Dover, Kent

Historical Description

Dover, a seaport town and municipal and parliamentary borough in Kent. The town stands on the coast, partly under chalk cliffs, at the mouth of the rivulet Dour, the end of Watling Street, and the terminus of two railways, 15¼ miles SE of Canterbury, and 76 from London. The "S.E.R. has a station in Beach Street, with a branch to the Admiralty Pier. The L.C. & D.R. has two stations-one at the Priory, on the Folkestone Road, and a terminal station in Strond Street, with a branch to the Admiralty Pier. It confronts Calais, is the nearest port of England to France, and has been noted from very early times as a main point of communication with the Continent.

History.-Dover was the Dwffyrrha of the ancient Britons, the Dubrse of the Romans, the Dofra or Dofris of the Saxons, and the Dovere of Domesday. The ancient Britons had a camp at it, Ca—sar appeared off it prior to his landing at Deal, a Roman receiver of tribute was located at it before Caesar departed, another Roman functionary converted the British camp at it into a fort or castle in the year 43, Severus engirt it with strong walls about the year 200, Roman legions were stationed at it in the reigns of Valen-tinian and Theodosius, and King Withred of Kent protected it by a sea-wall about the year 700. The Saxons and the Danes were prevented from troubling it by its strength. King Arthur, in the romance, arrived at it from Brittany. The knights of the Norman Conquest burned it, but the Conqueror furnished money for rebuilding it and gave it to Bishop Odo. Its Norman masters enlarged and strengthened its castle, enriched it with numerous churches and monastic houses, and made it, according to Matthew Paris, " the lock and key of the kingdom." Stephen, the last of the Norman kings, died in it. Henry II. was here in 1156, and again with Louis of France in 1179. Richard I. sailed hence in 1189 to the Holy Land. Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, was here in 1205 on his way to Rome as Prince John's agent against the Barons.

King John assembled on the neighbouring downs in 1212 a force of 60,000 men to prevent a threatened descent of the French, and made on the western heights in 1213 his submission to Rome. The French laid siege to the castle in 1216 in the belief that the capture of it would give them the kingdom, but were forced to retire. Richard de la Wyche, Bishop of Chichester, preached a great crusade against Sicily at Dover in 1253 in presence of the king. Henry III. landed here in 1254, was here again in 1257, and embarked and relanded here at four other times, Richard, king of the Romans, was refused admittance hither by the ruling barons in 1259, and the queen landed here and was met by the kings of England and Germany in 126 6. Edward I. and Queen Eleanor landed here in 1274, and the king sailed hence in 1286, and relanded in 1289. The French burned the town in 1295, but were immediately driven out. Queen Margaret of France landed here in 1299. Edward II. was here in 1303, sailed, hence in 1308 to espouse the Princess Isabella of France, relanded with that " she-wolf" in the same year, and was here again in 1319. Queen Philippa arrived here with a vast retinue in 1327. Edward III. embarked and relanded here in 1329, and again in 1331. The corpse of King John of France was brought hither from London in 1363 for removal to France.

A French fleet, after inflicting much injury on Rye, Hastings, and other places in 1377, appeared off Dover during seven days, but was driven away by a storm. Anne of Bohemia, the bride of Richard II., arrived here in 1382, and a sudden sea-tumult, thought to have been caused by an earthquake, occurred at her landing. Richard II. after suffering disasters at sea landed at Dover in 1392, and with the Dukes of York and Gloucester sailed from it in 1398 to make peace with the Duke of Burgundy. The child-queen Isabella, daughter of the Emperor Charles IV., landed and re-embarked here. The Emperor Sigismund arrived here in 1416 to mediate between Henry V. and France, and sailed hence in the same year. Henry V. landed here after a terrible storm two months later in the same year, and again with Catherine of Valois in 1421, and he embarked hence with the forces for his last campaign, and was brought back hither for his funeral obsequies. The Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker, embarked and relanded here in 1452, and again in 14GO. Falconbridge and the nucleus of the force with which he marched on London landed here in 1471. Henry VII. embarked here with his army in 1492 to join the Emperor Maximilian in the siege of Boulogne, and relanded in the same year. Henry VIII. went hence in 1513 for the invasion of France and the "Battle of Spurs." The Princess Mary, the bride of Louis XII., arrived in 1514 with Queen Catherine and Anne Boleyn, remained here a month, and went hence to France.

