Printed and Published at the Dover Express Works. 1916.

TO BE FORMATTED

ANNALS OF DOVER.
SECTION TWO.
THE PORT OF DOVER
VIII. HARBOUR AFFAIRS FROM 1670 TO 1723.

The many claims upon the Exchequer in ihe latter part
of the reign of Charles II. were the excuse of Statesmen for
refusing to renew the Passing Tolls Act when it expired in
1670, and no further help from that source was received
until 1694. During that interval, mud that came down the
River Dour in flood time, and shingle that had been piled
in front of the harbour mouth by repeated south-west gales,
had so choked up the harbour as to render it useless. A
saddening picture of its neglected condition is given by Sir
Henry Shears, an officer of the Ordnance Department, in
a report that he made by command of Charles II. in 1682.
He having been to Dover and viewed the Harbour, he
reported the result in an interview with the King. He
said : —

I told His Majesty that the port was, at that time, become
entirely useless, the pier, within, being filled and choked up with
sand and mud, and that there was a bank of beach at the mouth
of the harbour of many thousand tons, which barred up the entrance ;
that the town, which was wont to abound in shipping, seamen, com-
merce, people and plenty of all things, was become poor, desolate
and dispeopled, which was visible every where by their uecayed build-
ings and habitations, v.here half the houses at least, throughout the
whole town had bills on the doors ; all which could be ascribed to no
other reason than the decay of the Harbour ; touching the true cause
thereof, on the cure, the inhabitants, with whom I had frequent con-
ference, could give me little or no light.

This narration of the state of Dover Harbour, the
desolation that it brought upon the town in 1682, and the
recommendations made as to the remedy, aroused the King's
interest ; but, after a few days' consideration, he gave the
officer this short answer: — " That it was a noble project
indeed, but that it was too big for his present purse, and
would keep cold." Sir Henry Shears continues: — " Shortly
after that I was dispatched to my business in a remote
country." About three years later Charles II. died, and no
further aid for improving the Harbour was granted by
Parliament during his reign.

Hopes had been raised in 1676 that something in the
way of improvement would follow a Commission of Inquiry



Io6 ANNALS OF DOVER

issued bv the Barons of the Exchequer *-o require and
empower several persons to point out the limits of the Port
of Dover seaward, and also the quays and wharves in the
Harbour. The Mayor, Captain William Stokes, R.N.,
Messrs. Giles Dunston, Richard Breton, Walter Braems,
John Matson, and James Housman were deputed to make
the survey, and they reported that on the 20th January, 1676,
and on several following days, they went to view the open
bays on the coast, and they described the limits of the
Port of Dover as follow^s : —

"From the town to the South Foreland, bearinfj east four miles ;
and from thence to the Cioodwin Sands, the same distance from the
shore ; and in twelve fathoms water at the time of the ebb. From
the Goociwin Sands they continued the lx)undary 'ine, south-west by
west, to a point near the promontory called East Wear liay, four miles
distance from the shore, and in the same depth of water. From East
Wear Point to Dover pierhead, north-north-west to the bridge over
the sluice. The quays and wharves for shipping and landing goods are
also particular. y descriled thus: — "Crane Quay: From the crane 36tt..
W.N.W. to a jiost fixed at the end of it. This was near the Harbour
House. The next was called James Hammond's Quay, and it

meisured from a post at .S.W. by W. to another, X.E. bv N., 55 feet.
This quay was bounded by the house of James Hammond, \V.N.W.,
and by the harbour, K.S.E. The next quay is described as belonj^intr
to several inhabitants and mt asuring 657 feet from the end of Bnnders
Quay to the north part of Major Braem's Quay. The fourth was John
Matson "s Quay, which measured on the western side of his warehouse
45 feet. Major Braem's Quay, which measured from N.E. to S.W.,
276 feet, and was bounded by the New Buildings on the N.E., and
the Harbour on the .S.W."

