Home >
History >
Folkestone >
Folkestone History
Army Barracks | Folkestone Harbour | Folkestone Railway | World war I & II
Folkestone is a coastal town located in the district of Shepway in Kent, England. Folkestone is surrounded by various satellite towns, these include Cheriton, Capel-le-ferne, Hawkinge and Seabrook.
In around 1923 a landslide on the East Cliff at Folkestone un-earthed some remains of a large Roman Villa. The Roman Villa was complete with hypocausts, bathrooms, kitchen, fireplaces and a beautiful roman mosaic floor. The site is said to have been occupied by the Britain's prior to the Roman invasion of 43AD, and then the Romans stayed there until the last quarter of the fourth century.
In 1933 with the remains uncovered, visitors could see the site daily and were able to look at how their ancestors lived. Exposed were parts of the underground heated flooring system and cold plunge baths. You can still see artifacts such as coins on display today at the Grace Hill Library in Folkestone.
Aside from the Romans, the name Folkestone came along in the late 7th century from 'Folcanstan' referring to the stone of 'Folca'. In about 630, King Eadbald of Kent built an abbey on the western cliff at Folkestone for Eanswith, his daughter, and her nuns. Believed to be the first Christian community for women in England, her name lends itself to the parish church of St Eanswythe where her mortal remains are said to be interred.
Up until the 10th Century, Viking raids were common and left huge amounts of damage to the settlements around Folkestone. Even after Edward the Confessor came to the throne in 1042, the village was again damaged by fire when Earl Godwin of Wessex was exiled by the King.
At around 1066 Folkestone was simply farmland occupied by farm workers and fisherman. At that time the Manor of Folkestone was under the ownership of the Church of Canterbury. When William became King he gave the Folkestone area as a gift to his half brother Bishop Odo. In 1086 the ownership was held by William D'Arcy and was valued at just £100. It consisted of approximately 6240 acres, 5 Churches and around 600 villagers.
The French took the opportunity to attack Folkestone in 1216, and laid much of it to waste. Even at this early period it was significant enough to have a Mayor. By 1313 it had received a charter as a corporate limb of the Cinque Ports and in 1629 the locals obtained a license to build a port.
Army Barracks
[Back to Top]
In 1794 the Army purchased over 229 acres of land to the West of Folkestone on the heights overlooking Sandgate. In 1796 and 1806 Shorncliffe Garrison were extended, and troops were stationed here before being sent off to the Peninsula Wars. In 1804 the original wooden barracks were replaced with buildings on stone and were used to house cavalry and artillery brigades. Today the Sir John Moore Barracks as they are now known are the home of the Gurkha Regiment of Britain.
Folkestone Harbour
[Back to Top]
Up until the 19th century, Folkestone remained a small fishing village whose coastline was constantly battered by the weather. The shingle beaches made it very difficult for boats to land on the shore, so in 1807 an act of parliament was passed to build a pier and harbour. By 1820 the Harbour area was complete although it was hampered by deposits of sand and silt continuing to choke the harbour.
The Folkestone Harbour company invested heavily in removing the silt, but failed and by 1842 they went bankrupt. The Government put the harbour up for sale which was bought by the South Eastern Railway company, which was building the London to Dover railway line. Dredging of the harbour commenced immediately, and the town soon became the South Eastern Train Company's principal station for traffic to the continent.
Folkestone Railway
[Back to Top]
The railway had reached Folkestone by 28th June 1843, although the building of the Foord Viaduct delayed further extension until the following year, when what was to become Folkestone Junction station was opened. As soon as the line opened to Dover, the towns status rose and further stations were opened at Folkestone West in 1863 and Folkestone Central in 1884. The line to the harbour was eventually closed in 2002 but often re opens on special occasions for trains such as the British Pullman and the Orient Express.
World war I & II
[Back to Top]
During the first world war Folkestone was home to almost 65,000 Belgian refugees. From 1915 Folkestone was the main embarkation point for soldiers leaving to fight in the tranches of France and Belgium. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, including many Canadian troops, left from Folkestone, marching from the town to the harbour along the route called the “Road of Remembrance”.
Folkestone was seriously damaged during both world wars due to its proximity to the continent. On May 25th 1917, low cloud over London meant that a wave of 21 Gotha Bombers had to abort a raid on the capital. The aircaraft turned for home but deployed its bombs mainly onto Folkestone killing 95 people.
Folkestone had suffered greatly after the second world war. Foreign holidays began to damage the Folkestone tourism business, and the closure of the ferry service to Boulogne spelled the towns demise.
The high speed rail link service, Bouverie Place shopping centre and the redevelopment of the Harbour area, along with the Creative Quarter and the plans to make Folkestone a university town, are all expected to contribute to the revival of this once popular holiday destination.
Sources: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)
