Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Harbour pier. Completed by 1908. Constructed by the firm of Coode, Son and Mathews as part of the Admiralty Harbour project. The late C20 control tower at the end is not of special interest. It is Constructed of concrete blocks of 26 to 42 tons each, faced above sea level with granite. It is nearly 1km long projecting from the landward side in a south westerly direction and forming the eastern side of Dover Harbour. The seaward side is battered and the harbour side has vertical sides. The seaward end is splayed. Towards the end on the harbour side is a flight of stone steps. Also, towards the end, accommodation and magazines were provided for gunners during the First World War to protect the 670 feet long entrance to the harbour between the Eastern Arm and the Southern Breakwater. Today the northern end of the breakwater is incorporated within the modern eastern dockyard while the rest remains relatively unchanged. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• BREAKWATER (Modern - 1908 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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Harbour pier. Completed by 1908. Constructed by the firm of Coode, Son and Mathews as part of the Admiralty Harbour project. The late C20 control tower at the end is not of special interest. It is Constructed of concrete blocks of 26 to 42 tons each, faced above sea level with granite. It is nearl 1km long projecting from the landward side in a south westerly direction and forming the eastern side of Dover Harbour. The seaward side is battered and the harbour side has vertical sides. The seaward end is splayed. Towards the end on the harbour side is a flight of stone steps. Also, towards the end, accommodation and magazines were provided for gunners during the First World War to protect the 670 feet long entrance to the harbour between the Eastern Arm and the Southern Breakwater.

It was constructed Between 1898 and 1908 as the Eastern Arm of Admiralty Harbour, which also included the extension to Admiralty Pier and the Southern Breakwater. The Admiralty Harbour was designed to provide a protected anchorage for the naval fleet and increase the protection of the commercial harbour. No structure is shown in this position on the 1898 Ordnance Survey map but it is shown complete on the 1908 sheet. Defences to the three parts of Admiralty Harbour were provided in the final phases of construction and concentrated on the ends of the breakwaters. Anti-aircraft guns were provided in concrete emplacements with searchlights in boom defences and associated accommodation and magazines. During the First World War the harbour provided a haven for the Dover Patrol to keep control of the English Channel. In 1926 it was decided that the harbour had limited military use and the three component parts of Admiralty Harbour were handed over to the Dover Harbour Board for administration as a commercial undertaking. A car ferry began from the Eastern Arm in 1928. During the Second World War Dover Harbour was particularly important in the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation. After 1945 the Navy pulled out and in 1953 a car ferry was started from the Eastern Docks. In 1966 a Hoverport was started here but was moved to the Western Docks in 1978. Currently there is a Car Ferry terminal adjoining. (1-3)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The Eastern Arm, Admiralty Harbour, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It was designed as the eastern breakwater to a vast artificial harbour called Admiralty Harbour, designed by the firm of Coode, Son and Mathews and built between 1898 and 1909, designed to provide a harbour of refuge for the British fleet.
* This was a huge and impressive engineering feat and the first artifical harbour to be built in the C20.
* It survives little altered apart from the loss of the end lighthouse.
* It is an integral part of the Admiralty Harbour scheme which also includes Grade II Admiralty Pier and the Southern Breakwater.
* It has historical interest for its wartime role during both world wars; in the First World War as a haven for battleships and submarines protecting the Channel and in the Second World War for its part in the Dunkirk evacuation. (1)

<1> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<2> Dover District Council, 2013, Dover District Heritage Strategy (Bibliographic reference). SKE31372.

<3> R. A. Otter, 1994, Civil Engineering Heritage: Southern England (Monograph). SKE52196.

Sources and further reading

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