Dover
Dover
Dover is an important port on the south coast of England in Kent, south-east of Canterbury. Dover is the landing point for many pilgrims to Canterbury and has been an important coastal town since Roman times when it was known as Portus Dubris .
The Romans occupied Dover between 55 BC and AD 43, building part of their defensive wall around the settlement.
Dover is known for its white cliffs, which are made of chalk - a sedimentary rock formed from the shells of tiny, sea animals called coccoliths. Dover’s chalk cliffs are part of the Dover Downs.
The Dover Strait is a narrow stretch of water that separates England from France and lies to the east of Dover. It describes an area approximately 34 km long by 10 km wide, running from south-east to north-west facing Dover with St Margaret’s Bay on its south side and The Downs on the north. Dover is in fact at one end of this stretch, with an unusual break in the cliffs where the River Dour drains into Dover Harbour serving ferries travelling to and from Dover to Calais or Boulogne in France.
The Strait has always been of great importance to coastal shipping traffic between England and mainland Europe.
Created: 30 October 2021 Edited: 29 November 2023
Dover
Shopping in Dover
Local History around Dover
There are some historic monuments around including:
Artillery castle at DealA Springfield style enclosure, a group of associated prehistoric pits and ditches and an oval barrow 1km NNE of Langdon AbbeyMedieval moated site at Grove Manor FarmMedieval manor house, WalmerSandwich town walls: section from a point E of gasworks to site of New Gate (including The Bulwark and Mill Wall)Sandwich town walls: section at NW corner (150ft long)Sandwich town walls: site of the Round HouseBowl barrow 530m north of Langdon AbbeySandwich town walls: section from New Gate to Woodnesborough GatePremonstratensian monastery and associated fishponds at West LangdonThe Fisher GateSandown CastleTwo enclosures 400yds (360m) NE of Mill House SchoolRomano-Celtic temple and Iron Age site S of WorthTwo bowl barrows on Free Down, 550m south of Hill FarmSt Nicholas' Church, OxneySandwich town walls: section incorporated in the old East Kent Brewery (35ft long)Four ring ditches on ridge of Sutton HillSandwich town walls: section from Woodnesborough Gate to Canterbury GateArtillery castle at WalmerGreat Mongeham Anglo-Saxon cemeterySandwich town walls: section extending 40yds (36m) on N side of Strand StreetSite of medieval port, Stonar.Wildlife in and Around Dover
Mammals found in Dover
There have been 28 species of mammals recorded in the dover area.
| 45 Khz Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) |
| Badger (Meles meles) |
| Beaver (Castor fiber) |
| Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) |
| Common Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) |
| American Mink (Neovison vison) |
| Bank Vole (Myodes glareolus) |
| Brown Long-Eared Bat (Plecotus auritus) |
| Chinese Barking Deer (Muntiacus reevesi) |
| Common Shrew (Sorex araneus) |
Tap here for more mammals found in and around Dover
Birds found in Dover
There have been 50 species of birds recorded in the dover area.
| (Anthus spinoletta/petrosus agg.) |
| Bean Goose (Anser fabalis) |
| Chukar Partridge (Alectoris chukar) |
| Common Swift (Apus apus) |
| Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) |
| Bar-Headed Goose (Anser indicus) |
| Carolina Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) |
| Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) |
| Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus) |
| European White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons subsp. albifrons) |
