admin – Deal Heritage

Victoria Town

Seaside resorts became popular around the end of the 18th century. The medicinal benefits of ‘taking the waters’ had been popular in spa towns, but this now extended to coastal locations. Deal began to establish itself as a seaside resort to compete with others in Kent. The area known as Victoria Town developed to serve that need after the Naval Yard closed in 1863.

Upper Walmer

The original village of Walmer first grew up around a manor house in the early 12th century and by Victorian times was a thriving village. The original Parish Church (Church of St. Mary the Blessed Virgin) probably evolved from the chapel of the manor house and was used regularly by the Duke of Wellington when he was living at Walmer Castle.

Town Hall and St George’s Church

Deal used to be governed by Sandwich but the town grew rapidly and in 1699 it was granted its own Royal Charter, which allowed the town to hold its own market and raise taxes. The current Town Hall was completed in 1804. St George’s church was built to cater for the growing population of Lower Deal, it was built by public subscription and completed in 1716.

Timeball Tower

A visual shutter telegraph system was built here in 1795-6 at the northern end of the Naval Yard. The present building was constructed in 1820-1 with a semaphore mast which was a faster, more versatile and efficient device than the shutter system. It became a timeball station in 1853, to signal the time to ships in the anchorage, and operated until 1927. It is now a museum.

South Street and Elizabeth Carter

South Street has been connected with the town’s transport for many years. The turnpike came to Deal from Dover in 1797 and finished opposite Deal Castle. Before then, the state of the roads had made it difficult to travel between towns.
Here is Carter House, the home of a famous daughter of Deal, Elizabeth Carter who was a poet, classicist, writer and translator.

Sandown Castle

This was the site of the most northerly of King Henry VIII’s ‘Castles of the Downs’. By the early 1600s, the castle was in a ruinous state and was declared unfit for habitation in 1785 as the sea continued to erode it. In 1863, the remains were sold as building material and some used to extend Walmer Castle. Now incorporated into the sea defences, it is maintained as a well loved community garden.

Royal Marines in Deal and Walmer

Deal and Walmer have had links with the military for centuries. In 1665 the Captain of Deal Castle, Silius Titus brought The Duke of York & Albany’s Maritime Regiment of Foot to Deal. That regiment went on to become the Corps of HM Royal Marines. They were permanently resident in Deal from 1861 until 1996. The site covered 22 acres (9 hectares).

Royal Hotel

The Royal Hotel stands to the north of the pier. An earlier pub, The Three Kings, which dated from the 1720s stood here. This, and a number of the surrounding houses, were adapted in 1836 into the building that we see today. The Royal Hotel is the only building to remain of the many that once stood on the seaward side of Beach Street.

Queen Anne House and Crown Court

Probably the finest building here is Queen Anne House, a Historic Building of Kent with a fascinating history.
Running down the north side of Queen Anne House is South Court which, like most others in Deal, is very narrow.
Another narrow alleyway, Crown Court, leads from Middle Street towards Beach Street, emerging near the King’s Head inn.

Naval Yard

The origins of the yard lie in the mid-17th century when naval vessels anchored offshore needed supporting services. The yard provided employment for boatmen and boat builders, and for the maritime trades of chandlery, rope and sail making. The yard closed in 1863 and the area developed into ‘Victoria Town’.