dynastic changes and hard times of six
centuries. As already hinted, no attempt can be made to
follow the elections in detail, yet to keep the record of the
local elections in touch with the Parliamentary history of the
times, a few facts as to the successive reigns will be thrown
in and very brief biographic jottings respecting the men whom
the electors of Dover from time to time delighted to honour.
368 ANNALS OF DOVER
II.
ELECTIONS OF THE FIRST PERIOD.
Edward III., 1366-1377
In the Reign of Edward III., after the fortieth year,
when the record of Dover Parliamentary representation begins,
there are seven ParHaments on record, to which eight different
Burgesses were sent from Dover.
1366 Nicholas atte Hall and William de Denne.
Nicholas atte Hall was a member of an influential family
which settled at Dover soon after the Conquest.
William de Denne was a Jurat of considerable influence,
who was then Mayor.
1368 Nicholas atte Hall and Simon Monin.
The Parliament to which these two were returned was
called after a lapse of a year.
Simon Monin was of a family which came from Nor-
mandy at the Conquest, and settled at Dover.
1369 There was a Parliamentary writ issued in this year,
but no names are entered on the return.
137 1 The next return found was for this year, but the name
of Simon Monin only was entered on the return.
1372 John atte Hall and Water EHs.
John atte Hall sat for Dover in eight Parliaments,
and was Mayor nine times.
Walter Elis was a Jurat, and was three times sent as
Burgess of Parliament, but was never Mayor.
1373 John atte Hall and John atte Street.
John atte Street sat in nine Parliaments for Dover.
1376 Simon Coldred and John Elis.
These two members were Jurats, but are not otherwise
mentioned in the local records.
1377 The writ was returned without names.
Richard II., 1377-1399.
In this reign twenty-two Parliaments were summoned,
but in several of them no returns were made from Dover,
©nly four new Members are introduced.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 369
1378 John atte Hall and John Monin.
John Monin sat in four Parliaments. He was styled
" junior," his father being of the same name. The seal of
this Member was three crescents within an indented border.
It is attached to a deed dated 141 5, preserved in the Dover
Muniment Cabinet.
1379 None of the writs of the Cinque Ports had names
attached this year.
1380 This year Parliament sat at Northampton. No Dover
Members were returned.
1381 John atte Hall and John atte Street.
1382 John atte Hall and John Monin.
1383 John atte Hall and Walter EUs.
The above two were the Members in the Spring Session.
1383 Walter Elis and John atte Street.
These two went to the Autumn Session. The second
Session had to do with the war in France. The English
contributed " a tun of gold " towards the extinction of the
Clementines, who were defeated this year at the Battle of
Dunkirk.
1384 John atte Street and John Hamon.
John Hamon was a Jurat and a Chamberlain of the
Dover Corporation.
1385 John atte Street and John Gyles.
John Gyles was returned as Member eight times. His
family had an estate in Dover called " Gyles 's Coomb,"
north of the Castle.
1386 John atte Hall and John Gyles.
1388 John atte Hall and John Gyles.
These two Members went to the Spring Session of 1388,
which was held in London, and adjourned.
1388 John Monin and John Gyles.
These two went to the Autumn Session, the same year,
which was held by adjournment at Cambridge, and was
called " The Wonderful Parliament," because it was held
at London and Cambridge.
1390 John Gyles and John Monin.
1390 A writ came to Dover for an Autumn Session, but no
Dover Members went up.
1 391 John Gyles and John atte Street.
In this Parliament the Burgesses of Dover who went up
had, as Burgesses, a striking object lesson. Richard II.
370 ANNALS OF DOVER
demanded a contribution of j£i, ooo from the City of London.
The citizens refused to pay it. The King forthwith annulled
their Charter, and they were compelled to pay _^ 10,000 for
its renewal.
1393 John Gyles and John atte Street.
This Parliament was held at Winchester.
1394 No return made to the writ.
1395 John atte Street and John Gyles.
In this Parliament a truce of twenty-eight years was
made with France.
1397 John Monin and Nicholas Spicour.
Nicholas Spicour was a Jurat, but never Mayor; but
Thomas Spicour, his father, was Mayor twice. Nicholas
Spicour was elected for ParUament twice.
1398 A writ received, but no Members returned this year.
1399 Writs were issued by Richard II. for a Parliament in
Sej)tember, but on the day of meeting the King
was a prisoner in the hands of Henry, Earl of
Oxford. Dover returned no Members to that
Parliament, which sat for one day cfrily, and
received Richard II. 's abdication.
Henry IV., 1399- 141 3.
Henry, Earl of Oxford, as Henry IV., ascended the
vacant throne on September 30th, 1399, and immediately
called a Parliament to meet on the 6th October. In Henry's
short and troubled reign (the first King of the House of
Lancaster) only six elections are mentioned.
1399 John Gyles and John de Evebroke.
This Parliament was called by the new Knig on the
ist October, and met on the 6th of the same month. Owing
to the short time allowed for election, most of the Members
were the same as in the preceding Parliament which assembled
in September. It is doubtful whether the two Dover
Members were in their places on the day of opening, but they
were there on the 13th October, when the Coronation took
l^lace.
John de Evebroke was a Jurat when chosen for Parlia-
ment. He was Mayor twice. He had a residence on the
west side of King Street, where he died in 1415.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 37I
1 40 1 In this year Dover received writs lo return two Mem-
bers, but no return was made, nor did Parliament
meet, for, early in the year, there was an attempt
to dethrone Henry IV., and, by way of retaliation,
Richard II., who was in prison, was murdered.
1402 John atte Street and Thomas Gyles.
Thomas Gyles was a son of John Gyles, a former
Member.
1403 and 1404 Writs were received at Dover in both of
these years, but no Members were returned. Civil
war was raging. The Battle of Shrewsbury took
place in 1403; and, in 1404, the Parliament being
at Coventry, the ParUament "wages" would not
have met the cost of travelling. That was called
" The Unlearned Parliament," because all lawyers
were excluded.
1406 Thomas Gyles and Henry Merle.
Henry Merle was a Jurat who was chosen for Parliament
in 1406 and 1407. In the latter year an Act was passed
curtailing the King's prerogatives by the establishment of a
Privy Council.
1410 Peter Reade and Nicholas Spicour.
Peter Reade was the Lieutenant of Dover Castle.
1 411 and 141 2 There is no mention of writs in 141 1 nor in
141 2. It is presumed that Dover ignored the writs,
for there were Parliaments held, at which the
King reproved " the too great Hberty of speech
of Members of the House of Commons."
Henry V., 1413-1422.
In this reign seven Parliaments were called.
1413 John Garton and Thomas Monin.
In this Parliament it was ordained that Members should
reside at the places where they represented.
John Garton was a Jurat who was three times chosen for
Parliament.
Thomas Monin was a Jurat.
14 1 4 Walter Stratton and John Garton.
Walter Stratton was a Jurat of Dover in 1414 when he
was returned to Parliament, and he was Jurat until his death
in 1437. He was sent to Parliament five times, and he was
eleven times Mayor.
372 ANNALS OF DOVER
1415 and 1416 In these years Dover received writs, but
the Corporation sent no Burgesses to Parliament.
This was because they were so busy at Dover in
the transport of troops in the war with France.
141 7 Thomas atte Crouche and John Braban.
Thomas atte Crouche owned much property in Dover.
John Braban was chosen as a Burgess of Parliament
eight times between 141 7 and 1431.
141 9 Walter Stratton and John Braban.
1420 Thomas atte Crouche and Thomas Arnold.
Thomas Arnold was an owner of land in Snargate Ward.
He was Mayor three times. His name appears as witness to
six Corporation Charters.
1421 (Spring Session) John Braban and Thomas Arnold.
142 1 (Autumn Session) Walter Stratton and John Braban.
There were two elections of Burgesses of Parliament in
the year 142 i.
Henry VI., 1422-1461.
In this long reign only seventeen Parliaments are men-
tioned, and, owing to the disturbed condition of the Kingdom,
many election returns have been lost.
1422 John Braban and William Hammond.
William Hammond was a Jurat, but never Mayor, and
he was only once chosen for Parliament.
This ParUament had nothing to do but to appoint a
Regent, owing to the King's infancy, he being less than a
year old.
1423 Walter Stratton and John Braban.
1425 Thomas atte Crouch and John Carton.
1426 John Byngley and Thomas Frankeleyn.
John Byngley was a Jurat. He went to Parliament only
once.
Thomas Frankeleyn was a Jurat and an attorney.
1427 Walter Stratton and Gilbert (jcrnun.
Gilbert Gernun was a Jurat, v/ho was elected for Par-
liament in the years 1427 and 1432. His family, alias
Harpele, which migrated to Dover from Norfolk, was here
in the time of Hubert de Burgh, William Gernun being one
of the witnesses of the deed of gift by which Hubert granted
the Manor of Eastbridge to the Maison Dieu. The Gernuns
held the Manor of Siberston, in Hougham parish.
boVER IN PARLIAMENT 373-
1429 Thomas atte Crouche and Thomas atte Coombe.
Thomas atte Coombe was a Jurat and coal merchant
when chosen as a Burgess of Parliament, and he does not
appear to have filled any other office.
1 43 1 John Braban and William Brewys.
William Brewys was the Mayor of Dover who negotiated
the agreement by which Faversham nominated one of its
Burgesses to be elected for one of the Dover seats in
Parliament.
1432 Gilbert Gernun and Walter Nesham.
Walter Nesham was the Bailiff of Dover. He was twice
chosen for Parliament. In 1446, Henr}' VI., by letters
patent, forgave several officials their trespasses, and Walter
Nesham, Bailiff of Dover, was included in that Pardon.
1433 Burgesses of Parliament were elected in this year, but
the returns are missing.
1435 John Pyrye and John Braban.
John Pyrye is not elsewhere mentioned in Dover records.
He is supposed to have been a Burgess of Faversham,
returned as one of the Parliamentary representatives of Dover
in accordance with the agreement above referred to. He
was the only Faversham Burgess who ever sat for Dover in
Parliament.
1437 WiUiam Brewys and Walter Nesham.
For the following four years the returns are lost.
1442 John Ward and Ralph Toke.
John Ward's name appears in the Dover Hundred Courts'
Records three times.
Ralph Toke was Seneschal and Marshal of the Castle.
He was elected for Parliament three times. He was in
Parliament in the Autumn Session of 1449 and the Session
of 1450, when the Duke of Suffolk was impeached, and who,
while attempting to leave the realm, was assassinated on
board a ship off Dover.
1447 Richard Nesham and John Toke.
Richard Nesham was a son of Walter Nesham, the
Bailiff of Dover.
John Toke was a brother of Ralph Toke, the Seneschal
of the Castle.
1449 Stephen Grygge and John Toke.
Stephen Grygge was only returned for Parliament once.
374 Annals of t)0VEti
1449 (Autumn) Ralph Toke and Richard Grygge.
Richard Grygge, who was Mayor three years, and lived
in Snargate Street, was, in the year 1446, awarded jQ^ by
the King for exposing himself to the dangers of the sea in
conveying a Royal Message to Calais.
1450 Ralph Toke and Richard Grygge.
1453 Thomas Doyley and John Toke.
Thomas Doyley had " Sir" prefixed to his name, and
was, it is supposed, in some office at the Castle. There is
a record of his having been Mayor five times, but the Wars
of the Roses commencing at this time, when Dover became
deeply involved with the Yorkist faction, the records both
as to the Mayoralty and the Parliamentary representatives
are lost, or it is probable a good deal more might have been
heard of Sir Thomas Doyley.
1454 Writs to elect two Members came this year, but none
were returned.
Edward IV., 1461-1483.
During the period of seventeen years, 1465-1473, there
were but few Parliaments called, and Dover was not repre-
sented in any. In 1455 Dover received the election writ,
but made no return. In 1459 a Parliament was held in the
Yorkist interest at Coventry, but Dover Castle, being in
favour of the Lancastrians, and the Barons of the Cinque
Ports being pledged to the Yorkists, no Dover representa-
tives were elected. In 1460 there was a Parliament held at
Winchester, but no returns were made by Dover. From
that time until 1471, a period of ten years, all the Cinque
Ports' Parliamentary election returns, including those of
Dover, are lost. Also, from 1478 until the end of the Reign
of Edward IV. all the Parliamentary returns are missing.
It was during this interval that the Liberties and Franchises
of Dover were for one year seized by the Crown.
1472 Thomas Hextall and William Alytron.
This was the first Parliament to which Dover sent
representatives during the Reign of Edward IV., as far as
the existing records go.
Thomas Hextall was the Lord Warden's Receiver at
Dover Castle, under the Duke of Buckingham, the Lan-
castrian leader, and under the Earl of Warwick, the Yorkist.
bOVER IN PARLIAMENT ^*^5
He served both of his masters so well that he got a strong
position at Dover. Although not a native, he became a
Freeman, a Jurat, Mayor, and a Burgess of Parliament ; and
when the King, Edward IV., took away the Civil liberties
of the Town and Port, he placed them in charge of Thomas
Hextall as Gustos until the old rule was restored.
William Mytron was a Jurat who resided in King Street.
1478 Thomas Hextall and Roger Appleton.
Roger Appleton 's family came from Appleton Manor,
of Ickham, near Wingham, where they had been since the
Norman times. Roger Appleton settled in Dover, and held
the Manor of Maxton at the time when he was sent as a
Dover Burgess to ParUament.
Edward V., April 9th to June 25, 1483.
In this short reign of only 77 days, no Parliament was
called. The Prince of Wales, who was proclaimed as
Edward V., was a minor, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester,
the late King's brother, assumed the office of Protector, ;
but immediately after, on the pretext that the children of
Edward IV. were illegitimate, he, on the 25th June, 1483,
seized the Grown, and it is alleged that he caused Edward V,
and his brother to be suffocated in the Tower of London.
Richard III., 1483-1485.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, having usurped the
Throne on the 25th June, 1483, as soon as pos.sible called
a Parliament, which assembled on the nth November, 1483,
but no Dover Burgesses were returned, for, before that
Parliament met, the leading men of Kent had risen against
Richard in favour of Henry of Richmond, who, two years
later, was crowned as Henry VII. The Kentish ri.sing in
favour of Henry was led by Sir Edward Poynings (who was
subsequently Lieutenant of Dover Gastle and, later, Lord
Warden). The risinc; was premature, and Poynings had to
fly to France until Henry had rai.sed sufficient men and money
to establish himself on the Throne, but when Henry VII.
had the power he rewarded this Kentish supporter. The
Acts passed in that one Parliament of Richard III. were for
the first time written in English. Also, the Acts of Parlia-
ment were then printed for the first time.
376 ANNALS OF DOVER
Henry VII., 1485-1509.
In this reign of twenty-four years there were eight
Parliaments, and there is no reason to beheve that Dover
failed to return Burgesses of Parliament on each occasion,
but the returns, which should be in the Record OfiEice,
are lost. It appears from the records of the Cinque Ports
Courts that the Burgesses attended Parliament, and they were
requested to bring copies of all new Acts of Parliament, the
practice of printing the Acts, commenced in the Reign of
Richard III., having made copies available. In the last
years of his reign, Henry VII. dispensed with Parliaments,
his coffers being brimful.
Henry VIII., 1509-1547.
There were nine Parliaments summoned in this reign,
of v.'hich all the returns are missing from the Chancery
pr.pers except one, but four others appear in the Dover
Records. Of the Parliaments assembled in 151 o, 1511 and
1 5 14 we have no information nor of the Parliament of 1545.
The writ for the Parliament of 1523 was accompanied by a
letter from the King, addressed to the Mayor and his
Brethren of his Town of Dover, asking them to elect two
barons of great discretion and experience in consequence of
the weighty matters which would be considered in the coming
ParHament, both affecting the state of the English Church
and the war in France.
1523 Thomas Vaughan and Robert Nethersole.
Thomas Vaughan was a Jurat of large experience, and
he had been Bailiff of Dover for some years.
Robert Nethersole was of a family of Wymynswold,
Kent, and a Dover Jurat.
1529 Robert Nethersole and John Warren.
John Warren was of an old Dover family, his father
having been Mayor in the Reign of Henry VII.
1536 John Warren and Robert Nethersole.
1539 Thomas Vaughan and John Paynter.
John Paynter was one of the Commissioners appointed
in 1534 to take oaths of fealty to the King in Dover, and
he had also been Mayor.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 377
1 541 John Warren and William Graenger.
William Graenger was a Dover Jurat who resided near
Upwall Gate. When he was at the Parliament of 1541 he
exhibited to the House of Commons the Dover Charter in
order to secure authority for a new plan for the nomination
of Mayors by the Jurats, instead of being proposed, as of
old time, in the Common Assembly of Freemen.
Edward VI., i547-i553-
In this reign of seven years there were but two Par-
liaments called. The Dover returns for them are not
preserved with the Chancery Records, but in the Dover
Records there are particulars of the election of 1553, a few
months before the King's death ; and that return is of special
interest because at that election one of the Members was
selected from the Isle of Thanet, such a choice never having
before nor afterwards been made.
1553 Henry Cryppes and Thomas Portway.
Henry Cryppes is described as being of the Isle of
Thanet. It is not stated of what locality, but there is reason
to believe that he was a native of Margate.
Thomas Portway was the Dover Baihff in the Reign of
Edward VI., and a very active Jurat.
Mary, 1553-1558-
In this reign, which was first called "Mary's," and
afterwards " Philip and Mary's," there were five Parlia-
ments called. One sat for a whole year, one four weeks,
one three months, one ten weeks, and one ten months.
There was an interval of two years between the fourth and
fifth Parliaments.
The names of the Dover Members who sat in the
Parliament called in 1553 are lost.
1554 John W^ebb and Thomas Collye.
There is nothing special on record concerning John
Webb.
Thomas Collye was a sheep farmer and a beer brewer.
He several times held the office of Mayor, and there is in
the British Museum "A Book of Orders and Decrees passed
in his time for the Good Rule of Dover."
378 ANNALS OF DOVER
1554 (Autumn) William Hannington and John Webb.
William Hannington was the head of the Victualling
Department at Dover, a Jurat, and was Mayor. Particulars
of his career will be found in a note on his Mayoralty in
Section VI.
1555 Thomas Warren and Edmund Rowse.
Thomas Warren was a Dover Jurat who was sent to
Parliament at three elections between 1555 and 1572. He
mentioned in his will that his " wages " for attending
Parliament were not paid, and that he had to pay his own
expenses at the Coronation.
Edmund Rowse was a Castle official, and was nominated
by the Lord Warden.
155S Joseph Beverley and John Cheyney.
Joseph Beverley was a Dover Castle official, a lawyer,
and in the Corporation he was a Town Clerk and a Jurat.
John Cheyney was also a Castle official, a relative of
Sir Thomas Cheyney, the Constable.
Elizabeth, i 558-1603.
In the Reign of (^ueen Elizabeth, which extended over
forty-five years, there were ten Parliaments elected, this
Queen having entirely ignored the old rule of annual
Parliaments. Of the twenty Members elected for Dover,
eleven were new men. Ten of them were Burgesses of Dover,
and the others appear to have been Crown nominees. In
the year 1572 the Court of Brotherhood of the Cinque Ports
made a new decree for the choosing of Burgesses of Parlia-
ment, but it does not appear to have altered the procedure
at Dover.
1559 Thomas Warren and John Robbynes.
John Robbynes was a master mariner who owned some
of the ships of the Dover Passage. He was one of the
canopy bearers at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
1563 Thomas Warren and John Robbynes.
157 1 Thomas Andrews and John Pinchney.
Thomas Andrews was a Dover Jurat who was chosen
as a Burgess of Parliament in 157 1 and 1572.
John Pinchney was an officer of Dover Castle nominated
in the Lord Warden's interest.
bOVfek tN PAfeLlAMfeNt 379
1585 Sir Richard Barry and John More.
Sir Richard Barry was the Lieutenant of Dover Castle
under Lord Cobham, the Lord Warden. He superintended
the building of the long wall of the Great Pent in 1583. He
was in charge of Dover Castle when the Spanish Armada
was defeated within sight of it.
John More was a kinsman of Sir Thomas More, the
Lord Chancellor.