The Emperor Charles V. landed here and was met by Henry VIII. in 1520. Henry VIII., with Queen Catherine, went hence in the same year to meet Francis I. at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Charles V. was here again in 1522. Cardinal Wolsey went hence in 1527 as an envoy to Francis I. Anne Boleyn embarked, relanded, and was married to the king here in 1529. Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour resided here in the summer of 1537, and Henry was again here in 1538, 1541, and 1544. Erasmus landed here and "was provoked to hurl some fine Latin invective against the extortion of the boatmen. Anne of Cleves was here in 1539. Philip sailed hence in 1555, and was parted then for ever from Mary. Philibert, Duke of Savoy, landed here to pay his addresses to the Princess Elizabeth. The Spanish Armada was watched here by a reserve force, and beaten within sight of the cliffs by the English fleet. Envoys to sue for the hand of Queen Elizabeth in marriage arrived here in 1571, 1572, and 1574. The queen herself was here in 1573, and stayed six days. Henrietta Maria, the bride of Charles I., arrived and was met here by Charles in 1625. Marie de Medicis embarked here in 1641. Queen Henrietta and the Princess Mary sailed hence in 1642, while the king remained on shore long watching their departure. The castle fell into the hands of the Parliamentarians by stratagem in 1642, and remained with them throughout the war in spite of many assaults of the Royalists. Charles II. arrived here at his restoration in 1660, and was again here in the same year to welcome the return of his mother and his sister. Mary D'Este, the bride of James Duke of York, landed and was married here in 1672. James II. in disguise landed here in 1679.

The fleet of William of Orange at his accession to the throne passed near the cliffs, and a courier ro&e hence to London to announce its course. A violent earthquake was felt here in 1692. The Duke of Marlborough landed here in 1714. Christian VII. of Denmark landed here in 1768. The notorious Duchess of Kingston sailed hence in an open boat under night in 1776. Louis XVIII., at his restoration in 1814, was entertained here by the Prince Regent, and sailed hence to France. The allied sovereigns arrived here and departed hence in the same year. Marshal Blucher and the Duke of Wellington also landed here. The Persian Ambassador arrived here in 1819, Queen Caroline to claim her royal rights in 1820, and Chateaubriand, the French minister, in 1822. A grand banquet to the Duke of Wellington was given here in 1839. Prince Albert arrived here in 1840. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were here on a, visit in 1842, and landed here after a foreign tour in 1858. The Prince of Wales sailed hence in the latter year, and relanded here. King Leopold has landed here at all his visit& to England. Napoleon III., the Empress Eugene, and Victor Emmanuel landed here in 1855. The Duke of Con-naught resided here, when Prince Arthur in 1872, and in 1883 opened the new town-hall and people's park, which were named after him. In 1893 the Prince of Wales came to lay the foundation stone of the eastern arm of the new harbour.

Shakespeare has dramatized several of the events we have noted; Gray, the poet, mentions Dover; Lisle Bowles wrote a sonnet on it; Lord Byron alludes to it in some sarcastic lines; Wordsworth and Mrs Hemans celebrate it in a happier strain; Dickens gives prominence to it in his " David Cop-perfield. " Dr King, the antiquary, made observations at it in 1744 and 1787; and Cole, the antiquary, visited it in 1735 and 1769. The town gave the title of Earl in 1628 to Henry Carey, fourth Lord Hunston; of Baron in 1685 to the Hon. Henry Jermyn; of Duke in 1708 to James Douglas. Earl of Queensberry; of Baron in 1788 to the Hon. Joseph Y½orke; and of Baron again, in 1831, to the Right Hou. George J. W. Ellis.

