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Trail Map

Waymarker 1
andrewdenyer
Biggin Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Dover War Memorial
andrewdenyer
Unveiled in 1924, the Dover War Memorial was designed by Richard Goulden, a Dovorian and veteran of the Great War. It symbolises gratitude to the fallen and sympathy for the bereaved. In the War Memorial garden, mounted on a concrete block, is a grappling iron used in the heroic raid by the Dover Patrol to prevent German submarines leaving their base by blocking the Port of Zeebrugge on St. George’s Day, 23rd April 1918. The attack was successful but cost 176 lives, 412 wounded with 49 missing and had only a temporary effect on U-boat activities.
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Biggin Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Maison Dieu House
andrewdenyer
Set back behind the town’s war memorial is Maison Dieu House (Grade II*) built in 1665 as the office of the Agent Victualler of the Navy. The impressive staircase inside, with turned balusters, is contemporary with the building. In 1834 it became the residence of the commander of the Royal Engineers in Dover before becoming a private residence. Bought by the Dover Corporation in 1899, the house became council offices until after the Second World War when it became the public library. It now houses Dover Town Council.
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Biggin Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Waymarker 2
Cross the High Street using the pedestrian crossing.
High Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Waymarker 3
Turn left.
High Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Turn right into Effingham Crescent.
Effingham Crescent, Dover, United Kingdom

Dover College, Effingham Crescent, Dover, United Kingdom

Dover College
From the entrance to the present Dover College (Grade II*) part of the remains of St. Martin’s Priory, dating from 1130, can be seen, including the gatehouse and strangers’ house. The small Benedictine community, was closed by Henry VIII in 1535. Some of the buildings were then plundered for their stone and for many years what remained was a farm. The boundary wall is built of flint and medieval masonry rescued from the ruins. The 100 foot long former refectory, now the college hall, is a most impressive example of Norman architecture and can be seen from Effingham Street. The great priory church, some 300 feet long extended into the present surrounding streets.
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Dover College, Effingham Crescent, Dover, United Kingdom

Cross the road to walk along Norman Street.
Effingham Crescent, Dover, United Kingdom

Cross the road then turn left.
Norman Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Head left along Priory Road.
Priory Road, Dover, United Kingdom

Turn right onto St.Edmund's Walk.
Priory Road, Dover, United Kingdom

St.Edmund's Chapel
St Edmund’s Chapel (Grade II*) is probably the smallest church in England in regular use. Built as a cemetery chapel for the Maison Dieu, it was dedicated to St. Edmund of Abingdon, Archbishop of Canterbury 1234-40 and consecrated by St. Richard of Chichester who died a few days later in the Maison Dieu in 1253. It is the only religious building consecrated by one English saint in honour of another English saint. After its suppression it was put to various uses until 1965 when, threatened with demolition, it was purchased privately and beautifully restored by 1968. At least 75% of the building is original.
Priory Road, Dover, United Kingdom

Turn right into Biggin Street.

Waymarker 10A
Continue straight ahead.

Turn right into New Street, stopping at the Roman Painted House.
Cannon Street, Dover, United Kingdom

You will find the Roman Painted House in front of you. If you are not visiting today, return the way you came up, New Street to Biggin Street.
New Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Roman Painted House
Normally open during the summer months, the remarkable Roman Painted House was excavated by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit in the 1970s. This town house, dating from 200A.D., plus a section of a major Roman fort, dating from 270A.D. has been preserved within a modern building. No comparable painted walls have survived north of the Alps. The hypocaust (underfloor) heating system can be seen and there are displays of artefacts, photographs and a video.
New Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Turn right as Biggin Street becomes Cannon Street. Look left to see the Parish Church of Dover, St Mary the Virgin. To continue with the trail, continue straight ahead on Cannon Street to the Market Square.
Cannon Street, Dover, United Kingdom

