Rise and Decline: Dover and Deal in the Nineteenth Century - Part II
RISE AND DECLINE: DOVER AND DEAL
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
By JOHN WHYMAN, B.Sc.(EcoN.)
ParllJl
GROWTH :POINTS IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY DOVER
EVIDENCE suggests tha.t nearly a.ll the economic and social indices of
Dea.I were reversed in the case of Dover. As a, defensive centre a.nd
cross-Channel port the town assumed a growing importance in the
eighteenth century. Indeed, a 1721 Atlas specifically pinpointed its
castle and the packet boats for France.2 Well before the nineteenth
century the Calais and Ostend passages had assumed a, major significance
in the life and well-being of Dover, and, in 1805, it was claimed
that, 'the money spent by passengers is the chief support of the town' ,3
as against 1811, 'in time of peace this town is a great thoroughfare for
persons passing to and from France'.4
Any analysis of the size of nineteenth-century Dover is complicated
by the fact that the parish boundary changes in the town have been so
intricate that comparable population statistics are difficult to assemble.
Various series of figures can be quoted according to the divisions
included in the estimates, but in very broad terms the population of
Dover increased from 7,709 in 1801 to 41,794 inhabitants in 1901.6
Behind this increase of numbers lay the important functions of Dover
a-s a garrison town, a seaport, a seaside resort, and the principal station
on the pa&sage to the Continent, as well as the great works carried on
by the state at Dover, from the building of the Admiralty Pier to the
completion of the Admiralty Harbour.o
Accompanying the growth' of numbers wa,s an extension of the
residential built-up area.a. Building booms in nineteenth-century Dover
a.rose from the construction of new 1·esidences and lodging-houses on
the margin of Dover Bay, as well as in many other parts of the town.7
1 Arch. Gant., lxxxiv (1969), 107-37.
2 Mr. Senex, A New General AtlM containing a Geographical and Hwtorical
Account of all the Empire8, Kingdoms, and other Dominions of the Woi·ld (1721), 201.
8 David Macpherson, AnnalB of Commerce, Manufactures, Fisheries and
Navigation (1805), Appendix IV. ·
4 Henry Moore, A New and Comprehensive Syste'/11 of Universal Geogrnphy
(o. 1811), 47.
6 John Bavington Jones, Annal.9 of Dover, 2nd ed., Dover, 1938, 451.
0 Ibid., 451.
7 Jina., 450.
85
DOVER A.L"'ID DEAL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Some of the building highlights were:
Marine Parade, Liverpool Terrace, with the houses under the Eat
Cliff, started in 1817.
Guilford and Clarence Lawns begun shortly afterwards.
Esplanade, 1833.
Waterloo Crescent, 1834.
Camden Crescent, 1840.8
The more extensive building projects frequently caught the attention of
the national press; for instance, The Times reported, March 1844:
'We understand that the Earl of Guilford, the noble proprietor of
the Frith Farm, near the Castle, is about to apply to Parliament for a
private act to enable him to let a portion of the valley on lease for
building purposes; and that plans for the erection of splendid terraces,
said to be equal in design and magnitude to any in the kingdom, have
been prepared, and aJso for detached villas; altogether nearly 1,500
residences are contemplated to be formed on this delightful spot • •
It will prove a good speculation.'9
Extensions of the settlement area represented business for the
building trades, numerically represented in Dover as follows in 1874:
Dover Building Trades, 1874.10
Builders 32
Plumbers 14
Carpenters 12
Cabinet Makers · 8
Painters 8
Pa.per Hangers 5
Bricklayers 4
Brickmakers 4
Various .contemporary references suggest that Dover was quite a
pleasant place to live in during the nineteenth century. William Cobbett
seemed to think so when he wrote in 1823:
'The town of Dover is like other sea.port towns; but really, much
more clean, and with less blackguard people in it than I ever observed
in any seaport before. It is a most picturesque place, to be sure . .