Site, and Streets.-The town occupies the entrance to a fertile vale, part of it overhung by an amphitheatre of chalk cliffs. and spreads thence, beneath the cliffs, along a curving shore. It has brilliant environs of hill and cliff and promontory; presents within itself romantic features; commands, from its heights, a gorgeous prospect of the surrounding country, and across the straits to France, and is excelled by few towns in England in the mingled beauty and grandeur of its attractions. The walls which anciently engirt it described an irregular triangle, and had several towers. Four gates were on the south side and four on the west side, and the foundations of two of them, Severus Gate on the south and Adrian Gate on the west, remain. The western part of the town, contiguous to the harbour, consists of irregular narrow streets, and is the chief seat of business. The part thence along the shore includes lines of private houses (dates from 1791 and later periods), and is the chief resort of visitors and sea-bathers. The Marine Parade, Liverpool Terrace, and the houses under the East Cliff, were commenced in 1817, Guild-ford Lawn and Clarence Lawn a year or two later, the Esplanade in 1833, Waterloo Crescent in 1834, and Camden Crescent in 1840. Many handsome villas have been erected in the suburbs in recent years and the town much extended. A very progressive policy lias made itself apparent in the widening and improving of thoroughfares, the building of a school of art at a cost of about £10,000, and public baths.

Public Buildings, &c.-The town-hall, opened in 1883, is a fine building of Kentish rag, Bath stone, and flint, erected at a cost of about £19,000. The ancient building was a Maison Dieu, founded by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, in 1227 as a resting-place for strangers and pilgrims, and a belfry-tower of it, the refectory and chapel, part of the north aisle of a crypt, and a north-east sacristy remain. The building for the Dover Museum and Philosophical Institution was erected in 1849, and is a handsome structure. There are concert halls, a theatre, a custom-house, and a sailors"' home. The Gordon Boys' Orphanage was founded in 1884. There are five clubs and a Working Men's Institute. The public park, 23 acres in extent, was opened in 1883. There are several first-class hotels, good boarding-houses, reading-rooms, libraries, baths, and places of recreation. Bathing establishments are on the Marine Parade, bathing machines are on the beach, and bathing-places without machines are very near the town. A handsome promenade pier, 900 feet in length, with a width of 40 feet at entrance and 100 feet at top for the pavilion, was opened in 1893. It is approached from the Marine Parade. Near the Parade is a monument erected to the memory of the officers and men of the 60th Rifles who fell in the Indian Mutiny.

The Castle and Fortifications.-The castle crowns a chalk cliff 320 feet high, about a quarter of a mile north-east of the town, and occupies nearly 35 acres. Its parts are so numerous and complex that a clear idea could scarcely be given without the aid of a ground-plan, and they date variously from Roman, Saxon, Norman, and later times, but have, on the whole, been entirely remodelled since 1780. The castle, in its present state, may, in a general way, be said to consist of an upper and a lower court, defended by deep, broad, dry ditches, with subterranean communications to inner towers. The upper court is surrounded by a strong wall with towers, while the lower is encompassed on all sides, except next the sea, by an irregular wall or curtain, flanked by numerous towers. The entrance is on the south side of the principal tower by a flight of steps, leading by the west side to the house of the governor. The keep is supposed to occupy the site of the Roman pretorium, and has a height, at. The top of its parapet, of 465-8 feet above low water. The subterranean passages are supposed to have been formed in the reign of John. The cliff, with its vast congeries of almost every kind of fortification, looks like a citadel within a town, projects to the shore nearly as a promontory, and must, before the invention of cannon, have been as strong as Gibraltar.

Many changes and additions were made in the course of last century and in the early part of the present one to render this stronghold still more secure, and to fit it better for garrisons and for defence. Subterranean apartments, with communications, were formed for the reception of soldiery, and barracks excavated in the solid rock capacious enough to accommodate 2000 men. Fortifications also were erected on formidable heights to the west, which are higher than the keep. Four guard-houses were constructed there, ramparts and lines of defence were raised to defend them, and positions were made for seventy-two pieces of cannon. During the eleven years preceding 1814, likewise, entire regiments of soldiers, companies of miners and engineers, and a large train of masons, artificers, and labourers were continually employed in forming extensive excavations, lines, breast-works, batteries, redoubts, fosses, and all other strong constructions of military defence. Handsome barracks are situated above the town, and have communication with it by means of a military shaft. An arched passage leads to this from Snargate Street, and three spiral flights of 140 steps each, commencing at the extremity of the passage, wind round a large shaft or tower, open at the top to admit light. Above the barracks, on the hill, is the grand redoubt, surrounded by a deep fosse, and on the ridge of the hill, to the south-west of the redoubt, is the citadel, defended by deep ditches and numerous flanking and masked batteries. Lines of communication, either superficial or subterranean, connect all parts of the fortifications, and a military road passes over the hill from Archcliffe Fort to the entrance of the town from Folkestone. Deep wells and curiously-contrived tanks give an ample supply of excellent water; and a military hospital, a handsome edifice, .stands charmingly on the declivity toward the sea. The southern fortifications extend as far as the celebrated Shakespeare Cliff, or Hay Cliff, described in t1 King Lear." This is 350 feet high, almost perpendicular, and somewhat remarkable in form, but is by no means so sublime an object as might be supposed from Shakespeare's description. Additional barracks for 1200 men were erected, at a cost of £60,000, in 1855-56, and a school-church for the garrison was opened in 1858.