St.Mary's Church
The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin (Grade II*), mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The two lower stages of the very fine tower are early Norman dating from c.1100 and the three upper stages later Norman, c.1150, displaying lovely relief carving. Note the 17th century sundial on the south face. Unfortunately, from 1843-1844 much of the medieval building was demolished as the foundations had become unsafe because of the number of burials in the church and it was rebuilt in Victorian Gothic style. Some Norman pillars and arches survive. The font is Norman and two Gothic arches and pillars survive on the north side of the chancel. There is a memorial window to the victims of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster in 1987. Remains of a Roman building lie under the west end.
Cannon Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Continue straight ahead, crossing the road at the pedestrian crossing.
Market Square, Dover, United Kingdom

Market Square
Before looking round Market Square look left along Castle Street to see a fine view of Dover Castle’s keep built in 1180 by Henry II. In Roman times the shore line and quay were a little to the east of the square. The estuary of the Dour was then much wider. One of the Roman lighthouses, the Pharos, can be seen from the town on the Eastern Heights inside the castle grounds. The later Roman Fort of the Saxon Shore (c.270-400) was one of a series built from The Wash to the Isle of Wight to protect the coast against Saxon pirates. In Dover it covered an area which included the square and the earlier Classis Britannica Roman fort. In the 7th century a community of secular Canons was established in the Castle.
Market Square (Stop H), Dover, Dover District, United Kingdom

St.Martin LeGrand
At the end of the 7th century King Withred of Kent moved priests from the castle to a monastery on the west side of the present square. When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 he marched on Dover and burnt it. The Normans rebuilt the monastery and the splendid church of St Martin Le Grand replaced the Saxon building. The church, cruciform in plan, had three apsidal chapels at the east end. In 1131 the Canons were turned out, probably on a pretext, and St. Martin Le Grand became the church of three parishes. Its destruction began at the Reformation. More was pulled down in 1881. The remains can be seen by walking between the Museum and Barclays Bank and up the steps or ramp.
Market Square (Stop H), Dover, Dover District, United Kingdom

Market Hall
On the south side is the attractive façade of the former Market Hall (Grade II), designed by Edmund Woodthorpe in 1846. Dover Museum, transferred from the old Guildhall, occupied the upper storey until it was damaged by enemy action in the Second World War. It returned to this site in 1991 and has now been joined by the Visitor Information Centre. The Museum contains in a purpose-built gallery, the world’s oldest seagoing boat, the Dover Bronze Age Boat, discovered in 1992 20 feet below street level.
Dover Museum, Dover, United Kingdom

Bronze Age Boat
At the end of Bench Street, a continuation of King Street, at the entrance to the A20 underpass, is a plaque commemorating the spot where the world’s oldest seagoing boat, the Dover Bronze Age Boat was found in 1992 some 20 feet below street level, superbly crafted in oak with yew withies to tie the planks and caulked with sphagnum and other mosses. Eight metres were successfully removed and this wonderful find is now on display in Dover Museum in a purpose-built Bronze Age Boat Gallery.

Dickens Plaque
Above the door of Dickens’ Corner coffee shop on the corner with Church Street is a plaque which records that in Dickens’ novel, David Copperfield, David rested here. Looking south into King Street you can see on the left an attractive reddish building with heraldic beasts, which was purpose built as the Head Post Office in 1893.
Market Square (Stop H), Dover, Dover District, United Kingdom

Castle Street and the hidden river
Castle Street dates from the 1830s. Before 1829 the land was several feet lower and marshy. The terraced houses form a harmonious and attractive group. Between Stembrook and Dolphin Passage there was a ford over the Dour. The river was later arched over and now runs under the street.
Castle Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Waymarker 14A
Turn left onto Castle Street and continue straight ahead until the Bluebird marker at the pedestrian crossing.
Castle Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and continue straight ahead onto Castle Hill Road.
Castle Street, Dover, United Kingdom

By the triangular green turn right into St.James Street.
Castle Hill Road, Dover, United Kingdom

Castle Hill House
This large (Grade II*) Georgian house was built in 1760 by the Stringer family set in parkland. It has since been the home of several Dover mayors, town clerks and a Dover MP.
Castle Hill Road, Dover, United Kingdom

The White Horse
This Grade II listed building is now the oldest surviving public house in Dover and the ‘local’ for the many swimmers from all over the world who train in the harbour before attempting to swim across the Channel to France.
St James St, Dover, United Kingdom