1586 Sir Richard Barry and John More.
1589 Sir Thomas Fane and Edward Stephens.
Sir Thomas Fane was the successor of Sir Richard Barry
as Lieutenant of Dover Castle, and he held that position
until his death in 1606. He was knighted at Dover Castle
in 1573, when (^ueen Elizabeth spent a week there during
her progress through Kent. Sir Thomas Fane represented
Dover in Parliament for twelve years, and was instrumental
in obtaining the renewal of the Passing Tolls Act, which
supplied Dover Harbour with its revenue, in recognition of
which service the Common Council presented to Sir Thomas
ten gallons of claret and five gallons of sack. When the
new Court Hall was built in the Market Place in 1605 the
coat-of-arms of Sir Thomas Fane was carved there, where
it remained until the old structure was demolished in 1861.
Edward Stephens was an outsider who was admitted
to the Freedom of Dover to qualify him to be elected.
1594 Sir Thomas Fane and Thomas Ellwood.
Thomas Ellwood, a Dover Jurat, was Dover's Parlia-
mentary representative for four years. After he retired he
complained that his " wages " for attending Parliament had
not been paid for two years.
1598 Sir Thomas Fane and William Leonard.
William Leonard was a Dover Jurat who was a Burgess
of Parliament for three years.
160T George Fane and George Newman.
George Fane was the younger brother of Sir Thomas
Fane, and he held an office under his brother at the Castle.
He represented Dover in Parliament until 1609, and was
knighted by James L
George Newman was a Doctor of Civil Law and
Commissary General of the Diocese of Canterbury. He
was knighted by James I.
3^0 ANiXALS OF DOVER
III.
ELECTIONS OF THE SECOND PERIOD.
James I., 1603-1625.
There were five elections during this Reign, and six
new Members came on the scene.
1604 Sir Thomas Waller and George Byng.
Sir Thomas Waller was the lieutenant of Dover
Castle — one of the Kentish Wallers. The Corporation
minutes record that " Sir Thomas Waller tendered the sum
of j£,5 to be admitted a Freeman, which sum was
re-delivered unto him in respect of his pains to be taken
in and about the affairs of this Town in the next Parlia-
ment, and he was sworn." At the end of the first Session
the Corporation minutes record appreciation of the new
Member thus : — ' ' In regard to the great pains and charges
that Sir Thomas Waller hath taken and sustained at the
late Parliament, half a tun of wine shall be forthwith sent
to the Castle for his provision, and likewise a great fair
sugar loaf to be bestowed on his virtuous lady, for that
the said Thomas Waller hath not demanded and hath refused
to take any allowance towards the expenses of the said
Parliament." Sir Thomas Waller was the father of William
Waller, a General of the Parliamentary Forces, in the Civil
War, who, for his victories, was called " William the
Conqueror."
George Byng, a Jurat of the Corporation, according to
custom was paid ; and, for a special reason, he was paid
six shillings a day — twice as much as was paid in the Reign
of Queen Elizabeth. The Corporation minutes record the
facts as follows: — " The said Mr. Byng to have sixe shillings
by the day during the said Parliament, and to have the
hire of his horse ryding and comyng home; and to be
further considered at his return as by assent of Common
Council shall be thought fit." In this year the Passing
Tolls Act, which was granted only for short periods, expired,
and the Corporation, who then, on the dissolution of Queen
Elizabeth's temporary commission, had the affairs of the
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 381
large new harbour in their sole control, were anxious to have
that source of revenue continued. Those were the " affairs
of the towne " about which Sir Thomas Waller was expected
to take "great paynes " ; and the following minute of the
Corporation indicate that Mr. Byng was expected to be busy
too: — "It is agreed that a letter be written to Mr. Byng,
to invite certain of the Burgesses of Parliament, who by him
shall be thought meet, to a dinner or supper, whereby the
rather to encourage them to be friendly to us touching the
continuance of the statute of tonnage. And what money he
shall thereby dispurse to be allowed out of the treasury
of the towne." The supper had due effect.
1 6 10 George Byng and Thomas Ellwood.
1613 Sir Robert Bruce and Sir George Fane.
Sir Robert Bruce was the Lieutenant of Dover Castle,
nominated by the Lord Warden, in accordance with the
custom by which, for some generations past, the one half
of the repersentation of Dover in Parliament had been shared
by the Lord Warden ; but on this occasion King James had
asked the Lord Warden to induce the Corporation to allow
the two Dover Members to be officially nominated in the
interests of the Crown, to which appeal the Corporation
consented, and Sir George Fane was chosen as the second
Member.
1 62 1 Sir Henry Mainwaring and Sir Richard Younge.
Sir Henry Mainwaring was the Lieutenant of the Castle ;
and Sir Richard Younge was one of the hundred Knights
created by James L on his accession.
1624 Sir Richard Younge and Sir Edward Cecil.
The election of these two Members on the nomination
of the Duke of Buckingham, the Lord Warden, was carried
by the Common Council without consulting the whole of
the Freemen. The interference in elections by James I.
had become so general that the House of Commons took
the matter up, and the Dover Freemen had been aroused
to look after their privileges. A petition from Dover was
sent to the House of Commons, stating that the election
of Younge and Cecil had been carried without the whole
body of the Freemen being assembled. The House of
Commons resolved " That the Freemen and Burgess
inhabitants of Dover all ought to have had a voice in the
election." A new writ was issued, with the result that the
382 ANNALS OF DOVER
same Members were returned. It is not stated whether any
other candidates were nominated to oppose them, but it is
probable that there were not, as up to that date there is no
record of any contested election at Dover. Sir Edward
Cecil, at the time of his election, was the Lieutenant of
the Castle.
Charles I., 1625-1649.
There were four Parliaments summoned in the regular
order in this Reign, in the years 1625, 1626, 1628 and 1640.
1625 Sir John Hipplesley and Sir WiUiam Beecher.
Sir John Hipplesley was the Lieutenant of Dover Castle
under the Duke of Buckingham, the Lord Warden. He
represented Dover in three Parliaments, and towards the
close of 1628 he vacated his office at the Castle.
Sir William Beecher was one of the many Knights
created by James L, and he was chosen as a Crown
nominee to represent Dover in Parliament, but he only sat
in one Session.
1626 Sir John Hipplesley and John Pringle.
John Pringle was a Dover Jurat, probably the last who,
on his merits as such, was chosen to represent Dover in
Parliament.
1628 Sir John Hipplesley and Sir Edward Nicholas.
Sir Edward Nicholas, at the time of his election for
Dover, was a Clerk in the ofTice of the Lord Warden. He
rose by merit to be a principal Secretary of State, holding
that office under Charles L and, after the Restoration, under
Charles H., until 1663.
1640 (Spring) Sir Edward Boys and Sir Peter Heyman.
Sir Edward Boys was one of the Boys of Bonnington
and Fredville. He succeeded Hipplesley as Lieutenant of
Dover Ca.stle. He was then an adherent of Charles L, but
in 1643, transferred his services to the Parliamentary Party,
and was holding his place at the Castle at the time it was
seized by the Parliamentarians.
Sir Peter Heyman, one of the early resisters of the
innovations of Charles L, was a son of Peter Heyman, of
Sellinge. He had previously been a Member for the County
of Kent, and was one of those who hel]:)ed to hold the
Speaker in his chair while the Declaration against Taxes
unauthorised by Parliament was being drafted and signed.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 383
1640 (November) Sir Edward Boys and Sir Peter Heyman.
1642 Benjamin Weston.
In the election of 1642 Sir Peter Heyman had left the
scene, and Benjamin Weston took his place.
The Commonwealth, 1649-1660.
During the Commonwealth there were four elections
at Dover. The Long Parliament continued until 1653.
After that, Cromwell, by "an instrument of Government,"
re-arranged the seats on the i6th December, 1653, " to the
end that the kingdom might be more equally represented."
His arrangement gave England and Wales 395 Members,
262 to the counties and 133 to the cities and towns. Dover,
like most of the other towns, under that scheme had but
one Member, and only one was returned in the elections
of 1654, 1656, and the January election of 1659. For
the Parliament called in May, 1659, there was no election,
as the surviving Members of the displaced Long Parliament
were re-called. The election for the Convention Parliament
in April, 1660, was still in the Commonwealth Period, but
on that occasion two Members were again returned for
Dover.
1654 William Cullen.
WilHam Cullen, a Jurat, represented Dover from
September, 1654, till January, 1656. He was Mayor of
Dover four times during the Commonwealth.
1656 Major-General Thomas Kelsey.
Major-General Thomas Kelsey supported the proposal
that Cromwell should assume the title of " King."
1658 John Dixwell.
John Dixwell was of the Kentish family that built the
mansion of Broome Park.
1660 (April) Sir Ed. Montague and Major Arnold Breams.
These Members, who were avowed supporters of the
Restoration, were elected to the Convention Parliament in
April, 1660. The Interregnum was then near its end, and
the above-named Members were known to be in favour of
the restoration of the Monarchy. Sir Edward Montague
had been an active General at sea under Cromwell. Pepys,
who was his Secretary, makes frequent references to this
Member in his famour Diary.
384 ANNALS OF DOVER
Major Arnold Breams, a wealthy Dover merchant, was
of a Flemish family. His father, Jacob Breams, had settled
at Sandwich about the beginning of the Stuart Period; but
the new Harbour at Dover attracted him here, where he
undertook the farming of the Customs. Arnold Breams came
into the business in the beginning of the Reign of Charles I.
He built a new Custom House at the Pier, and was a wealthy
man when he was elected for Dover in 1660. He only sat
in one Parliament, but he was rewarded by being knighted
by Charles H. Retiring from business, he built himself a
mansion on Bridge Hill, near Canterbury, where he died
in his 86th year, in 1681.
Charles H., 1660-1685.
There were six elections at Dover in the Reign of
Charles H., after the Restoration — three bye-elections and
three General Elections. The Triennial Parlaiments Act,
which had been nominally in existence during the Common-
wealth, was repealed in 1664.
1660 George Montague.
George Montague was the younger son of the Earl of
Manchester. He was elected without opposition for Dover
when Sir Edward Montague was raised to the Peerage as
the Earl of Sandwich.
1 66 1 George Montague and Sir Francis Vincent, Bart.
On the dissolution of Parliament in May, 1661, George
Montague and Sir Francis Vincent were elected for Dover,
Sir Francis being a new Member. He continued to represent
Dover until his death in 1670, there being no dissolution
during that period.
1670 Viscount Hinchingbroke.
Viscount Hinchingbroke, the eldest son of the Earl of
Sandwich, was elected for Dover at a bye-election, 30th
November, 1670, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of
Sir Francis Vincent. Two years later he took his seat in
the House of Lords, on the death of his father, the Earl of
Sandwich.
1673 Thomas Papillon.
Thomas Papillon was chosen Member for Dover at a
bye-election, to fill a vacancy caused by Viscount Hinching-
broke succeeeding his father as Earl of Sandwich. That
election was contested, the other candidate being Sir
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 385
Edward Sprague. Sir Edward Sprague was the Court
candidate, and special efforts were made in his favour. A
poll was taken on the ist February, when Papillon had a
majority of the votes, but that election was declared informal
owing to a mistake in issuing the writ. Meanwhile, a number
of new Freemen were created, and a poll was taken on
behalf of the same candidates on the nth of February.
The poll on the old Hst was: — Papillon, 137; Sprague, 106.
The Mayor then commenced to call the new Freemen, and
the old ones cried, "No Faggots!" The Lieutenant of
the Castle intervened, and stated that if the Mayor was
not allowed to proceed he should send for the soldiers.
Of the fifty-two new Freemen, forty-seven appeared and
voted for Sprague, making his poll 153, when the Mayor
declared Admiral Sir Edward Sprague duly elected. Mr.
Papillon petitoned the House of Commons against the return,
but before the petition could be dealt with Admiral Sprague
lost his life in a Naval action, and the House of Commons
without the issue of another writ, declared Thomas Papillon
duly elected. Thomas Papillon and the before-mentioned
George Montague continued to represent Dover until the
dissolution of 1678.
1679 Thomas Papillon and William Stokes.
The two Members above-named were returned at a
contested General Election in 1679, the other two candidates
being Colonel John Strode, the Lieutenant of Dover Castle,
and Admiral Teddiman, a Dover man, who at that time
held the post of Dover Admiral. The contest was keen,
and the votes polled were: — Papillon, 201; Stokes, 193;
Teddiman, 121; and Strode, 114. Captain Willam Stokes
was the Mayor, but, owing to being a candidate, the Deputy
Mayor was the Returning Officer ; and he put the names
of Thomas Papillon and Colonel Strode in the return, it
being assumed at that time that the Lord Warden had the
right to nominate one of the Members. The House of
Commons, however, on a petition, gave the seats to Papillon
and Stokes. Captain William Stokes, a Dover man. held
a commission in the Navy during the Commonwealth as
Captain of the " Naseby," the ship in which Charles IL
arrived at Dover at the Restoration, but during the voyage
across the Channel the name of the ship was changed to
"Charles." Sir Edward Montague, who was in command of
the Fleet at that time, according to Pepys, remarked, " I
386 ANNALS OF DOVER
do not like Captain Stokes." However, the Freemen of
Dover liked him, for, in addition to electing him as their
Member for Parliament, they chose him seven times as
Mayor.
1681 Thomas Papillon and Captain William Stokes.
These two Members were again elected to the Parlia-
ment convened in 1681 ; but as the Parliament met at Oxford
neither of the Dover Members attended.
James II., 1685-1689.
There were two elections in this Reign, one immediately
after the Accession of James II., and one after his abdica-
tion, before William III. accepted the Crown. Some reckon
the latter to have been in an interregnum, but it was really
a part of the Reign of James II.
1685 Admiral Herbert and William Chapman.
Admiral Arthur Herbert, who was returned to Parlia-
r;ent by Dover in 1685, was one of the Herberts of Cherbury,
Shropshire.
William Chapman, the other Member for Dover, elected
in 1685, was a Dover lawyer, who was employed to obtain
the new Charter of Charles II. in 1682, for which his bill
amounted to ^£141 19s. 8d.
1689 Thomas Papillon and Sir Basil Dixwell.
Thomas Papillon has already been mentioned, but it
should be here further added that, in 1685, Thomas
Papillon was elected Sheriff of London, and, happening to
be in litigation with the Lord Mayor, he directed a writ to
be served on his Lordship ; but by some mistake the Lord
Mayor was arrested, which led to an action at law, in which
Mr. Papillon was fined ;^i 0,000. To avoid this judgment,
he fled to Holland, vrhere he remained until the abdication
of James II. When William of Orange was invited to accept
the British Crown, Mr. Papillon was again returned to
Parliament for Dover, and continued to represent the
Borough until 1699. Under William III., he was Chief
Commissioner for the victualling of the Navy. Mr. Papillon
had a seat at Acrise, where his mortal remains rest, but his
death took place in London on 5th May, 1702, soon after
which, by a bequest made in his Will, Papillon's Charity for
Dover Freemen was founded.
t»OV£R !N PARLIAMENT 387
Sir Basil Dixwell was Lieutenant of Dover Castle, and
his residence was at Broome Prak, Barham. He represented
Dover in Parliament from 1689 to 1690, and from 1695 to
1700.
William III., 1689-1702.
In this period there were four elections at Dover, and
four of the eight Members were new men.
1690 Thomas Papillon and James Chadwick.
At the election at which the two above-named were
returned, on the 6th March, 1690, there were three candi-
dates— the old Member, Thomas Papillon, and two new men,
James Chadwick and Sir Charles Hedges.
James Chadwick was the son of the Rev. Valentine
Chadwick, Rector of Great Chart.
1698 Sir Basil Dixwell and Captain Matthew Aylmer.
At this election there were three candidates, the third
being Mr. Philip Papillon, son of the late Member, Mr,
Thomas Papillon, but he was not successful.
The new Member, Captain Aylmer, was a Captain in
the Navy when first elected, but he held the seat until 17 13,
and, meanwhile, he attained the rank of Admiral.
1700 Captain Aylmer and Sir Charles Hedges.
Sir Charles Hedges came to Dover with the prestige
attaching to a Minister of State. In 1690 he was unsuc-
cessful; in 1700 he gained a seat. During the year he sat
for Dover he was the spokesman of the Government in the
House of Commons un foreign policy; but in the General
Election of 1701 he was rejected at Dover.
1 701 Captain Aylmer and Philip Papillon.
Philip Papillon was the eldest son of Thomas Papillon,
who had been dead five years when his son was elected at
Dover.
Queen Anne, 1702-17 14.
In the Reign of Queen Anne there were five election"
at Dover.
1702 Captain Aylmer and Philip Papillon.
1705 Captain Aylmer and Philip Papillon.
1708 Admiral Aylmer and Philip Papillon.
388 ANNALS OF DOVER
1 7 10 Admiral Aylmer and Philip Papillon.
1713 Philip Papillon and Sir William Hardres.
Sir William Hardres, of Hardres Court, Kent, was the
son of Sir Richard Hardres, who was created a Baronet by
Charles I. Sir William Hardres, being a Tory, lost his seat
on the Accession of George I., who transferred the Court
influence to the Whigs.
George I., 1714-1727.
Owing to the disturbed state of the nation when George,
the first King of the House of Hanover ascended the throne,
it was thought expedient to give Parliaments a longer
duration, and the Septennial Act was passed. From the
fourth year of the Reign of Edward HI. it had been the
law, although not always the practice, to hold Parliaments
annually, until 1641, when the Triennial Act was passed.
The change to Septennial Parliaments, enacted in 17 16,
continued to be the law until 191 1, when the legal life of a
Parliament was reduced to five years. In the Reign of
George I., a period of thirteen years, there were but two
Parliamentary elections.
1 7 15 Admiral Aylmer and Philip Papillon.
In the first General Election under George I. there was
no contest at Dover. In the previous election of 17 13, the
electors of Dover divided their affections between that
staunch Kentish Tory, Sir William Hardres, and Mr. Philip
Papillon, a Whig. The new King having let it be known
that none but Whigs would find favour at his Court, like
the Vicar of Bray, the electors of Dover were ready to sing —
" When George in pudding time came o'er,
And moderate men looked big, sir,
I turned a cat-in-pan once more.
And I became a Whig, sir! "
1722 The Hon. George Berkeley and Henry Furnesse.
The Hon. George Berkeley was the youngest son of
the Earl of Berkeley, and his mother was one of the Sackville
family, and Lionel Sackville, Duke of Dorset, being then
Lord Warden, his influence provided George Berkeley with
a seat for Dover.
Henry Furnesse was the owner of Waldershare, and
while he was Me.nber for Dover he opened a free school for
the sons of Freemen. He retired in 1734.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 389
George II., 1727-1760.
In this Reign there were five General Elections, and
five new Members were introduced.
1728 The Hon. George Berkeley and Henry Furnesse.
These two Members were re-elected unopposed, and
continued to represent the Borough until 1734, when they
both retired.
1734 David Papillon and Thomas Revell.
David Papillon was elected for Dover in 1734, and
retired in 1741 to take the office of Commissioner of Excise,
to which office he was appointed by the influence of Lord
Hardwicke. When he offered himself to the Dover electors,
in 1734, he released Zion Chapel, Qiieen Street, from a
mortgage loan which his father had advanced when he repre-
sented Dover.
Thomas Revell held the post of agent victualler in the
Dover Victualling Office at the Maison Dieu, and, being a
Crown nominee at this election, he influenced the voters by
having 800 oxen slaughtered for victualling the ships, and, by
the authority of the Crown, gave the offal to the poor of
Dover. He was re-elected in 1747, and died while repre-
senting the Borough in 1752.
1 741 Lord George Sackville and Thomas Revell.
Lord George Sackville was introduced at Dover by his
father, the Duke of Dorset, who was the Constable of Dover
Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports. He continued to
hold his seat until the Reign of George III. This Member
was useful to the constituency in various ways. He and his
father, the Constable of Dover Casrle, were instrumental in
having barracks built on the south side of the Keep Yard
to accommodate 1,000 men; and Lord George Sackville, as
Colonel of the 20th Regiment of Foot, marched in with
his men to occupy them in 1747. Through this Member's
influence ;^5oo was raised to repair the Guildhall, in July,
1753. The portrait of the Duke of Dorset, the father of
this Member, which now hangs in the Council Chamber,
was given as a memento of that occasion.
