Kent white horse symbol - 9251 Bytes gbflagpolemd.gif - 63006 Bytes

Kent Online Parish Clerks




white cliffs of Dover
Do you have a photograph of the church that you would like to see posted here?  Email me.

Dover, St. James Parish



worldcomputer.PNG - 44860 BytesWe are sorry, there is no Online Parish Clerk for this parish. We have no other information or data for this parish except what is accessed by or detailed on this page. If you wish to volunteer for this post or have data you wish to contribute, please use the appropriate link on our
Contacts page.

A View of the Parish

Dover St. James is within Dover borough and is a rectory. 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, was built, in the vicinity of Eastbrook, in 1861-3, after designs by Mr. Talbot Bury; 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 crocketted pinnacles, and surmounted by a fine spire, 150 feet high. Value of St. James, £245. Patron of St. James, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The sub-district of St. James, contains the parishes of St. James, Charlton, Guston, Whitfield, West Cliffe, St. Margaret-at-Cliffe, West Langdon, East Langdon, Oxney, and Ringwould, and the extra-parochial places of Dover-Castle and East-Cliffe.1

The Church of St. James is situated in the north-east part of this town, near the foot of the Castlehill, close to the road to Deal. It was antiently belonging to the castle of Dover; and in it the courts of chancery and admiralty, and lode manage, for the cinque ports have been usually holden. Kilburne, in his Survey, calls it St. James the Apostley, alias St. James of Warden-Doune. Leland, in his Itinerary, says, it was called St. James of Radby, or more likely Rodeby, a statione navium. The church has a square tower at the west end, having a ring of five bells in it. It is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon.2

It is a rectory, valued in the king's books at 4l. 17s. 6d. but is now a discharged living of the clear yearly certified value of twenty-four pounds. It is in the patronage of his grace the archbishop of Canterbury. It formerly paid tenths to the crown-receiver, but being certified to be of the yearly value of twenty-four pounds. is now discharged from the payment of first fruits and tenths. (Bacon's Lib. Reg. p. 32; but in p. 22, it is set down at £4 17s. 8 1/2d. in the king's books; yearly tenths 9s. 9 1/4d.)2

Archbishop Tenison, in his life-time, augmented this rectory with two hundred pounds, and confirmed that gift by his will, in 1715; but upon condition that the governors of queen Anne's bounty should augment it with a like sum of two hundred pounds, which they accordingly did, as a perpetual augmentation to it.2

Upon a flat stone, in this church, there is a memorial for Simon Yorke, obt. 1682; one for Philip Yorke, town clerk, (his son), and father to the chancellor, obt. 1721; he married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Gibbon. A small monument in the chancel for the Hodgsons, lessees of the manor of Dover priory; arms, Parted per chevron, embattled, or, and azure, three martlets. And in the same chancel, a monument for Henry Matson, merchant, who gave Solton farm to Dover harbour, and died in 1722. This church is kept very neat, and is well paved.2

Charities2

THOMAS BEAN, jurat, by will in 1764, devised to the mayor and jurats in trust, £222. South-sea annuities, the interest to be applied to repairing the tomb of Jane Byron and Clement Buck, and the remainder to be given by the minister and churwardens in bread, to the poor of this parish, on the first Sunday in January, the first Sunday in February, and the first Sunday in March, yearly.

THOMAS DAWKES, of Dover, shipwright, by will in 1705, gave to the mayor and jurats £50 to be by them constantly kept out at interest, the profits to be yearly laid out in bread, to be distributed among the poor of this parish, by the churchwardens and overseers, on St. Thomas's day.

Dover, Generally1

The entirety of Dover is a parish in the union and liberty of Romney-Marsh, ecclesiastically, in the diocese of Canterbury, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury and in the deanery of North and South Lympne.  Dover is in the hundred of Worth, lathe of Shepway.  The church is named for St. Peter and St. Paul with original registers commencing 1624.  Archdeacon's transcripts commence 1562 and Bishop's transcripts as of 1603.

Dover, a town and a district in Kent. The town stands on the coast, under chalk cliffs, at the mouth of the rivulet Dour, the end of Watling-street, and the terminus of two railways, 15-1/2 miles SE of Canterbury. 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 Dubrae of the Romans, the Dofra or Dofris of the Saxons, and the Dovere of Domesday. The ancient Britons had a camp at it; Caesar 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 Valentinian 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 1265. 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 king-maker, embarked and relanded here in 1459, and again in 1460. 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 Bologna; 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 here, 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. Anna 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 rode 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 visits to England. Napoleon III., the empress Eugene, and Victor Emmanuel landed here in 1855.