I got into Dover rather late. It was dusk when I was going down the
street .•• I happened to look up, and was quite astonished to perceive
cows grazing upon a spot apparently 50' above the tops of the houses
..• I went up to the same spot, the next da.y, myself: and you actually
look down upon the houses, as you look out of a window, upon people
in the street.'11
One of the locaJ. guide-book compilers of the 182Os made great play
s Mackenzie Walcott, A Gwide to the Ooast of Kem (1859), 40-1.
0 The. Tim,e,Q, 26th March, 1844, 6f.
1o The Post Ojflce Directory of the Sia: Home Oounlies (1874), ii, 1243-52.
11 G. D. H. and Margaret Cole, Rwral Bides, by William Cobbett (1930), i,
226-7.
36
DOVER AND DEAL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
of the seooide attractions of Dover a..s a health and holiday resort when
he noted that:
'Had its original founders anticipated, that it would one day
become a favourite resort of the invalid, they could not have selected,
within a compass of many miles, a better shelter from the northern blast
than the lofty castle hill. The heights to the west, and Shakespeare's
Cliff . • • afford a cover from the wind . . . and a most beautiful and
shaded valley opens to the north west. A vast expanse of sea spreads
before the town, enlivening the prospect from the balconies and
windows . • • but the sea bathing is, perhaps, one of the greatest
attractions. 112
The Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser reported
an instance in May, 1841, of the increased value of property in the town:
'Last week, the house, No. 29 Marine Parade, the property of the
late General Horsford, was offered for sale by public auction at the
Shakespeare Hotel. After some spirited bidding it fetched £1,780.
These premises were erected about 20 years ago for about £1,200.'13
In many nineteenth-century towns rapid growth of numbers produced
overcrowding and pressures on the environment, but of Dover on
the occasion of the 1861 Census, The South Eastern Gazette reported thart,
'One of the results of the census here is worth remarking, especially
a.t a time when the general crowding of dwelling houses by the labouring
population is engaging the attention of the public. The inmates of the
several parishes constituting the Borough of Dover average the
following numbers:
No. to ]j]ach Hou.se
St. Mary A fraction under 6
St. James A fraction over 6
Hougham About 5½
Charlton - do -
Buckland A fraction over 4.'u
Finally, a, Meeting of the British Association at Dover in 1899 ha.d
set before them in a Handbook to Dover the many attractions of the
town as a place ofresidence: sanitary improvements; electric tramways;
sea-bathing facilities; the fact that as a garrison town and large
military centre, it 'contains many retired military and professional
men'; walks on the Piers; enormous advantages 'in the way of education
by the well known [Dover) College . . . and from the modern High
School for Girls'; 'some of the finest modern hotel accommodation on
the Coast'; the beautiful Connaught Park;. sea fishing; hunting, golf;
tennis clubs; and new athletic grounds for football and cricket matohes.16
Dover was a town of many economic activities, and fleeting refer-
12 W. Batcheller, A New History of Dover, to whicl is added a New Dover
Guide, Dover, 1828, 348-9.
13 The Dover Telegraph and Cinque Port8 General .Advertiser, let May, 1841, So.
u The South Eastern Gazette, 21st May, 1861, 4e.
u; {Ed.) S. Evans and F. Bennett-Goldney, British Association Handbook w
Dover, Dover, 1899, Advertisement.
37
DOVER AND DEAL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
ences during the nineteenth century tell of the essentials of the town's
multifunctional economy.