1747 Lord George Sackville and Thomas Revell.
1752 William Clayley.
William Clayley, at a bye-election, in 1752, was chosen
in the room of Thomas Revell, Agent Victualler of Dover,
390 ANNALS OF DOVER
deceased. He was re-elected in 1754; and in the following
year vacated his office on taking a place as an Excise
Officer.
1754 Lord George Sackville and William Clayley.
At this General Election these two Members were
re-elected unopposed. .
1755 Peter Burrell.
Peter Burrell was the owner of Kelsey's Manor, Becken-
ham. There is at Beckenham Church a beautiful alms dish,
on which is engraved, " The gift of Petre Burrell, Esq.,
A.D. 1734." He died the year after his election for Dover.
1756 Hugh Vallance Jones.
At a bye-election Hugh Valance Jones, barrister, a
nephew of Lord Hardwicke, was elected in May, 1756, to
fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Burrell. Mr.
Jones presented to the Corporation ;£ioo to repair the
Court Hall. In 1760 he accepted office in the Irish Revenue
Oflice, vacating his seat.
1760 Dr. Edward Simpson.
At this bye-election. Dr. Edward Simpson, who was
chosen in the room of Mr. H. V. Jones, was a son of
Prebendary Simpson, of Pluckley.
George III., 1760-1820.
In this Reign there were eleven General Elections and
five bye-elections at Dover. There were fourteen new men
elected.
1761 Sir Joseph Yorke, C.B., and Dr. Simpson.
Sir Joseph Yorke, C.B., the third son of Lord Chan-
cellor Hardwicke, was elected for Dover at the General
Election of 1761. He was a Major-General, and held his
seat for Dover thirteen years.
1762 The Marquis of Lome.
The Marquis of Lome, the eldest son of the Duke of
Argyle, was chosen for Do\er in January, 1762, at a bye-
election, in the room of Dr. Edward Simpson ; and vacated
the seat in December, 1766, when raised to the Peerage
as Baron Sundridge.
1766 George Bindley.
George Bindley, chosen at a bye-election in 1766, in
the room of the Marquis of Lome, resigned his seat for
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT. 39I
Dover in 1768. His daughter married Mr. James Noth,
of Sandgate, brother of Sir Henry Noth, Bart., who took the
surname of Vavasour.
1768 Sir Joseph Yorke and Viscount Villiers.
George Bussey VilUers, commonly called Viscount
Villiers, was the son of the Earl of Jersey. He was the
Lord Chamberlain; and after he had held the Dover seat
for rather more than a year, he was transferred to the House
of Lords on the death of his father.
1769 Sir Pym Hales, Bart.
Sir Pym Hales was elected for Dover at a bye-election
in 1769, as the successor of Viscount Villiers. Sir Pym
was the representative of the Bekesbourne branch of the
Hales family. He was not elected for Dover without keen
opposition, for at that bye-election John Trevanion presented
himself for the first time as a candidate. Trevanion not
only fought hard during the contest, but, after defeat at
the poll, he petitioned the House of Commons to reverse
the decision because the majority for Hales had been
largely made up of non-resident Freemen. The House of
Commons held that non-resident Freemen had the right to
vote, so Sir Pym Hales retained the seat.
1773 Thomas Barrett.
Thomas Barrett, commonly known as Thomas Barrett
of Lee, had an estate in the parish of Ickham, near
Wingham. His mansion there, originally Lee Priory,
was purchased in 1676 by his ancestor, Sir Paul Barrett,
Serjeant-at-Law. Later the house became the property of
Sir Egerton Brydges, who set up a printing press in the
Priory, where were printed a few books, which Bibliophiles
class as rarities.
1774 John Henniker and John Trevanion.
Two new Members were chosen in this General Election.
John Henniker came of an ancient family, of which
Peter de Henniker was a Lieutenant of Dover Castle in the
Reign of Edward H.
John Trevanion 's name is given to a street in St. James's
parish, in which stood his mansion. He took up his
residence in Dover in the middle of the Eighteenth Century,
and, as already mentioned, he fought for a Dover seat in
Parliament in 1769. In 1774 he was successful, and he
continued to appear as a candidate in Dover elections,
successfully and otherwise, until 1806, when he was finally
392 ANNALS OF DOVER
defeated. When he first courted the constituency he
promised that if he were elected he would build and maintain
a free school for Dover boys, and he kept his word. After
1806 he retired. He died in 1810, and was buried in St.
James's Church.
1780 John Henniker and John Trevanion.
1784 Robert Preston and James Luttrell.
In the General Election of 1784 there was a great
struggle between William Pitt, the Prime Minister, and his
political opponents. There was a great fight at Dover. The
two sitting Members were discarded, and two new men,
strangers to Dover, but supporters of Pitt, were returned.
Robert Preston, of Woodford, Essex, one of the Elder
Brethren of Trinity House, holding Naval rank as Captain,
was elected for Dover in 1784. Later he inherited a
baronetcy. It is interesting to mention that this Member
for Dover was the real founder of the celebrated whitebait
dinners which Ministers of State used to attend at Greenwich
from the days of Pitt down to rhe time of Disraeli and
Gladstone. Mr. Preston had a fishing cottage at Dangeham
Lake, on the Thames, where, once a year, a few political
friends used to meet to fish and eat whitebait. Year by
year the gatherings increased, and included George Rose,
the Secretary of the Treasury, and William Pitt, the Prime
Minister. As the company grew larger it became necessary
to forsake the cottage, and the whil'ebait dinners were
transferred to a tavern at Greenwich, their character
becoming more political than convivial.
James Luttrell, Captain Preston's colleague in the Dover
election of 1784, came of a well-known political family.
Soon after his election he vacated the seat by accepting
office.
1784 John Trevanion.
In this bye-election Trevanion won back his seat from
Luttrell.
1790 Charles S. Pybus and John Trevanion.
In this election there were three candidates : — Charles
Small Pybus, who had 701 votes; John Trevanion, who had
550; and the unsuccessful candidate, Mr. Bentick, 307.
The retiring Member, Captain Preston, did not seek
re-election.
Charles Small Pybus was a grandson of Captain Bryan
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 393
Pybus, who had been the Commander of H.M. Packet,
" Eagle," on the Dover Station.
1 791 Charles Small Pybus.
This was a bye-election which occurred owing to Mr.
Pybus accepting office as one of the Lords of the
Admiralty. He was returned unopposed.
1796 Charles Small Pybus and John Trevanion.
These two sitting Members were re-elected.
1797 Charles Small Pybus.
The election of 1797 was owing to Mr. Pybus accepting
office as one of the Lords of the Treasury. He was opposed
on that occasion by Richard Heaton Solly, of St.
Margaret's-at-Cliffe. Mr. Solly was not a Freeman of
Dover, but as a considerable number of Freemen voted for
him at the opening of the poll, the Corporation held a special
meeting and granted him the Freedom; but as soon as that
was done Mr. Solly withdrew his opposition, saying he had
got all that he wanted; whereupon Mr. Pybus was declared
duly elected. Mr. Solly was exceedingly eccentric, and the
only reasonable explanation of his action was that he was
" out for a lark."
1802 John Trevanion and Spencer Smith.
In this election there were three candidates. The poll
was open three days, the votes recorded being: — Trevanion,
666; Smith, 534; and Huskinson (a new man), 466.
Spencer Smith was the son of John Smith, the owner
of the curious castellated residence called " Smith's Folly,"
which stood on the shore between the Castle Cliff and the
Castle Jetty ; and he was the brother of Admiral Sir Sydney
Smith.
1806 Charles Jenkinson and John Jackson.
There were three candidates in this election, the two
above-named and John Trevanion, who this time was finally
beaten, he having, during a political campaign of thirty-nine
years at Dover, had four defeats and six victories.
Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson was half-brother of
Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool. His brother,
R. H. Jenkinson, was the Lieutenant of Dover Castle, and
he presented to the Dover Corporation a handsome oak table,
which used to stand in the hall of the Constable's Tower,
and now is in the Dover Council Chamber.
John Jackson was a Parliamentary representative of
394 ANNALS OF DOVER
Dover from 1806 to 1826, and during that period was created
a baronet.
1807 Charles Jenkinson and John Jackson.
At this General Election the two sitting Members were
re-elected. There was a third candidate named Pierrepoint,
who was defeated.
1 81 2 Charles Jenkinson and John Jackson.
In this General Election the above-named were
re-elected unopposed.
i8i8 Sir John Jackson and Edward Bootle Wilbraham.
Mr. Edward Bootle Wilbraham had been in Parliament
twenty-three years before he was elected for Dover in i8i8.
The local connection which attracted him to Dover was his
marriage with Miss Mary Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of the
Rev. Edward Taylor, of Bifrons, Patrixbourne. Mr. Wil-
brahams retained his seat for Dover until 1828, when he
was raised to the Peerage as Baron Skelmersdale.
George IV., 1820-1830.
In this Reign there were three General Elections and
two bye-elections at Dover.
1820 Edward Bootle Wilbraham and Joseph Butterworth.
The dissolution of Parliament causing this General
Election followed the death of George III A vacancy
caused by the retirement of Sir John Jackson was filled by
the election of Mr. Joseph Butterworth. He and Mr. Wil-
braham were returned unopposed.
Mr. Joseph Butterworth was the son of a Baptist
minister at Coventry, but he began his business life in
London as a clerk, winning the favour of his employer, who,
at his death, left him a sum of money, with which he entered
into business as a law stationer. He made a considerable
fortune, and was returned to Parliament by his native
Borough of Coventry in 181 8; in 1820 he offered himself
at Dover, and was returned unopposed. After representing
Dover six years, another General Election came, in which he
lost his seat, and, may be said to have also lost his life, for
it was owing to standing bareheaded when canvassing that
he caught a chill, and died a few weeks after the election.
He was a Wesleyan Methodist, and on the day of his funeral,
which took place in the City Road Chapel, London, a
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 395
memorial service was held in the old Wesleyan Chapel at
Buckland, Dover.
1826 Edward B. Wilbraham and Charles Poulett Thomson.
In this election, following the dissolution of Parliament
in 1826, there were rumours of many candidates, and six
were nominated. It proved to be a great contest, the polling
extending over five days, and the final result was as follows :
— Wilbraham, 1,175; Thomson, 746; John Halcomb, 628;
Joseph Butterworth, 198; George Finch, 13; and Michael
Kingsford, 8. It was in this prolonged contest that Mr.
Butterworth caught the chill which proved fatal.
Charles Poulett Thomson was twenty-five years old
when he first contested Dover, and, with the vanity of a
young man, he had his election address, together with his
portrait, printed on white silk for distribution amongst the
townspeople. Fifty years ago this election trophy, well
framed and glazed, adorned the walls of many houses in
Dover. He held his seat for Dover until 1832, when he
was re-elected, but was also elected for Manchester, for
which place he took his seat. He went to the House of
Lords as Baron Sydenham, which peerage is now extinct.
1828 William Henry Trant.
This bye-election took place in February, 1828, to fill
a vacancy caused by the elevation of Mr. Edward Bootle
Wilbraham to the peerage as Baron Skelmersdale. The
candidates were John Halcomb and William Henry Trant,
the latter heading the poll.
William Henry Trant was the second son of Dominick
Trant, of Dunkettle, County Cork.
William IV., 1830- 1837.
In this reign there were two General Elections and one
bye-election.
1830 John Rae Reid and Charles Poulett Thomson.
The dissolution of Parliament on this occasion was
caused by the death of George IV.
Sir John Rae Reid was the son of Mr. Thomas Reid,
of Ewell Grove, Surrey, a London merchant, who had been
Chairman of the Court of East India Directors, and created
a baronet, to which dignity his son, John Rae Reid, had
succeeded. Sir John was a Governor of the Bank of England,
396 ANNALS OF DOVER
and a staunch Tory. Elected for Dover in 1830, he lost
his seat in 1831, but was again elected in 1832, and held it
with great popularity until the dissolution of 1847, when he
retired.
1830 Charles Poulett Thomson.
This was a bye-election in which Mr. C. P. Thomson
was returned unopposed, on being appointed President of
the Board of Trade.
1 831 Charles P. Thomson and Capt. R. H. Stanhope R.N.
This dissolution took place in June, 1831, owing to the
Ministry having been left in a minority in a division on the
Reform Bill. The two Members above-named were in
favour of the Bill, and were returned unopposed.
Captain R. H. Stanhope, R.N., was a member of the
well known Kentish family of that name.
Dover in parliam£nt 397
IV.
ELECTIONS OF THE THIRD PERIOD.
The Third Period in Dover's Parliamentary history
from the enactment of the Reform Bill of 1832 to the
present time, covers a little over eighty years, during which
there were twenty-six elections — six bye-elections and
twenty General Elections. The period is bounded by two
landmarks — the Reform Bill of 1832, at the beginning; and
the Parliament Bill of 1914, at the end.
1832 Charles Poulett Thomson and Sir John Rae Reid.
In this election there were four candidates, and the
votes recorded were as follows : — Poulett Thomson (Liberal),
713; Sir John Rae Reid (Tory), 644; John Halcorab
(Tory), 523; and Captain Stanhope (Liberal), 498.
1833 John Halcomb.
On this occasion there was a casual vacancy caused by
Mr. C. P. Thomson taking his seat for Manchester.
John Halcomb, a barrister, first contested Dover in
1826. A full-sized gilt model of a fighting cock, mounted
on a staff, was the emblem carried before this candidate
in the marchings-out of his followers on the various election
campaigns, from 1826 to 1841, during which period he
fought six elections and was successful in but one. The
gilded bird aptly represented Halcomb's character; he was
a plucky fighter, pleased the popular fancy, raised the
highest expectations, seemed always sure of success, yet, at
the close of the poll, on all occasions except one, the figures
told a different story. In his first contest, of 1826, he had
a majority of the resident Freemen ; by a petition to the
House of Commons he contended that out-dwellers had no
right to vote, and he claimed the seat, but the contention
was not allowed. After his success in 1833, he represented
Dover in Parliament until the dissolution of 1835, when
he for the time retired ; but he again contested the Borough
in 1 84 1, when he had attained the rank of Serjeant-at-Law,
but he was unsuccessful. He died at New Radnor on the
3rd November, 1852, at the age of 62 years.
398 ANNALS OF DOVER
1835 John MInet Fector and Sir John Rae Reid.
In this election there were three candidates, two local
men, Mr. J. M. Fector and Mr. E. R. Rice, as well as
the old Member, Sir John Rae Reid. There was a local
sentiment in favour of returning the two local men, but
" Party " feeling swamped sentiment. Fector headed the
poll, Reid next, and Rice only 21 votes behind.
Mr. John Minet Fector was the son of Mr. Peter Fector,
banker, of Dover. In 181 8, the latter had been pressed to
stand as a candidate for Dover, but declined, remarking
that, if the electors felt inclined, they might extend the
invitation to his son (then an infant) when he came of age.
Dover men did not forget. In 1835, the electors showed
great enthusiasm for Mr. J. M. Fector, returning him as
their representative at the head of the poll. At the next
General Election, in 1837, Dover rejected Mr. Fector, and
elected Mr. E. R. Rice in his room. He afterwards
obtained a seat for Maidstone, with Benjamin Disraeli as
his colleague. Not many years later Mr. Fector transferred
his bank to the National Provincial Bank of England, of
which he was for a time Chairman. He resided for some
years in St. George's Place, Hyde Park, London, where he
died on the 24th February, 1868, at the early age of 56
years. This Dover Member was a grandson of Isaac Minet,
the French Huguenot refugee, who was the founder of the
famous Dover house of Minet and Fector.
Queen Victoria, i 837-1 901.
In this Reign, extending over sixty-four years, there
were nineteen elections at Dover.
1837 Edward Royds Rice and Sir John Rae Reid.
In this election there were three candidates for the
two seats, Fector and Reid, the Members in possession of
the seats at the dissolution, and Rice, the defeated candidate
at the election of 1835. Reid again held his seat, and
Rice took the place of Fector, the votes recorded being: —
Rice, 845; Reid, 829; and Fector 742.
Mr. Edward Royds Rice, like his local opponent, Mr.
J. M. Fector, was a Dover Freeman and a banker. Mr.
Rice was born in a Dover mansion, which occupied the site
of the Burlington Hotel, but during the time that Mr. Rice
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 399
represented Dover in Parliament, from 1837 to 1857, his
residence was Dane Court, Tilmanstone. Mr. Rice during
that twenty years was keenly interested in everything that
occurred in the House of Commons affecting Dover. His
chief anxiety was to see Dover Bay enclosed to form a great
National Harbour, and he had the satisfaction of seeing a
substantial part of it accomplished in the building of the
Admiralty Pier, which now forms the Western Arm of the
great Admiralty Harbour. This Member for Dover died
at Dane Court on the 27th November, 1878, aged 88 years.
1 841 Sir John Rae Reid and Edward Royds Rice.
At this General Election, the two Members for Dover
above-named were re-elected. There were two opposing
candidates, the votes recorded being: — Reid, 1,000; Rice,
960; Halcomb, 536; and Galloway, 281.
1847 Edward Royds Rice and Sir George Clerk.
In this election the candidates were Edward Royds
Rice (Liberal), one of the old Members, who polled 1,104
votes; Sir George Clerk (Liberal-Conservative), 932 votes;
and E. T. Prinsep (Conservative), 897 votes.
Sir George Clerk, Bart., who represented Dover from
1847 to 1852, had been a Member of the House of Commons
fifteen years before he was elected for Dover. His sup-
porters at Dover were called " The Great unbrushed,"
because the deputation that went up to London to invite
him to contest Dover set off at such short notice that they
went up in their working clothes. Sir George Clerk sought
re-election in 1852 and 1857, but was unsuccessful on both
occasions.
1852 Viscount Chelsea and Edward Royds Rice.
In the General Election of 1852 there were three
candidates, Mr. E. R. Rice and Sir George Clerk seeking
re-election, and Viscount Chelsea, a new candidate. At
this election there were, for the first time, five polling places
in different parts of the town, all the pollings having in
previous years taken place in the Market Square. The result
of the poll was: — Viscount Chelsea (Conservative), 1,097;
Rice (Liberal), 8g8 ; and Clerk, 781.
Viscount Chelsea was forty years of age when elected
for Dover, being the eldest son of the Earl of Cadogan. He
held the seat until the dissolution of 1857.
1857 Bernal Osborn and Sir William Russell.
At the General Election of 1857 neither of the old
4o6 Annals of dover
Members (Mr. Rice and Viscount Chelsea) sought re-election.
The Liberals nominated Mr. Bernal Osborn and Sir William
Russell ; and the Conservatives Sir George Clerk (who had
sat in an earlier Parliament for Dover as a Liberal-Con-
servative) and Mr. George W. Hope. For distinction,
these two were called "Old George" and "Young George."
The result of the polls was : — Osborn, 989 ; Russell, 958 ;
Clerk, 695 ; and Hope, 594. In this contest there was a
great deal said about Dover Harbour, Mr. Bernal Osborn
advocating a proposal to place its management on a more
modern basis. The old custom of " chairing " the Members
was at this election abandoned.
Bernal Osborn only represented Dover for two years,
from April, 1857, to April, 1859. He was the Secretary
to the Admiralty, which gave him importance at Dover;
but when he sought re-election he was out of office, and
Dover rejected him.
Sir William Russell had served in the Crimea as
Deputy Assistant Quarter-Master-General. He took his seat
in 1857, but, soon after, proceeded with his regiment to help
to repress the Indian Mutiny.
1859 Sir Henry Leake and William Nichol.
At this General Election both of the old Members
sought re-election, and the above-named came forward as
new candidates in the Conservative interest. The votes
recorded were: — Leake, 931; Nichol, 902; Russell, 788;
and Osborn, 752. Mr. Bernal Osborn, who was at the
bottom of the poll on this occasion, was at the top in the
1857 election, and he alleged bribery as the cause of his
displacement. A petition was presented to the House of
Commons. Six cases of bribery were proved, but as the
successful candidates, according to the evidence, were not
privy to the bribery, the seats were not forfeited.
Sir Henry Leake, K.C.B., at the time of his election,
was a Lord of the Admiralty, which strongly influenced the
Dover electors in his favour.