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 Copperfield; 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 Yorke; and of Baron again, in 1831, to the Right Hon. George J. W. Ellis.

Site and Streets

The town occupies the mouth of a fertile vale, 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 no town 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 grand 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; Guildford-lawn and Clarence-lawn, a year or two later; the Esplanade, in 1833; Waterloo-crescent, in 1834; and Camden-crescent, in 1840.

Public Buildings

The town-hall and sessions-house are a recent reconstruction of an ancient building, after designs by A. Poynter; measure, in their main part, 125 feet by 28-1/2; and contain pictures of various distinguished townsmen and of Elizabeth, Anne, Charles II., William III., and Wellington. 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 old court hall, built, in 1607, on the site of an ancient cross, was recently taken down; and had supporting pillars, with some curious grotesques. The town jail is enclosed by a stone wall, 24 feet high; and has capacity for 48 male and 8 female prisoners. The building for the Dover museum and philosophical institution was erected in 1849, and is a handsome structure. The imperial hotel was built in 1867, at a cost of more than £70,000; and has a lofty tower, and 234 rooms. There are a theatre, a concert-hall, a custom-house, and a sailors' home. A new cemetery was planned in 1869.

The Castle and Fortifications

The castle crowns a chalk cliff, 320 feet high, about 1/4 mile north-east of the town; and occupies nearly 35 acres. Its parts are so numerous and complex that a clear idea of them 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 re-modelled 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-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 or 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 form ed for the reception of soldiery, and barracks excavated in the solid rock, capacious enough to accommodate 2,000 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 a 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 Archcliff-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 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. A new battery, mounting eight 42-pounders, was built in 1853; additional barracks, for 1,200 men, were erected, at a cost of £60,000, in 1855-6. Extensive changes and enlargements of the fortifications will accrue from a great vote of money by parliament, in 1862, under the New Fortification act.

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 7 miles. It was cast at Utrecht in 1544; and presented to Henry VIII. by Charles V. A pharos watchtower, 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 1,800 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. A church 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, 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.

Ecclesiastical Affairs

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. The places of worship in it, in 1851, were 7 of the Church of England, with 7, 111 sittings; 3 of Independents, with 1,250 s.; 3 of Baptists, with 1,389 sittings; 1 of Quakers, with 180 s.; 3 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 1,069 s.; 2 of Latter Day Saints, with 130 at.; 1 of Roman Catholics, with 300 s.; and 1 of Jews, with 39 sittings. Trinity and Christ Church are perpetual curacies, in the diocese of Canterbury. Value of Trinity, £300; value of the others not reported. Patron of Trinity, the Archbishop of Canterbury; of Christ Church, Trustees.

Trinity church, in Stroud-street, was built, in 1833, at a cost of £8, 000. 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. 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 Pitty's, or Arch-cliffe chapel, in 1576. St. Martin's-le-Grand collegiate church was founded, in 691, by King Withred; refounded, 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 chapter-house 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 "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, and now used as farm-offices. One of the priors, Ascelyn, became Bishop of Rochester; and another, Richard, became Archbishop of Canterbury, immediately after Thomas à Becket. Suffragan bishops of Dover existed from 1537 till 1597.

Schools and Charities

A large public school, connected with the British and Foreign school society, was established in 1834; a subscription charity school, afterwards National, with two large lofty school-rooms, in 1789; and a school of industry, for girls, in 1818. Alms-houses have existed from time immemorial, and have an endowed income of £147; Cullin's charity has £136; and other charities have £233.

