The Dover Historian

Flashman’s of Dover

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Lorraine

George Flashman made all the furnishings in the old Council Chamber, Maison Dieu, and on completion donated the Lectern in 1868.

The old Council Chamber in what was once Dover’s Town Hall – the Maison Dieu – was added in 1868. Flashman’s of Dover made the furnishings, many of which can still be seen. It was in the autumn of 1830 that George Flashman (1804-1885) opened a furniture making business at the corner of Market Square that was to dominate the east side of the Square for the next 150-years!

Born in 1804, George had served his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker in his birthplace of Chatham. He came to Dover in the 1820s eventually teeming up with George Killick and opening a small business in Last Lane, on the west side of Market Square. At about this time, Dover Harbour Commissioners were increasing their income by building superior properties along the seafront, of which Waterloo Crescent is still standing. Castle Street was also being built for the more affluent residents of Dover by a consortium of local businessmen.

George Flashman 43 Castle Street advert. Dover Telegraph 30.12.1843

With the latter in mind, George bought premises on the north-east corner of Market Square and opened a shop making high-class furniture to the customers’ specifications. on the premises. At the time George bought his property Castle Street was not accessible from Market Square but in 1836, George sold some of his land for £350 to the council. This, along with the acquisition and demolition of other properties by the council, enabled Castle Street to be opened into Market Square. George changed his address to Castle Street and his business, in the prime spot, flourished.

George married Elizabeth Bridgland and they bought 79 Castle Street, on the opposite of the road to his shop. A religious man, George was active in the Wesleyan Church and later was appointed steward of the Dover Methodist circuit. This was the highest post a layman could hold and he held it for twenty-one years.

Church Place at the end of which was Flashman’s workshop and deposiary on Dieu Stone Lane, which can just be seen. Dover Library

As his business grew, George opened a furniture depot in Market Lane and a cabinet factory in Dieu Stone Lane. Later an annex was built next to the cabinet factory for the depository. Always the businessman and recognising an opportunity, with the approaching wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert on 10 February 1840, George erected a large Royal Coat of Arms on his shop front. Underneath was the dedication, ‘Congratulations to her Royal Highness Queen Victoria & his Royal Highness Prince Albert’. This attracted a lot of interest to his shop, from the elite members of Dover’s society and visitors to Dover. Soon his fame spread such that members of the Royal family were ordering furniture from Flashman’s of Dover!

Between 1859 and 1862 was carried out on the Drop Redoubt, on the Western Heights, exposing the Bredenstone, the remains of a Roman Pharos. From 1660 successive Lord Wardens had been installed near the location but the building of the fortifications during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) had buried the ancient ruin. On 29 August 1860 with all the pomp and ceremony that goes with the event Viscount Palmerstone, Prime Minister at the time, was installed as the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Messrs Flashman were commissioned to erect a pavilion over the historic stone and the area where the ceremony took place.

Although a hard-headed businessman, George was well known for his generosity. On 3 March 1863 a fire, claiming three lives, devastated properties on the west-side of Market Square. George and Elizabeth took in and provided for one of the families that had been left homeless. Between 1852 and 1862, the Maison Dieu, then Dover’s Town Hall, was restored using the designs of Ambrose Poynter and carried out by William Burges. In 1867-8, the Council Chamber was added to the designs of Borough Engineer, John Hanvey in the style of Burges. George won the contract for the furniture and when completed he donated the lectern above.

Binfields, on the east side of Market Square, near to Flashman’s, c 1900. Dover Library

As the nineteenth century progress the number of exclusive specialist shops increased along the east-side of Market Square. Of note were Killick, Back and Son’s carpet warehouse, linen store and clothing and Binfield Brothers. The latter were wine merchants. They had established about 1850 in Last Lane opening their newly built Market Square premises in 1889. Their shop was faced with Minton tiles and emblazoned with the Binfield trades mark of a rising sun and provided both a wholesale and a retail service in wines, spirits and tables waters. Binfield’s own blend of ‘old Scotch’ was sought after around the world.

Elizabeth Flashman died in 1867 and in the census of 1871, George was listed as living in Buckland with members of his immediate family nearby. On 22 May 1885 Mrs Mary Tyler, George’s eldest daughter, laid the foundation stone for the extension of Buckland School. George had contributed £225 towards the building but this was one of his last acts of generosity for he died that year aged 81-years.

Flashman’s c 1900 with Royal proclamation – Dover Museum

By the time of George’s death the firm was well patronised by the elite of British Society. In acknowledgement to this George had replace the earlier plaque with one proclaiming that his company had been given a Royal Warrant. This was hung over the entrance to the shop. After George’s death his sons and son-in-law continued to run the business. In 1893 the company designed and built a new stage proscenium for theatre productions at the Connaught Hall but it was not until after World War II that theatrical productions were allowed to be staged in the Hall.

Following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, the Royal Warrant plaque was moved to the inside the shop and replaced by another proclaiming the different aspects of the enterprise. Their adverts proclaimed that they were high-class decorators, auctioneers and house agents and that their premises had an acre of floor space that would completely furnish a house. ‘The floor space was stocked with cabinets, curtains bedsteads, bedding, bedroom suites, linoleum, rugs, curbs and fire brasses plus over eight miles of carpets in stock, many being private patterns!’

Thomas Longley Landlord of the Star, Church Street. At his death, reputed to be the heaviest man on the Realm. Bob Hollingsbee

The firm were also funeral directors and in 1904 Flashman’s made the 7-foot (2.13metres) long by 2-feet 9inches (0.96metres) wide by 2-feet 5inches (0.74 metres) deep coffin for Thomas Longley. He had been the landlord of the Star Inn, Church Street. When he died, on 26 February that year, Longley was reputed to be the ‘heaviest person in the realm.’