Old St.James' Church
This Grade II ruin, originally Norman, was heavily restored in 1869. Badly damaged by shelling from the French coast during the Second World War, it is now preserved as a ‘tidy ruin’ to commemorate the damage to Dover and the suffering of its people during the war.
St James St, Dover, United Kingdom

Turn left onto the left hand side of Woolcomber Street and continue to the Townwall Street (A20) junction to use the pedestrian crossing to continue straight ahead (not right).
Woolcomber Street/Dover, Woolcomber Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Turn left onto Townwall Street to use the pedestrian crossing.
Woolcomber Street/Dover, Woolcomber Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Mote's Bulwark
Near the base of Castle Cliff (13) Henry VIII’s Mote’s Bulwark was built in about 1540 to protect the harbour.
Townwall Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Carry on ahead down Douro Place to the seafront.
Townwall Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Cliff Casemates
In the cliffside you can see casemate openings dating from Napoleonic times which were greatly extended during World War II to act as an underground command centre and from which the Dunkirk evacuation was masterminded in 1940. From the balcony Churchill looked towards occupied France.
Townwall Street, Dover, United Kingdom

East Cliff Terrace
The pleasing East Cliff terrace was built c.1830-40.  At the beginning of the 19th century there were no buildings here except an unusual house called Smith’s Folly.  Built in 1791, it was partly carved from solid chalk, but mainly consisted of low buildings, roofed with inverted boats, and a turret.  The builder was John Smith, father of Admiral Sir Sydney Smith.  This strange edifice was the model for the house roofed with a boat in David Copperfield.  Dover also provided settings for Dickens’ Little Dorrit and A Tale of Two Cities.
East Cliff, Dover, United Kingdom

Waymarker 20A
Cross over the road onto the promenade.

Captain Matthew Webb
There are a number of interesting memorials on the seafront. The first is a bust of Captain Matthew Webb  who, in 1875, was the first man to swim the Channel unaided.  Webb gave up his job as a ship’s captain to train for the ordeal.  His first attempt, on 12 August, failed when a storm blew up but on 24 August he succeeded, taking 21 hours 45 minutes and actually swimming 64 kilometres rather than the 34km straight line distance.  Webb died attempting to swim across the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara Falls in 1883.
Marine Parade, Dover, United Kingdom

Continue straight ahead, noting the Operation Fuller memorial to your right.
Marine Parade, Dover, United Kingdom

Operation Fuller monument
Operation Fuller is more commonly known as the Channel Dash of World War II. In February 1942 the German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst plus the cruiser Prinz Eugen were ordered to sail from Brest through the Dover Strait to the Baltic escorted by many warships and aircraft.  Thick fog meant that they were spotted late. Cross Channel guns were unsighted and Motor Torpedo Boats could not get near enough.  Fleet Air Arm and RAF aircraft attacked but failed to stop the German fleet. 42 British and 18 German planes were lost in the battle.
Marine Parade, Dover, United Kingdom

Merchant Navy
This is a memorial to more than 30,000 men of the Merchant Navy who died during the Second World War. One in three Merchant Navy seamen died during the war when 2627 merchant ships were sunk braving U-boats in the Atlantic and bringing much needed food and munitions to Britain. There were also heavy losses elsewhere including the Arctic convoys supplying Russia.

Charles Rolls memorial
On 2 June 1910 Charles Stewart Rolls became the first man to cross the Channel both ways in a single flight. Leaving Swingate aerodrome near Dover at 6.30pm, Rolls was back in Dover at 8pm when he was carried shoulder high through the town.  Only a month later, at a flying display at Bournemouth, he became the first Briton to be killed in a flying accident.

Portrait bench and channel swimmers
Opposite the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club building is a portrait bench with three sculptures selected by the community to commemorate the Olympic Torch Relay that came through Dover in 2012.  The two impressive concrete plinths surmounted by images of swimmers pay tribute to the many swimmers from all over the world who train every year in the harbour before attempting to swim to France across the English Channel.