Railway Works

The Southeastern railway, from Folkestone to Dover, was opened in 1844; and excels every other line of equal extent in England, both in the romantic scenery which it traverses, and in the engineering difficulties which it overcame. The part of it near and at Dover, especially, is very striking. The Abbots-Cliff tunnel is 1, 940 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 3/4 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 lbs. of gun-powder, 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 1, 417 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 2,000 feet long. The tunnel of the East Kent railway, from Canterbury, passes through the western heights; is 680 yards long., 21-1/2 feet high, and 31-1/2 feet wide; and goes on a level 280 feet below the summit of the hill. Two 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, important, government works. Its harbour once extended some way up the valley, but has gradually retreated in consequence of 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 1737-9, at a cost of £22,000. The harbour, at present, includes the pent or inner harbour, 11-1/2 acres in extent, with an entrance 60 feet wide; the basin or middle harbour, 3-1/2 acres; and the outer harbour, 7-1/2 acres. 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 four 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; and is estimated to cost £2,500,000. Its area is 520 acres; its greatest width, nearly 3/4 of a mile; and its length, from west to east, about 1¼ mile. One entrance to it, 700 feet wide, is on the south; and another, 750 feet wide, is on the east. An admiralty pier, 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, at a cost of £234,862; and a second portion, 1,000 feet long, was begun in 1854. The works sustained considerable injury from furious storms in 1850 and 1855, yet continued substantially progressing; they meanwhile did valuable service in stopping the passage of beach which had so often choked the old harbour; and, when completed, they will afford both a port of refuge for wind-bound vessels, and a convenient low-water landing for steamers.

Trade

Dover has a head post office, a telegraph station, two banking offices, and nine chief inns; 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 three weekly newspapers. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays; and trade is carried on in ship-building, sail-making, rope-making, paper-making, corn-grinding, and oil-crushing. Coaches run to Walmer and Deal; and steamers ply to Calais, Boulogne, and Ostend. The vessels belonging to the port, at the beginning of 1863, were 32 small sailing-vessels, of aggregately 958 tons; 24 larger sailing-vessels, of aggregately 2,775 tons; and 4 steam-vessels, of aggregately 299 tons. The sailing-vessels which entered in 1858 were 74 from foreign countries, of aggregately 6,783 tons; 5 from British colonies, of aggregately 323 tons; and 339 coastwise, of aggregately 30,132 tons. The tonnage, in 1862, from foreign ports was 108,296; to foreign ports, 15,114. The amount of customs in 1858 was £13,396; in 1867, £11,721. Bathing establishments are on the Esplanade; bathing machines are on the beach; and bathing-places, without machines, are near. But the beach shelves suddenly, has a shingly bottom, does not admit the use of horses for the bathing-machines, and occasions bathing to be dangerous. The walks and rides for invalids, too, are not of the best.

The Borough

Dover was chartered by Edward I.; is governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors; and sends two members to parliament. The borough limits include 1,319 acres, and have already been indicated in the section on Ecclesiastical Affairs. Real property, in 1860, of Dover town, £68,503; of Dover pier, £36,536. Direct taxes of the borough in 1857, £14,249. Electors in 1868, 2,414. Pop. in 1841, 17,795; in 1861, 25,325. Houses, 3,991. Bishop White Kennet and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke were natives.

The District

The registration district of Dover comprises the sub-district of St. Mary, the sub-district of St. James, and the sub-district of Hougham, containing the parishes of Hougham, Buckland, River, Ewell, Coldred, Lydden, Sibertswold, Wootton, Denton, Alkham, Capel-le-Ferne, and Poulton. Acres, 29, 881. Poor-rates in 1862, £15,911. Pop. in 1841, 24,523; in 1861, 31,575. Houses, 5,217. Marriages in 1860, 313; births, 1,017, of which 53 were illegitimate; deaths, 630, of which 255 were at ages under 5 years, and 15 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-1860, 2,596; births, 8,662; deaths, 5,947. The places of worship in 1851 were 23 of the Church of England, with 9,349 sittings; 3 of Independents, with 1,250 s.; 5 of Baptists, with 1,465 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 180 s.; 9 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 1,740 s.; 1 of Primitive Methodists, with 100 s.; 2 of Latter Day Saints, with 130 at.; 1 of Roman Catholics, with 300 s.; and 1 of Jews, with 39 sittings. The schools were 16 public day schools, with 1,835 scholars; 36 private day schools, with 962 scholars; and 21 Sunday schools, with 1, 919 scholars. The workhouse is in Buckland.1

1 John Marius Wilson, comp.  The Imperial Gazatteer of England and Wales. (London, England: A. Fullerton & Co., 1870).

2 Edward Hasted, 'The town and port of Dover', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 9 (Canterbury, 1800), pp. 475-548. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp475-548.