1851, the year of the Great Exhibition:
'Shipbuilding, ropemaking, sailmaking, papermaking, corn grinding,
etc ...• The supply of shipping .•• A considerable foreign intercourse
... The seat of a large post office establishment ..• The packet
establishments for Calais and Ostend ... The grand pilot station of the
Cinque Ports, with 66 pilots attached to it ... As a port Dover imports
a good deal of coal, and it has also some :fishing ... The Custom House,
built in 1806, does much business in passing baggage.' 10
1879:
'The trade of Dover, apart from that connected with the mail and
packet service to the Continent, consists mainly of ship-building, rope
and sail making and the supply of ships' stores; eggs, fruit, and other
rural produce are also imported from France, and the :fishery and
coasting trades are in a thriving condition.' 1'
1891:
'As a seaside resort Dover has considerable attraction and is visited
by a large number of tourists and holidaymakers: but its chief importance
will always consist in its facilities for the conduct of an immense
shipping trade, and these facilities have been greatly extended in
recent years by the improvement effected in the harbour. Very large
sums of money have been expended in this matter• ...T he greatest
activity prevails in the shipping here, and there is a constant stream of
traffic a.cross the Channel to Calais and other French ports, and also
eastwards to Ostend •.. When we enquire into the commercial undertakings
of Dover, we find that there is not only an extensive coasting
and fishing trade, . .• but also an immense import business in eggs,
fruit, and other produce from French and other Continental ports.
Among local industries those of shipbuilding, rope and sail-making,
papermaking, brewing and fishing are particularly prominent, but a
great variety of general trades find adequate representation in the
town, and there is an immense activity in those branches of business
which involve the supplying of ships' stores of all kinds ... The visitor
who makes a tour of the principal streets of modern Dover will not
fail to be impressed with the large number of fine shops and warehouses
that will come before his notice.'18
Nineteenth-century Dover was an important wholesale, distributing
and retail shopping centre in the county. Specialist wholesale distributors
operated outwards, some of them over a. twenty-mile radius.
The wholesale activity of Dover in 1874 amounted to six firms-three
in grocery, one in confectionery, and two in boots and shoes.lo There
were seventy-six such firms in the whole of Kent, of which Canterbury
16 Po8t Offlce Directory of the Six Home Oountie8 (1851), 299.
11 (Ed.) J. R. Somers Vine, The Municipal Oorporatiorui Companion, Diary,
Direcwry, and Year Boolo of Stati8tic8 for 1879 (1879), 131.
18 Industrial Grwt Bruain, Part II, A Oommercial Review of Leading Firms
Selected from Important TOWM of Many Oountie8 (1891), 147.
19 The Po8t Office Directory of the Six Home 0ountie8 (1874), ii, 1665-1839.
38
DOVER AND DEAL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
and Maidstone, the regional centres respectively of East and West Kent,
each had fifteen wholesale concerns.20 As a leading centre of wholesale
business in the 187Os, therefore, Dover took third place after Maidstone
and Canterbury, but even more specific to the needs of Dover people
and to visitors from outside were the retail establishments of the to'WD..
Over the years from 1847 to 1874, for instance, the shopping facilities
of the town expanded as follows:
The Shopping Facilities of Dover, 184721 and 187422
Type of Retail Outlet 1847 1874
Bakers 40 45
Butchers 23 31
Pork Butchers 4 11
Boot- and Shoemakers 52 58
Chemists 12 15
Coal Merchants and Dealers 17 28
Confectioners 16 18
Dairymen/Cow keepers 6 12
Fishmongers 6 13
Grocers and Tea. Dealers 37 39
Bazaars and/or Fancy Repositories 6 11
Hosiers and Glovers 3 5
Hairdressers and Perfumers 12 14
Linen Drapers 22 22
Milliners and Dressmakers 24 42
Poulterers 5 5
Tailors 30 35
Tobacconists 5 19
Watchmakers 11 11
Wine and Spirit Merchants 3 14
Insurance societies were well represented in most towns of any size,
but the strengthening of the insurance interest in the business life of
Dover came about because the various shipping and merchandise
trades and business concerns came to look to insurance companies to
carry some of the inevitable risks in their business. Solicitors, tradesmen
and private individuals acted as agents to the various insurance
companies. The thirty-nine agents representing thirty-four companies
in 1851,28 grew to sixty-one agents serving forty-seven companies by
1874.24
20 Ibid., 1666-1839.
.. ai Samuel Bagshaw, History, Gazetteer, and Dfrectory of the OO'Unty of l{ent,
u, Sheffield, 1847, 406-18.