The inquiry by the Barons of the Exchequer led to
nothing. The .state of the harbour went from bad to wor.se,
as already detailed in the report made by Sir Henry Shears,
who presented a memorial to William HI. soon after he
ascended the Throne, setting forth the deplorable condition
of Dover Harbour, and praying for a renewal of the Pa.ssing
Tolls. In anticipation of a favourable response to that
petition, the Commissioners in j688 adopted plans for placing
double gates and a more effective sluice in the lower
Crosswall, so as to make the backwater operate more
effectively on the bar between the North and South Piers.
It is of interest to mention that the materials for the sluice
and the walls in which the gates were to be set were obtained
from one of the original Round Towers built by Sir John
Clark in 1500, which, having stood at the entrance to Round
Tower Street until 1668, was then removed. In 1690 the Har-
bour Act, II and 12 William III., renewing the Passing Tolls



THE PORT OF DOVER 107

for nine years. The expense of obtaining the Act was
^488 14s. lid., and to pay that and to meet the cost of the
proposed w^orks for better sluicing arrangements the Com-
missioners were authorised to borrow ;i^6,ooo for five years.
There had been a very considerable outlay in manual and
horse labour to clear away the bar, consisting of many
thousands of tons which lay in front of and between the
Piers, so that all the revenue that the Act above mentioned
yielded during the nine years for which it was granted was
spent in removing the bar and repairs.

By order of WiUiam III., the Lords of the Admiralty
directed Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel and Captain White-
ham to make a survey of Dover Harbour, with a view to its
further improvement on the 28th April, 1689; and they
reported as follows: —

'¦\Ve have been to the said Port and have surveyed the present
condition thereof, and have likewise advised with the Commissioners
and Overseers of the said Harbour as to how it might be made more
useful to the Navy and at what charge. The good condition of this
Harbour depends on the maintenance of the Piers, which preserve
an entrance into the same, and likewise on the good management of the
land freshes for clearing away all sullage, sediment and beach stones
either carried down from the land or carried in by the sea. These
two principal things have been very much neglected, the income being
insufficient for extraordinary works. The piers are now much decayed
and the harbour itself has contracted very much sediment, beach stones
and ouze, therefore is in great danger of becoming totally useless to
the GovernmeTit. Finding by enquiry that this Port has been a place
of good resort in former times for merchant ships and of convenience
to the smaller ships of war to fit and clean, for the advantage of the
Navy and for trade in general it ought to be {)reserved from decay,
and improved for the advantage of the Nation. We propose the build-
ing of a wall 30 feet thick at the bottom, with sluices through the same
about 500 feet below the present water pent, which with all the side
wharfs already built will make a basin for ten or twelve ships, from
40 guns downwards, which may always lie afloat and room for four
score more outside the basin within the piers. We recommend that
about ;^5oo be immediately spent on the North Pier, and ^7,350 on
the wall and sluices."

This report eventually led to the building of the
Cros.swall in a substantial manner and the construction of
sluices therein, but to do this further financial arrangements
had to be made.

At the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne, it being
represented to her Government that the above-mentioned
necessary works remained to be done, the Passing Tolls Act
was again renewed to continue until the end of the year 17 18,



Io8 ANNALS OF DOVER

The Passing Tolls yielded between the years 1700 and 17 18
a total of ^20,876 6s. 5d., and after the works indicated
by Sir Cloudesley Shovel's report had been carried out only
a balance of ;^739 us. iid. remained. There was still
much more to be done, and the Commissioners petitioned
for the Tolls Act to be renewed.

Queen Anne had then been dead four years, and her
bounty to Dover Harbour had outlived her. George I. who was
then on the Throne, and his Whig Ministers were not very
favourably disposed to Dover. They appointed a Committee to
investigate the matter and they reported that " If the piers
were not kept up the harbour and the town would be lost."
The tolls were then renewed until 1723, and the works pro-
ceeded. In the year 1718 both pier heads were repaired and
Cheeseman's Head, a small jetty on the south-west of the
Harbour mouth was built out to low-water mark, but the
l)earh fUiring heavy seas from the south-west was often
carried in between the piers, rendering the harbour useless
until the beach was removed. Lord Aylmer, at that time,
invited Capt. John Perry to survey the harbour and report to
him thereon.



THE PORT OF DOVER IO9