Dover Bibliography

-- various. 'Archaeologia Cantiana'. Publisher: Kent, England: Kent Archaeological Society, various dates.  [Note:  The following volumes can be found on archive.org:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (1876), 11, 12, 13 (1880), 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35, vol. 1907 supplement.]


  • General references to Dover: vol. , pp.
  • Currently in revision

Great Britain, Public Record Office. 'Calendar of the patent rolls preserved in the Public Record Office--Edward II, Vol. 1. 1307-1313'Each volume has own index. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Great Britain, Public Record Office. 'Inquisitions and assessments relating to feudal aids : with other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office, A. D. 1284-1431', Vol. 3. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Great Britain, Exchequer. 'The book of fees commonly called testa de nevill, pt. 3'. The Book of fees contains information about the holdings of feudal tenants. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Hall, Hubert, 1857-1944. 'The Red book of the Exchequer - Liber rubeus de Scaccario, Vol. 3'. The Red book of the Exchequer was a register intended to preserve important documents comprising charters, statutes of the realm, public acts (Placita), private deeds and ordinances, correspondence. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Glencross, Reginald Morshead. 'Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Vol. 1. 1559-1571'. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Hasted, Edward. 'The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent; Containing the antient and present state of it, civil and ecclesiastical; collected from public records, and other authorities: illustrated with maps, views, antiquities, etc. The second edition, improved, corrected, and continued to the present time'. 12 volumes. Publisher: Canterbury: Printed by W. Bristow, 1797-1801. URL: British History Online

Hussey, Arthur. 'Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, mentioned in Domesday book, and those of more recent date'. Publisher: London J.R. Smith,(1852).

Letters, Dr. Samantha. 'Kent', Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 (2005).  URL: British History Online.

Page, William, 1861-1934, ed.. 'The Victoria history of the county of Kent'. Publisher: London: Constable (1908).  URL: British History Online

Sharp, J. E. E. S., ed.. 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward I, File 39', Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume 2: Edward I. Published:(1906), pp. 315-323.  URL: British History Online.

Sharp, J. E. E. S., ed.. 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry III, File 45', Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume 1: Henry III. Published:(1904), pp. 296-302.  URL: British History Online.


Location of Records

The following list of records is not intended to be exhaustive.  There are many records that are awaiting discovery in archive offices throughout Kent and England.  This list is intended only to set out those records that are available via at least two relatively easy-to-access avenues.  If you have used or discover a record that would be of benefit to other researchers, that is not on this list, please send me an email with the details of the archive - name, address and archival call number.

Census | Church of England | Non-Conformist | Parish chest | Workhouse and Poor Law | Land | Assizes and Sessions | School

 

Census

Date The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue,
Kew, Richmond,
Surrey,
TW9 4DU
LDS Family History Centre
(Find a centre near you)
and indexed online at:
New FamilySearch.org
6 June 1841 Currently under revision  
30 Mar 1851 Currently under revision  
30 Mar 1851 census name index & images Currently under revision  
7 Apr 1861 Currently under revision  
2 Apr 1871 Currently under revision  
3 Apr 1881 Currently under revision  
5 Apr 1891 Currently under revision  
31 Mar 1901 RG 13/785 - also online at http://www.1901censusonline.com  
2 Apr 1911 Currently under revision  
2 Apr 1911 RG 78/139 - Census Enumerator's Summary Books online only http://www.1911census.co.uk and other subscription sites none
 

Church Records, Church of England

Record Type Dates Archive 1
(Addresses)
Corresponding LDS Family History Library film numbers
(Find a centre near you)
Parish Register   Currently under revision  
Bishop's transcripts   Currently under revision  
CMB transcripts   Currently under revision  
Parish Registers, transcribed by Thomas Colyer-Fergusson   Currently under revision  
 

Church Records, Non-Conformist

Record Type Dates Archive 1
(Addresses)
Corresponding LDS Family History Library film numbers
(Find a centre near you)
Particular Baptist Chapel, Nonconformist Return   Currently under revision  
Methodist Church Registers   Currently under revision  
 

Parish chest records

Record Type Dates Archive 1
(Addresses)
Corresponding LDS Family History Library film numbers
(Find a centre near you)
Parish Council Minutes   Currently under revision  
Removal orders out of Dover   Currently under revision  
Settlement Examinations, Minute book   Currently under revision  
Overseers' Accounts   Currently under revision  
Return of Churchwardens, constables and defaulters     
Tithe Apportionment Files      
Poor Rate books   Currently under revision  
 