World War I and the depression of the 1920s seem to have passed Flashman’s by. On 1 November 1930, the firm held its centenary celebrations by which time their workshop on Dieu Stone Lane was extensive. The also had large retail outlets Folkestone and St Margaret’s Bay as well as Dover. Headed by Chairman and Managing director, Clement Flashman. The business claimed that they could cater ‘from the cradle to the end.‘ There was every reason to believe this as their clients were amongst the wealthiest in the land.

Flashman’s advert circa 1930, Note the extensive premises and their proclamation on the wall.

During his speech that night, Clement showed a large Crown with wreaths and ribbons beautifully carved out of mahogany. It was part of a bedstead that the company had recently made for the Royal Family. However, acknowledging changes in public taste and the economic climate of the time, Clement added that the firm was increasingly making smaller, compact utilitarian furniture at considerable less cost but still more than the man-in-the -street could afford to pay.

Even though the economy sunk to even lower depths, because of their clientele base, Flashman’s could weather it. Albeit, Arthur Binfield put his wine shop on the market in 1937. The business sold for £4,300, Arthur died in 1966 aged 74.

Flashman’s Depositary, Dieu Stone Lane. Kent Messenger Group

Unlike World War I, the Second World War had a devastating impact on Flashman’s not only from the business perspective. On 31 March 1941, their furniture depository, in Dieu Stone Lane, was damaged by fire following a shell attack. Another shell totally wrecked the building on 4 October 1943. That year their main premises in Market Square suffered from shelling that seriously injured a passer-by. The shop and adjacent buildings suffered further war damage and the latter had been demolished by 1945. In their place, a NAAFI Institute, built of Nissen huts and capable of accommodating 1,500, opened on 19 March 1945.

In 1953 Dolphin House, comprising of flats and eight shops were built on the bombsite. Flashman’s refurbished their shop and when the economy started to recover, in the 1950s, the firm did their best to respond. By 1956, they boasted of largest stock of furniture, carpets etc. on the south-coast and published a 36 page illustrated catalogue, free by post. Albeit, very few people could afford to buy bespoke furniture and the stop-go economy was taking its toll on the furnishing business (See the Turnpenny story)

Market Square, during Construction. Flashman’s can just be seen on the left. Dover Library

New shops opened on the east-side of Market Square but were very different to their pre-war counterparts. Elizabeth’s was Dover’s first coffee bar and was seen by parents as a ‘safe’ place for teenagers to enjoy ‘expresso coffee’ and other teenagers company. My memory is of a later era and a restaurant providing conventional meals but with speciality ‘snack’ foods that I loved. The owner, Douglas Horne, was attracted by the Wimpy franchise. It was in 1954 that J Lyons opened the first UK Wimpy fast food outlet in London, the concept having been imported from the US. Soon Wimpy bars were opening up throughout the country, usually franchised to local entrepreneurs. Douglas Horne bought into the scheme and the Wimpy franchise opened on the east-side of Market Square on Tuesday 29 November 1966 with Hugh Gordon as manager.

Flashman’s Royal proclamation now in St Nicholas Church, Leeds, Kent

Two years before, in November 1964, Flashman’s had closed its doors for the final time. The building was soon after demolished to make way for a proposed £250,000 modern skyscraper with a two-storey department store at the bottom and ten-storeys of flats above. In the event, a supermarket, with flats above, was built. British Heart Foundation Charity has occupied the shop premises since 2005. However, Flashman’s furniture still fetch high prices at auctions.

Flashman’s Royal Coat of Arms, St Nicholas Leeds, Kent. Thanks to Brian Hardy

Before demolition the Flashman famous Coat of Arms were removed and eventually found its way to St Nicholas Church in Leeds village, near Maidstone. The church guide states:
‘Under the tower arch is an early Victorian royal coat of arms carved in mahogany by Mr Flashman, who owned a furniture shop in The Square, Dover. It once stood over the entrance to this shop. It was given to Leeds church in 1968’
The plaque below the Arms adds:
‘The Royal Arms presented by their daughter in memory of Albert & Florence Cheeseman, Choirists of this church for many years. December 1969’

Published:

Dover Mercury 31 October,07 & 14 November 2013

For further information on Castle Street : http://www.castlestreetsociety.co.uk

Posted in Businesses, Flashman's of Dover, Flashman's of Dover, Market Square | Comments Off

Willard Sawyer – Founder of the World’s First Factory for Mass-producing Cycles

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Lorraine

St James Street- circa 1840. Drawn by George Shepherd. Dover Library

Back in 2006 I was asked by the then Dover Town Council for a list of deceased locals whom I felt should receive some sort of recognition – a plaque or similar. I presented my list, but possibly due to a change of regime, it was not acted upon. One of those that featured was Willard Sawyer, who lived and had a factory in St James Street, Dover, in the middle of the nineteenth century. He is generally recognised as the ‘first truly professional maker of man-powered vehicles’ – the velocipede cycling machine. Further, by inventing new techniques he opened the world’s first factory for mass-producing cycles – here in Dover, England!

Laufmaschine invented by Baron Karl Drais from the original Patent Papers 1817. Scotford Lawrence

In the evolution of the bicycle, the first human propelled machine was
invented by Baron Karl Drais (1785-1851) in Mannheim, Germany in 1817 and patented in France in February 1818. Called a Laufmaschine, in Britain a Hobby Horse, it consisted of a horizontal bar supported by two wheels of equal height, which the cyclist stood astride propelling the machine by his feet. Enthusiastic amateurs or craftsmen made these on a one off basis.

Willard, born in Romney about 1808, is first recorded living the Dover town directory of 1838. In the 1841 census, he is listed as living in Chapel Street, in St Mary’s Parish. There he worked as a carpenter but five years later, he opened the Dover Velocipede Works at 20 St James Street.

Reflecting his carpenter background, Willard’s velocipede or ‘manumotive carriage’ as he called them, were built partly of wood, had four wheels – like a stagecoach, and was propelled by treadles below the rear wheel axles, with tiller style steering. An advert of 1850 states that Willard was producing four different types of velocipede. First class, costing between £15 and £25, second class £10 to £14, third class £5 to £9 and a velocipede for two costing between £15 and £35. Even the cheapest third class machine was very expensive in those days.