22 The Post Ojfwe Directory of the Six H<>me Ocmnties (1874), ii, 1243-62.
2s Post Ojflce Directory of the Six Home OO'Unties (1861), 300-6.
H Ibid. (1874), ii, 1238, 1243-52.
S9
DOVER AND DEAL IN THE NINETEENTH OENTURY
Dover, a,lso in common with many other towns of nineteenthcentury
Kent, functioned as a market town. In the 1830s the market
days were Wednesdays and Saturdays.
'On the latter the principal market is held, when the neighbouring
country, from an extent of many miles, pours in a bountiful supply.
The butter market is held under the Musewn, and the butchers'
shambles are close adjoining. '26
The fish market was rebuilt in 1831.26 The markets continued to be
well supplied in the 1850s, and every year there was a fair which
started on 23rd November and lasted over three days.27
The inauguration of important works for improving ]?over harbour
had a, long history extending back to the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth
I and Ja.mes I.28 Henry spent £63,000 on a pier a,t Dover.29 The nineteenth
century was notable for many advances in the science of harbour
construction and civil engineering generally. During 1844 the entrance
to Dover harbour was deepened, and the outer harbour was enlarged
to the extent of 7½ acres.so In 1847, a new set of works was undertaken
for the formation of a. harbour of refuge, intended to enclose no less
than 520 acres, a.nd the Admiralty Pier, which formed its western arm
was thrown out to nearly half a, mile from the shore, these tremendous
works getting under way in 1848,81 The Admiralty Pier cost £Im. to
complete,82 described in 1891 as:
'presenting a massive and immovable granite barrier to the
Channel waves, and forming a grand example of the triumph of
engineering skHI and science over natural difficulties of no insignificant
order.'33
Dover harbour in the mid-1890s could receive vessels of 1,000 tons
burden,34 which was a doubling of the 500 tons burden given in 1874.85
Ships and the tonnages they carried were getting larger all the time,
facts which called for wider entrances a,nd deeper anchorages. An
entire book could be devoted to the history of Dover harbour, and the
best indica.tion. of the scope of this topic is seen perhaps in listing the
25 W. Batcheller, The New Dover Guide, including a Oonciae Slcetcl of the
Ancient and Modern History of the Town and Oastle, Dover, 1838, 137.
26 Ibid., 137.
27 Post Ojfwe Directory of the Si.a; Home Oount.ies (1851), 299-300.
28 The Municipal Ocwporatione Oompanion, op. cit., 130.
20 A. T. Walmisley, 'The Harbour and Port of Dover', British Association
Hanilhook to Dover, op. tit., 47.
so The Municipal Oorpo-ratwns Oompanion, op. cit., 130.
81 Ibid,., 130.
32 KellAJ's Direetory of Kent (1895), 201.
38 Induetrial Great Britain (1891), op. cit., 147.
u Kelly's Directory of Kent (1895), 201.
35 The Post Ojfi.-Oe Directory of the Six Home Oountiee (1874), ii, 1235.
40
DOVER AND DEAL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
years when Acts of Parliament were passed bearing directly on ·Dover
harbour starting in the days of Queen Elizabeth I:
1581 1700 1786
1589 1703 1794
1593 1718 1828
1597 1723 1836
1601 1724 1848
1603 1738 1861
1662 1758 1871
1873
1882
1891
and 189886
The legislative side alone gives twenty-five Acts in the space of 310
years, or an average of one Act roughly every 12½ years, quite excluding
many intervening surveys, reports, and other documents.