At this point, before continuing along the seafront you may wish to turn right to view the Rifles Monument on New Bridge and then return to continue from this point with the sea to your left.

Dover Harbour
Looking seawards, the expanse of is impressive. The construction of a National Harbour of Refuge was first discussed in the early 19th century.  For hundreds of years the shingle which blocked successive harbours was a problem. It was not really solved until the Admiralty Pier, begun in 1847 and completed in 1871, was built into deep water.  In 1897 work commenced on the Eastern Arm, the Southern Breakwater and the extension to the Admiralty Pier, which was finished in 1909.  This huge outer harbour was intended solely for Royal Navy use. The Dover Patrol was based here during World War I, but it was never used for the whole fleet.  The Admiralty handed over the harbour to the Harbour Board in 1922 for commercial use and since the Second World War the port has developed enormously.   In 2015 13 million passengers, 2.3 million tourist vehicles, 96,000 coaches, 2.5 million freight lorries and 120 cruise ships used the port.

Continue westwards with the sea to your left, discovering Dover's war memorials.

Dunkirk Memorial
The Dunkirk Memorial pays tribute to the events of 26th May to 4th June 1940 when 338,226 British and Allied troops were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk to Kentish ports in an assortment of craft which included destroyers, paddle-steamers, trawlers, dredgers and cockle boats.  180,982 men landed in Dover but 68,111 were killed or captured by the enemy during the retreat.

Frontline Britain Memorial
The simple Frontline Britain memorial commemorates all those in East Kent who died during World War Two.

Lindemann Monument
The unusual Lindemann Monument, containing a section of the armour-plating from one of the German long-range 406mm guns, called ‘Caesar’, sited at Batterie Lindemann near Sangatte in the Pas de Calais.  The gun was silenced by Canadian troops who captured it in September 1944.  The plating is inscribed ‘Es flogen gegen Engeland’ ‘They flew against England’, and a tally of rounds fired is recorded.

Waterloo Cresent
Waterloo Crescent (Grade II listed) was built between 1834 and 1838. At its western end is Harbour House, the headquarters of Dover Harbour Board.  In 1606, at the instigation of James I, Dover Corporation agreed to transfer control of the harbour to ‘eleven discreet men’, including the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
Waterloo Crescent, Dover, United Kingdom

The Marina curve
This new development is on the same site as the old Prince of Wales Pier. You can also see Lord Warden House and Admiralty Pier from the curve

The waymarker will be fitted once renovations to the seafront have been completed. Leave the seafront and turn right into Union Street using the right hand side pavement.

Hand Crank Crane
On the south side of the Wellington Dock, now a marina and formerly the Great Pent, into which the River Dour flows is an unusual feature, which is the Fairbairn hand crank crane (Grade II) dating from 1868 and known locally as the ‘gooseneck’ for obvious reasons.
Esplanade, Dover, United Kingdom

Prince of Wales Pier
The half mile long Prince of Wales Pier (Grade II) was built between 1893 and 1902.  In 1977 the Hoverport was built on the west side and operated a regular service to Calais until 2005. A 19th century clock tower and former lifeboat station are by the pier entrance. Tramsatlantic liners en route from Europe to the USA berthed at the pier in the early 19th century served by a railway that ran along the pier.
The pier will largely disappear from view when incorporated in the Western Docks Cargo Terminal development.
Esplanade, Dover, United Kingdom

