Captain Edward Parker

Captain Parker was a close friend of Admiral Lord Nelson whose thigh was shattered by shot during an ill-fated raid on Boulogne on 15 August 1801. He was taken to lodgings in Middle Street where he died aged just 22. Nelson was stricken with grief, arranging and paying for a funeral in the town with full military honours before erecting a monument to Parker’s memory – the only monument in this country known to have been donated personally by Lord Nelson. At Nelson’s request, some of Parker’s hair was preserved for eventual burial with the admiral, a token of their special friendship.

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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.

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