Mr. William Nichol was a Liverpool merchant, and a
Director of the London and County Bank. He represented
Dover from 1859 to 1865, but did not seek re-election.
1865 Major Alexander Dickson and Charles K. Freshfield.
There were four candidates, Lord Bury and Mr. Eustace
Smith, nominated by the Liberals; and Major Dickson and
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 40l
Mr. Charles K. Freshfield brought forward by the
Conservatives. The votes recorded for them were : —
Dickson (Conservative), 1,027 j Freshfield (Conservative),
1,012; Bury (Liberal), 907; and Smith (Liberal), 901.
Major Alexander George Dickson was 31 years of age
when elected for Dover, and had a connection with the
county by his marriage with Lady North, of the Waldershare
family. He continued to represent the Borough until his
death, which occurred in 1889, but held no political office.
From 1885 to 1889 he was Dover's sole representative in
the House of Commons, the Borough in 1885 having been
reduced to a one-Member constituency.
Mr. Charles Kaye Freshfield, elected for Dover in 1865,
was the son of Mr. James William Freshfield, F.R.S., and
a partner in the weii-known firm of Messrs. Freshfield and
Co., solicitors to the Bank of England. He was an influential
promoter of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. At
the end of his first Parliament he again contested Dover in
1868, when he lost his seat; but was elected in 1874, after
which he held his seat until 1885, when he retired.
1868 Major A. Dickson and George Jessel.
The election at which the above-named Members were
returned was caused by the dissolution on the question of
the Disestablishment of the Irish Church. The two Con-
servative Members were opposed to disestablishment, and
Mr. Jessel was in favour of it, so on that great question
Dover was neutral, having returned two Members pledged
to vote against each other. The votes recorded at the poll
were: — Dickson, 1,453; Jessel, 1,434; Freshfield, 1,379;
and Abrahams (an independent), t,;^. A petition against
the return of Major Dickson was presented, and dealt with
in an Election Court at Dover, but it was found that Major
Dickson was not privy to any corrupt practices, so the
election stood as declared at the close of the poll.
Mr. George Jessel, Q.C., was, soon after the election,
appointed Solicitor-General and knighted; and, in 1873, he
was appointed Master of the Rolls, being the first of the
Jewish race appointed to the Judicial Bench in this country.
In that office he distinguished himself by the righteousness
of his judgments and the ability with which he conducted
the business of his Court. He was considered a great Judge,
and he had to pay the penalty of greatness, for, on the 22nd
February, 1878, he was shot at in Court by a disappointed
402
ANNALS OF DOVER
suitor, when the pistol ball grazed his ear. As Master of
the Rolls, he held office until the 19th March, 1883, when
he resigned owing to ill-health, and two days later he died.
1871 Sir George Jessel.
This was a bye-election on the occasion of Sir George
Jessel being appointed Solicitor-General. In seeking re-elec-
tion he was opposed by Mr. E. W. Barnett. The result of
the polling was: — .Jessel, 1,231; and Barnett, 1,143-
There was a riot and much window-smashing after the result
became known.
1873 Edward William Barnett.
This election, at which Mr. Edward William Barnett
was returned, was to fill a vacancy caused by Sir George
Jessel being appointed to the office of Master of the Rolls.
There was a contest for the seat, Mr. Barnett 's opponent
being Mr. James Staat Forbes, General Manager of the
London, Chatham and Dover Railway, the votes recorded
being: — Barnett, 1,415; and Forbes, 1,094.
Mr. Edward William Barnett was a native of Walsall,
Staffordshire, and was educated at the Grammar School
there. He was a Member for Dover from September, 1873,
to Februar}', 1874, but he did not take his seat. He was a
prospective candidate for the General Election of 1874,
but before the nomination, which took place on the 5th
February, 1874, he withdrew from the contest.
1874 Charles K. Freshfield and Major A. Dickson.
At the General Election at which the above twb were
again returned occurred in Febriwary, 1874. There were
four candidates, and the votes recorded were : — Freshfield,
1,525; Dickson, 1,316; Christopher W^guelin, 1,118;
and Frederick A. Inderwick, Q.C., 1,062. At a later date
Mr. Inderwick was Mayor of the ancient Cinque Ports town
of Winchelsea, and was one of the Barons of the Cinque
Ports at the Coronation of Edward VII.
1880 C. K. Freshfield and Major Dickson.
At this election, which took place in April, 1880, there
was a very stiff contest. The Liberal candidates oppcsing
the above-named Conservatives were the Hon. Philip
Stanhope and Mr. J. C Walker. The votes recorded were:
— Freshfield, 1,7.-^-1; Dickson, 1,701; Stanhope, 1,607;
and Walker, 1,506.
1885 Major A. G. Dickson.
Owing to the effect of the Re-distribution Act, passed
DOVEk IN PARLIAMENT 4O3
in the previous Session, Dover was reduced to a one-
Member constituency. Mr. Freshfield retired, and, for a
time, a Mr. W. J. Pearce was a prospective candidate. He,
too, retired; and Mr. R. Murray Lawes, of Old Park,
contested the seat in the Liberal interest, against Major
Dickson, Conservative. The votes polled were : — Dickson>
2,066; Lawes, 1,418.
1886 Major A. G. Dickson.
In this year a dissolution of Parliament occurred on
the question of Home Rule for Ireland. On that occasion
Major Dickson was returned unopposed.
1889 George Wyndham.
A bye-electijn took place in July, 1889, owing to the
death of Major A. G. Dickson, who had represented the
Borough since 1665. Mr. George Wyndham, who was then
private secretary to Mr. A. J. Balfour, Chief Secretary for
Ireland, was nominated for Dover, and was elected without
opposition.
Mr. George Wyndham was the eldest son of the Hon.
Percy Wyndham. In the year that Mr. George Wyndham
was elected for Dover he married Countess Grosvenor,
fourth daughter of the Earl of Scarborough. After holding
the office of private secretary to the Right Hon. A. J.
Balfour, he became Under-Secretary for War; and from
1900 to 1905 was Chief Secretary for Ireland. He was
re-elected for Dover six times; and in 1902 he became a
Cabinet Minister. He continued to represent Dover until
his death, which took place suddenly in Paris on the 8th
June, 1913, his pohtical connection with Dover having lasted
twenty-four years.
1S92 Ge'orge"' Wyndhim.
In this election Mr. Wyndham was opposed by Major
Eustace G. Edwards, R.A., the votes recorded being: —
Wyndham, 2,231; Edwards, 978.
1895 George Wyndham.
In this election Mr. Wyndham was returned unopposed.
1900 George W^yndham.
At this election, which took place in October, 1900,
during the Boer War, Mr. Wyndham was returned unopposed.
1900 George Wyndham.
This bye-election arose from Mr. Wyndham's accept-
ance of the office of Chief Secretary for Ireland, and he was
again returned unopposed.
404 ANNALS OF DOVER
Edward VII., 1901-1910.
In this Reign there were two General Elections, but
at Dover no new Member was returned.
1906 The Right Hon. George Wyndham.
The General Election of 1906 occurred owing to
Parliament having nearly run its septennial course. At
that time Mr. Wyndham had been in the Cabinet four
years. He was opposed by Mr. R. J. Biyce. The votes
recorded were: — Wyndham, 3,269; Bryce, 1,705.
1 910 (January) George Wyndham.
An appeal to the country was made because the House
of Lords had rejected the Budget Bill. Mr. Wyndham was
opposed by Mr. Montague Bradley, of Dover. The votes
recorded were: — Wyndham, 3,330; and Bradley, 1,758.
Mr. Montague Bradley was knighted during the following
year.
George V. — Whom God Preserve.
In this Reign there have been two elections at Dover.
1 9 ID (December) George Wyndham.
This was Mr. W'yndham's last election. He was
returned unopposed. The appeal to the country on this
occasion arose because the House of Lords refused their
assent to the Parliament Bill, which restricted the veto of
the House of Lords.
1913 Viscount Duncannon.
A casual vacancy arose in the representation of Dover
by the death of Mr. George Wyndham. Viscount Duncannon
was elected unopposed on the 23rd June, 1913.
Viscount Vere Brabazon Ponsonby Duncannon, who was
elected for Dover as a Unionist in June, 191 3, was born on
October 27th, 1880. He was educated at Harrow and at
Trinity College, Cambridge, taking his B.A. In 1910 he
was elected for Cheltenham as a Unionist, but he lost the
seat at the General Election of December, 1910. He held
a commission in the Suffolk Yeomanry, and during the
great European ^Var, which began in 19 14, he joined his
regiment, and during 191 5 he took part in the Gallipoli
Campaign.
DOVER IN PARLIAMENT 405
V.
RETROSPECT OF REPRESENTATION.
Looking back through this narrative of the repre-
sentation of Dover in ParUament, one regrets the gaps
that are left in the early parts of the record; yet, there is
cause for congratulation that so much has been preserved,
seeing how liable such information was to be left incomplete
or to be carelessly stored during the disturbed times of the
Wars of the Barons and the Roses. It will have been observed
that there are no Dover returns earlier than the year 1366,
yet there is no doubt but that Dover was continuously
represented from January, 1265, when Simon de Montford
convened the first regular assembly of Burgesses and Com-
moners. It is said that on that occasion, owing to the
special services which the Cinque Ports had rendered to the
cause of the Barons, each of the Five Ports were asked to
send four of their burgesses to represent them. All those
early Cinque Ports returns are lost; therefore, there is lack
of conclusive evidence as to how many Burgesses of
Parliament were sent up from Dover in the Thirteenth Cen-
tury. In 1366, when Dover's regular records of representation
begin, it was the custom for the writs for all the
Cinque Ports to be sent, en bloc, to the Lord Warden
at Dover Castle, and it was supposed to be owing to
that arrangement that the returns are available from
that year. That, however, is doubtful. In fact, there
is a record that the King's writs were sent to Robert
Kendall, Lord Warden at Dover Castle, as early as the i8th
November, 1325, directing him to issue mandates for the
election of two Barons of discretion to represent each of
the Cinque Ports at Westminster. This fact is avouched by
Sir Francis Palgrave's Collection of Parliamentary Writs,
and from similar previous records there is reliable evidence
that Dover was regularly represented in Parliament from 1265
to 1366, but the returns for that period are lost.
The ParUamentary writs in Sir Francis Palgrave's collec-
tion, for the same period, afford interesting evidence of the
representation of the rural parishes round Dover, in the
406 ANNALS OF DOVER
persons of the Abbots of St. Radigund's Abbey and Langdon
Abbey. Those Abbots received writs, not only for personal
attendance in ParUament, but also calling upon them to lend
money and raise armed forces. For instance, Sir Francis
Palgrave's collection mentions: "The Abbot of St. Radigund's
summoned to Parliament at Northampton, August 26th,
1307." "The Abbot of St. Radigund's summoned to a Par-
liament at Westminster at Easter, 1309." The same Abbot was
summoned to Parliaments at London in 131 1, and at Lincoln
in 1312. This Abbot, in March, 1315, was summoned to
attend Parliament at Westminster, and was asked to furnish
from the Abbey chest forty marks, to aid the King in the
war against the Scots. In February, 1322, the same Abbot
was summoned by writ to raise as many men-at-arms and
foot soldiers as he could to march against the rebels,
adherents of the Earl of Lancaster, and to muster at
Coventry. In the year 1315, the Abbot of Langdon Abbey
was summoned by writ to attend the Parliament at West-
minster, and to lend from the Abbey funds fifty marks, to
aid the war against the Scots.
This sort of representation of this locality, by Bishops,
Abbots, and Barons, in the great Council of the Realm,
which had existed from Saxton times, was continued alongside
Simon de Montford's Parliament of Citizens, Burgesses, and
Commoners.
The actual list of 137 Members for Dover, given in the
foregoing narrative, would have been swollen to quite double
the number if we had been able to fill in the blanks left in
the Reigns of the rrst three Tudor Icings, and the Wars of
the Barons and the Roses. The 137, however, may be taken
as an important example of ihe representation of an ancient
English Town and Port in the great Council of the Realm.
SECTION IX.
SOCIAL HISTORY.
CONTENTS :
I. Roads : Ancient and Modern.
II. Locomotion.
III. Inns : Old and New.
IV. Commerce and Industry.
V. State Establishments.
VI. The Pilots.
VII. Dover Schools.
VIII. The Poor.
IX. A Concluding Retrospect.
SECTION NINE.
SOCIAL HISTORY.
I.
ROADS: ANCIENT AND MODERN.
From the South into the North takith Erminge Strete,
From the Est into the West goth Ikeneklc Strete,
From South-Est to North-West, that is Su'mdel Strete,
From Dover into Chestre goth Watlynge Strete,
The forthe of these is most of alle.
— Robert of Gloucester.
The fir.st hard roads in England were made by the
Romans. Before their time the ways were grass tracks
through thickets, over moors, downs and hills. All the
Roman roads leading from Dover into the interior of Kent
were on the hills, where they can still be traced. Some
modern writers have indicated the Roman Watling Street,
leaving Dover at Biggin Gate, and proceeding towards Can-
terbury along the present London Road, via Charlton and
Buckland. They forget that the estuary of the River Dour
filled the valley in the Roman time, the roads being then
on the hills. From the north of the Castle, the Roman
road shot out along the eastern up-lands, one branch of it
turning in a direct line to Richborough Castle, its main
branch keeping straight along the rear of Old Park, then
by the side of Waldershare Park, and onward to Siberts-
wold. These two roads can be traced still, their main
outlines having survived the changes of twenty centuries.
From Dover, to the west, the Richborough Road crossed the
Dour Valley, and, passing up Stapping Dune (now called
Stepping Down), continued on the hill-tops through Hougham
4IO ANNALS OF DOVER
and Capel, keeping to the hills that skirt Folkestone Plain,
and making a Junction with Stone Street to Studdfall Castle,
near Shepway Cross.
In Saxon and Norman times, when a new Dover sprang
up on the margin of the Dour, the road out of Dover still
clung to the eastern uplands, departing from the harbour near
St. James's Church, continuing along the eastern uplands;
but as the valley became dotted with villages at Charlton,
Buckland, River, Ewell and I.ydden, a valley road passed
through them; but travelling on the hills being best and
safest, from each village winding roads climbed the eastern
hills — that through Cow Pastures from Charlton; another
called the Green Lane from Buckland ; Whitfield Hill from
River and Ewell; and Coldred Hill from Lydden; all of
which joined the main Roman Road that passed over Siberts-
wold and Woolwich Green to the ancient Watling Street
over Barham Downs.
The present line of the London Road over Grabble Hill
was made about the Sixteenth Century; but the road over
Buckland Ford (where the bridge now is) became the King's
highway still later, the London Road in Elizabethan times
having crossed the river at a ford just below Charlton Church,
following Barton Road and Dndd's Lane to Grabble Hill.
After the Roman occupation ceased, their roads from
Dover to Canterbury were used by Saxons, Danes and
Normans ; but the people of Dover did not travel inland
m.uch in those times — usually, their paths were on the sea.
When the organisation of the Cinque Ports had linked
together the maritime communities, the local routes of travel
were usually east and west. The summonses to attend the
Courts of Shepway and Brotherhood w'ere in most cases
answered, in the m_ost natural way for mariners, by sailing
coastwise ; while others who were not mariners followed the
ancient roads already mentioned to Shepway Cross or
Romney.
SOCIAL HISTORY
II.
LOCOMOTION.
411
The earliest methods of locomotion had not been much
improved on in the Sixteenth Century. When Queen Eliza-
beth made her historic progress through Kent, starting from
Greenwich Park on the 14th July, 1573, Her Majesty and
her suite did not arrive on Folkestone Plain until August
15th. That gay and glittering cavalcade, consisting of the
Queen and her attendant ladies and knights. Archbishop
Parker and his train of follovv'ers, and the Lord Warden
Cobham with the Barons of the Cinque Ports, was so long
that when the leaders of it were at Dover descending from
the Western Heights by Cowgate into Queen Street, the
rear of the procession was still toiling up Folkestone Hill.
It was a grand show, and, in honour to the Queen, it was
largely made up of ladies mounted on chargers with rich
pilUon cloths of lace and embroidery. The whole company
consisted of about a thousand great personages on horseback,
and upwards of a thousand two-wheeled waggons drawn by
six horses each — the horse-power that was necessary indicating
the nature of the roads at that time. Lord Burleigh (who
was one of the company) has left it on record that the road
by which the Queen approached Dover was as rough and
dangerous as at the Peak in Derbyshire. Those wheeled
vehicles in the Queen's procession were samples of the
lumbering carriages in which great persons began to go
about during Queen Elizabeth's Reign; but the day of
stage-coach travelling between Dover and London did not
dawn until the Eighteenth Century, and then it was seldom
that a journey from London to Dover was completed in one
day. About the middle of the Eighteenth Century attempts
to attain greater speed was made by the coachbuilders, and in
1772 a Frenchman, named Grosley, has recorded that he
travelled from Dover to London in one day, in a coach for
four passengers and drawn by six horses. The name for this
novelty in speed was " The Flying Machine," and the cost
of the journey was one guinea each passenger. In those
days wealthy people travelled to Dover in their own carriages
and took them across the Channel in the Packet Boats. A
412 ANNALS OF DOVER
well known traveller, Miss Berry, gives an interesting glimpse
of the Dover Road in 1802. In her diary she wrote: —
" Monday, March 8th. — Left London at 11.30 a.m. ; arrived
at Sittingboume at seven in the evening. The road from
London to Dartford was so very deep in stiff mud that four
horses could hardly draw the coach (though by no means
heavy) at more than a foot-pace for several miles together.
No great road in England is so tedious to travel as this to
Dover; the stages are long, the road continually up and
down hills, several of which are long and severe, and the
postillions in all the stages stop at a half-way house to give
the horses water. To go from I>ondon to Dover in one day
would, at the best time of the year, be a very long day's
journey." She mentions that she arrived at Dover on the
second day too late for the tide.
The Mail Coaches (as distinct from the ordinary stage-
coaches) began to run regularly betwe-en London and Dover
in 1786. In 1799 a stage-coach left Dover every morning
at four o'clock for London ; and a mail-coach every evening
at seven o'clock, the fares on the stage-coaches from Dover
to London being then 30/- inside and 16/- outside. The
only regular road communication between Dover and London
for goods was Rutley's old Dover Waggon, which left
Snargate Street, Dover, every Monday, and returned every
Saturday. The Dover and London Hoy did more in the
way of goods transport than the old Dover waggon. When
Heme Bay Pier was opened, in 1832, a coach from Dover
ran there daily, whence there was a steamboat to
London, the fare all the way being 10/6. There were also
coaches between Dover and the various towns in Kent,
inland and coastwise, the last on the road being that from
Dover to Deal, which disappeared soon after the opening
of the Dover and Deal Railway, in 1882.
Although coaches lingered, their knell was struck when
the South Eastern Railway was opened from London to
Dover, 7th February, 1844. The coming railway was first
seriously discussed at a Dover " Common Hall " in June,
1834, but ten years passed before the railway was opened
to Dover. The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was
opened to Dover in 1861. That railway improved our com-
munications with East and North Kent, as w'ell as giving
more trains to London.
SOCIAL HISTORY 4I3
A glance at inter-mural locomotion will carry us back
to pre-railway days. When ancient Dover was a walled
town, and even later, when its limits were bounded by the
sea, the hills, and the Maison Dieu, very few facilities for
intermural locomotion were needed; but when the town
became a resort for wealthy people, who came here for sea
bathing, towards the close of the Eighteenth Century, there
was a demand for wheeled chairs on the Sea Front, and for
light carriages to take country drives. Those carriages were
called fiy-coaches, Britzkas and Clarences. The Clarence
made its appearance at Dover about 1820, having been
named after the Duke of Clarence, then a visitor here, who
for his pleasure had a four-wheeled carriage made for one
person, with a box-seat for the driver. The business of
letting carriages for hire in Dover began about 1830, and
a local Act of that year gave the Pavement Commissioners
authority to make bye-laws for their regulation and to grant
licences to the owners and drivers.