Unless you are visiting the Grand Shaft, opposite, turn left onto left hand side of Limekiln Street (A20).
Union Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Grand Shaft
The Grand Shaft (Grade II) entrance is at the foot of the cliffs. It was built between 1804 and 1807 as a short-cut for soldiers stationed in the barracks and forts of the Western Heights. It consists of a unique triple spiral staircase through the chalk cliff. Each staircase has 140 steps within the cliff and another 59 into the former Grand Shaft Barracks’ yard. Notices placed at the top of each staircase changed slightly over the years. One version is: ‘1 For Officers and their ladies, 2 For Sergeants and their wives, 3 For Soldiers and their women’. The original purpose, however, was for speed rather than class distinction. In the event of the invasion threatened by Napoleon Bonaparte, troops could be quickly assembled at sea level.
Union Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Western Heights
The Western Heights may be reached via the Grand Shaft, when it is open, or via York Street and Military Road. Using the latter route you will pass the ruined foundations of what is thought to be a Knights Templar church with its circular nave and short chancel.  Excellent views of the town, harbour, Eastern Heights and, on clear days, the French coast may be obtained.  Fortification began in 1779 when England was at war with America and feared attack from America’s allies, France, Spain and the Netherlands.  The Drop Redoubt, a detached fort, may be visited on Open Days. Connected to the Redoubt by brick-lined, dry moats is The Citadel, a much larger fort, now used as a prison and not open to the public.  Barracks located near the top of the Grand Shaft were demolished in the 1960s. Image of Drop Redoubt (above) courtesy of Dover Western Heights Preservation Society.
South Military Road, Dover, United Kingdom

Hidden Tunnels
The chalk cliffs conceal many extensive man made cave systems that were used as air raid shelters during both world wars.
Union Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Cross Elizabeth Street, turn left and walk over the viaduct (higher road).
Limekiln Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Former Harbour Station
Harbour Station was opened in 1861 as an extension from Dover Priory station to the Western Docks of the London, Chatham and Dover line. This required a 684 yard (626m) tunnel through the Western Heights and the demolition of many properties in the then residential Pier District.
Elizabeth Street, Dover, United Kingdom

Cross the road and walk along past Lord Warden House.
Clarence Place, Dover, United Kingdom

Lord Warden House
Lord Warden House (Grade II) is the impressive building at the end of The Viaduct. Built as the Lord Warden Hotel, it was opened in 1851 to cater for cross Channel passengers arriving and departing by rail at the adjacent Town Station (now demolished). Distinguished guests included Napoleon III and Charles Dickens.
Lord Warden Square, Dover, United Kingdom

Turn left along the side of the building.
Lord Warden Square, Dover, United Kingdom

Cross over and go through the metail gates and into the building to access Admiralty Pier.
Lord Warden Square, Dover, United Kingdom

Admiralty Pier
Admiralty Pier was begun in 1847 as one arm of a proposed naval harbour, which eventually enclosed Dover Bay.

Dover Marine Station
Dover Marine Station (Grade II) was completed in 1914 and was used extensively during World War I to move troops and the wounded to and from France. It closed in 1994 as a consequence of the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Inside is an impressive memorial to the railwaymen who gave their lives during both World Wars.

Gun Turret
Admiralty Pier Gun Turret, a coastal artillery battery, was completed in the 1880s but never fired in anger. When built it was at the seaward end of the pier prior to a later pier extension. The hidden gems here are its original armaments: two Armstrong 16 inch Rifled Muzzle Loading guns each weighing 81 tons within a circular cast-iron turret. The guns, about 8 metres in length could fire a 1700 pound (771kg) shell nearly seven miles. They were the second largest Armstrong guns ever made and the only steam powered guns ever possessed by the coastal artillery in Britain.
Admiralty Pier Turret, Dover, United Kingdom

Having completed the trail, turn back to leave the pier and return to the seafront and town centre.
Admiralty Pier Turret, Dover, United Kingdom

Dover Town Hall
The Town Hall has over 800 years of history with several distinct phases. Founded in 1203 primarily as a hospice (hostel) for pilgrims, it was closed by Henry VIII in the 16th century and became a Crown victualling depot for the Royal Navy but was sold to the Town Council in 1834 who converted the premises into a town hall and court.
High Street, Dover, United Kingdom

The Rifles' Monument
The Rifles Monument is in the centre of New Bridge. It was erected in 1861 in memory of members of the 1st Battalion 60th Royal Rifles who fell in India. Cambridge Terrace, built in 1861, is on the west side and, equally attractive, all that remains of the 1840 (Grade II) Camden Crescent damaged during World War II. Charles Dickens stayed there. New Bridge House (Grade II) was built as a bank in 1865.

Waymarker 20B
Turn left along the Promenade.

Waymarker 20C
Turn back along the Promenade.