Even though from 1815 to 1914 there was peace in the English
Channel,
'the long peace was nevertheless an am1ed and often apprehensive
peace-there were several scares of Anglo-French war and possible
invasion-fleets and coastal fortifications grew in their rival strengths
and until the formation of the Entente Oo-rdiale in 1904 the British and
French peoples looked on one another as potential enemies, each quick
to take offence and see sinister intentions in the other.'87
Although actual war never came about, the lingering suspicions
concerning France maintained the garrison function of Dover. Old
people living in the town today, possessing memories reaching back
through half a century, have vivid recollections of the position of
Dover during two World Wars. The effects of the First World War on
the town of Dover have been chronicled by J. B. Firth's Dover and the
Great War, but almost an exact parallel must have existed during the
French and Napoleonic Wars, when the casualties to the population
were much higher even than in World War I. The monitude of the
campaigns was such that the fighting forces in 1811 employed about
Im. people, against a total population for England and Wales of
I0•lm.ss It is curious to reflect why economic historians have so far
hardly begun to consider the direct effects of the Napoleonic Wars.
Dover was very much at the centre of war operations, of which there
were constant references in the contemporary press. In January, 1806,
The Times reported the presence of French privateers near Dover:
'Dover, January 17. The enemy's privateers, constantly at low
water, infest our coast, and so daring are they, that two of them
came to anchor abreast of our harbour on Tuesday evening. The
Sea-fencibles went to the batteries, but were prevented going to the
guns by the sentinels, who alleged that no person should touch
so Walmisley, op. eit., 52.
37 J. A. W 38 illiamson, The English Ohannel: A History (1959), 323. B. R. Mitchell and P. Deane, Abstract of British Historical,Statistics (C.U.P.,
1962), 6.
41
DOVER AND DEAL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
the guns, without an order from Lord FORBES, the Commanding
General, who was at Canterbury.'30
Troop movements and embarkations became familiar everyday
occurences during these years. The Kentish Gazette, for instance,
reported at the end of March, 1815, that,
'Active preparations are making to augment the British force in
the Netherlands. The 2nd battalion of the 95th (Rifle) Regiment, has
been embarked at Dover, and with two other regiments the 23rd and
51st has sailed for Ostend.'40
The coming, presence, and going of the military sometimes created
social problems in the town. The Times during January, 1808, reported
an affray between a party of militia stationed in the town; 'at a well
known house at the foot of the Castle Hill ... between a party of the
Shropshire and a party of the Surrey regiment of militia, between
whom there appears to be a considerable degree of animosity', which
resulted in one of the Surrey militia being carried off to hospital 'so
much beaten that his life is dispaired of'. 41 Following this incident a
guard was stationed to prevent persons from resorting to the house in
question. 42
.An obvious aspect of the Wars was the heavy fortification of Dover,
and the considerable expenditure which that involved. At least £50,000
were spent on the national defences of Dover as a, military station,
miners, mechanics and labourers being employed to cast up additional
mounds and ramparts and to excavate the chalk rook for oasemates
and mines.43 Within the castle itself extensive barracks were excavated
in the solid rook, providing a garrison for 3,000 to 4,000 men.44 William
Cobbett, on his visit to the town in 1823, was highly critical of the
defence works which had been undertaken:
'Rural Rides, Wednesday, Sept. 3. Evening. I went to see, with my
own eyes, something of the sorts of means that had been made use of to
squander away countless millions of money. Here is a hill containing
probably a couple of square miles or more, hollowed like a honey-comb.
Here are line upon line, trench upon trench, cavem upon cavern,
bomb-proof upon bomb-proof • . • The question that every man of
sense asks, is: What reason had you to suppose that the French would
ever come to this hill to attack it, while the rest of the country was so
much more easy to assail? ••. This is, perhaps, the only set of fortifications
in the World ever formed for mere hiding ••. holes made in a,
hill, to hide Englishmen from Frenchmen ••• More brick and stone
have been buried in this hill than would go to build a neat new cottage
for every labouring man in the counties of Kent and of Sussex. •4
30 The Times, 20th January, 1806, 3d.
40 The Kentish Gazette, 28th Ma.rob, 1815.
n The Times, 2nd January, 1808, 3b.
'2 Ibid., 2nd January, 1808, Sb.
43 Batcheller (1838), op. cit., 111-12; also 115-16.
44 Ibi