As Dover extended up the valley, the need was felt in
the town of further faciUties for locomotion, but, with the
exception of omnibuses to and from the hotels and the
railway stations, there was no further development until 1881,
when Back's Omnibus commenced running between the South
Eastern Railway Station and Buckland Bridge, and that was
the forerunner of the electric Municipal trams, which ccm-
menced running in 1897.
Bicycles, in their original form, were first seen in the
streets of Dover soon after their use had been demonstrated
in Paris at the Exhibition of 1868, tricycles soon following;
but some years earlier velocipedes, differing from the earlier
tricycles, were built by Mr. Sawyer, of Dover. The motor
car was first seen on the Dover roads on the 15th September,
1896— a year in advance of the Dover electric trams; but
at least two years passed before the motor car became a
famiUar object. Motor lorries for heavy transport, and
taxi-cabs to compete with hackney carriages next came on the
scene.
The latest novelty in locomotion seen at Dover, one
that ignored the old roads and routes, was the aeroplane.
The Straits of Dover had been crossed by Blanchard and
Tefferies in their balloon on 7th January, 1785, and the fir.st
aeroplane to cross the Straits was Bleriot's which flew from
414 ANNALS OF DOVER
Calais to the Northfall Meadow, Dover, on Sunday, July
25th, 1909, the place where it landed being marked by a
memorial. Since then aeroplane flights across the Channel
have become common. In the Guilford Lawn, Dover, is
erected a memorial of the Hon. C. Rolls, who was the first
to make a non-stop flight from Dover to Calais and back.
This feat was performed on the 2nd June, 1910; but,
unfortunately, he lost his life a month later when flying at
Bournemouth.
SOCIAL HISTORY 415
III.
INNS: OLD AND NEW.
Inns are the handmaids of locomotion. When the stage-
coaches were in full swing roadside inns were a necessity ;
but when the coaches went off the roads at the opening of
railways, those old inns suffered, and only a few of them
remained to reap the advantages to be derived from the
cyclist and motor-car traffic. Those old inns afforded a warm
welcome to the travellers of their day, but a different style
of comfort on the road is now required.
The accommodation for travellers at Dover in ancient
and modern times is a fruitful topic. Owing to Dover's
position on the Continental Passage route, there have been
inns here from a very early period ; and they became more
necessary after the Guest House of Dover Priory and the
Hospital of the Maison Dieu ceased to entertain strangers.
These religious houses had not been giving much hospitality
to travellers for a good many years before the Reformation,
consequently the inns and victualling houses were numerous
in Dover all through the Reign of Henry VIII. Near the
close of his reign, in the year 1545, special regulations were
made that all inns and victualhng houses in this town should
have signs painted on boards, one foot square, hung over
the hall doors, so that the public might know which were
public-houses and which not. All innkeepers and victuallers
had to give a bond of ;^io, which was immediately forfeited
in cases of disorder in any of the houses. The order as to
the painted signboards v/as enforced with but two exceptions,
it being mentioned that " The Lion " and the "Arms of
England " had had their special signs from time out of mind,
therefore they were not required to alter them. In the records
of Dover, as found in the Egerton MSS. in the British
Museum, the list of victualling houses and inns in Dover at
that time, and the beds they contained, were as follows: —
St. James's Street.
Jasper Jure — " The Plough " (three beds).
Francis Serlis — "The Angel" (three beds).
Rowland Edridge — "The Swan" (three beds).
Roger Fisher — " The King's Arms " (three beds).
4l6 ANNALS OF DOVER
Johanna Barber (widow) — "The Signe of Jesus" (three beds).
Richard Malbine — " The Town Arms " (three beds).
John Stockham — " The Black Bull " (three beds).
The Lane Next the Mayor's
(Probably that was Dolphin Lane, as the Mayor was a sheep
farmer and brewer.)
Alys Rockingham (widow) — " The Porter " (three beds).
Uppwall (Chapel Street).
George Matthew — " The Angel " (six beds).
Anthony Rede — " The Crown and Key " (six beds).
William Price — "Adam and Eve " (three beds).
WiUiam Lome — " The Black Anchor " and " The Corn
Sheaf " (eight beds).
Biggin Street.
Andrew Davy — " St. Andrew's Cross " (three beds).
Thomas Jaxon — " The Cock " (nhie beds).
Simon Fry — " The Anchor " (two beds).
John Miles — " The Lilly Pot " (eight beds).
Richard Wilmington — " The Greyhound " (four beds).
Thomas Everedge — " The Helmet " (four beds).
Margery Wilshire — " The Broad Axe " (three beds).
Edward Foster — " The Ship " (four beds).
Richard Rogers — " The Sun " (four beds).
Johanna Vaughan (widow) — " The Crown " (eight beds).
Roger Bund — " The Half Moon " (three beds).
James Dowell — " The Unicorn " (three beds).
William Dawson — " The Goat's Head " (three beds).
Cuthbert Digeson — " The Tailor's Shears " (four beds).
The inns were not so numerous as the victualling
houses. The following is the list of them, but it does not
mention the streets in which they were situated : —
" The Rose " (twelve beds and stabling) — Thomas Foxley.
" The Maidenhead " (seven beds and stabling) — Dawson
Parnell.
" The Ship " (six beds and staViling) — Hugh Brackett.
" The Angel " (six beds) — William Green.
" The Spread Eagle " (three beds and stabling) — Hugh
Fludd.
" The Arms of England " (eight beds and stabling — John
Bowlle (Mayor).
" The Bear " (four beds and stabling) — John Gilbert.
SOCIAL HISTORY 417
" The Lion " (sixteen beds and stabling) — William Fisher.
" The Woolsack " (ten beds and stabling) — Thomas Vittery.
" The Senior " (eight beds and stabling) — Richard Elham.
In the reign of Queen EUzabeth, innkeepers and
victuallers were prohibited from going to the seaside on the
arrival of Passage Boats to procure guests. In the Stuart
times the " Shakespeare " Inn, then called " The George,"
was estabhshed. " The Cock " Inn and " The King's
Head " (still existing in the Pier) were established in the
Reign of James I. " The Ship Tavern," " The London "
Hotel, and '' The Yorke " Hotel, all notable houses for
travellers, flourished in the Pier District at the close of the
Eighteenth Century. To " The Ship " the Duke of WeUing-
ton was carried on the shoulders of Dover Burgesses when
he landed at Dover after the Peace of 1814, and when His
Grace had been set down in his room he ordered the landlady
to provide for them all an unlimited supply of buttered
toast. " The Yorke " Hotel is mentioned in Miss Berry's
Journal as " a cheerful house overlooking the sea." At the
" London " Hotel, in Council House Street, Madame
Bonaparte stayed in 1805, when, owing to a family quarrel,
she was not allowed to land in France. " The Ship " Hotel
was kept in later years by Mr. John Birmingham, who was
afterwards the well-known host of the "Lord Warden"
Hotel.
Inns and ale-houses very rapidly increased in Dover in
the early part of the Nineteenth Century. At the annual
Licensing Sessions in the year 1837 twenty-one new licences
were granted; and in 1846 the public-houses averaged one
for every one hundred of the inhabitants. The tide of travel
through Dover very largely increased during the latter part
of the Nineteenth and the first decade of the Twentieth
Century ; but, owing to the hurried way in which Continental
travellers have been coming and going in recent years,
without much waiting for wind and tide, a smaller propor-
tion of them sought the hospitality of the inns of Dover.
4l8 ANNALS OF DOVER
IV.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY.
The River Dour, with its corn mills, oil seed crushing
mills and paper mills, was for many centuries a great aid to
Dover commerce and industry. In later years steam has
largely taken the place of water power, and would have done
so to a much larger extent but for the fact that the importa-
tion of coal was discouraged by coal dues, imposed by a local
Act of Parliament in 1778.
Ship-building, sail-making, and rope-spinning were
profitable occupations here from generation to generation,
but natural causes have brought them to an end, and no
local effort could have galvanised those old callings into life
again ; yet there was considerable compensation when those
occupations were expiring, afforded by the opening of the
Dover Packet Yard for the repair and re-fitting of the steam
ships of the Passage.
A building boom about the same time increased the
volume of the weekly earnings in Dover. This arose from
the building of the new residences and lodging-houses on the
margin of Dover Bay, as well as in many other parts of the
town. The benefit was largely augmented by the fact that
nearly all the building materials were locally obtained — the
lime burnt from the c'lr.lk cliffs ; the timber cut from the
surrounding country estates ; arA the bricks made in Dover
brickfields. Local lime and timber had been used for
centuries; but, p^-ior to the I'eginning of the Nineteenth
Century, bricks and tiles were imported from Holland, and
it is recorded that the bricks used in the building of New
Bridge, in 1800, were brought from Greys, in Essex. The
first local bricks were made on Barham Downs, burnt with
wood; and the first Dover bricks were made at Dodd's
Lane, Buckland, about the time that the Sea Front houses
were built. As the years broucjht changes, the importation
of timber from the North of Europe caused more money to
go out of the locality, and the evil was increased when the
timber was imported in planed boards, shaped pieces, and
even manufactured for doors and windows. The local timber
SOCIAL HISTORY 4I9
merchants, by installing expensive machinery, tried to compete
against the importation of the manufactured timber, but it
was not found possible to do it successfully.
With the decay of old industries and the fluctuation of
new ones, it is a marvel that the Dover of 1801, with a
population of 7,709, should have increased to 41,794
inhabitants in 1901. The increase arose partly from the
policy already mentioned of using, as far as possible, home-
grown and home-made materials ; another cause has been
the great works carried on by the State at Dover, from the
building of the Admiralty Pier until the present time ; and
probably the greatest cause of all has been the advantages
derived from Dover being a garrison town, a seaport, a
seaside resort, and the principal station on the Passage to
the Continent.
420 ANNALS OF DOVER
V.
STATE ESTABLISHMENTS.
State establishments there have been in Dover ever
since it became an organised community. The MiUtary estab-
lishments have existed here longer than the Castle ; and
the Navy had its cradle here in the Saxon Period.
The State Custom House, which is now located on the
Custom House Quay, is the lineal successor of the one which
Roger of Amsterdam built over the water, somewhere between
the Market Place and the seashore, previous to the com-
pilation of the Domesday Book. In the Reign of Queen
Elizabeth a new Custom House, worthy of the Port, was
built, not far from the original Norman Custom House, on
a place called The Mount, where a thoroughfare called
New Bridge now crosses the River Dour. A new Custom
House was built on the Quay in the Pier District in the
year 1682, by Sir Arnold Breams, who was then the
farmer of the customs at Dover. That house having existed
124 years, a new Custom House was built by the Crown,
a little north-west of the old one, on the Custom House
Quay. That was opened in 1807, an-l is still used as the
Dover Custom House.
Dover's earliest Post OfRce was at the Custom House,
at the top of Snargatc Street, in 1673 — not because the
building was really a Post Office, but because Mr.
Houseman, who was the head of the Custom House, also
acted as the manager of the Dover " Letter Office." The
mails were then farmed by the Lords Arlington and Berkeley,
one Roger Whitely being their deputy. At that time Mr.
Rouse was the Dover Postmaster, but not in the same sense
that we understand the term. What local letters there were
had to be dealt with by Mr. Ilousman at the Letter Office,
and Mr. Rouse's duty, as Postmaster, was to provide, or
arrange for, saddle-horses to c.nrry the mails by six stages to
London. A few years later the Duke of York, the Lord War-
den, became the farmer of the mails, and then there was some
hustling, a Government official named Sawtell being sent
down "to haste Mr. Rouse in his duties," because "the
SOCIAL HISTORY 42I
Dover letters were expected at Court every Sunday." The
Dover Letter Office was, about the year 1678, transferred
to StrOnd Street, owing to the Clerk of the Passage being
made the Master of the Dover Letter Office. The Dover
Post Office seems to have remained in or about Strond Street
for above 120 years; and from 1800 to i860 it was in the
lower part of Snargate Street, next door to the present
sub-Post Office there. In i860, the head office was removed
to the bottom of Northampton Street, and remained there
until it was removed, in 1893, to the terra cotta fronted
building in King Street; which, owing to a deficiency in
internal accommodation, was abandoned, and a new Post
Office opened in Biggin Street in November, 1914.
432 ANNALS OF DOVER
VI.
THE PILOTS.
The Dover Pilots — first Cinque Ports, and now Trinity
Pilots — have long formed an important element in the social
life of Dover. They were called Cinque Ports Pilots,
because, for nearly four centuries, their organisation was
controlled by the Court of Lodemanage of the Cinque Ports,
over which the Lord Warden presided.
The piloting of merchant ships to the Thames and
across the Channel to the Dutch ports became a regular
occupation before the Reign of Henry VIII. Dover mariners
took up that business on their own account ; but the Lord
Warden found it to be necessary to regulate the organisation,
so as to ensure that the pilots were properly qualified and
that they made uniform charges for their services. In 1526,
Sir Edward Guildeford, the Lord Warden, established the
Trinity House of the Cinque Ports, about the same time
that the Trinity Houses of Deptford, Hull and Newcastle
were formed ; but there was no need for the Trinity House
of the Cinque Ports to have a charter, because it was
authorised under their general charter. In course of time
the term, Trinity House of the Cinque Ports, dropped out
of general use, because the pilots' affairs were regulated by
the ancient Court of Lodemanage, which continued to
control the Cinque Ports Pilots until the death of the Duke
of Wellington.
The Court of I-odemanage was first regularly organised
for the control of the Pilots in the year 1526, and the first
enrolment of Pilois was made on the 26th February in that
year, when fourteen candidates from the Port of Dover were
licensed, one from Deal, and two from Margate. Most of
the Dover pilots were Jurats of the Corporation, and some
had filled the office of Mayor of Dover. More lodesmen
were from time to time licensed, and the Court ordered that
four substantial men should be wardens. Sir Edward Guilde-
ford, the Lord \\'arden, and the four wardens formed the
Court, and framed the bye-laws for the regulation of the
fellowship. Their successors in oflfice made many other
SOCIAL HISTORY 423
regulations, forming a continuous series from 1526 to 1724.
At the latter date the substance of the various regulations
was embodied in a code, which was authorised by Act of
Parliament. One of the regulations was that the fines
inflicted on the Pilots were to be used, half for the repair
of Dover Castle and half for the repair of St. Martin's Mill;
and, after the Reformation, the second half was for the
repair of the old Wike. In 1590, it was decreed that once
a year the Lodesmen should take a boat and examine the
Channel from the South Foreland to the Nore, and report
alterations in depth and other changes. These records of
soundings were afterwards made annually. One of the bye-
laws formed under the new Act of Parliament required that
a certain number of the Pilots should be always cruising at
sea, except in very bad weather; but, in 1730, a Look-Out
House for Pilots was erected on Cheeseman's Head (where
the Admiralty Pier now leaves the shore), and that, instead
of cruising, the Pilots next on turn should watch for ships
there. In 1735, ^^ ^^^ further ordered that, in addition to
the Dover Look-Out House, the Pilots should regularly
cruises in three sections — the Dover Pilots as far west as the
Red Fall, near Folkestone ; the Deal Pilots as far west as
the South Foreland ; and the Thanet Pilots in their own
bays as far as the North Foreland, the whole of the sections
being controlled by the Court of Lodemanage at Dover.
The Pilots resident at Dover fonned by far the larger
proportion of the fellowship, and they had a separate fund,
to which they contributed to provide themselves with sick
pay and superannuation allowances as early as the year 1648.
At that time they invested ^180 in purchasing a small estate
at Hesling Wood, Napchester; but in 1689 they sold it to
the owner of Waldershare, and bought half an acre of land
under the cliff above Snargate Street, where they built a
look-out, from which they had a good view, and a short
cut to the Harbour. The early Pilots were supposed to be
all Churchmen, for it was ordered, in 1682, that all
Lodesmen, Wardens or Pilots found at a conventicle or a
dissenters' place of worship should be suspended. In 1700,
the Dover Pilots built a gallery for their own use across the
west end of St. Mary's Church, and paid ^2c for a faculty
authorising the structure.
The Court of Lodemanage, as re-constructed by an
ordnance of William III., consisted of the Lord Warden,
424 ANNALS OF DOVER
the Lieutenant of Dover Castle, the Mayors of Dover and
Sandwich, and the Captains of Deal, Walmer and Sandown
Castles, but the regulations which permitted the Pilots to
elect their Master and Wardens was revoked by George I.
The last Court of Lodemanage was held by the Duke of
Wellington, Lord Warden, on the 21st October, 1851, at
St. James's Church, Dover. Before the time for the next
annual Court Day the great Lord Warden was dead ; and
within two years the Pilots of the ancient Cincfue Ports
Trinity House had been re-organised under the Master and
Brethren of Trinity House, Deptford. All the Pilots who
were licensed by the Court of Lodemanage are now dead;
but the Cinque Ports' Pilots, although now called Trinity
Pilots, are still treated as a separate body under the Deptford
Trinity House, their number being now about one hundred.
The Pilots, since 1891, have cruised in steam cutters, and
they have their officers and pilot houses as of yore. At
Dover the Pilots have long formed an important section of
the community ; and if in the larger Dover of to-day they
are not so conspicuous as in ages past, as long as compulsory
pilotage continues they will be an interesting element in the
maritime fraternity of this ancient Cinque Port.
SOCIAL HISTORY 425
VII.
DOVER SCHOOLS.
There were, no doubt, Schools in Dover before the
Sixteenth Century ; but the first record of one is in the
minutes of the Common Council, where, under date 20th
March, 1616, it is mentioned that " The Mayor and Jurats
held fit that ;^8 per annum should be paid to a school
master, and that in respect thereof he should, gratis, teach
six poor children of the Town." The school master's name
was Robert Udney, and he was permitted by the Corporation
to keep School in the old Court Hall, and he had a con-
venient chamber there in which to lodge. Udney was the
assistant to the Rev. John Graye, Minister of St. Mary's
Church. When Mr. Graye resigned, Mr. Udney obtained
the curacy of Hawkinge, and he sub-let the School to
somebody else, which displeased the Corporation, as appears
from a minute of the Common Council, in 1620, thus: —
" This assembly was informed that whereas Mr. Robert
Udney, school master, having heretofore had leave at an
assembly here holden, to keep School in the old Court Hall
and had a chamber there to lodge, and that of late he hath
taken upon himself to let the same to whom he thinketh
meet, which this assembly taketh in evil part ; and there-
fore doth order that the Chamberlains do forthwith give
him warning to remove from thence at the Feast of the
Annunciation of the Virgin Mary next coming, and, at the
now request of Mr. John Reading, Minister and Preacher
of St. Mary's, of the said Town, that if he can procure a
meet and sufficient school master to teach in this Town,
and one that may be helping to him in his ministry, that
such school master shall have the use of the said old Court
Hall, there to teach in such sort as the said Mr. Udney
had the same, without any rent thereof to be paid."