A curious piece of brass ordnance within the castle walls bears the name of Queen Elizabeth's pocket pistol. It is 24 feet long, is adorned with flowers and emblematical devices, and is said to be capable of carrying a 12-pound shot seven miles. It was cast at Utrecht in 1544, and presented to Henry VIII. by Charles V. A pharos watch-tower to the south of the keep is remarkable both as the only piece of the Roman works of the castle now remaining, and as almost the earliest regular masonry now existing in Great Britain. It forms a conspicuous object for miles around, and during the last 1800 years has served as a landmark to guide the mariner to the shores of England. It consists of a casing of flints and tufa, with bonding-courses of large Roman tiles, filled up in the interior with smaller stones and mortar, and it is octagonal outside and square inside, with walls 10 feet thick and a clear inner space of 14 feet each way; It was used for defence, and underwent alterations in the time of William the Conqueror, was repaired in 1259 by Lord Grey of Codnor, constable of the castle; was allowed afterwards to bear unaided all the abrasion of time and weather, and was at one time used as a government storehouse. The church of St Mary in the Castle, adjoining the pharos, occupies the site of the Roman Sacellum, is ascribed by some antiquaries to the age of the apocryphal King Lucius, or the period of the mission of St Augustine; seems certainly to date, in its oldest portions, from the middle of the 7th century; is chiefly Norman, but contains Saxon parts, has interspersions of Roman bricks and tiles in its walls, and was finely restored in 1862, under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott, to be a garrison church. A special document of the time of the Conqueror speaks of " the castle of Dover, with the well of water in it." The position of the well eluded the most diligent investigation till the year 1811, when it was discovered in the keep in the thickness of the north-east wall. The castle has always been considered one of the principal defences of the country, and contains a garrison of about 750 men. Fort Burgoyne, an extensive modern work to the north, now forms the real line of defence on that side.

Ecclesiastical Affairs.-The parishes of St James and St Mary, the chapelries of Trinity and Christ Church, the extra-parochial places of Dover Castle and East Cliffe, and parts of the parishes of Charlton, Hougham, Buckland, and Guston are within Dover borough. Five other parishes, a chapelry, and a priory or collegiate church were formerly within it.

St James' Church, in St James' Street, at the foot of the Castle Hill, consists of nave, south aisle, and chancel, with low central tower, has a Norman doorway, and contains the ashes of the father and grandfather of Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, and a monument to Sir Nathaniel Wraxall. A larger church, to supersede this, in Maison Dieu Road, was built in 1861-63; is in the Decorated English style, of Kentish rag with Bath stone dressings; consists of nave and aisles 94 feet long and 66 feet wide, galleries at the sides, and a chancel 34 feet by 24, with an organ chapel on the south; and has a tower at the north-west angle, with crocketed pinnacles, and surmounted by a fine spire 150 feet high. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £460 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. St Mary's Church, in Cannon Street, consists of nave with aisles, a chancel with apse, and a west square tower with octagonal spire; dates from the llth century, but was mainly rebuilt in 1843-44, and contains monumental inscriptions for the actor Foote and the poet Churchill. The living is a vicarage; value, £880, in the gift of the Archbishop, Lord Warden, and Lord Lieutenant. Trinity Church, in Strond Street, was built in 1833 at a cost of £8000. The living is a vicarage; value, £250. Patron, the Archbishop. Christ Church, within Hougham parish, was built in 1844, and is a good structure of nave and aisles, with bell-turret, in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage; value, £350, in the gift of Trustees. The church of St Peter and St Paul, Charlton, is a small building of flint and brick. A magnificent church to supersede this was built of stone in 1893 in close proximity with an entrance to Frith Road. The living is a rectory; value, £300. Patron, Keble College, Oxford. The Church of St Bartholomew is a good stone building in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage; value, £195. Patron, Keble College, Oxford. The church of St Andrew is at Buckland. The living is a vicarage; value, £320. There are Wesleyan, Congregational, Baptist, and Unitarian chapels, a Roman Catholic church, Jews synagogue, and a Friends' meeting-house.