Velocipede presented to Edward, Prince of Wales. Illustrated London News 17.04.1858 p404

Nonetheless, there were enough wealthy folk around to ensure that Willard’s machine was a success. Indeed, he produced one of three velocipedes that were on show at the Great Exhibition, Crystal Palace in 1851. Apparently, he rode the machine to London and back for the occasion! At the exhibition, Willard ‘was received with a very flattering distinction’. Then in 1858, Edward, Prince of Wales, on a visit to Dover, called at the factory and ‘inquired minutely as to the capacity, price, &c of a machine’. Afterwards Willard built a special carriage for the Prince costing £30 and capable of going 8 mph.

Willard’s velocipedes were assured of widespread acclaim and orders came in from mainland Europe, India, Australia and California. Besides the Prince of Wales, Willard counted the Emperor of Russia, Prince Imperial of France and Crown Prince of Hanover, amongst his customers. The Hon. J.C Skeffington wrote, ‘I cannot speak in terms to highly of the convenience and comfort of such a mode of travelling, when one can run off 60 miles in a day, and feel as little fatigued as if one had gone on foot a dozen.’ It is recorded that this gentleman travelled 526 miles in twenty days on one of Willard’s velocipedes.

Velocipede c 1860 acquired by the Science Museum 1937

Another, equally, enthusiastic customer having condemned the poor state of the roads, did add that, ‘The rattling and shaking of such slight machines is dreadful at the speed of anything over seven or eight miles an hour, and if driven constantly at this rate cannot last long.’

Unfortunately, the attitude in Dover was far from positive such that in 1856, Willard applied to the council to cancel his lease. He wrote that his living depended on the hire and sale of velocipedes, ‘but since a decision of the {Magistrates} Bench had declared them a nuisance,’ he was unable to obtain a livelihood. He added, that he wished to move to some locality where they were not regarded as nuisances.

It would appear that Willard had a change of heart for in 1860 he produced a pamphlet describing the different type of machines he was producing in Dover. These included the Sociable, which has seats for six people including two drivers. In his range there was the Racer, the Tourist and Traveller, the Promenade, Visiting Carriage, the Ladies Carriage and small machines for youths and children. The prices varied between £3 and £40.

Velocipede – Severn Valley Railway

Railway companies saw the potential of velocipedes for use in track inspections and became known as ‘Rail Bikes.’ In use from around 1860 until the 1950s they worked, as one would expect, like a bicycle but with extra power from ‘rowing’ the central drum. National railway velocipede rallies are still held.

Times 23.04.1937 p4 telling of the acquisition by the Science Museum of Willard’s velocipede

Albeit, it seems that Willard ceased production in Dover about 1865 and by 1871 he was living at Kent Terrace, Deal. Ten years later, he was living with his son, a photographer, on the Strand, Walmer. By this time, the sleeker boneshaker, introduced from France in 1868, had superseded the four-wheeled velocipede and by 1887, Willard’s factory had closed. An advert for an auction following the closure includes 50 velocipedes.

Willard died in 1892 and was buried at St Mary’s Church, Walmer and his workshop in Deal is now the Maritime and Local History Museum. On 19 September 1899, Dover’s Mayor, Sir William Crundall (1847-1934), organised Dover’s first motorcar exhibition at the Crabble Athletic Ground. Members of the Automobile Association drove down from London for the event and 25 or 26 vehicles of various types took part in a grand parade round the cycle track. The assorted vehicles included a velocipede – a modern day quadracycle – that was probably made by Dover’s Willard Sawyer!

That is not the end of the story, for in 1937 the Science Museum acquired a four-wheel velocipede c 1860. At the time of the purchase, the Times stated that Willard Sawyer was ‘the best-known English maker of velocipedes.’ The caption at the Science Museum, when I saw the Velocipede, read, ‘made by pioneering cycle maker Willard Sawyer of Dover!’

Published:
Dover Mercury: 14 June 2007

Posted in Businesses, People, Sawyer Willard - Founder of the World's First Factory for Mass-producing Cycles, Sawyer Willard - Inventor of the Velocipede and founder of the World's First Factory for Mass-producing Cycles, Vehicles, Willard Sawyer - Founder of the World's First Factory for Mass-producing Cycles | Comments Off

Burlington Hotel

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Lorraine

Burlington Hotel from Promenade Pier. Dover Library

Burlington House, a 12-storey office block built in the 1970s and demolished in 2016 on Townwall Street, was named after Burlington Hotel. This once stood further along Townwall Street on the corner with Woolcomber Street but was devastated during World War II. Nonetheless, the story of Burlington Hotel, and its predecessors, is part of Dover’s annals and as interesting today as it was in its heyday.

During the Napoleonic Wars, (1793-1815), a canal was built for defensive purposes along what is now Townwall Street. The canal had the effect of drying out the marshy ground on the landward side. On this land, between what are now Russell Street and Woolcomber Street, Madame Sarah Rice had a mansion built. She was a formidable lady and called her home Clarence House. Nearby, before Castle Street was built, was a donkey stable providing tourists rides along the beach. Unfortunately, the donkeys had a liking for Madam Rice’s flower garden and it was said that she was one of two local personages on which Charles Dickens (1812-1870) based the character of Betsy Trotwood, in David Copperfield!

Edward Rice – Liberal MP for Dover 1837-1857. Dover Museum

Sarah’s son, Edward, was the Liberal MP for Dover from 1837-1857 and the prime mover behind Dover’s great harbour that we see today. However, following the death of Madam Rice, in 1841, her mansion was sold and the Clarence Hotel Company bought the land. Most of the Directors were London based excepting two. One was Steriker Finnis, a local businessman who ran the town’s main timber yard and the other, Rowland Rees, the Chief Engineer to the Harbour Commissioners. The Bankers were National Provincial, then in Snargate Street but were, at that time, acquiring land at New Bridge where they built what is now New Bridge House.

