Battlefields›Battle of Dover
Medieval

Battle of Dover

1217
England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Naval Engagement
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Dover was a medieval naval engagement fought on the water, fought in England in 1217. Which side prevailed is not recorded in the surviving sources, and its outcome is not conclusively established in the historical record. It falls within the medieval period, an age of dynastic succession disputes, baronial revolt and border warfare fought by feudal levies, mounted knights and town militias.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Dover lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Dover

This page covers Battle of Dover. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Dover

St Martin's Priory (remains of)
St Martin's Priory (remains of)
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

St Martin's Priory is a former Benedictine priory situated in Dover, Kent, founded in the late Anglo-Saxon period, possibly in the tenth century, making it one of the earliest monastic establishments in the region. The surviving remains comprise fragmentary stonework and earthworks that testify t…

Edward Stock, Poplar / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
The Bath House, N of Market Street
The Bath House, N of Market Street
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

The Bath House north of Market Street is a Roman structure located in Kent, England. The site represents evidence of Romano-British settlement and the domestic infrastructure of the Roman period in the region. As a designated ancient monument, it contributes to understanding the distribution and…

St Martin's Church
St Martin's Church
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

St Martin's Church is a medieval parish church located in Kent, England, and represents one of the county's significant ecclesiastical monuments. The church displays architectural features characteristic of the medieval period, with construction and modifications spanning several centuries of dev…

John Baker / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
St James' Church
St James' Church
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

St James' Church is a medieval parish church located in Kent, England, with origins dating to the medieval period. The church reflects the architectural traditions of its era, featuring characteristic elements typical of parish churches constructed during the Middle Ages. As an ancient monument r…

Stephen McKay / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Dover Castle
Dover Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.5 mi

Dover Castle is a medieval fortress occupying a commanding position on the white cliffs overlooking the English Channel in Kent. The site has been fortified since the Iron Age, with significant Roman remains including a lighthouse, but the castle was substantially developed from the 11th century…

Chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Fairbairn-type crane, Wellington Dock
Fairbairn-type crane, Wellington Dock
Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Fairbairn-type crane, Wellington Dock is a cast iron mechanical crane of mid-nineteenth-century industrial design, located at Wellington Dock in Kent. The crane represents the technological advancement in dock machinery during the Victorian era, employing the distinctive Fairbairn engineering pri…

Gerd Fahrenhorst / CC BY 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Maison Dieu
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
The Painted House, N of Market Street
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
More from this era

Other Medieval Battles

Sack of York (1069)
1069
North Yorkshire, England
Battle of Mechain
1069
Wales
Siege of Durham Castle 1069
1069
Durham, England
Battle site (Shivey)
1068
northern_ireland
In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Dover

Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle
1067
~0 miles away
French Raid on Dover 1380
1380
~0 miles away
Sea Beggars at Dover: Expulsion and Brielle 1572
1572
~0.2 miles away
Siege of Dover Castle 1265
1265
~0.5 miles away
Aubrey Research

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Sources
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