Workhouse and Poor Law Records

Record Type Dates Archive 1
(Addresses)
Corresponding LDS Family History Library film numbers
(Find a centre near you)
Admission & Discharge books   This section currently under revision  
Guardians' Minutes      
Ledgers      
Births   Currently under revision  
Deaths   Currently under revision  
Religious creed registers   Currently under revision  
Apprentice Register      
Registers of lunatics      
Letters books      
Vaccination registers 1899-1930 Currently under revision  
 

Land Records

Record Type Dates Archive 1
(Addresses)
Corresponding LDS Family History Library film numbers
(Find a centre near you)
Land tax assessments 1780-1831 Currently under revision  
Land tax assessments 1875-1876 Currently under revision  
Land tax assessments 1889-1890 Currently under revision  
Rates and Duties - Houses, Windows, Lights   Currently under revision  
Manorial Court rolls   Currently under revision  
War Damage Files 1939-1962 Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, no.: Finding Aid at CKS-DRb/RW 123 None
 

Assizes and Sessions Records
(poor laws, jail terms, oaths, and other municipal and public records)

Record Type Dates Archive 1
(Addresses)
Corresponding LDS Family History Library film numbers
(Find a centre near you)
Hearth tax   Currently under revision  
Victuallers Recognizances   Currently under revision  
Churchwarden's Presentments   Currently under revision  
Parish rate books   Currently under revision  
 

School Records

Record Type Dates Archive 1
(Addresses)
Corresponding LDS Family History Library film numbers
(Find a centre near you)
    Currently under revision  
       

Chronology

Coming Soon


Church Registers


Census


Parish Chest
Records

  • Settlement Certificates
  • Removal Orders
  • Bastardy Examinations
  • Parish-assisted Immigrants
  • Churchwarden's Accounts
  • Overseer's Accounts
  • Pauper's List
  • Surveyor's Accounts
  • Workhouse Records
  • Pew Rents
  • Donors' Rolls
  • Vestry Minutes
  • Bishops' Visitations
  • Parish Magazines
  • Parish Histories

Directories


Total Population

St. James
1801   -   1,327
1811   -   1,440
1821   -   1,674
1831   -   2,169
1841   -   3,057
1851   -   3,680
1861   -   4,122
1871   -   4,333
1881   -   4,371
1891   -   4,170
1901   -   4,211
1911   -   11,840*
1921   -   10,403*
*includes population of St. Mary and East Cliffe


Dover Distance to

London mi.
Canterbury mi.
Ashford mi.
Bromley mi.
Chatham mi.
Cranbrook mi.
Dartford mi.
Deptford mi.
Dover mi.
Faversham mi.
Folkestone mi.
Gravesend mi.
Greenwich mi.
Hythe mi.
Maidstone mi.
Margate mi.
Milton Regis mi.
Queenborough mi.
Ramsgate mi.
Rochester mi.
Sandwich mi.
Sheerness mi.
Tenterden mi.
Tunbridge mi.
Woolwich mi.


Directories


Municipal & Public Records

  • Mayors
  • Town Clerks
  • Recorders
  • Chamberlains
  • M.P.s
  • Jurats, Aldermen and Common Councilmen
  • Electoral Register
  • Freeholders
  • Freemen Index
  • Freeman's Roll
  • Masters Index
  • Pubs, Taverns, Inns, Alehouses
  • Victuallers

Wills & Estate Records

  • AD index 1448-1857
  • CC index 1448-1857
  • PCC 1338-1858
  • PPR 1858-1925
  • Depositions

Court Records

  • Gaol Returns
  • Quarter Sessions
  • Transportations
  • Summons for Pavement Repairs
  • Protestation Rolls c1641-1643
  • Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy 1662
  • Oaths of Allegiance c1720s

Military Records


Land Records
& Maps

  • Parish Map
  • Victoria County History
  • Deeds, Mortgages, etc.
  • Rated Property Returns
  • Returns of owners of land, 1873
  • Manors
  • Manor Court Baron
  • Manor Tenancy Rolls
  • Manors, Castles & Holdings of Significance

Tax Lists

  • Poll Tax
  • Hearth Tax
  • Window Tax
  • Hair Powder Tax
  • Land Tax Assessments 1780-1831
  • Land Tax Assessments 1799-1805

Other Records


Village Resources