Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Early post medieval mapping pin points to original position of the Long Wall of the Great Pent which is now situated under present day Waterloo Crescent and was originally constructed in the 1580's. (location accurate to the nearest 20m based on available information).

Monument Types

• BREAKWATER (Post Medieval to Modern - 1580 AD? to 2050 AD)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Early post medieval mapping pinpoints to original position of the Long Wall of the Great Pent which is now situated under present day Waterloo Crescent. The development of the pent in the early post medieval period may be considered the third phase of works undertaken on Dover harbour in this period; the first constituting that undertaken near Archcliffe Fort at 'Paradise Pent' by Clerk and the second (which remained un-finished) undertaken by Thompson in c.1533-1551 between 'Paradise Pent' and the 'South Pier'. By the late 1570's to early 1580's, much of the former development of the harbour was in a ruinous state and a firm and compact ridge of beach had been formed between an area near the present mouth of the river Dour and the area now occupied by the 'North Pier'. This ridge remained dry at high water and a lagoon formed between it and the town. The formation of this lagoon created the ideal opportunity to develop a large sheltered harbour; the 'Great Pent' wall was to be placed on the seaward side of this ridge, inclosing, on the land side, the river, which, running along the ridge, issues at the mouth of the harbour. (1)

The construction of the new long wall and other features of the new pent, which was designed to retain both fresh and salt water at high tide and, by means of sluices, to control its outflow at low tide, was undertaken on the most part in the summer of 1583. The controlled rush of water, provided by the River Dour, would scour the harbour and clear its mouth of any accumulated shingle and debris. Thomas Digges, who was an engineer and mathematician and who had studied the nature and construction of the ports in the Netherlands, was one of the most active and esteemed combatants in the design process of the new harbour and produced a number of important plans that included a depiction of the long wall of the great pent. (2)

After the basic form of the scheme had been agreed, argument raged over the method of construction of the walls. Continuous walling of stone was too costly (as the previous scheme under Thompsons guidance had proved) some advocated for timber walling, other a mere piling up of this shingle intermixed with the mud from the lagoon. A further party favoured the use of earth and chalk rammed together with an outer covering of mud beaten into the sites and against which were affixed a revetment of faggots anchored with withies. This latter method had long been proved effective in reclaimed land a Romney Marsh and a proved track record led to its successful adoption at Dover. (3)

One of the earliest plans produced by Digges, dating to 1581, shows the state of the harbour before any of the third phase of works were completed. On this plan the ridge of land above discussed, which existed before the construction of the long wall of the Great Pent, is clearly visible, along with the River Dour which winds its way through it. (4) Two later plans by Digges, dating to c. 1588 and 1595 depicts Dover harbour almost immediately after the work had been completed. These plans clearly show the location of the long wall of the Great Pent, the cross pent wall and sluice gates between the Great Pent and the main harbour. On the 1595 plan the wall is labelled as ‘The Long earthen wall of the great Pent’. (5-6)

William Eldreds plan of Dover town and harbour which dates to 1641, and another, slightly earlier plan also attributed to Eldred (dating to 1631) also shows the extent of the Great Pent and its long wall. Little development has occurred in the area immediately surrounding the pent in the years between the drawing of Digges map in 1588 and Eldred's in 1641. Some notable features are the construction of a number of buildings/dwellings towards the south-eastern end of the long wall of the Great Pent and across the cross pent wall and a wall/walk labelled the 'Crooked wall of the Great Pent' towards its north-eastern end. (7-8)

Shown on further Historic maps including that by Symonds dating to 1583-1584 (9), Foquet dating to 1737 (10), Hogben dating to 1769 (11)

Discussion of this feature in regards to the western docks revival scheme and the new Terminal 2 port development. (12)

<1> W. Batcheller, 1828, A New History of Dover and of Dover Castle (Monograph). SKE32012.

<2> Stephen Johnson, 1994, Making mathematical practice: gentlemen, practitioners and artisans in Elizabethan England (Monograph). SKE32014.

<3> M. S. Johnson, 2015, Historic Timber-built Seacoast Piers of Eastern England: Technological, Environmental and Social Contexts (Unpublished document). SKE32003.

<4> Thomas Digges, 1581, The State of Dover Haven (Map). SKE31984.

<5> Thomas Digges, 1588, Plan of Work at Dover Harbour (Map). SKE31986.

<6> Thomas Digges, 1595, The state of Dover Haven with the New workes (Map). SKE31987.

<7> William Eldred, 1641, The Platt of Dover Castle Towne and Harbor (Map). SKE31804.

<8> William Eldred (?), 1631, Plan of lands belonging to the Priory and now to Master Buffkyn (Map). SKE31988.

<9> John Symonds, 1583-1584, Dover Harbour (Map). SKE32347.

<10> J. Foquet, 1737, Plan of the town, harbour and fortifications of Dover (Map). SKE31991.

<11> Thomas and Henry Hogben, 1769, The topography and Mensuration of Dover Pier, Harbour, Houses and Lands from DHB (Map). SKE31992.

<12> Maritime Archaeology, 2008, Dover Terminal 2 EIA: Historic Environment Baseline Report (Unpublished document). SKE31717.

Sources and further reading