Gateway To Europe
Kent Life|April 2017

Still best known as our ‘frontline town’ due to its role during the war, Dover overlooks the narrowest part of the English Channel, while its delightful neighbour St Margaret’s was a favourite haunt of Bond author Ian Fleming. 

Caroline Read
Gateway To Europe

DOVER has always been the gateway to Britain and while the past few decades have seen the seaside town weather more than just the occasional storm, it is finally receiving some much-needed attention. Just one of the many parts of Kent undergoing regeneration, Dover is setting itself up as a modern, attractive and prosperous town.

It already has a superb location going for it. With a shingle beach, sheltered within the harbour walls, there’s a real seaside resort feel to the place. It’s also well connected, as you’d expect for a port with a ferry terminal, with train times to London starting at just over an hour on the high speed to St Pancras. And best of all, there’s always been a strong continental feel to what is our nearest town to France.

Among its attractions, Dover Castle, Dover Museum, the South Foreland Lighthouse and the town’s Roman Painted House show an area rich is history. And recently, one of Dover’s most important buildings, the listed 800-year-old Maison Dieu (also called Dover Town Hall), was upgraded from a Grade II* to a Grade I, with plans for a major restoration of the building.

But it’s not all about the past. Like many of our seaside towns, regeneration is the buzz word in Dover today, with a long list of developments and plans. It is a town looking to preserve the past and improve the future.

THE PAST

Dover’s strategic position has always been its greatest asset and its greatest threat, with settlements here since the Bronze Age. When the Romans invaded, it became a fortified port known as Dubris, with a large harbour flanked by two lighthouses and three forts. More than 60 Roman sites have been uncovered in the area, including Dover’s Roman Painted House –thought to be the best-preserved example of a Roman house in the country (www.theromanpaintedhouse.co.uk).

Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av Kent Life.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av Kent Life.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA KENT LIFESe alt
The choice of leaders
Kent Life

The choice of leaders

It’s a small, scenic Kentish market town on the border with Surrey, famous for not one but two great leaders. We take a look around Westerham

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
The eco-warriors
Kent Life

The eco-warriors

Awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2019 in recognition of its research in global nature conservation, the role of Kent-based DICE has never been more relevant

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2020
Kent's most CURIOUS MONUMENTS
Kent Life

Kent's most CURIOUS MONUMENTS

Our county can boast some of the most celebrated and downright unusual protected mouments in the country

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
Ghosts of a river's life
Kent Life

Ghosts of a river's life

Kent Life discovers an an other-worldliness about the marshes, creeks, and saltings of the lower reaches of the river Medway

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
The return of the son
Kent Life

The return of the son

The Unknown Warrior’s journey from the World War One battlefields via Dover to his resting place in Westminster Abbey is 100 years old this month

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
We will remember
Kent Life

We will remember

In a year when we got an inkling of what living through a war means, we remember the 75th anniversary of the end of the Great War

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
Age-old advice
Kent Life

Age-old advice

Just become a grandparent for the first time? Perhaps you need a little guidance, so here are some top tips about how to embrace your new family role

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2020
10 GOOD REASONS TO VISIT Medway Towns
Kent Life

10 GOOD REASONS TO VISIT Medway Towns

A vast Dockyard, a Napoleonic fort and a JCB diggers theme park - let’s visit Chatham and Medway

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020
KENT'S CREEPIEST- GHOST STORIES
Kent Life

KENT'S CREEPIEST- GHOST STORIES

Here are 10 tales to make you shiver as we celebrate All Hallows’ Eve

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2020
Joking apart
Kent Life

Joking apart

From his home in Broadstairs, Royston Robertson comes up with satirical, topical and sometimes just plain silly cartoons

time-read
5 mins  |
October 2020