The School was carried on during the next eight years
under the auspices of the Corporation; and in 1628 it was
sold to a Mr. John Thompson. Whether the School was
kept open continuously after the last-mentioned date is not
definitely known, but there is a tradition that a similar
426 ANNALS OF DOVER
school was kept in one of the old ecclesiastical buildings
between the Market Place and Queen Street until tl>e Dover
Charity School was founded in that part of Queen Street in
1789. In the interval there were other Schools. In the
Autumn of 172 1, Mr. Henry Furness, when he became
Member of Parliament for Dover, purchased two houses and
founded a Free School for Dover boys. Fifteen years later
Mr. John Trevanion, M.P., opened a School for fifty Dover
boys. That was in the Pier District, and probably that
locality was selected because the old School started by
Robert Udney still existed in Queen Street. Mr. John
Jackson, who succeeded Mr. Trevanion as M.P., in 1806,
carried on the School in the Pier until 181 8. Meanwhile,
the old Udney School, which became the Dover Charity
School in 1789, and had been carried on near the bottom of
Queen Street — probably still in the old Court Hall — was,
in 1820, removed higher up the street into a new building
on the other side. At that time an effort was made to
accommodate more children, to make up for the closing of
the Pier School, so as to make it a School for the whole
Town, and annual sermons were preached in St. Mary's and
St. James's Churches, when large collections were made for
its support. In the new Queen Street School there was
accommodation for 200 boys and 200 girls, but even
then infants were excluded ; therefore, it became necessary
at that time to start Infant Schools, both in the Town
and in the Pier. (^ueen Street School continued to
be supported as a Town Charity School until the day of
Government grants, which did not fully dawn until 1862. In
that year the Privy Council made arrangements for local
examinations, and made payments by results. Since then
the establishment in Queen Street has been a public
Elementary School 3 and, in 1870, it was united, by deed,
with the National Education Society, and classed as a
National School. Meanwhile, Infants' Schools had been
opened by the help of St. Mary's Parish in the Mission Hall;
by Messrs. Finnis and Sons at East Cliff ; and by the
liberality of the Minets in the Pier. In 1835. the British
School was opened in the Pier to accommodate 500 children,
and it was continued until 1885. In 1848 St. James's
School was opened, at a cost of ^1,310, and has since been
twice enlarged. In 1847, Holy Trinity School was built,
and Christ Church School in the same year. At Charlton
SOCIAL HISTORY 427
a small School for eighty children had been built in the
Churchyard in 1S41, and that had to serve the parish until
Granville Street School was built in 1875. The first Day
School in Buckland was opened by the \\ esleyan Methodists
in their present Schoolroom in 1839, but it was discontinued
as a Day School in 1842, when a Buckland Parish School,
a small wooden building, was opened on land, now used as a
cemetery, beyond the Church. A more substantial School
was built on the river side a little below the bridge, which
was used until i860, when the Buckland Schools in London
Road were built, at a cost of ^1,320, supplied by a Govern-
ment grant. The Roman CathoUc School, in the Maison
Dieu Road, was built in 187 1; and most of the Schools
were enlarged, and new ones built in Tower Hamlets after
the passing of the Education Act of 1870, to avoid the
establishment of a School Board for Dover. The School
building effort was made by an organisation called the Dover
School Managers' Association. That organisation succeeded
in its aim until the Education Act of 1902 was passed, when
the voluntary principle was strained to breaking point, but
the Church of England Schools Company raised funds by
which Schools were built in Elms Vale and Barton Road ;
and when soon afterwards the Municipal Education Com-
mittee took over the responsibility for Elementary Education,
under the Act of 1902, the efforts of those who had provided
the existing Schools were recognised by allowing them still
to take part in the management if they continued to meet
the expense of keeping-up the fabrics. After about ten years'
working under the Education Act of 1902, there were 6,444
scholars in the Elementary Schools of the Borough, of which
4,272 attended the pre-existing Denominational Schools, and
2,172 attended Schools provided by the Town Council.
There are also in Dover two Secondary Schools, [iro-
vided by the Kent County Council ; about twenty private
adventure Schools ; as well as Dover College, one of the
Public Schools of the Kingdom, which has a large estab-
lishment on the site of the ancient Dover Priory, where it
has been successfully carried on for about fifty years.
428 ANNALS OF DOVER
VIII.
THE POOR.
The care of the Poor was, in ancient times, a religious
duty enjoined by the laws of the realm. In Dover, as in
other places, the religious houses made distributions of food
to the needy. Henry VIII. was responsible for the closing
of the Priory and the Hospitals of St. Bartholomew and the
Maison Dieu, and, at the same time that King gave his
assent to a law which required Churchwardens and two others,
in every parish, to make collections for the Poor on Sundays,
so that there might be no necessity for them to go a-begging.
That statutory provision, of course, had to be observed in
the Dover parishes, and, at the same time, the ancient
Dover Almshouse was re-organised by the Corporation, the
Mayor and two of the Jurats being the Master and Wardens.
At that time the Almshouse of the Municipality was moved
from the ancient structure which was built over the river,
between St. Mary's and St. James's parishes, to other
premises in Queen Street, and it is presumed that the Poor
Relief of the two parishes continued to be distributed from
that old Almshouse for a century or two longer. As the
population increased, it became necessary for both parishes
to have Poor-houses. The Poor Law arrangements in Dover
during the Stuart times are not recorded ; but early in the
Eighteenth Century St. Mary's parish had a large Poor-house
on the west side of Limekiln Street, the building being rented
from the Corporation by St. Mary's Vestry; and that con-
tinued to be used until 1795. St. James's Parish, during
the same period, had a Poor-house in Woolcomber Street,
where able-bodied people who wanted relief were set to work
at wool-combing. Outdoor relief was paid by the Overseers
of both the parishes by the order of the Mayor and Jurats.
The River Poor Law Union was founded in the year
1793, with a Workhouse there. That included all the
pari.shes round Dover, embracing Charlton and St. James's
parishes also, but the Union would not take the poor of St.
Mary's parish because at that time they were very numerous.
The Poor-house at the Pier having become overcrowded, St.
SOCIAL HISTORY. 429
Mary's Vestry, under the powers of the Poor Law Act of
1782, purchased land on the north side of Peter Street,
Charlton, and there built a Workhouse for St. Mary's
parish in the year 1796. The Workhouse was well designed,
and there was attached to it sufficient land lying between
Peter Street and Bridge Street to profitably employ the
inmates; but the expenses were a heavy burden on the
parish, so that about a year after the formation of the Dover
Union, with a Workhouse in Buckland Bottom, St. Mary's
Poor went there, and the Charlton Workhouse was closed.
The Dover Poor Law Union was formed in 1835, and
the Workhouse at Buckland opened in the Spring of 1836.
The original house was built in the form of a quadrangle,
with the Board Room and Master's offices in front over the
entrance, and a small hospital against the opposite wall, the
rest of the square being occupied by the ward rooms and
dormitories. It was very much like a prison, none of the
v/indows affording an outside view. When St. Mary's Poor
were admitted, a year later, the whole of the square was
used for the ordinary inmates, and a small hospital was
built on the bank at the rear, where a much more extensive
one has since been erected. Further enlargements of the
House were made in the years 1849, 1871, 1877 and 1903.
The Union Workhouse, from its commencement until the
present time, has been controlled by a Board of Guardians,
a Master and Matron, and other officials, including a staff
of nurses, the hospital being the most expensive part of the
establishment. A separate schoolroom, dining hall and
dormitories have been provided for the children, so as to
keep them as clear as possible from the " taint of
pauperism"; but there has long been a project to remove
them to a separate establishment. That has not yet been
done, but the children now go out to schools in the Town
instead of being educated in the Workhouse. The granting
of Old Age Pensions has greatly reduced the cost of
outdoor relief. The ordinary indoor Poor are also decreasing,
the most expensive part of the House being the hospital;
but few will grudge that increase, for the worst of the sickness
and suffering in the whole Union is concentrated there, and
it is a satisfaction to be able to record that the sick and
dying there are kindly and carefully tended.
430 ANNALS OF DOVER
IX.
A CONCLUDL\G RETROSPECT.
In closing this Section, which has been designed as an
omnibus to carry a variety of matters about the social state
of Dover, which could not have been conveniently included
in the earlier Sections of the book, we will take a retrospective
view of Dover and its people at various out.standing periods.
In history's dawn we see the ancient Britons in battle
array on the Dover cliffs, differing greatly in many respects
from Dovorians of to-day, yet as true and patriotic as those
of the Twentieth Century. Adventurous have the mariners
of Dover ever been. In pre-Roman times their primitive
ships crossed over to Gaul, transporting British warriors to
assist their neighbours to keep out invaders, like as they
have done in their greater ships and more imposing hosts in
these latter days. In Saxon times the cradle of tiie British
Navy was represented by the twenty-one ships which Dover
maintained for the King's service; and although the day is
long past when the Cinque Ports figured largely in nautical
affairs, the great National Harbour at Dover and the war
ships that use it, continues and magnifies the glory of the
Cinque Ports days. It was the Mariners of Dover who
founded the famous Dover Passage, which, with improved
ships, from age to age has kept up and increased the con-
tinuous stream of Continental travellers.
Dynastic changes have had very little effect on the social
life of Dover. When Earl Godwin ruled in Saxon times,
Dover mariners were his staunch supporters ; and when
Edward I. gave his great Cinque Ports Charter, which
organised the Five Ports and their members in a maritime
confederation, his Fleet always received its largest number
of ships from Dover ; and, to-day, Dover is the only port of
the confederation which has an effective harbour, and the
town that has most continuously striven to keep alive the
memory of the Cinque Ports days. Always patriotic, when
Kings misruled the men of Dover were loth to lift hand or
voice against " the Lord's Anointed "; but when there was
no King to be loyal to, they did their best to " carry on"
SOCIAL HISTORY 43I
until the times did alter. The people of Dover have always
had strong opinions, especially on religious and political
matters, but they knew where to draw the line. It has been
jocularly said that when " George in pudding time came o'er,
they turned, like cat-in-pan once more, and embraced the
creed of Whigs." That saying did for a joke, and it
described the official Whigs of the Georgian Period, but there
remained staunch Tories in Dover, nor is the breed likely
to die out.
Dover, from the earliest times, margined a charming
bay, and although Saxons, Normans and English have
slightly modified its features, the Town and Port still nestles
between the tall, white cliffs, the addition of forty thousand
more people to the population having altered but little the
physical features. Dovorians, both indwellers as well as
Dovorians scattered all over the world, are proud of the
status of the Port and the traditions of the people. Features
strikingly characteristic of the old times remain ; the Roman
Pharos and Norman Keep crowning the eastern hill, and
the Bredenstone topping the Western Heights. The Maison
Dieu, the Priory, and the old Churches (what is left of them)
are carefully utilised. Of the narrow and crooked streets
and lanes, there are some quaint old specimens left, although
the necessities of traffic have made the widening of some
of them absolutely indispensable. Dovorians in far-off lands,
before they left fifty years ago, may have heard the learned
members of the Dover Philosophical Institution discussing
the probability of there being thick coal-beds underlying
Dover. The dreams of those days have come true. Coal
and iron have been found, but although those trea.sures of
the earth may in the future enrich the locality and swell the
population, the characteristic beauties of Dover, " situate on
hill and dale," there is reason to hope will remain as long
as suns shine and tides ebb and flow.
FINIS.
ERRATA.
Page iqH ; last line, read Sir instead of Reverend.
Page 231 ; line 3, read 4 Jurats instead of 3.
Page 233 ; line 23, read Bruyers instead of Brugers.
Page 250 ; line 13, read malodorous instead of malodourous.
Page 276; col. 2, line 18, read E. C instead of E. J.
Page 300 ; line 14, read Andrews instead of Warren.
Page 316 ; line g, read Bateman instead of Buteman,
Page 345 ; line 23, read 1683 instead of 1638.
Page 355 ; line 15, read Hanvey instead of Harvey.
INDEX.
"Adam and Eve," 413
Adams, J., 153
Adamson, George, 275
Adcock, Wm. John, 276,277, 278, 326
Admirals' Inquiry, 95
Admiralty, Court of, 147
Admiralty Harbour, 137, 133, IZZ,
140, 165
Admiralty Packets, 156
Admiralty Pier, 131-lo^, 137-1J3
Aeroplanes, 413
Agate, John, 275
Albermarle, Duke of, 345
Aldermen, 257, 277
Aldy, Nicholas. 293
Alehouses, Tudor Time, 415
Allied Sovereign.s. 319
Allyn, Thomas, 300
Almshouses, 222, 319
Amherst Battery, 130
Ancient Churches, 36, 184-5, 209,
216, 221
Ancient Jurat. The, 232
Ancient MSS., 185
Ancient Weapons, 35
Andrews, Doctor, 217
Andrews, Thomas, 93-4, 299, 378
Anne. Queen, 107-8, 152. 231, 243, 387
Anselm, Archbi.shop, 186
Appleton, Roger, 575
Applet on, Thomas, 276
ArchclifTe, 84-6
Archcliffe Chapel. 87
Archer's Court, 317
Archer, T. B., 154
Ark, The, 208, 215
Arnold, Thomas, 239, 289, 372
Arsick's Tower, 15
Arthur's Hall, 4
Arthur King, 4
ArviraguK, 3, 4, 23, S2
Ashbuvnham, B., 42
Ashford Towers, 18
Assheton, Sir R., 56
Astley, Ed. Ferrant, 277, 278, 324
Atkins, W. D., 278
Aucher, Sir Anthony, 90
Aulus, Plantuis, 5, 6, 82
Aurelius, Bishop, 4
Austen, Edward, 276
Austin, Robert. 502
Ayers, A. W., 276, 278
Ayers, Parker, 275
Aylmer, Lord, 108-10, 387, 588
Back, J. H., 278
Back, T. E., 275, 278
Bagshawe, W, J.. 278
Baieux, Bishop of, 226-7
Bailiff, The, 251, 555
Baines, Frank, 6
Baird, John, 275
Baker, George, 548
Baker, Henry Minter, 275, 277, 528
Balgy, Henry, 295
Ballooning, 413
Bapchild Royal Council, 174
Baptist Churches, 190, 207, 215
Barham, E<lmund, 316
Barnabas. St., Church of, 210
Barnes, William Jas., 276, 278, 528
Barnett, Battle of. 241
Barnett, E. W., 402
Barrell, Francis, 346
Barrett, T., 155, 591
Barry, Rev. Nath., 188,, 190, 192. 219
INDEX
Barry, Richard, 93, 379
Barter, Timothy, 275
Bartholomew's Hospital, 181, 187
Bartou, F. E., 278
Barton Meadow, 210
Barton, Robert, 275
Bartram, Rev. Canon Harry, 220
Barwick, R. James, 277
Bass, Thomas Baker, 275, 343
Batchelor, John, 301
Baths, 272
Bax, Richard, 310
Bazelys, 130
Bazely, John, 314-
Bean, Thomas, 313
Seauchamp, Baron, 55
Beaiichamp, Earl, 6, 69
Beaufoy, C. E. 277
Bedingfield, Thomas, 242
Beecher, Sir William, 382
Bells, Fine for Not Ringing, 217
Bells, St. Mary's, 221
Bench Street, 254
Berkeley, Lord George, 221, 388
Berry, Miss, 412
Bessemer, Henry, 162
Bessemer, The, 162
Best, W. J. Duncan. 276
Bethel, The, 214
Beverley, Joseph, 338, 378
Bicycles, 413
Biggin Street Widening, 328
Bindley, George, 390
Birch, George, 276, 277
Birch, Thomas, 275, 278, 324
Birmingham, John, 275, 277, 278,
325, 417
Black Bulwark, 93, 103
Blinderstone, Henry, 311
Board of Trade, 154
Boder, The, 70
Bodkin, Archibald Henry, 349
Bodkin, Sir William H., 233, 348
Bodleian Library, 181
Boleyn, George, 61
Boner, John, 275
Bordeaux, John, 276
Borough Records, 263
Borough Surveyors, 5E)^
Bottle, Alexander, 276, 277, 278, 326
Boulogne, 88, 131, 148, 157
Boundaries, 234
Bovr'es, John, 90, 182, 295
Boxer, Capt. Edward, R.N., 277, 278
Boxer, Captain, 126
Boys, Jefiery, 347
Boys, Sir E., 63, 93, 100, 382
Boys, Sir John, 100
Boys, Major John, 65
Boyton, Thomas, 317
Braban, John, 239, 290, 372
Brackett, Hugo, 296
Bradley, J. Lade, 212, 275, 278, 326
Bradley, Sir Montague, 276, 404
Bradley, William, 276, 277, 278
Brassey, Earl, 69
Bray, Mr., 130
Braylesford, Luke, 306
Breams, Major Arnold, 384, 420
Breams, Walter, 106
Bredenstone Hill, 246
Bredgatte, John, 301
Bredgatt :^ Thomas, 300
Breton, Richard, 106
Brewys, William, 259, 290, 373
Brickmaking, 413
Bilggs, J. A., 275
Broadley, John, 314
Broadley, Thomas, 310, 316
Brockman, Sir W., 189
Broke, John, 293
Bromley, William, 529
Brook, H. (Lord Cobham), 62
Brook, W. (Lord Cobham), 61
Broome, John, 306
Broome Park, 117, 387
Broome. Thomas, 507
Brough, Murry and Hall, 133
Brounger, John, o04
Brown, Thomas Viney, 275, 278, 326
Bruce, Sir Robert, 381
Bniyers, Mr. H. P., 255
Bruyers, Henry Pringle, 320
Bruyers. ilrs. Laurie (Mayoress), 261
Bryce, P. J., 404
Bucke, Clement, 310
Buckingham, Duke of, 59, 65, 505
Buckland Church, 185, 186, 210
Buckland Protestant Dissenters, 205
Buckler, J. C, 198
BufEkin, Ralph, 295
Building Poom, 418
Bullack, John, 508
Burden, William, 299
Burgc=;se=, 134, 226
