French Raid on Deal 1377
Who Fought
History & Significance
Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Dover and 8 miles (13 km) south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchorage in the Downs. Close to Deal is Walmer, a possible location for Julius Caesar's first arrival in Britain.
Deal became a 'limb port' of the Cinque Ports in 1278 and grew into the busiest port in England; today it is a seaside resort, its streets and houses a reminder of its history along with many ancient buildings and monuments. In 1968, Middle Street was the first conservation area in Kent. The coast of France is approximately 25 miles (40 km) from the town and is visible on clear days. Deal Castle is a device fort commissioned by then-King, Henry VIII.
Deal is first mentioned as a village in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Addelam. It is referred to as Dela in 1158, and Dale in 1275. The name is the Old English dael meaning 'valley', cognate with the modern English 'dale'. Deal developed into a port by the end of the 13th century. In 1495, the town was the site of an attempted landing by the pretender to the English throne Perkin Warbeck. His supporters were driven off by locals loyal to Henry VII at the Battle of Deal, fought on the beach. Sandown, Deal and Walmer castles were constructed around the town by Henry VIII to protect against foreign naval attack.
In 1699 the inhabitants petitioned for incorporation, since previously the town had been under the jurisdiction of Sandwich and governed by a deputy appointed by the mayor of that town; William III by his charter incorporated the town under the title of mayor, jurats and commonalty of Deal. Deal Town Hall, the former meeting place of Deal Borough Council, was completed in 1803.
In the Second World War, 12 people were killed by shelling, from 120 shells.
In 1861, the Royal Marine Depot was established in the town. In 1989, it was bombed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, killing 11 bandsmen.
The proximity of Deal's shoreline to the Goodwin Sands has made its coastal waters a source of both shelter and danger through the history of sea travel in British waters. The Downs, the water between the town and the sands, provides a naturally sheltered anchorage. Positioned at the eastern end of the English Channel, this is where sailing vessels would wait for a favourable wind, either to proceed into the North Sea, or, heading to the west, down the Channel. Ships going from London (the largest port in the world for much of the age of sail) to the Channel would leave under a fair wind (largely westerly), would turn south past the North Foreland and then find the same wind to be against them to go any further. (The reverse is true for ships heading for London from the Channel: a westerly wind prevents the last part of their journey.) It was common to find one or two hundred ships waiting for a slight change in wind direction that would allow them to proceed; at times, three hundred or more ships could be windbound in the Downs. When a useful wind shift occurred, those in the anchorage would be hastily weighing anchor and setting sail, whilst some ships heading in the opposite direction might now be entering the Downs to anchor, as the wind had turned against them.
The ground they fought on
The site of French Raid on Deal 1377 lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.
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- The town and parish of Deal · British History Online, Survey of Kent Vol 10
- Deal, Kent · Wikipedia
- The French Raid Sussex, 1377 · Sussex Castles