Imperial Hotel Woolcomber Street c 1867. Dover Library

The company planned to raise a capital of £75,000 through 7,500 shares at £10 each and call their new hotel, the Clarence. John Wichcord, a famous architect of the time and the designer of the Grand Hotel, Brighton – the target of an IRA bomb in 1984 – was commissioned. The Clarence Hotel, Dover was, by all accounts, magnificent but after three years, it was still in the process of being built. By that time five-storeys, with 240 rooms had been completed so in June 1865, the Hotel was officially opened. Unfortunately, not only was the building uncompleted, the owners had financially over-reached themselves. Shortly after the grand opening, they lease the building to the Imperial Hotel Company.

Imperial Hotel Woolcomber Street sale notice 1873. Dover Library

The new owners completed the building programme and on 13 September 1867, it reopened as the Imperial Hotel. The total cost was £75,000 to build but it cost another £25,000 to furnish it, which put a strain on the new company. The hotel closed in 1871 and was put up for auction in 1873 with an opening price of £26,000.

In 1895, the abandoned hotel was purchased by Sydney, Richards & Co and extensively restored by the Fredericks Hotel Company. At one point, 600 men were engaged on the works and they were supervised by Albert E Addis a building surveyor. In 1945, he was reported living in retirement in Elms Vale Road. The refurbished hotel had 380 rooms on eight floors served by a ‘handsome lift’ and in total cost the operation had cost about £85,000.

Invitation addressed to Henry Martyn Mowll to the pening of the Burlington Hotel 1897 – Dover Library

Given the name Burlington Hotel, the massive building was opened by John Henniker Heaton, Member of Parliament for Canterbury, on 24 July 1897. At the time, Dover was at its zenith and the hotel was favoured by many visiting dignitaries including, in 1899, the delegates of the British Association of Scientists’ conference, held in the town. It was also said that Arthur Burr, entrepreneur behind the development of the Kent coalfield, had a flat there for several years while the Borough Coroner, Mr Sydenham Payne, favoured the hotel for inquests.

Burlington Hotel pre-World War I

Up to and including World War I, the hotel remained popular, especially with the military and naval personnel. Even during the post-war depression of the 1920s, it was a favoured venue for balls, dinners and galas. Therefore, it came as surprise to the town when Frederick Hotels decided to close it on 30 September 1924. The company had decided to invest in the Lord Warden Hotel, near the Western Docks, as they saw a better future in catering for cross-Channel passengers.

It was nearly two years before the hotel was sold and then it stood empty. In 1927, the Southlands Training College for Woman Students leased the building, while their college in London was being rebuilt. Southlands stayed until the autumn of 1929 and then C. W. Mason leased the building and converted much of it into American style apartments and business units. These became available in March 1931 and the whole was then renamed Burlington Mansions. In May 1937 the Mayor, Alderman George Norman, officially opened a ballroom, that proved popular locally.

World War II damaged former Burlington Hotel. Dover Library

The height, size, colour and the proximity to the seafront made the former hotel a target from the opposite side of Channel during World War II (1939-1945). On Monday 9 September 1940, a shell hit the upper floors causing a fire and the body of William McDonald aged 54 was later found. A few weeks later, on the afternoon of Sunday 20 October, the huge water tank on the roof was hit and part of the hotel collapsed into the then Liverpool Street. Finally, on Sunday, 7 September 1941, a Junken dive-bomber dropped its load and at least three hit the building.

Albert Decort, who had an apartment in the Burlington Flats. Dover Museum

The caretakers, Joseph Thomas ‘Tom’ Turner, 62, and his wife, Rosa, 65, died instantly. Special constable William Horn, 61, who lived in one of the flats and was the manager of Pippin’s tailor’s in Biggin Street, was killed. The floor of the Decort family flat gave way. At the time, Albert Decort was on the loo! Luckily, he managed to grab a water pipe as the lavatory fell into the void beneath. Afterwards dynamite was used to make what was left of the building safe but even then, it continued to be hit by shells.

Dover Corporation, using Compulsory Purchase Order, on 26 April 1949 bought the decimated building. They invited tenders to demolish it and accepted an agreement where the contractor paid the council £130 as long as they kept all the salvaged material. Demolition began in August and was completed by mid December that year. In 1951, the Corporation bought the land on which the hotel had stood for £4,575.

Burlington Hotel c1920. David Iron Collection

Following the widening of the junction between Townwall Street and Woolcomber Street, a petrol station, on the corner, was given planning approval in 1996. British Petroleum funded an archaeological survey undertaken by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust and they uncovered the foundations of the former Burlington Hotel. They also found evidence of Norman development of Dover below which was sand and gravel of the silted up earlier Dover harbour. By the time of archaeological dig, the Hotel’s namesake, Burlington House, was coming in for much criticism and in 2007 was officially condemned.

Published:
Dover Mercury: 05, 12 and 26 July 2012

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Viaduct and the Pier District

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Lorraine

Pier District late 19th – early 20th century. Dover Museum

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Pier District – the area around Dover’s Western Docks – was aptly described by Pierite and former headmistress of Dover Girls’ Grammar School, Lillian Kay (1914-2013), as ‘a rabbit warren of houses, alleyways and rows or pubs.’

Originating in the 15th century, the Pier District evolved on reclaimed land. Towards the end of the 19th century the Dover Harbour Board (DHB) along with Dover Corporation and the two railway companies that served Dover, decided make the harbour, then on the Western side of the bay, more accessible. The two railway companies were the South Eastern Railway Company, which operated the line through Shakespeare Tunnel to the then Town Station in the Pier District, and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company, the owner of Harbour Station also in the Pier District.

Sir William Crundall- Thirteen times Mayor of Dover and Chairman of Harbour Board 1906-1934

In 1891, an Act of Parliament was obtained for the construction of the Dover Commercial Harbour then, in 1895, this was upgraded to the Admiralty Harbour. It was quickly recognised that on completion the new harbour would turn Dover into a major port. On 1 January 1899, the two railway companies joined forces and operated under a single Management Committee. In the meantime they were in discussion with both the council – which was under the leadership of thirteen times Mayor, Sir William Crundall and DHB, which Crundall was a member becoming, Chairman in 1906 to 1934.