St John Baptist's Church was destroyed in 1537, St Peter's after 1611, St Nicholas in 1836, St Edmund's at some period not noted, Our Lady of Pity's or Archcliffe chapel in 1576. St Martin's-le-Grand Collegiate Church was founded in 691 by King Withred, rcfounded on a new site behind the market-place by King Henry II., and continued to be used for Divine service till 1528. Ruins of it, comprising the east piers of the central tower, the walls of the choir and its aisles, part of the transept, and the chapterhouse on the south side of the choir, with a portion of the crypt and a belfry, are still standing. Its churchyard contains the tomb of the poet Churchill, and was the place where Lord Byron wrote his well-known lines on one lt who blazed the comet of a season." The priory of St Martin, on the Folkestone Road, nearly opposite Christ Church, was founded in 1132 by Archbishop Corboil; had a large and magnificent church, which has entirely disappeared; made a great figure for a time in opposition to the Archbishops of Canterbury, but was at length subdued by them and became their property; and is now represented by a picturesque decorated principal gateway, and by the guest-house and the refectory, the latter nearly perfect, both very plain but massive, with Norman and Early English features. One of the priors, Ascelyn, became Bishop of Rochester, and another, Eichard, became Archbishop of Canterbury immediately after Thomas a Becket. Suffragan bisliops of Dover existed from 1537 till 1597, and were re-appointed in 1818. Dover College is an excellent boarding school for boys, founded in 1870; and is situated in the pleasant and extensive grounds of the priory. Dover High School for girls was founded in 1888. Aimshouses have existed from time immemorial.

The South-Eastern railway from Folkestone to Dover was opened in 1844, and excels nearly every other line of equal extent in England in the engineering difficulties which it overcame. The part of it near and at Dover, especially, is very striking. The Abbots Cliff Tunnel is 1940 yards long, goes through hard chalk at a level of 12 feet above high water, and is ventilated by side galleries opening in the face of the cliff. The sea-wall beyond this is three-quarters of a mile long, 23 feet thick at the base, and from 60 to 70 feet high, consists of solid concrete, and is washed on one side by the sea, and overhung on the other by precipitous cliffs from 300 to 400 feet high. The Round Down Level, a space of about 7 acres in the course of the sea-wall, was formed by blasting a mass of chalk 300 feet long, 375 feet high, and 70 feet in mean width; and the blast on one occasion was done by galvanic batteries, with 18,500 Ibs. of gunpowder, making a noiseless explosion which caused the prodigious mass to glide in shattered fragments "like a stream into the sea." The Shakespeare Cliff Tunnel is 1417 yards long, is entered by two pointed parabolic arches, and has two parallel tunnels, each 30 feet by 12, with seven air-shafts and seven lateral outlets to the sea, through which the excavated chalk was discharged. The timber viaduct, close to the town, is 2000 feet long. The tunnel of the L.C .& D.R. from Canterbury passes through the western heights, is 680 yards long, 21½ feet high, and 31¼ feet wide, and goes on a level 280 feet below the summit of the hill. Submarine telegraphs go from Dover to Calais and Ostend. The first was originally laid in 1850 to Cape Grisnez, and was the earliest submarine telegraph ever undertaken, but broke in consequence of fretting on a ridge of rocks under the cape, and a successor to it was formed to Sangatte, nearer Calais.