Burgf = ^03 rf Parliament. 231, 259
Burkett, Wm. Wood, 276, 278, 529
Burley, Richard, 508
INDEX
Burley, Sir S., 56
Burnell, Thomas, 299
Burnett, Robert, 300
Burrell, Peter, 390
Burton, Nicholas, 291
Bushell, M., 153
Bushell, S., 154
Bushell, W , 153
Bussey, J. W., 276, 277
Bussey, W., 275, 277, 278
Butterworth, Joseph, 394
Bynge, George, 301, 380
Byngham, John, 292
Byngley, John, 372
Byrch, Rev. William, 219
Cade, William, 282
Csesar, Julius, 2, 3, 81
Caesar, Claudius, 3
Caine, Sir Harrie, 219
Calais and Dover, 148, 157
Calais-Douvres, 162
Calais Harbour, 163
Canons of Dover, 173, 174, 175
Canon Gate, 15
Cannon, John, 311
Cannon, Richard, 194
Carder, Eugene. 276
Carlisle, John, 151, 196, 246, 308
Carriages, 413
Carrier, Common, 296
Caspall, Henry Freeman, 276
Castalia, 161-2
Castle Church, 4, 8, 36, 38
Castle Hill House, 317
Castle Jetty, 131
Castle Quay, 87
Castle, The, 1-78, 245, 254
Castle, The, in War, 23-31
Castle, The, Seized by Dawkes. ?9
Castle, The. In Peace Times, 32-41
Cay, Captain R. B., 278
Cecil, Sir Edward, 381-2
Chadwick, Jaines. 387
Chalk, Stephen, 275. 277
Chamberlains' Accounts. 264
Chamberlains. The, 336
Chancery Court, Cinque Ports, 220
Chandler, George W., 276
Chapels of 19th Century, 205
Chapel Rock, 86
Chaplains of the Corporation, 220
Chapman, William, 386
Charles I., 102, 222, 382
Charles XL, 102-5, 152, 190, 233, 245
384
Charlton MSS., 185
Charlton, 185, 210, 253, 258
Charter of Charles II., 309
Charters of the Priory, 176, 177, 173
Charters, 84-5, 91. 93, 153, 248, 263
Cheeseraan's Head, 108, 111, 120, 132,
140
Cheque, Clerk of, 86, 110
Chelsea, Viscount, 399
Chermainton, William, 339
Cheyne, John, 378
Cheyne, Sir T., 61
Chief and Other Constables, 357
Chitty, Ernest Edward, 277
Chitty, Edward, 276, 278
Christadelphians, 215
Christian Science, 215
Christ Church, 197
Churches of 19th Century, 197, 209
Church of Our Lady of Pity, 86, 197
Church of St. James, 84, 209
Churchward, Joseph George, 158,
275, 277, 278, 325
Churchyard, 221
Cinque Ports, 147. 241, 284
Clarence Place. Ill, 135
Claris, Percy Brook. 277
Clark, Andrew. 278
Clark, Frank, 276
Clark, John, 275
Clark, Sir Andrew, 103
Clarke, Sir John, 85-88. 106, 243
Clarke, Wilham, 275, 277, 322
Ciayley, William, 389
Clerk of the Market. 232
Clerk of the Passage. 246, 308
Clerk, Sir George, ^399
Clerks to the Magistrates, 353
Clerks of the Peace, 352
Clock and Compass Towers, 136
Clock, St. Mary's, 312
Clopton Tower, 16
Coal Dues. 252, 418
Cobham, Eleanor, 239
Cobham, W. B., 61, 93
Cocke, William, 277, 278, 320
Coil, 4
Coldred, Simon, 368
Coleman. John, 278. 316. 320
Collye, Thomas, 259, 377
INDEX
Colton Tower, 11, 35
Columbel, Ralph, 226
Commerce and Industry, 418-421
Commercial Harbour, 137
Commercial Quay, 129
Commissions, Harbour, 90, 100, 106,
108
Commission, Royal, 242
Common Assemblies, 216, 231, 243
Common Council, 243, 298
Common Hall, 125, 149
Commonwealth Period, 384
Congregationalists, 194, 207, 213
Conuaught Hall, 269
Connaught Park, 271
Constable's Tower, 16, 22, 33
Constables, 257, 357-8
Constables and Wardens, 42-69
Continental Agreement, 159-60
Continental Passengers, 138, 167, 159
Convict Prison, 133
Coode, Sir John, 133
Coode. Son and Matthews, ''37, 140
Ccok, Richard, 309
Coombe, Thomas. 373
Coram, John, 358
Coroners, 350
Corporation, History of, 225-
Corporation Regulation Act, 191
Corporation under the Stuarts, 245
Correl, Robert, 358
Councillors, Town, 274
Court Hall (see also Guildhall), 222,
267
Court, Percy Simpson, 326, 277, 278
Court, R. S., 274, 277
Court of Record, 231
Court of Requests, 255
Coveney, Benjamin, 276
Crayford, Edward, 347
Cricket, 329
Crioill, Bertram. 46
Crooks, J. F., 278
Crosoer, Henry, 358
Crosswall, 94, 106-7, 117, 131, 136
Crouche, Thomas, 239, 289,, 372
Crouch, Richard. 295
Crummack, R., 356
Crundall, Sir W. H., 27C, 273, 327
Crundall, W., 276
Cryppes, Henry. 377
Cubitt, William, 126
CuUen, John, 276
Cullen, JNlcholas, 308
Cullen, Thomas, 306
Cullen, William, 306, 384
Cumberland Inn, 130
Curbspine, Ralph, 226
Curry, Matthew, 355
Curry, Sir Thomas, 102
Curzon, Lord, 69
Customal, 229, 287
Custom House Quay, 103
Customs, the King's, 228, 420
Cymbelinus, 3
Daggenham, Breach, 109
Dalaway, John, 274
Dalgleish, John, 313
Danes, The, 272
Daniells, Thomas, 275
Darell, 4, 173
Davidson, Colonel, C. M., 276
Davis, Rev. John, 188
Dawes, Edward, 276
Dawkes, Thomas, 359
Day, Thomas, 306
Debtors' Prison, 41
Dell, Edward, 192
Dell, George, 319
Delta, 82
Denne, Vincent, 347
Denne, William. 288
Deune, William, 288, 368
Denny, Mr., 154
Denmark, Prince of, 65
Dering, Sir Richard, 90
Devil's Drop, 232
Dicey, Captain W., 161-2
Dickenson, W. R., 277, 278
Dickeson, Sir Richard, 275, 278, 325
Dickson, Major, 401
Dieppe, 148
Digges, Thomas, 93, 95
Dissenters' Chapels, 194-6, 205-203
Dixwell, John, 383
Dixwell, Sir Basil, 386-7
Domesday Book, 145, 225, 226, 227
Domus Dei, 182
Dorset, Duke of. 65. 388
Dour, River, 5. 82, 418
Dover Bounds described, 234-5
Dover Charters, 232, 377
Dover in Middle Ages, 239
Dover Pardon, 240. 241
Dover Records, 263, 288
INDEX
Dover of To-day, 271
Dover Trinity House, 422
Doyley, Thomas, 290, 374
Drainage System, 259
Druids, 144, 171
Duke, James, 275
Duke of York's School, 77
Duncannon, Viscount, 404
Durand, 227
Dyer, Robert, 294
Dykes, Rev. John, 188, 219
Eadbald, 171-2
Earl, William, 276
Eastbridge Manor, 182
Eastbrook, 82-3
Eastern Harbour, 84-5
East Cliff, 139
East Wear Bay, 106
Eaton, Nicholas, 304, 307
Eaton, William, 307
Edgar's Law, 226
Edmunds, W., 197
Edward I., 49-51, 53
Edward II., 146
Edward IT I., 146, 368
Edward IV., 574
Edward V., 375
Edward VI., 88, 91, 182, 243, 377
Edward VII., 137
Edward the Confessor. 227
Edward the Elder, 226
Edwai-ds, John, 299
Edwards, Rev. E. J., 213
Edwards, Rev. Thomas, 220
Edwards Road, 213
Iklwin, Henry Francis, 276, 273
Elam, John, 294
Elam, Richard, 298
Eleatherius, 4
Elections (Parliamentary) —
1st Period, 368
2nd Period, 380
3rd Period, 397
Elections in St. Mary's Chiirch, 256,
321
Elections of Mayors, 216, 230, 249,
285
Eldred, W., 71
Electricity, 271
Elfreth, Samuel, 102
Elizabeth, 91, 93, 98, 378, 411
Elis, John, 368
Elis, Walter, 368
Elliot, Captain, 126
Ellwood, Thomas, 300, 379
Elnor, Rev. W. G., 220
Elsam's Cottages, 354
Elsam, Richard, 354
Elsted, W. P., 278
Elve, Henry, 275, 278
Elvenden, Lawrence, 337
Elwin, Michael, 274, 277, 278, 321
Elwoode, Thomas, 300
Emden, Walter, 233, 329
English, Acts of Parliament in, 375
English Channel Ship Co., 162
Erpynham, Sir T., 57
Eshetifordian Gate, 18
Ethelbert, 171
Eustace of Boulogne, 23-4
Eustace, Prince, 43
Evebroke, John, 289, 370
Evelyn, John, 148
Evenden, J., 275
"Faggots," 385
Fane, Sir F., 100, 379
Fane, Sir G., lOO, 340. 379
Farbrace, Sa,mpson, 316
Farley, Edwin Wood Thorp, 276, 329
Farr, William, 205
Fcctor, J. M., 125, 233, 398
Fector, Messrs., Bankers, 130
Fellowship of the Passage, 146
Fever Hospital, 324
Fielding, E. C, 276
Fielding, George, 210, 277, 278, 326
Fiemes, J., 43
Finnett, Robert, 300
Finnett, Thomas, 297
Finnis, Frederick, 276, 278
Finnis, John, 320, 276, 277
Finnis, Robert, 318
Finnis, Steriker, 275, 277, 278, 322
Finnis, Walter, 151
Fire at Conquest, 173
Fisher, William, 295
Fitzwilliam Tower, 17
Fitzwolf, William, 282
Fletcher, J. Ismay, 276, 277
Flinder, James, 311
Flower, Rev. Walker, 210
INDEX
iFluce, Robert, 295
Flushing, 160
Foetness, Rev. John, 190
Folkestone, 87-8, 131, 159
Foord, Stephen, 275
Foord, Thomas, 304
Forbes, James Staat, 402
Ford, Herbert H., 276
Fordham, E. P., 124
Fortifications at Castle.. 19-22
Fouch, Thomas, 292
Fowler and Abernethy, 133
Fox, D. H., 359
Fox, Thomas, 275
Foxley, Thomas, 295, 339
France, R. S., 136
Franklyn, Edward, 310
Free Church Council, 212
Free Harbourage, 96
Freeman's Roll, 264
Freeman, Sir Ralph, 222
Freeman, William, 275
French Republic, 328
Freshfield, C. K., 401
Frewin, Rev. J. F., 213
Friend, John, 275
Friends, Societv of, 193-4-5
Fry, Edward Wickens, 275, 277, 278
Fry, George Frederick, 276
Fry, Thomas Wickens, 276
Fulbert Tower, 15
Fuller, William, 276
Funerals, Public, 301, 325
Furnesse, Henry, 388
Fyneaux, Richard, 296
Gale, A. R., 274
Gallic Wars, 144
Gaol Delivery, 231
Garrett, Jermyn, 301
Garrett, John, 300
Garrett, Robert, 302
Garrison, 72-78
Garton, John, 239. 289. 371
Gas Act (first). 255
Gaskin, G., 275
Gatehouse, John W., 2i7
Gates of Dover. 237
Gatton Tower, ""5
Gay, Goddard, 312
Geddes, H. R., 277
Gennissa, 3
George I., 108, 249, 388
George II., 389
George III., 257, 390
George IV., 394
George V., 69
Geregorie, John, 294
Gernun, Gilbert, 372
Gerold, John, 288
Gibbs, Thomas, 298
Gilbert, John, 214
Giles, John, 288, 369
Giles' St., Church, 5, 18
Giles, Thomas, 289, 371
Gilhalla of the Burgesses, 227
Gloucester, Duke Humphrey, 58
Glyd, Jeffery, 300
Glynne, Sir Stephen, 198
Godsfoe's Tower, 17
Godspenny. Thomas, 285
Godwin, Earl, 12, 42, 227
Godwin's Tower. 12. 18
Going, Philip, 126, 275
Golder, John, 306
Golding-Bird, Rev. C, 211
Goldsmith, John, 274
Goodwin, John, 399
Goodwin, Rev. John, 188
Gore, Thomas, 290
Gotto, Edward, 354
Graenger, William, 377
Graham, G., 278
Granville Dock, 136
Granville, Earl, 68, 161
Granville Gardens, 272
Gravenor, W., 275
Gray, Rev. John, 219
Green, Rev. S. F., 210
Greenwich Park, 109
Grigge, Richard, 290, 374
Grigge, Stephen, 373
Griggs, H., 275
Guiderius, 3
Guildhall (see also Court Hall). 227,
267
Guilds, 239
Guilford, Earl, 66, 115, 117, 118
Guldeford, Sir E., 60
Gunman, Christopher, 314
Gunman, James, 312. 316
Gunman's Mansion, 312
Gunman, Mrs. (Mayoress). 26''
Gunner of Dover Castle, 71
INDEX
H
Hadd, Matthew, 100
Halcombe, John, 397
Hales, Sir James, 93, 95
Hales, Sir Pym, 391
Hallans, Captain, 277
Hall, John, 275
Hall, John atte^ 285, 288, 368
Hall, John, 354
Hall, Nicholas atte, 286, 368
Hall, William atte, 285
Hambrook, J. B., 276
Hamilton, J., 153
Hammond, J., 86, 110, IV, 312, 315
Hammond, J., 153
Hammond, Robert, 126
Hammond, R., 274
Hammond, William, 372
Hammond's MSS., 110, 315
Hamon, John, 369
Hannington, W., 244, 296, 378
Hanvey, John, 355
Harbour Charter, 99
Harbour Commissioners, 90-93, 131
Harbour Board, 133-137, 164
Harbour of Refuge, 133
Harbour, 81-140, 256, 302, 328, 419
Harby, Arthur, 353
Harby, Travers B., 353
Hardres, Sir Thomas, 346
Hardres, Sir William, 388
Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, 548
Hardwicke, Philip, 125, 129
Harold, King, 13, 42
Harold's Well, 39
Harrison, George, 274
Harrison, Thomas, 340
Hartflete, Sir T., 100
Hart, Henry, 275
Hatton, Thomas, 275
Hawke, W. C, 356
Hawkshaw, Sir John, 133, 136
Hayward, H., 276, 278
Hayward, J., 275
Haywai'd, J. and W., 154
Hearn, John Thomas, 273
Henden, Edward, 346
Henniker, John, 391
Henry I., 176-8.
Henry IT., 178, 284
Henry III., 85, 284
Henry IV., 370
Henry V., 58, 371
Henry VI., 84, 239, 372
Henry VII., 85, 147, 243. 376
Henry VIII., 20, 60, 86-7, 89-91, 9Z
109, 123, 182, 187, 216-221, 376
Herbert, Admiral Arthur, 386
Hill, Andrew, 275
Hexstall, E., 293
Hexstall, T., 242, 291, 374
Heyman, Henry, 100
Heyman, Sir Peter, 382
Hills, Edward, 275, 278
Hills, Richard, 151
Hinchingbroke, Viscount, 384
Hind, R^ev. Samuel, 220
Hipgrave, George, 275
Hippesley, Sir John, 305, 382
Hirst Tower, 15
Hobday, Henry, 276, 278
Hodgson, Cuthbert, 313
Hogben, George, 277
Holderness, Earl, 65, 114, 117
Hollingbery, John, 310
IloUingbery, Richard, 313
HoUingshed's Chronicle, 85-87, 95
Hollis, William, 277
Hollyer, Joseph, 275
Horsepool Sole, 95
tlospitals, 181-3
Hougham, 253, 258
Houseman, James, 106, 151
Houses, 228
Howard, James F., 276, 277
Howard, Luke, 193
Hunt, John, 275
Hunt, Robert, 319
Hubert de Burgh, 26-7, 44, 182, 216
Huddart, Captain, 122
Huggeson, James, 321, 222
Hughes, Henry, 275
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, 83
Humphrey Humphrey, 126
Hundred of Dover, 226, 231
Hunter and English, 130
Huntingdon, Countess of, 194, 201
Hurtyn, Alexander, 286
Hurtyn, William, 285
Independent Adventurers, 161-163
Inderwick, F. A., 402
Ingelow, B., 211
Inns, Old and New, 415-16, 417
Installation of Lord Warden. 246
INDEX
Internuiral Locomotion, 413
Invasion Alarm, 319
Iron, John, 124-5
Iron, Richard, 276
Ismay, Thomas, 277
Jack Cade's Rebellion, 240
Jackson, John, 393-4
Jackson, Sir John, 137
Jacob, Richard, 307
Jacob, Robert, 309
James I., 99, 102, 380
James II., 64, 246, 247, 386
James, Rev. Christopher, 219
James's, St., Church, 184, 187
Jarvis, G. K., 278
Jeffery, Sir, 219
Jeken, John, 277, 319
Jell, H., 275
Jelly, Henry, 314, 316
Jenkinson, Charles, 393
Jenkinson. R. H., 393
Jennings, G. F., 274, 277, 278
Jephson, Rev. Arthur 211
Jessel, Sir George, 401
John, King, 186
John's, St., Church, 184
John's, St., Tower, 17
Johnson, Stephen, 275
Jones, Captain H. D., 126
Jones, H. V., 390
Jones, Robert Hesketh, 211, 275, 278
Joy, Rev. Peter, 219
Julius Ca?sar, 1-3, 81, 144
Jurats, 86, 230, 257
Justice, Robert, 86, 295
K
Kelsey, Major-General Thomas, 383
Kempe, Edward, 301, 302
Kempe, Mrs., Mayoress, 260
Kendall, Robert de, 53, 405
Eennett, M., 311, 317, 318, 320, 353
Kennett, Phineas, 319
Kenrick, "William. 348
Kent, Earl of, 226
Kestermann, M., 277
Kettle, John, 275
Keyes, Thomas, 244
Kiilick, Geo. Reynilds, 276, 277, 273
King., M., 153
King William, 318
Kiugsford, Cottenham, 276
Kingsford, Plavius, 276
King's Foundation, 92
King's Messenger, 155
Knight, Samuel, 221
Knight, William, 339
Knatchbull, Sir Edward, 127
Knocker, Edward, 71, 277, 343
Knocker, John Bedingfield, 278
Knocker, Reginald, 544
Knocker, Sir Wollaston, 343-344
Knocker, William, 130, 318, 325
Knott, H. N. K., 358
Knott, John, 311
Knott, Thomas, 359
Labour, 96-7
Lamb, Charles, 274, 324
Lamb, James, 312
Lambert, John, 151
Landing Jetty, 161
Lane, Thomas Bateman, 316
Langdon Abbey, 404
Langdon Hole, 139, 140
Langtor., Archbishop, 45
Larkins, Stephen N., 275
Latham, Henshaw, 125, 278, 319
Latham, John, 315
Latham, S. M., 275, 277, 278
Lathr.M's Bank, 129, 154, 319
Latter Day Saints, 208, 215
Lawes, R. Murray, 403
Lawrence, Archbishop, 172
Leake, Sir Henrv, 400
Ledger, George W., 343, 350, 352, 353
Le© Priory, 391
Leney, Ili-jh, 277
Leorav;!, 1 'enry, 30O
LeoiiiMcI, Vvilliam, 301, 379
Letter Book, Dover, 150
Lewis, Thomas, 275, .352
Levvi-, W. G., 276, 277
Leybou!'ae, Roger de, 50
Liberties, 234, 238, 241, 292
Librarians of the Corporation, 265,
325, Z15
Lieutenant of the Castle, 70
Limb-. 234, 238
Limekiln Cliff, 88
Lincvs, 1'8. 165
Little Paradise, 85
INDEX
Liverpool, Earl of, 67, 117
Lloyd's Bank, 18*
Local Acts, 251
Local Board of Health, 259
Locomotion, 411-414
Lodemanage Court, 83, 148, 149, 422
Lodwick, Rev. John, 220
Lollards, The, 186
Lone Tree, 77
Longwall, 94, 97
Loome, John, 307
Lord Mayor of London, 222
Lord Warden Beheaded, 240
Lord Warden Hotel, 325
Lord Wardens, 46-69, 117, 134, 145-7
Lome, the Marquis of, 390
Loud, G. H., 274
Lovelace, FranciS; 346
Lovelace, Lancelot, 346
Low, Richard, 195
Lucas, James, 229, 285
Lucas, John, 299
Lucius, 4j 7
Lukey, Edward, 276, 278, 327
Lombard, Rev. John, 219
Luttrell, James, 392
Lyon, Rev. John, 220
Lythgo, Oliver, 293
M
Maoes, 232-3
Mackenzie, H. P., 130, 275
Mackenzie, P. W. J., 276, 278
Mackie, Samuel, 275
Macqueen, Rev. John, 220
Madbert, 227
Magistrat«s, 278
Magmiuot Tower, 17, 43
Mail Ck)aches, 412
Mail Packets Agent, 318
Mail Packets, Early, 150
Mail Packets, 250, 325
Mainwaring, Sir Henry, 381
Maison Dieu, 85, 86, 182, 267, 258,
269, 319
Mandubratius, 2, 3, 9
Mansfeldt, Count, 303
Mansfield Corner, 302
Mantell, Lady Mayoress, 261
Mantel!, Sir Thom'as, 318
Manuscript, Hammond's, 110
Map of the Town, 259
March, Larl of, 55, 229, 281
March, Earl of, 55, 229, 281
Marine Packet Station, 138, 165
Mariners' Church, 206
Market Act, 255
Market Place, 221, 222
Marsh, John, 274
Marshal of the Castle, 70
Marshall, Dr. John, 276, 277, 278
Martial Law, 303
Martial Law, 305
Martin- le-Grand, St., 184
Martin, Sir Byam's, Commission, li-
Martin, St., the Less, 173, 184
Martin's, St., Church, Maxton, 211
Martin's, St., Church, 172 216, 232
Mary, Queen, 91, 377
Mary's, St., Church, 183, 184, 187,
197, 216, 217, 256
Mat.son, Henry, 135
Matson, John, 106, 308, 312
Matson, Richard, 192
Matthews, Alfred, 276
Maud, Empress, 25, 26
Maud, Queen, 25
Maule, Rev. John, 199, 220
Mauncell, Thomas, 296
Maxton, 211, 212
May, Edward, 86, 295
Mayoresses, 260
Mayor and Jurats, 229
Mayors, 229, 230, 239, 279, 281. 282,
284
Mayors under 1882 Act, 329
McLeod, T., 275
Meade, Humphrey, 300
Memorial Hall, 213
Memorial Windows, 268
Mercer, T., 154
Merle, Henry, 371
Messengers, 360
Metcalf, William, 275
Methodism, Origin in Dover, 200-204
Michael's, St., Mi.ssion Church, 210
Middleton, T., 154
Mill, Norman, 82, 228
Mills on the Dour, 418
Minet, Hughes, 315
Minet and Fector, Bankers, 154
Ministers of St. Mary-the-Virgin, 219
Mint at Dover, 226
Minutes Books, 264
Missing Records, 264
Mission Hall, Tower Hamlets, 210
Mitchell, Edward, 339
iNtlEJi
Monger, Sergeant, 350
Monin, John, 286, 288, 36S
Monin, Peter, 221, 312
Monin, Simon, 288, 368
Monin, Stephen, 305
Monin, Thomas, 371
Monin, William, 100
Montague, George, 384
Montague, Sir Edward, 583
Montfort, Henry de, 51
Montfort, Hugh, 227
Montfort, Simon de, 51, 405-6
Moon, James, 117, 121-124, 125, 154
More, John, 379
Morgan, R., 277
Mortimer, Roger, 55
Mote, Bulwark, 93
Motor Cars, 413
Mowll, Edward Rutley, 275, 325
Mowll, E. Worsfold, 276
Mowll, George H., 276
Mowll, Havelock, 276
Mowll, Henry Martyn, 276, 277, 328
Mowll, W., 150, 275
Mowll, W. R., 275, 278
Moxon, William, 275
Mummery, Mrs., Mayoress, 262
Mummery, W. G., 276
Mummery, William Rigden, 275, 325
Municipal Buildings, 267, 324
Municipal Corporations Act, 257
Municipal Reform, 257
Municipal Service, 274
Muniment Box, 216
Muniment Cabinet, 263
Museum, The, 273, 321
Mytron, William, 375
N
Nairn, Rev. William, 220
Napier, Daniel, 154
Napoleon's Menace, 30
Narrow Seas, 225
National Provincial Bank, 398
Naval Works Act, 140
Nazer, Daniel, 275
Nelson's Ships, 318
Nesham, Richard, 373
Nethersole, Robert, 90, 293, 376
Nethersole, William, 301
Newman, Dr. George, 379
Nichol, William, 400
Nicholas, Sir Edward, 382
Nicholas, Thomas St., 346
Nicholas', St., Church, 184, 187, 216
Nickalls, Mr., 115, 116
Nieuport, 151
Niger, Robert, 227
Noble, Captain Jeffery Wheelock.
