Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The former site of St. James Street is located on numerous historic cartographic sources dating to the post medieval period as linking Woolcomber Street and a bridge crossing the River Dour at the northern end of Mill Lane. It was named after the Church of St. James which is situated at the north eastern end of the road. (location accurate to the nearest 10m based on available information)

Monument Types

• ROAD (Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD? to 1950 AD?)

Full description

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The former site of St. James Street is located on numerous historic cartographic sources dating to the post medieval period as linking Woolcomber Street and a bridge crossing the River Dour at the northern end of Mill Lane. It was named after the Church of St. James which is situated at the north eastern end of the road.

The eastern side of Dover, including the eastern Side of St James’ Street, was extensively damaged during the Second World War and, as part of the post war re-development of the site during the 1950’s and 1960’s, virtually all of the remaining historic streets and buildings were swept away and much of the area was turned into a car park in the later part of the 20th century. (1). Only three buildings remain (5-9 St. James Street), two of which are GII Listed and are of an early 19th century date. (2) The south western half of the street was completely removed sometime between 2013 and 2015 ahead of the development of the site into a variety of retail outlets. An archaeological excavation was undertaken at the site before the start of these works, the remains indicate that the origins of the settlement in the St. James district lie in the Norman period, if not earlier. Across much of the site 2-3m of complex stratified deposits and structural remains of Medieval and post medieval date have accumulated. The earliest structures positively identified during this investigation are of a late 12th to early 13th century date, and mostly comprised simple timber buildings. (1)

Similar remains were encountered during archaeological excavations undertaken by Canterbury Archaeological Trust at the B.P Filling Station off Townwall Street in the 1990's, this uncovered multiple phases of Medieval occupation in this area of Dover, including some dwellings which may have backed onto the former St. James' Street. (3)

In the post medieval period St. James Street was the fashionable part the “West End of Dover” and there are remains in it of many of the good houses where the “elite” lived. (4) Some of the largest and most important structures which formerly occupied this area were the Burlington Hotel and Dover’s Gasworks. Remains linking to both of these constructions were uncovered during the recent archaeological investigations of the site. (1)

Numerous historic cartographic sources detail the former location of this street including that by Thomas Miles dating to 1580 (5), Thomas Digges dating to 1581 (6) and 1595 7) William Eldred dating to 16418), Foquet dating to 1737 (9)

An archaeological excavation undertaken by Canterbury Archaeological Trust in 2015/2016 in the St. James area of the town revealed finds from the primary metalled surface of the road which indicated that it had first been laid out in the Norman Period, with contemporary buildings fronting onto it. (10) The St James Street appears to have come into being following the line of a sand and shingle ridge infilling the Roman harbour and it has also been suggested that the street is Saxon in origin. (11)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2016, Canterbury's Archaeology 2015-2016 - Fieldwork (Article in serial). SKE32353.

<2> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<3> Keith Parfitt, Barry Corke and John Cotter, 2006, Townwall Street, Dover: Excavations 1996 (Monograph). SKE31840.

<4> Adeline Reidy and David Hannent, 2017, Castle Street Area Society Website - St. James's Street (Website). SKE32354.

<5> Thomas Miles, 1580, Proposal for Dover Harbour (Map). SKE31983.

<6> Thomas Digges, 1581, The State of Dover Haven (Map). SKE31984.

<7> Thomas Digges, 1595, The state of Dover Haven with the New workes (Map). SKE31987.

<8> William Eldred, 1641, The Platt of Dover Castle Towne and Harbor (Map). SKE31804.

<9> J. Foquet, 1737, Plan of the town, harbour and fortifications of Dover (Map). SKE31991.

<10> Keith Parfitt, 2018, Dover St James redevelopment. Interim report on archaeological excavation 2018 (Unpublished document). SKE51627.

<11> Foundations Archaeology, 2005, St. James Area, Dover NGR: TR321 414 Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE16166.

Sources and further reading