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Monument details

HER Number:TR 34 SW 2745
Type of record:Monument
Name:Former site of Castle jetty, Eastern Docks, Dover

Summary

Castle Jetty was situated at the foot of the sea cliff below the eastern defences of Dover Castle, some 350 metres north-east of Mote’s Bulwark. Work on this major new jetty began in 1752 and was completed in 1754. As originally built, the jetty had a length of 126 feet (38.50 metres), extending from the shoreline opposite Athol Terrace. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)


Grid Reference:TR 32897 41550
Map Sheet:TR34SW
Parish:DOVER, DOVER, KENT

Monument Types

  • JETTY (Demolished, Post Medieval to Modern - 1752 AD to 2008 AD)

Full description

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Castle Jetty is situated at the foot of the sea cliff below the eastern defences of Dover Castle, some 350 metres north-east of Mote’s Bulwark. Work on this major new jetty began in 1752 and was completed in 1754. As originally built, the jetty had a length of 126 feet (38.50 metres), extending from the shoreline opposite Athol Terrace. The jetty was lengthened to about 490 feet (150 metres) in 1833 in response to the continuing upgrading of the western harbour works and consequent changes in the movement of the shingle along the coast. Taking the name ‘Castle Jetty’ from the proximity to Dover Castle on the cliffs above, rather than signifying the presence of any medieval structure here, the jetty is the product of eighteenth and nineteenth century harbour engineering. Starting after the end of the Second World War, continual development of the Eastern Docks complex has slowly encroached upon Castle Jetty. Up until the construction of the new Jubilee Way viaduct in the mid-1970s the structure stood essentially intact but with this initial phase of new road building, followed by the major up-grading of the A20 in 1991−3, the jetty has been largely obscured.

As seen immediately prior to the new construction work staring in April 2008, the extant Castle Jetty consisted of a concrete and stone structure extending southwards into Dover Harbour for a distance of some 65 metres from the edge of the present promenade adjoining the A20.

A watching-brief maintained during demolition work on Castle Jetty in Dover Harbour, associated with the redesigning of the exit road from Dover’s Eastern Docks complex revealed the remains of the original, nineteenth century timber structure, which had subsequently been encased in concrete and stonework. The north-western end of the surviving jetty adjacent to the A20 was largely removed to make way for a new dock exit road. The south-eastern (seaward) end fell outside the development area and remains untouched and submerged at high water. (summarised from source) (1)

A desk based assessment was undertaken on Castle Jetty and its surrounding environment, this concluded that the Castle Jetty once formed an important element in maintaining the workings of Dover Harbour by limiting the movement of shingle along the coast. In this role however, by the time this assessment had been completed, it was redundant, being overshadowed by the construction of the more extensive harbour works relating to the Eastern Docks complex. during the late C20th the northern half of the jetty was buried or removed by the construction of the new dock entrance at the end of the A20 so the remaining portion (in the early 2000’s) of the jetty stood as a somewhat superfluous fragment of past harbour installations. (2)

Castle jetty visible on the Ordnance Survey 1876 edition [3]. This was still visible on the Ordnance Survey 1938 edition [4]. The jetty was seen to have been redeveloped upon each epoch of OS mapping. It was still visible on MasterMap dating to 2009 [5]. The area was given a monument polygon during historic mapping enhancement as part of Phase 1 of the South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey.


<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2009, Dover Eastern Docks New Approach Road: Archaeological Watching-brief: Report on Castle Jetty (Unpublished document). SKE16248.

<2> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2005, Dover Eastern Docks Exit Road Redesign: Archaeological Implications Report (with special reference to Castle Jetty) (Unpublished document). SKE12643.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1858-73, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 1st Edition : 1872-1897, 1876/1:2500 (Map). SWX11831.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1928-1947, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 4th edition 1928-1947, 1938/1:2500 (Map). Ske12644.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 2009, OS MasterMap, 2009/MasterMap (Cartographic materials). SWX15710.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>Unpublished document: Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 2009. Dover Eastern Docks New Approach Road: Archaeological Watching-brief: Report on Castle Jetty.
<2>Unpublished document: Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 2005. Dover Eastern Docks Exit Road Redesign: Archaeological Implications Report (with special reference to Castle Jetty).
<3>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1858-73. Ordnance Survey 1:2500 1st Edition : 1872-1897. 1:2500. 1876/1:2500.
<4>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1928-1947. Ordnance Survey 1:2500 4th edition 1928-1947. 1938/1:2500.
<5>Cartographic materials: Ordnance Survey. 2009. OS MasterMap. 2009/MasterMap.