R.N., 277, 278, 325
Nonconformity, 190, 194, 205, 212,. 324
Norcross, Rev. Nathaniel, 188, 220
Norman Conquest, 24, 229
Norman Keep, 13, 32, 35
Norman, Madgett, 277
Norman Mill, 82, 228
Northampton, Earl of, 37, 62
Northampton Quay, 136
Northampton Street, 131
North Pier, 117
North Wall, 130
Norwood, Thomas, 275, 277
Noyce, T., 154
Nysham (alias Nesham), W., 240, 373
Ockham, 111
Odo, 43, 82
Officers of the Castle, 70-71
Officers of the Corporation, 333
Officer of Health, 334
Oldcastle, Sir John, 186
Old Castle Hill, 326
Old Churches, 216
Old Dover, 250
Omnibus, Back's, 413
Ordnance Department, 267
Orphans, 232
Osborn, Jonathan, 318
Osborn, Berual, 400
Ostend, 151, 157
Ottaway, Jas. Cuthbert, 275, 278, 325
Oxenden, Sir Henry, 117-119, 125, 129
Packet Boats Suspended, 168
Packet Yard, 158, 418
Page, Alfred, 275
Page, George, 276
Page, Richard, 277
Pain, Ernest, 352
Palmerston Bridge, 135-6
Palmei'ston, Lord, 68, 135
INDEX
Palmer, Henry, 93
Palmer, Richard, 291
Palmer, W., 278
Palmes, Rev. A. L., 220
Papillon, David, 194, 389
Papillon, Philip, 194, 221, 387
Papillon, Thos., 194, 246, 248, 334, 386
Paradise Harbour, 85, 86, 88, 98, 102,
103
Parish of St. Marv-the-Virgin, 218-
219
Parks, G. T., 275
Parliament, Dover in, 365
Parliamentary Borough, 257
Parliamentary Committee (1844), 132
Parliamentary Elections, 365
Parliamentary Inquiry (136), 125-128
Parsonage of St. Mary, 217
Parsons, C, 166
Partridge, William, 93
Party Politics, 329
Passage Agreement, 146
Passage Fellowship, 146
Passage Ships (Early), 146-149
Passage, The, 83-4, 131, 143-168, 226,
227
Passengers. Continental. 138, 143-5,
159, 167
Passenger Packet Fares, 151
Passenger Steamers, 163, 165
Passenger Tax. 137. 164
Passing Tolls, 102-111, 121
Pattison, Isaac, 126
Paving Acts, 251
Paving Commission, 318
Pavn, Anthony Freeman, 274, 322
Payn, Svdenham, 351, 277, 278
Payn, William Henry, 275, 324, .351
Paynter, John, 295, 376
Peacemaking in the Corporation, 244
Peake, A., 154
Peake, Daniel, 125
Peake, Henry, 276, 277, 278
Pearce, Frederick Samuel, 275, 277,
278, 326
Pearson and Son, 138, 140
Peel, Sir Roert, 156
Pembroke, J., 274
Pencester, Stephen, 51
Pencester Tower, 17
Pent, 93, 97, 110, 115, 129
Pepper, John, 341
Pepper, Luke, 306
Pepper, Matthew, 276, 277, 278, 328
Pepper, Paul, 341
Pepper, Thomas, 244, 298
Perkins, John, 311
Perry, Captain John, 108-114
Peter Street Chapel, 212
Peter's, St., Church, 184, 216
Pety, Thomas, 291
Peverell Tower, 15, 35, 43
Pharos, 3, 6, 82
Phillips, John, 276
Pickering, Rev. Richard, 219
Pierce, John, 275
Pier Pumping Station, 259
Pier Viaduct, 329
Pilcher, Joseph Webb, 277, 278, 319
Pilkington, Major, R.E., 140
Pilots, 422-424
Pinchney, John, 378
Pitt, William, 66, 117
Plate, Corporation's, 233
Pleysington, Thomas, 292
Pocket Pistol (Elizabeth's), 38-9
Pocock, John, 273
Poins, Ferdinando, 94
Poland, Sir Harry Bodkin, 233, 349
Pole, Cardinal, 186
Police Force, 358
Poole, Edward, 274, 277, 278, 322
Poor Houses, 428-9
Population, 184, 211, 228, 418
Port of Dover, 81-140
Porter, Rev. Michael, 219
Porter, Rev. Michael, 188
Porters, 260
Porth Tower, 16
Port Victoria, 150
Portraits, 269
Portway, Thomas, 299, 377
Post, John B., 125
Post Office Farmed, 150
Post Offices, 420-421
Poulter, James. 275. 277, 324
Pound, G. C, 275, 277
Poynings, Sir Edward, 60, 147, 375
Poynte, Thomas, 285
Poynter, Ambrose, 267
Poynter, Sir E<lward, 268
Prepositus, 227, 229, 281
Prescott, Edward, 148, 190, 306
Prescott, F. W., 276, 277, 278
Prescott, William, 126, 274
Preston, Robert, 392
Priests' "Wages," 218
Primitive Methodists, 208, 212
INDEX
Prince of Wales, 137, 140, 161
Prince of Wales Pier, 137-8, 165
Pringle, John, 304, 382
Priory, The, 176-180
Prison, 267
Privateering, 249, 277, 314
Progress, Queen Elizabeth's, 411
Promenade Pier, 140
Protestant Meeting Houses, 187
Public Health Act, 257, 323, 324
Puckle, Rev. Canon John. 7, 198, 220
Pybus, Charles Small, 392
Pyrye, John, 373
Queenborough, 160
Queen Street, 222
Radigund's, St., Abbot of, 406
Raggett, George Frances, 276. 329
Railway, L.C. & D., 134, 133, 159-60
Railway. S.E., 134, 138, 158-60, 319,
322, 413
Rakigh, Sir Walter, 62
Randolph, Herbert, 347
Rates on Property, 252
Kawlinson, Mr., 258
Raworth, Francis (i.), 340
Raworth, Francis (ii.), 340-1
Reade, Peter, 288, 371
Reading, Rev. John, 187, 190, 219
Re-building St. Mary's, 199
Records of Dover, 263
Recordars, 345
Recreation Grounds, 271
Rees, Rowland, 275, 277, 278, 354,
355, 326
Reeve, The, 226, 227, 229, 281
Reformation, 186-7
Register of Dover Harbour, 320, 328
Register, St. Mary's, 218
Reid, Sir John Rae, 395
Religion, History of, 171
Religious Culture, Ancient, 144
Removals from the Corporation, 245
Rennie, John, 119
Retrospect, Concluding, 430-31
Retrospect of Representation, 405-6
Revell, Thomas, 389
Rice, E. R., 118, 398
Richard II., 368
Richard III., 375
Richards, Rev. Walter, 219
Richards, William, 306
Richardson, John, 275
Riot Act Read, 518, 319
Roads, Ancient & Modern, 409-10,412
Robbeyns, John, 244, 378
Robbins, John, 298
Robert of Romney, 226
Roberts, Edward, 309
Roberts, Nicholas, 306
Robinson, Charles, 348
Robinson, Dr. M. K., 334
Robinson, E. P., 276
Robinson, Thomas, 275, 277
Robotham, Rev. John, 188, 219
Rob Roy, 154
Rochelle Expedition, 305
Roger of Amsterdam. 228
Rogers, Laurence, 277
Rogers, W., 154
Rokesley Tower, 15
Rolf, John, 358
Roman Catholic Churches, 207-8
Roman Invasion, 1, 2, 23, 81, 144
Roman Pharos, 3, 6, 7
Roman Pretorium, 9
Roman Oval,. 5, 9
Roman Roads, 409-10
Roman Works, 6-9
Romney, Earl, 65, 248
Romney Marsh Men, 96
Romney, New, 90, 94
liope-spinning, 418
Roses, Ware of the, 239, 241
Round Towers, 106
Round Tower Street Chapel, 212
Rouse, Edmund, 378
Rouse, Richard, 313
Royal Apartments, 40
Royal Commission, 132
Ruble, G. C, 278
Ru.ssell, Henshaw, 278
Russell, Michael, 314
Russell, Rev. Thomas, 212
Russell, Sir George, 314
Russell, Sir Henry, 314
Russell, Sir William, 400
Russell, Thomas (Town Clerk), 341
Rutley, Edward, 277, 278
Rutley, Thomas. 274
Rutley's Road Waggon, 412
R utter, Edward, 275
Rutter, W., 153
INDEX
s
Sac and Soc, 225
Sackvilie, Lionel, 388
Sackville, Lord George, 389
Sailing Packets, 153-155
Sail-making, 418
Salisbury, Lord, 69
Salute, Royal, 243
Salvation Army, 213
Sainothes, 143
Sanctuary, 232
Sanders, T. O., 358
Sandwich, Henry de, 48
Sandwich, The Earl of, 38^
Ssnkey, William, 274, 277
Saxon Fortifications, 10, 12
Saxon Corporation, Origin of, 225
Saxon Keep, 12
Saxon Shore. Count of, 225
Saye and Sele, Lord, 59
Scavenging, 257, 296
Schools, 388, 392, 425-427
Scott, John, 278
Scott, Reginald, 88, 95
Scott, Sir Thomas, 93-97
Scott, Thomas, 310
Sea, John att«, 285
Sea Sickness, 162
Sellens, C. J., 277
Seneschal of the Castle, 71
Septennial Act, 388
Sergeants, 360
Sessions Hall, 267
vSharpe, Marcus. 276
Shears, Sir H., 105-111
Shepway, Court of, 230
Shepway Cross, 410
Shields of Tx>rd Wardens, 270
Shingle, 109, 152
Shipbuilding, 418
Shipdem, John, 125. 278, 320, 342
Ships, 82-3, 148
Ship Service, 225
Shipworth. Hcnrv, 337
Shone, H. E. Vernon, 277
Shorncliffe, 160
Shovel, Sir Cloudslev, 107-8
Sibbett, Edward, 278
Simpson, Dr. Edward, 390
Sims, John, 275
Siseley, Edward, 301
Sites of Old Churches, 222
Skeythe, John, 300
Skivington, Sir John, 102
Slip-way, 131
Sluicing, 97, 115, 118, 121, 123-4
Smeaton, John, 112
Smith, Captain D., 123
Smith, Charles, 311
Smith, J. George, 275, 278
Smith, Nathaniel, 307, 313
Smith, Spencer, 393
Smith, William J., 276, 277, 278
Smith, W. H., 69
Smithett, Sir Luke, 156, 278
Smythe, S. R., 275
Snargate Street Chapel, 204
Social History, 409
Soldiers of the Fortress, 72-78
Solly, R. H., 393
Solomon de Dover, 282
Somner, William, 7
Song of the Harbour Builders, S?
South Pier, 10&-121
Spain, John, 275
Spice. Charles, 275
Spicour, Nicholas, 370
Spicour, Thomas, 288
Sprague, Sir Edward, 365
Squier, Thomas, 275
Stage Coaches, 412
Stanhope, Philip, 402
Stanhope, R. H., 396
Stapping Dune, 409
Stats Establishments, 420
Statutes, Local, 251
Steede, Henry, 302
Stein, Charles, 278
Stclman, Robert, 294
Stephens, Edward, 379
Steward of Dover, 345
Steward, Edward, 275, 277
Stewart James, Duke of Lennox, G3
Stiff, Philip, 275, 277
Stilgoe, H. E., 355
Stilwell, James^ 353
Stockwell, Henry, 275
Stokes William, 106, 308. 385
Stone, Dr. F. W., 277
Stone, Henry, 275, 277
Stone, William, 293
Strains, W., 154
Straits of Dover, 143
Stratfold, William, 341
Stratton, Walter, 239, 289, 371
Street, Anthony, 192
Street Improvements, 257
INDEX
Street, John, 288, 369
Street Widening 327
Stride, Lewis, 278
Strife in the Corporation, 244-
Stringer, George, 278, 318
Stringer, Phineas, 317
Stringer, Thomas, 317
Strode, Colonel John, 385
Strond Street 101, 103
Studdfal Castle, 310
Sturgess, Peatley, 210
Subterranean Passages, 32
Suffolk, Duke of, 240
Suffolk, Earl (Theodore Howard), 63
Sunday School Centenary, 325
Sutton, David, 315
Synagogues, 208 215
Sydney, Algernon, 64
Tapley, E. J.. 275
Tatnell, Valentine, 306
Tavener, Samuel, 190, 192, 194, 195
Taylor, Jonathan, 233
Tcddiman, Thomas 222, 305, 309
Telegraph Sub-Marine, 325
Telford, Thomas. 124-5
Templeman, John, 292
Templeman, Nicholas, 293
Tench, John, 3O0
Terry W. J., 275
Terson, T. A., 278
Thanet, Isle of, 377
Theobald, Archbishop, 185
Theosophical Society, 215
Thomas son of Virgile, 283
Thomas, Walter, 355
Thompson, Edward Pett, 277, 321
Thompson, Edward, 319
Thompson^ George T., 350
Thompson, Robert, 318
Thompson, Sir John, 86, 87, 90, 217
Thomson, C. Poulett, 395
Thornton, Sir Monge, 219
Thorpe, Henry William, 276, 278
Thorpe, J. C, 275
Three- Gun Battery, 318
Titus, General, 3, 6
Toke, Ralph, 240, 290,. 373
Toke, Thomas, 292, 373
ToU-Gates, 252
Tooke, John, 302
Toomer, G. E., 278
Towerby, Richard, 86
Tower Hamlets Iron Church, 209-10
Towers, Round, 106
Town Clerks, 337-344
Town Council, 135, 274-277, 321
Tramways, 271, 328, 413
Trant, W. H., 395
Travellers, 415
Tredwell, Messrs., 129
Trevanion, John, 391,. 393
Tricycles, 413
Triennial Act, 388
Trinity Church, 101, 197
True, John, 94
Trust, St. Mary's, 220, 221
Tufa, 6
Tudor Monarchs, 91, 99, 243
Turbine Passage Steamers, 165-6
Turgis, Henry. 283
Turner, Thomas, 347
Turnpike Act, 256
Turpin, Rev. Thomas, 219
U
Underdown, Thomas, 312
Underdown, Vincent, 313
Underground Works, 32
Union Hotel, 129
Union Street, 110-111, 129
Valentine, Nicholas, 286
Vantwylder, William, 339, 340
Vaughan, Rev. John, 187
Vaughan, Thomas, 294, 376
Velocipetles, 413
Vespasian, General, 3, 6
Vestry Books, St .Mary's, 218
Victoria (Queen), 398
Victualling Department, 267
Vignoles and Murray, 133
Villiers, Viscount (Geo. Bussey), 391
Vincent, Sir Francis, 384
Vincent, Robert, 292
Virgile, William, 285
Volunteers, 318, 321
INDEX
w
Waade, John, 303
Wadard, 227
Wages, 95
Wakeling, W., 275
Walker. James, 319
Walker, James, 124, 126, 130, 132
Walker, Joseph, 343
Walker, Ralph, 119, 122, 123
Walker, Robert, 313, 319
Waller, Sir Thomas, 380
Walls and Towers, 15-18, 174, 235-8
Walmisley, Arthur Thomas, 276, 328
Walter, John, 275
Walton, Samuel, 194
Walton, Samuel, 311
Wand, Mayor's, 232
Ward, John, 290, 373
Ward, William, 302
Wards of Dover (Ancient), 357
Warden and Assistants, 99, 100, 126-7,
131, 134
Wardens, Lord of the Cinque Ports,
284
Wardens of the Passage, 146
Wardle, Richard. 126, "^129
Warren, John, 90. 294, 376
Warren, Thomas, 244, 296, 378
Warren, William, 293
Warwick, Earl (The King-Maker), 59,
241
Watch and Ward, 358
Watchmen, 252
Water Bailiff, 152, 248
Water Station, 163-4
Waterloo Crescent, 131, 258
Watling Street, 409
Watson, A., 154, 257
Watson, R. W., 275
Watson. Thomas, 299
Webb, Henry, 276
Webb, John, 377
Weguelin, C, 402
Wellard, Alexander, 315.. 342
Wellard, Charles, 216
Wellard, John, 342
Wellard, Robert, 313, 315, 342
Welford, Thomas, 90
Wellington Bridge, 131
Wellington Dock,
Wellington, Duke of, 67, 117, 118,
129-130, 417. 422
Weltman, Robert. 294
Wesley, Rev. Charles, 200
Wesley, Rev. John, 200
Wesley's Journal, 200
Wesley's Last Visit, 204
Wesley's New Chapel, 203
Wesley Hall, 214
Wesleyan Chapels, 206-7, 214
Wesleyan Societies in Kent, 202
West, George, 307
Westbrook, 82-3
Western Harbour, 85-6
Western Heights Church, 209
Westfield, Robert, 318, 342
Weston, Benjamin, 385
Weston, Lambert; 275
Wharfage, 83
Whig Party, 249
Whigs, 388
White, Sir W. H., 166
White, Thomas, 307
Whitebait Dinners, 392
Whiteham, Captain, 107
Whitely, Roger, 150
Whitfield, Rev. George, 202
Whitt, Adrian, 297
Wicks, Thomas, 312
Wilbraham. Edward Bootle, 394
Wilkins, C. B., 278
William, son of Godfrey, 227, 228
William, son of Godfrey. 282
William, son of Orger, 226
William, son of Tedal, 226
William I., 24, 43, 72
William XL, 186
William III., 106, 107, 247, 248, 387
William IV., 395
William, Sir, 219
Williams, Ambrose, 151
Willis, William, 300
Wilson, Archibald, 276
Winter, S., 277
Wissant, 144
Withred, 172, 173
Withred's Wall, 174
Wivell, Edward, 310
Wivell, Mrs., Mayoress, 260
Women in the Corporation, 260
Women's Municipal Votes, 260, 262
Wood, Dr. Charles, 276
Wood, Henrv, 337
Wood, J., 275
Wood, Roger, 338
Wootton, Thomas, 93
Worsfold, C. K., 336
lNt)E5C
Worsfold, E. M., 276
Worsfold, James, 274, 277, 278, 524
Worsfold, John, 274
Worthington, Benjamin, 126, 123
Worthington Street,
Wreford, Raymond, 277
Wright, Frederick George, 276, 277,
278, 328
Wycklifle, 186
Wyke, 83, 84, 147
Wyndham, George, 403
York, Duke of, 150, 246
York Hotel, 129, 322, 324
Yorke, Hon. Charles, 348
Yorke, Philip, 341, 347-8
Yorke, Simon, 192
Yorke, Sir Joseph, 390
Young, John, 87-8
Younge, Sir Richard, 381
Yarmouth Bailiff for Fishery 251
Yate, Rev. William, 206
Zion Chnr.ol, 194, 201, 213, 389
Zouch, Lord, 63, 188
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