It was agreed by all to demolish part of the Pier District in order to create railway sidings, loco sheds and an approach road from the town. To help the justify demolishing such a populous area, the council set up the Pier Dwellings Committee. The Committee justified the demolition by saying that the area was slums and recommended paying £37,000 to purchase of the houses from the Harbour Board. Further, as the proposed new road would cross a series of railway tracks the council, in October 1900, decided to build a viaduct. The cost of this was estimated at £106,000 but the railway companies did agree to pay part.

The council submitted a Bill to Parliament that included a Spur from the proposed Viaduct to Archcliffe Road and the widening of Limekiln Street, Bulwark Street and Beach Street. This, they estimated, would mean the demolition of 400 homes. The result was the Dover Corporation Act of 1901 and the general populace of Dover were sold the idea through the local press. The media extolled the virtues of the project by labelling it the ‘Pier improvement scheme.’ Although the potentially displaced Pierites made their anger felt, the council, local press and general populace felt that there was plenty of cheap accommodation in Dover and they could move.

Pier District – 1907. Dover Library

However, what was a cause of concern was the cost of the scheme to local ratepayers. To 30 November 1903, it had cost some £6,000 and that was just the beginning – the Viaduct itself was yet to be built. It was this that put the scheme on back burner and the powers of the Act ran out of time. Two years later the Corporation promoted another Bill through Parliament for the extension of the time for the erection of the Viaduct. Included in the Bill was a scheme to improve the drainage on Maison Dieu Road and Folkestone Road.

The Admiral of the Fleet, George, the Prince of Wales, opened the new Admiralty Harbour on 15 October 1909. This galvanised the council and railway companies into pursing what was, by then, called the Viaduct Scheme. By this time it was recognised that housing for the potentially displaced Pierites may be a problem, so it was agreed to build 24 ‘workmen’s dwellings’ on Beach Street, close to the Town Station.

Application was again made to Parliament, but the token number of new dwellings was not acceptable to the Local Government Board (a Government Ministry). Nonetheless, as dwellings became vacant roofs were removed. To add weight to this, the Dover Medical Officer of Health produced a report showing that all the proposed houses for demolition were unfit for occupation.

Richard Barwick. Mayor 1921, 23, 26 & 1927

The Pierites made their displeasure felt, in 1911, through the ballot box. They chose Independent Richard Barwick, founder of the building firm that had been involved in the Admiralty Pier construction, to pursue their demand for homes. At a public meeting on 16 January 1912, the Viaduct plans were rejected by the large majority of the townsfolk.

The council responded by balloting all ratepayers and won 2,387 to 1,706 but only half of those eligible voted. Nonetheless, the Corporation successfully promoted the new Act through Parliament, which enabled them to demolish a large swathe of the Pier District. The Act included the Viaduct proposal – a route to the Town and Harbour stations that were free of railway crossings. The total cost was estimated at £82,087, of which £40,000 was to be borne by the railway companies. They, as part of the deal, would gain a large stretch of land for sidings following the demolition of 311 homes and for each and every household in Dover 1½d would be added to the rates.

However, as the Bill was going through the due process, the Local Government Board included a condition that all Pier people displaced over the previous 15 years should be re-housed. Consequently, the original intention was modified and it was agreed that the council would build 90 houses to replace 311 to be demolished. Other problems included access to Harbour Station and Archcliffe Fort but modifications to the design dealt with both.

Vaiduct Proposal Map 1900

On 15 April 1913 the council accepted tenders for the construction of the Viaduct, they included, Messrs Lambrick and Co. £14,480, for the ferro-concrete construction and Messrs Dick, Kerr and Co. £2,892 for a tramway along on the Viaduct. The latter tender was later transferred to Messrs Paramours Ltd and the tender of Messrs Landbrick and Co. was increased by £1,000 on 22 July 1913. Demolition of homes and the Cinque Port Pilots’ Tower was started immediately. The following day the Local Government Board held an Inquiry on the housing conditions of the Pier District and evidence was openly hostile to the demolition proposals.

Estimated costs of the Viaduct scheme 13 January 1912

The Local Government Board did not give the support that was hoped for ans on 29 April the whole question was decided on a resolution by Alderman Baker, who moved that the tenders were not to be accepted. The vote resulted in a tie 11-11, the Mayor William Bromley gave his casting vote in favour of carrying out the scheme. That year saw Edwin Farley, another Independent, elected Mayor. Nonetheless, work was in hand, the ferro-concrete spread bases for the Viaduct were laid and the approach to Admiralty Pier was finished. On 3 July 1914 the South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies paid £40,000 towards the scheme but on on 4 August World War I broke out and all further work was stopped.

The Borough of Dover, under the Defence of the Realm Act, was part of Dover Fortress, which meant that the military were in charge. Although local or parliamentary elections were suspended by a ruling of the Privy Council, councillors continued in office. Mayor Farley was re-elected in November 1914, 15, 16, 17 and 1918 and some works did take place. In 1917 the Council were unable to carry out any new works and in the autumn were prohibited from further proceeding during the War with the Pier Viaduct works. These had already been greatly delayed by the effects of the War; and the contractors for the ferro-concrete, who completed that portion of the work in May, claimed £11,000 as a result of the delay, and finally accepted, on 17 October, a sum of £5,000 in settlement.

Viaduct Scheme – Cross Section.

Following the War, the Viaduct scheme was given priority and in the Pier District 400 houses and 30 pubs were demolished. Designed by L G Mouchel and Partners of Westminster the Viaduct, made of reinforced concrete, was 1,000-foot long (305 metres), the approaches 45-foot (approx.13.7 metres) wide between parapets with a 30-foot (9metres) carriageway sided by 7-foot 6- inch (2.3 metres) footways with two stairways leading up to it. It was supported on pillars on the spread bases and made up of two bowstring girder bridges with span of 67 and 70-feet (approx. 19 metres). The main booms had an overall length of 74-feet (22.5 metres) and 77-feet (23.5 metres) respectively.

