French Raid on Dover 1380
Who Fought
History & Significance
The History of Dover, because of the town's proximity to the Continent begins when Stone Age people crossed what was then a land bridge, before the opening up of the English Channel. Since then, successive invasions of peoples have taken place. Archaeological finds have revealed a great deal, particularly about cross channel trade and the attempts of those various inhabitants to build large-scale defences against European invaders on this part of the English coast.
In more modern times the emphasis has tended to be on the growth of Dover as a commercial port, both for passenger and freight ferries and for cruise ships. There is also a relatively large tourist industry built around the town's historical sites.
The earliest archaeological evidence in the River Dour valley can be seen in finds of Neolithic flint implements and pottery, especially in the Market Square of the town; and the site is considered to be one of the major areas of settlement in Kent. These settlers arrived by crossing the pre-English Channel by what is termed the ‘'land bridge'’. Most such settlements occur in river valleys (see also the River Medway at Kit's Coty House). The Neolithic occupation of the Dour Valley appears to have occurred following significant environmental change
Once the bridge had been broken, later settlers had to arrive by sea, and their artefacts reveal the earliest evidence that Dover was becoming a place of trade with the Continent and Ireland. The so-called Beaker Folk were here; and later Bronze Age peoples traded in gold: one such find has been found near Dover. In addition two other finds of great importance in Dover's history are now displayed in Dover Museum: a boat and a hoard of axes, the latter discovered in Langdon Bay, off Dover. A Bronze Age ring-ditch has also been found at the nearby settlement of Martin. Small Iron Age finds have also been discovered.
From now on the history of Dover is completely one with the sea. Roman Dover, or Portus Dubris as it was called, was one of the three ports used for trade and the movement of the army; the other two being Lemanis Lympne and Rutupiae Richborough. All three connected to Watling Street at Canterbury. In due course the longshore drift along the coast silted up the latter two ports, and also the mouth of the River Dour, Kent on which Dover stands.
The Romans, for whom the port was a base for their navy, the Classis Britannica, constructed breakwaters against the sea's depredations, and added two lighthouses on the heights either side of the estuary. It is possible that they also constructed a fort on what is now the site of Dover Castle to protect the port.
The ground they fought on
The site of French Raid on Dover 1380 lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.
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- History of Dover · Wikipedia
- Dover Castle · Wikipedia
- Origins of the Cinque Ports and Dover Part II · The Dover Historian
- Wax, Stone and Iron: Dover's Town Defences in the late Middle Ages · Kent Archaeological Society (Archaeologia Cantiana)
- The town and port of Dover · British History Online (Survey of Kent vol 9)