Deal, Kent
Historical Description
Deal, a town, a parish (divided in 1852 into three ecclesiastical parishes, St Leonard's, St George's, and St Andrew's), and a municipal borough in Kent. The town stands on the coast, facing the Downs, opposite the Goodwin Sands, with a joint station on the S.E.R. and L.C. & D.R., 86 miles from London, and 5 SSE of Sandwich. The railway connecting the town with Dover was constructed in 1879. It may have been the place of Caesar's landing fifty-five years before the Christian era; it was known at Domesday as Addelam; it was the place of Perkin Warbeck's landing in 1495; it received Anne of Cleves after her voyage in 1540; it was attacked by Prince Charles in 1648; it felt an earthquake shock in 1692 and it was the landing-place of Adelaide, the queen of William IV. It is a municipal borough, a member of the Cinque-port liberty of Sandwich, a coastguard and pilot station, and a seat of petty sessions. The air being good, and the sea-beach favourable for bathing, Deal has of late years been resorted to as a watering-place, and several rows of houses have been erected for the accommodation of visitors, besides a gentlemen's club with a fine sea frontage, baths, libraries, &c. There are several hotels, a bank, and a golf club. The town comprises three parts, Upper, Middle, and Lower, the latter consisting of three long narrow streets parallel with the beach, and adjoins on the south the parish of Walmer, in the castle of which the Duke of Wellington died in 1852. Lower Deal contains the bulk of the population, and has a head post office, of the name of Deal. Upper Deal stands on a hill above Middle Deal, was the original village, and has a post office under Deal. Deal Castle, like the neighbouring ones of Sandown and Walmer, was built by Henry VIII. for defence of the coast. It has been converted into a family residence, and is now in the occupation of Lord Herschel. An assembly-room was erected in 1865, and there is a capacious Oddfellows' hall. The town-hall, in Lower Deal, is a spacious edifice of 1803, and contains portraits of William III. and William IV. A council chamber and some police cells were added in 1883. St Leonard's Church, in Upper Deal, is an ancient structure with some Norman fragments. St George's Church, in Lower Deal, was built in 1715, and is an excellent specimen of the church architecture of that day; it was reseated in 1877. St Andrew's Church, in West Street, was built in 1850, and enlarged in 1865. The General Baptist chapel was built in the time of the Commonwealth by Samuel Tavernor, governor of the castle. The Congregational chapel was built soon after the ejectment of 1662, and replaced by the Congregational Bi-Centenary Memorial Church erected in 1882. There are five other dissenting chapels, and a Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to St Thomas à Becket of Canterbury. The Victoria Baptist Church, in the Gothic style, was erected in 1881. The convent and orphanage of St Ethelburga was established in 1871 for educating young girls. The teaching is conducted by the Sisters of Notre Dame des Missions, and there is room for seventy inmates. Four weekly newspapers are published, and a provision trade, sail-making, and boatbuilding are carried on. A pier on iron piles stretching 920 feet out to sea, 20 feet wide generally, but 40 feet wide at the head, with an average depth there of 10 feet at low-water spring tides, and the platform 13 feet above high-water mark, was constructed in 1864, and a pavilion for concerts at the head of the pier in 1886. The adjacent roadstead of the Downs is sheltered by the Goodwin Sands. The town was chartered by William III., and made a member of Sandwich parliamentary borough by the Reform Act. The municipal borough is conterminate with the parish, and is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors. The parish comprises 1111 acres of land and 50 of water; population, 8891. The livings of St Leonard and St Andrew are rectories, and that of St George a perpetual curacy titular vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; values respectively, £400, £300, and £800. Patron of all, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Kent | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Deal St. Leonard | |
| Hundred | Cornilo | |
| Lathe | St. Augustine | |
| Poor Law union | Eastry |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register of St. Leonard's dates from the year 1559.
The register of St. Andrew's dates from the year 1850.
The register of St. George the Martyr dates from the year 1852.
Findmypast have the following online for Deal, Congregationalist: burials 1813-1841
Findmypast have the following online for Deal, Independent: burials 1813-1837
Findmypast have the following online for Deal, Independent Chapel: baptisms 1681-1802, burials 1786-1798
Findmypast have the following online for Deal, St Andrew: baptisms 1852-1912, marriages 1852-1928, burials 1808-1972
Findmypast have the following online for Deal, St George: baptisms 1761-1912, marriages 1852-1928, burials 1761-1929
Findmypast have the following online for Deal, St Leonard: baptisms 1559-1912, marriages 1502-1928, burials 1559-1954
Churches
Church of England
St. Andrew, West Street
St. Andrew's church, erected in 1850, at a cost, including site, of about £7,000, is of Kentish rag stone with Caen stone dressings, in the Early English style, and has a tower with spire containing one bell; in 1865 the chancel was extended and aisles added; the east window is a memorial to Elizabeth (Herbert), Countess of Clanwilliam, d. 20 Sept. 1858, and there are other stained windows; the church affords 630 sittings.
St. Andrew's Mission Hall, Sandown Road
The Mission Hall in connection with St. Andrew's was erected in 1881 at the north end of the parish for boatmen and others, and has 100 sittings.
St. George the Martyr, High Street, Lower Deal
The church of St. George the Martyr, Lower Deal, completed in 1715, is of brick, in the Queen Anne style; there are 900 sittings. The Corporation pew, a fine example of enriched oak carving, was constructed in June, 1892, at a cost of £100.
St. Leonard, Upper Deal (parish church)
The parish church of St. Leonard, at Upper Deal, dates from about 1051; it was rebuilt in 1684 and enlarged in 1819, and is a spacious edifice of flint and brick, with some remains of Norman and Transitional work, and has a tower containing a clock and 6 bells: there is a brass to Thomas Baker and his family dated 1508, and another, with kneeling effigy, to Thomas Boys esq. 1562; and several memorial windows; the lectern was presented in memory of Lieut. T. Ll. Griffith (son of the Rev. T. Ll. Griffith M.A. rector 1862-1904), killed at Isandwhlana, Zululand, 22nd January, 1879; there are 600 sittings.
Baptist
Victoria Baptist Church, Victoria Road
The Baptist church, erected in 1881, is a building in the Gothic style, and will seat 600 persons.
Congregational
Congregational Chapel, High Street
The Congregational chapel, founded in 1662, has 775 sittings
Methodist
Primitive Methodist Chapel, Park Street
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, West Street
Roman Catholic
St. Thomas of Canterbury, Blenheim Road
The Catholic church, in Blenheim road, erected in 1885 and dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury, is a building of red brick, in the Norman style, consisting of chancel, nave, transepts and western tower, and affords 200 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Deal from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Deal (St. Leonard))
Maps
Online maps of Deal are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:
- Kent & Sussex Courier
- Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald
- Dover Express
- Kentish Gazette
- Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald
- Kentish Chronicle
- Maidstone Telegraph
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.