Originally, the road was to be surfaced with wooden blocks but in the event, asphalt slag on cushion concrete was used. The plan included an overhead conductor wire so trams could terminate at the Lord Warden Hotel but this was abandoned as a waste of public money. The testing of the crossbeams was carried out with sandbags weighing 41 tons and men standing on them.

Opening the associated Strond Street footbridge 1925, left Mayor Barwick next to, probably, William E Boulton Smith, the Town Surveyor and responsible for all the works. Richard Barwick

On 9 January 1922, the Mayoress, Mrs Richard Barwick, opened the Viaduct to traffic by which time the population of the Pier district had fallen from 4,000 to 2,000. The Ministry of Health had replaced the Local Government Board and with their subsidies augmented by council finance, some of the displaced Pierites moved into newly built houses on the Ropeway Meadow, Aycliffe. This was on former military land and the Corporation using local contractors, that included Barwicks, to build the new homes.

Pier District 1935 showing the Viaduct. W Fuller – Dover Library

The Viaduct was hailed as a success as it provided the access for which it was designed. However, the narrowness of Snargate Street caused traffic jams that were eventually rectified following an Act of Parliament in 1928. That Act authorised DHB to demolish all properties on the seaward side of the Street, below its junction with the then Northampton Street.

The residents of those properties, together with the remaining former residents of the Pier District who been displaced, had to wait to be re-housed until after 21 April 1930. On that date, the Coalition Government introduced the Housing Act that provided subsidies to rid the country of slums. The country was in a deep depression and the Act was aimed at getting the economy moving again.

St Martins House, Hawkesbury Street – all that remains of the pre-war redevelopment of the Pier District

Under the scheme, the Pier District was rejuvenated with blocks of aesthetically pleasing flats built on Limekiln Street, near the Viaduct in 1935 – one still remains. These were followed, in 1936-7, by utilitarian flats in Seven Star Street and on the site of what had been the Sailors’ Home but had been replaced by the Dover Patrol Hostel on Wellesley Road opened in 1923.

Demolition of the original Viaduct in 1973.

In April 1972, large cracks were reported and the Viaduct was declared unsafe and closed to traffic. Demolition was started the following February and a temporary viaduct erected. Start on the permanent Viaduct did not begin until 1976 and cost over £1m. It was again modified, in the 1990s to bring it in line with the new A20.

Published:
Dover Mercury: 10 & 17 March 2011

Posted in Port and Transport, Viaduct and the Pier District, Viaduct and the Pier District, Wanton Destruction | Comments Off

Battle of Britain 1940

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Lorraine

German planes published at the request of the War Office to enable people identify the enemy

On 3 September 1939 Britain declared war on Germany following their invasion of Poland. Hitler, from the outset had employed ‘blitzkrieg’ tactics and overrun five other countries: Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France. In June 1940 Britain’s armies had been driven back with the only escaped from Continental soil was by the massive Dunkirk evacuation. At the time Hitler boasted that the war would be over by the end of 1940 and he would enter London in triumph before Christmas.

The collapse of all Continental resistance gave the Nazi’s complete command of Europe’s western seaboard from Narvik in the north to the Spanish frontier in the south. This provided air and naval bases that made Britain within easy range of their guns. However, invasion could only be attempted after the British fleet had been crippled or destroyed and the airforce driven from the skies.

Between the 10 July and 31 October 1940, a prolonged aerial conflict took place for the control of the skies above the Channel and South Eastern England. This was between the Luftwaffe (the German air force) and the Royal Air Force. This conflict became known as the Battle of Britain.

To achieve his objective Hitler relied upon his airforce, the Luftwaffe, and during June, July and the first week in August an offensive was mounted to gain supremacy of the sea and skies. This was in preparation for 10 August, Adler Tag (Eagle Day), the first part of a three phased planned invasion code named Operation Sea Lion.

Fighter Command Groups and Sector Boundaries, Airfields & Squadrons 18.08.1940. BofB Memorial, Capel

At the time there were eight military airfields in Kent, Biggin Hill, Manston, Hawkinge, Gravesend, Eastchurch, Detling, Lympne and West Malling. The first four were to play a major role in the Battle; Coastal Command used Eastchurch and Detling; Lympne was used in emergencies and Manston and Hawkinge, due to their proximity with the coast, were used for damaged aircraft and wounded pilots as well as forward bases for other airfields. West Malling did not come operational until later that year.

In overall charge was Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Commander in Chief, Fighter Command, from 1936 to 1940. Fighter Command was divided into four Fighter Groups, Nos. 10,11,12 and 13, with each group subdivided into further sectors. Group 11 had 6 sectors, 12 = 5 sectors, 13 = 4 sectors and 10 = 2 sectors.

Uxbridge Group 11 Operations room – thanks to Pete Marshall

Each sector had an operations room plus emergency standby and satellite airfields. Information was collected by the ‘Y’ service, which monitored German wireless messages along with Chain Home radar stations, such as the one at Swingate, that tracked aircraft movements. All of which was confirmed, or otherwise, by the Observer Corps. In 1941 they were given the accolade of Royal. They supplied visual reports by sightings.

Pete Marshall, whom I met at the Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel, near Dover, tells me that a sector controller looked after up to a maximum of 6 squadrons in his particular sector. Incoming raids, marked as hostiles, were tracked by RDF (radar) as they cross the Channel and then by the OC. In the operations room were detailed maps and wooden blocks, called plots, marked with the raid number and estimated number of aircraft were used to indicate the position of the hostile craft.