The Harbour.-Dover is the only one of the ancient Cinque ports which has not lost its harbour, and it would long ago have shared the fate of its brethren but for successive large and important government works. Its harbour once extended some way up the valley, but has gradually retreated in consequence of the debris brought down from the hills, and of a shifting bar of shingle. Works were undertaken for it by Henry VIII., which included an enormous pier, and cost £80,000. Fresh works were commenced by Elizabeth, and continued by James I., which cost great sums, and kept the harbour open. New works or reconstructions were done in 1737-79 at a cost of £22,000. The harbour at present includes the pent or inner harbour, 11½ acres in extent, with an entrance 60 feet wide, the basin or middle harbour 3½ acres, and the outer harbour 7¼ acres. The inner dock was enlarged, deepened, and reopened for traffic in 1874. A wet dock and a graving dock are on the west side; a dry dock and basin are to the south of the outer harbour; a quay, constructed in 1841, and admitting vessels of 200 tons, goes 400 feet along the lower side of the pent, and 431 feet on the south-east; a commercial quay, formerly called pent-side, was formed in 1834; an addition of 4 acres to the outer harbour, enclosed by quays, was made in 1844; and a sea-wall, commencing at the north pier-head, and continued along Waterloo Crescent and the Esplanade, was built in 1850. The entrance of the harbour between the piers is 150 feet wide, and has a depth of from 14 to 18 feet of water. A harbour of refuge, immediately outside and eastward, was commenced in 1847. The first portion of the Admiralty pier, which forms the western arm of the harbour, 800 feet long, 90 feet broad at the base, 60 feet broad at the top, and commanding 10 feet of water at the lowest tide, was constructed in 1848-51. A second portion was begun in 1854, and occupied nearly thirty years. It is considered one of finest examples of sea-work in the world. The total cost was nearly £1,000,000. Two 81-ton guns were placed at the end of the pier in 1882. The works sustained considerable injury from furious storms in 1850 and 1855, yet continued substantially progressing, and meanwhile did valuable service in stopping the passage of beach which had so often choked the old harbour. In 1893 the Dover Harbour Board commenced the construction of the eastern arm, in order to provide a purely commercial harbour of ample dimensions, and it is expected that it will be completed in about seven years. The new works comprise eastern arm, landing jetties, and Admiralty pier extension. The eastern arm, at a cost of £414,000, is to contain a length of 1260 feet of ironwork, beyond which stonework extends to the distance of 1500 feet. The depth of water at entrance at lowest tides will be 40 feet, and the area 60 acres, while the estimated cost is £600,000.

Trade, &C.-Dover has a head post office, two banks, maintains fully its old character as the chief point of England's communication with the Continent, figures as the head of the Cinque ports with a body of 56 pilots for the Channel service, and publishes four weekly newspapers. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and apart from that connected with the mail and packet service to the Continent,. The trade carried on is chiefly in shipbuilding, sail-making, rope-making, corn-grinding, and the supply of ships' stores.

Dover was chartered by Edward I., is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors. The limits of the municipal and parliamentary boroughs are co-extensive. The area is 1256 acres; population, 33,300. The parliamentary borough returned two members to the House of Commons until the passing of the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885,. which reduced the number to one. The number of vessels registered as belonging to Dover in 1893 was 47 (3783 tons). The entries and clearances each average 4200' (960,000 tons) per annum. The customs revenue in 1893' was £54,160.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, Adrian Street Baptist: burials 1819-1841

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, Adrian Street Baptist Church: burials 1791-1883

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, Christ Church in Hougham: baptisms 1844-1912, marriages 1865-1928, burials 1847-1932

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, Cowgate Cemetery: burials 1837-1841

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, French Church: baptisms 1646-1711, marriages 1647-1693, burials 1685-1721

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, Holy Trinity: baptisms 1854-1904, marriages 1815-1917

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, Last Lane Lady Huntingdon's Connexion: burials 1814-1837

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, Snargate Street Wesleyan: burials 1834-1837

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, St James: baptisms 1595-1909, marriages 1595-1905, burials 1594-1923

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, St John Mariner: baptisms 1849-1906

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, St Mary the Virgin: baptisms 1557-1912, marriages 1557-1902, burials 1559-1954

Findmypast have the following online for Dover, Wesleyan Church: baptisms 1833-1870

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Dover from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Dovor, or Dover)

Maps

Online maps of Dover 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.