French Raid on Sandwich 1342
Who Fought
History & Significance
Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings, including several listed public houses and gates in the old town walls, churches, almshouses and the White Mill. While it was once a major port, Sandwich is now 2 miles (3 km) from the sea due to the disappearance of the Wantsum Channel. Its historic centre has been preserved. Sandwich Bay is home to nature reserves and two world-class golf courses, Royal St George's and Prince's. The town is also a home to many educational and cultural events. Sandwich also gave its name to the food by way of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, and the word sandwich is now found in several languages.
The place-name 'Sandwich' is first attested in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it appears as Sondwic in 851 and Sandwic in 993. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it appears as Sandwice. The suffix -wich comes from the Anglo Saxon -wīc, meaning a dwelling or fortified place where trade takes place. The name means "market town on sandy soil".
Before Sandwich became a Cinque Port, the ancient Saxon town of Stonar on the bank of the Wantsum estuary (on the opposite side of the mouth of the River Stour), was already well established. It remained a place of considerable importance but it disappeared almost without trace in the 14th century. The ruins of the major Roman fort of Richborough are close by. It was the landing place of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43. In 2008, an archaeological dig proved that this was a defensive site of a Roman beachhead, protecting 700 metres of the coast.
In 1028 King Canute (c. 995–1035) granted a charter to the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury, to operate a ferry across the river and collect tolls. In 1192, returning from the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart was jailed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. Henry released Richard in February 1194. On 13 March 1194, Richard landed at the port of Sandwich and came back to England. In 1216, Prince Louis of France landed at Sandwich in support of the First Barons' War against King John. The Battle of Sandwich occurred just off the coast in 1217. By 1295, Sandwich was a borough within the Lathe of St. Augustine.
The Fisher Gate on the quay dates from 1384, and has been scheduled as an Ancient Monument. It is the only one of the original medieval town gates to survive. It is a Grade I listed building. The nearby Barbican dates from the 14th century and stands at the end of the bridge over the River Stour where it was used as a toll house.
The ground they fought on
The site of French Raid on Sandwich 1342 lies on Thanet Sand Formation, bedrock that formed in the Thanetian. The rock here is sand, silt and clay.
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- Sandwich, Kent · Wikipedia
- Hundred Years' War, 1337-1360 · Wikipedia
- Collections for an history of Sandwich in Kent · William Boys, 1792 (Internet Archive)