Uxbridge Group 11 Operations room showing the plot, the wooden blocks with the raid and estimated number and the coloured arrows – thanks to Pete Marshall

As reports came in coloured arrows were used and placed on the board with their colour corresponding to the coloured sector of a clock, in which the minute hand was the time of the report. If the minute hand is in blue, then a blue arrow was used for information less than 5 minutes old, yellow up to 10 minutes old and red up to 15 minutes. If the minute hand were in the red sector, then blue arrows would show the information to be up to 10 minutes old, as new reports of less than 5 minutes would be shown with red arrows.

The ‘Clock’ in the mock-up Operations room at Capel Battle of Britain Commemoration 2013

The colours and times were all dependent on where the minute hand was at any particular moment. If the minute hand had moved to the next sector of the same coloured sector without receiving an update, the arrows were removed from the plot. A plot with no arrows indicates a position over 15 minutes old and therefore unreliable. It is said that this is where the expression ‘losing the plot’ comes from.

The Battle of Britain began on 10 July, with hundreds of sorties by Hurricanes and Spitfires against the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt and Heinkel fighters. That day Dover ambulance driver, George Knight, received a bullet wound to his leg while watching the dogfights overhead. Four days before, 10 small 100lb bombs were dropped on Dover; they did little damage but aroused a great deal of curiosity. Then the Germans launched daylight raids against ports and airfields.

One of the most determined attacks was on British shipping in the Strait of Dover on 14 July, when about forty dive-bombers escorted by fighters, took part. Pilot Officer Mudie’s Hurricane was hit; he baled out, but died of his injuries the next day. On 25 July, enemy dive-bombers attacked merchant ships and destroyers causing 122 naval casualties that were treated at Dover’s Buckland Hospital – then known as the Casualty Hospital.

H.M.S. Sandhurst 29 July 1940. Thanks to Michael Harmer

The 27 July saw the biggest air fight thus far off Britain’s coast when 80 German planes attempted a surprise raid on shipping in the harbour. HMS Codrington, a destroyer was hit and never went to sea again. Moored nearby was HMS Sandhurst that was set alight by incendiary bullets but survived. Dover firemen went with her to the Thames, still pumping out her holds. Captain Fred Hopgood, one of the Harbour Board tug masters (later Harbour Master for eleven years), along with Dover’s police/firemen Ernest Herbert Harmer, Cyril William Arthur Brown and Alexander Edmund Campbell were awarded the George Medal for their part in saving several ships that day and the following two days.

Defence Volunteers prepare for invasion erected barricades and check IDs. Doyle Collection

In the meantime, preparations were being made to resist the invasion. Along the coast barbed wire and guns commanded every likely line of approach. Troops trained constantly in the art of mechanised warfare and carried out extensive manoeuvres in readiness for the day when the enemy should come. Britain’s civilian army, the Home Guard, watched all approaches to cities and towns, built pillboxes, dug trenches and prepared to take on the enemy at close quarters if necessary. Farmers, aided by Women’s Land Army ‘land girls’, worked to keep the nation fed. Around Dover and the harbour, batteries were manned 24/7 and local railway lines were utilised as mobile batteries. Behind the cliffs of St Margaret’s Bay the first big artillery pieces were installed.

At Drellingore (near Bushy Ruff) in the Alkham Valley, a special unit of local civilian volunteers under the command of Lt. Cecil Lines, and consisting of George Marsh, Samuel Osborne, Thomas Holmans, Charles Fayers and Denis Dewars prepared to carry out subversive actions if the invasion came. The platoon’s quarters was a bunker hewn out of the hillside in a small coppice and was full of a variety of armaments. Each man was personally issued with a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver, a Fairbairn Commando knife and a brass knuckleduster. They had been taught to kill silently.

David Ian Kirton before the Battle of Britain and his untimely death

On 8 August Germany decided that the time had come to launch the carefully prepared three phased, Operation Sea Lion – the invasion of Britain. On that day massed formations of dive-bombers, escorted with powerful fighters attacked Channel convoys and coastal towns, including Dover. The Few, as the RAF pilots involved were later called, responded, but not without casualties. The Spitfire, which 21 years old Sergeant (Pilot) David Kirton, was flying that day, burnt out and crashed. He is buried in St James’ cemetery. There is a seat dedicated to both David and his brother Jim, a squadron leader, killed on 27 January 1944, on Marine Parade.

The first shells, from German long-range guns based in France, were fired onto British soil on 12 August. Four homes were demolished in Noah’s Ark Road killing two and seriously injuring three. Helen Barker and Alfred Reid were killed in St Radigunds Road; distressingly the ambulance driver who went to the incident was Helen’s husband.

Although the long-range guns were not taken out, along the Continental Channel coast bomber planes of the Bomber and Coastal Commands night after night dropped their loads. At the same time long rang bombers flew over Germany bombing railways, roads, munitions factories, oil plants and canals, in an effort to hamper communications and slow down the German war effort.

Spitfire replica – Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel.

Together, this showed the Germans that British fighter strength was greater and more formidable than had been anticipated. Therefore, together with the attacks on shipping and coastal towns, large forces were sent to attack the airfields in south and southeast England. The tactics usually involved bombing coastal objectives, in an attempt to draw off British fighters, while making the main assault on the real objective, whether airfield or port, about half an hour later.

Hurricane & Spitfire over Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel 14 July 2013

On 14 August some 200 aircraft, both British and German, met head-on over Dover and a furious battle ensued. Over the next four days the people of Dover witnessed similar aerial battles at the same time being bombarded with shells from the long-ranged guns in France. In one-day Military authorities estimated that over thirty shells hit the town, resulting in deaths, injuries and major destruction of property.

In the ten days 8-18 August – the first phase of Operation Sea Lion – the Germans lost 697 aircraft against a British loss of 153, and sixty of those the pilots were safe. It is believed that a greater proportion of British pilots would have been saved had the fighting not taken place over the sea.

St Barnabas Church,Barton, 22 August 1940. Doyle Collection

The second phase of Operation Sea Lion did not begin until 24 August but Britain did not let up and reprisals were swift. On 19 August, following an attack on German ships in the Channel, a bomb was dropped on an Army-v-Navy football match, behind the Castle, killing all the players and some of the spectators. On the evening of 22 August German guns bombarded Dover for an hour badly damaging St Barnabas Church – it was finally demolished in 1954. That day saw the first shell fired from England on France.

The second phase of Operation Sea Lion lasted until 5 September, during which time the enemy made inland airfields their main objective. Altogether there were thirty-five main attacks and the method of attack changed, the numbers of bombers were reduced but the fighter escorts almost doubled. Meanwhile, the British bomber forces kept up their counter attacks over which Hitler threatened dreadful reprisals in a speech of 4 September. He described them as, ‘the nuisance of nightly and planless bomb throwing.‘ The following night the British bombed the industrial areas of Berlin. Altogether, phase two cost the British 219 machines but it also cost the Germans 562 and forced them to change their tactics.

The third phase began on Saturday 7 September – the mass attacks on London. The Germans approached in waves; each composed of formations of between twenty and forty bombers escorted by an equal number of fighters. In all 350 machines crossed the coast, and were quickly engaged by British fighters. However, many succeeded in breaking through but as night fell clouds of smoke over London’s docklands assumed a reddish tinge and throughout that night the enemy dropped high explosive bombs into the heart of the fires. The first great London raid the casualties amounted to 306 killed and 1,337 wounded, while the enemy lost 103 aircraft. Despite these losses the Luftwaffe continued with daylight attacks on the capital.

Admiral Harvey, Bridge Street, today

At the same time as London was blitzed, Dover continued to be pounded. In the town flour mills, which had been commandeered by the government at the outbreak of war as part of the centralising of food, were working full tilt. On Monday 9 September Chitty’s Mill, on Charlton Green was hit by a shell that brought down a wall at the rear of the nearby pub, Admiral Harvey, in Bridge Street. Frank Rogers, the licensee, and his wife were both injured and taken to hospital. Frank died of his injuries the following day.

On 11 September the town was not only shelled and bombed but also attacked by fighters. The west wing of the five storeys Grand Hotel was badly damaged killing one journalist and naval officer Robert Harvey (19) of Hillside Road, Dover. One of the journalists who escaped telephoned his story to the Chicago Tribune the following day. The town’s casualties that day were 16 dead, 23 seriously injured and 39 taken to hospital. Thirty aircraft actually succeeded in reaching London and unloaded their bombs but altogether ninety planes were shot down.

Hurricane replica – Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel

Sunday 15 September was the climax and is now annually celebrated as Battle of Britain Day. 500 German aircraft, 250 in the morning and 250 in the afternoon, made their most determined assault on London. Hurricanes and Spitfires heavily engaged them over the Channel, but again many succeeded in penetrating the defences by sheer weight of numbers. Bombs were dropped on Dover and shells ripped through the town killing and injuring as well as causing devastation. However, 185 of the enemy’s machines were destroyed that day, in actions that were described by Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister as ‘the most brilliant and fruitful of any fought upon a large scale up to date by fighters of the Royal Air Force.’ In Germany, Operation Sea Lion was postponed indefinitely on 17 September.

Batteries, Western Heights. David Collyer.

Despite this crushing reverse German bombers continued their daylight attacks on the London until 5 October. During this period three major assaults were made, 27 September, 30 September and 5 October leading to a German loss of 205 planes. It had become apparent to the German High Command that relatively few bombers actually reached London for as soon as they started to cross the Channel they were met by the force of British fighters and ground artillery.

Thus, the Germans opted for a tip-and-run strategy using only fighters and fighter-bombers, mainly Messerschmitt 109s and 110s. Whenever they met a British fighter they jettisoned (tipped) their bombs and made off (run) as fast as they could. One such attack, on 7 October, wrecked St James’ Parish Hall, St James’ School, the Golden Cross pub, a shop and several private houses in the area. William Ashdown and Benjamin Botten had been repairing the road in St James’ Street and died of their injuries. The following day saw more lives lost in Dover to these attacks.

Wellesley Road looking towards Townwall Street. Dover Library

The Battle of Britain officially ended on 31 October by which time over 50 civilians as well as many Service personnel had lost their lives in the town. Another 200 people had been injured. There were 2,927 men actively involved in defending Britain’s air space. Between 8 August and 31 October they destroyed 2,375 enemy planes with ‘Old Pharosian’ (attended Dover County Boys School – now Boys’ Grammar), Eric Simcox Mars, born in Dover on 9 July 1920, claiming the greatest number of enemy aircraft hits during the Battle.

However, 544 of The Few lost their lives and 358 were wounded. A further 791 were killed in action or died during the course of duty before the war ended, including Eric Simcox Mars in 1941. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, expressed the feeling of the nation when he said: ‘The gratitude of every home in our island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’

Keith Gillman killed 25.08.1940 in the Battle of Britain

One face, more than any other, epitomised ‘the Few’, during that summer, it was of Pilot Officer Keith Gillman, who was used by the Air Ministry in their advertising campaign. Keith came from River and also an Old Pharosian. The caption under his photograph – which cannot be reproduced due to copyright – in the Picture Post read, ‘RAF Will Decided our Fate. This smiling young airman and his fellow pilots, whose superiority over the enemy in proportion to their numbers has become significant in the recent campaign. Wherever they have appeared they have easily driven of the enemy dive bombers.’ Pilot Officer Gillman was the first pilot from his squadron to be lost in the Battle of Britain; he was 19 and died on 25 August 1940.

Lone Pilot looking out to sea. Battle of Britain Memorial Capel

The Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne just outside Dover, was opened by the Queen Mother, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, in 1993 and dedicated to the 69 squadrons who took part in the epic battle in 1940.

Published:
Dover Mercury: 15, 22, 29 July and 5 August 2010

Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel: www.Battleofbritainmemorial.org

Posted in Armed Services, Battle of Britain 1940, Battle of Britain Memorial - Capel, Tourism | Comments Off

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