Dover, Kent Genealogy

Guide to Dover (city) history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
Recent studies have shown that Phoenician sailors from the Eastern Mediterranean sailed to the British isles for tin as early as 1,000 B.C. Certainly there was ongoing trade and communications between the Celtic tribes of Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as early as 400 B.C.

Dover’s history, because of its proximity to France, has always been of great strategic importance to Britain. Archaeological finds have shown that there were Stone Age people in the area; and that by the Bronze Age the maritime influence was already strong.

The name Dover was first recorded in its Latinized form as Portus Dubris. With the coming of the Romans Dover became more important, and was made part of their communications network with the continent.

Dover figured largely in the Domesday Book as an important borough. It also served as a bastion against various attackers from the times of the Vikings, then William the Conqueror, and always the French during the 100 year war. In the Middle Ages, Dover was a port of last defense against the incursions of the Spanish from the vast Armada fleet.

The last time there was a major threat of invasion was from the Nazis of Adolf Hitler during WWII. There was a huge build up of arms and personnel by the German army at the start of the war, and England always expected it to come across the narrowest point in the Channel.

While Plymouth became the main Naval port for the developing British navy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Dover was also a large replenishment port, and because of its location, the major defense port at the eastern end of the English Channel.

In the nineteenth century, the railway reached Dover from two directions: the South Eastern Railway's main line connected with Folkestone in 1844, and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway opened its line from Canterbury in 1861.

During the period of WWII, tunnels were built into the Dover cliffs for military purposes. Additionally, a large number of heavy duty naval batteries were built along the coast adjacent to the city. Dover also played a significant roll as the main port for the armada of small ships during the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force stranded at Dunkirk by the German armies.

Today, Dover has become the primary port for transshipment of goods and people to France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Ferries are now operated frequently between Dover and Dunkirk, for the northern routes, and Dover to Calais for the southern routes.



Dover is situated about 75 miles south east from London. Transport to the Continent has always traveled from the major British Cities, to London and thence to Dover.

It is about 21 miles across the English Channel from the area of Calais in France, making it the closest UK city to France. While even on a clear day it is difficult to see the French coast, it is normally quite possible to see the Dover White Cliffs from France.

The site of its original settlement lies in the valley of the River Dour, making it an ideal place for a port, sheltered from the prevailing south-westerly winds. This led to the silting up of the river mouth by the action of long-shore drift from the English Channel; the town was then forced into making artificial breakwaters to keep the port in being. These breakwaters have been extended and adapted so that the port lies almost entirely on reclaimed land.

The higher land on either side of the valley – the Western Heights and the eastern high point on which Dover Castle stands – has been adapted to perform the function of protection against invaders.

Dover has an oceanic climate similar to the rest of the United Kingdom with mild temperatures year-round and a light amount of rainfall each month.

Census records
Census records are available every 10 years from 1841 up to 1911. Use England Census wiki page to locate websites that have online census indexes and links to images.

Cemeteries (Civil)
Dover has several cemeteries, both active and already closed. The names and locations of these follow:

Buckland Cemetery St. Andrew's Church Buckland, Dover Charlton Cemetery Old Charlton Road, Dover Cowgate Cemetery Cowgate Hill, Dover St. James's Cemetery Old Charlton Road, Dover St. Mary's Cemetery Old Charlton Road, Dover
 * pre-1857 Closed
 * Open and functioning
 * Closed
 * Open and functioning
 * Open

Parishes
St Mary's Church St. Marys Parish Center Dover, Kent, CT16 1AA

St. Peter and St. Paul's Church River Minnis Ln Dover CT17 0DG, UK Phone:+44 1304 822037 St. Nicholas Church The Linces Dover CT16 2BN, UK Phone:+44 1304 821187 Buckland Church of St. Andrew Dover CT17 0TR, UK Phone:+44 1304 821187 St. Mary in the Castle Dover Castle Dover CT16 1HU, United Kingdom Phone:+44 1304 202979 Other Christian denominations active in Dover and its suburbs follow:
 * Baptist Church
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Evangelical Church
 * Methodists
 * Roman Catholic

While there are followings for a number of non Christian religions, Dover does not have places of worship for them within the city bounds.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths records have been kept by government since July 1837 to the present day. Prior to that, local parishes of the Church of England, and local branches of other faiths were the only repositories of this information. There are several locations for BMD records for Dover. These follow:


 * UK records


 * Kent county parish records


 * Kent BMD records

Local Histories

 * A brief history of Dover by Tim Lambert


 * History of Dover at Dover Museum


 * English Heritage Organization History of Dover Castle

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Dover UK city maps


 * Historical Map of Dover


 * Gazetteer for Kent

Newspapers

 * Kent on Line Dover Mercury


 * Kent and Sussex News

Occupations
The English Channel, here at its narrowest point in the Straits of Dover, is the busiest shipping lane in the world. Ferries crossing between here and the Continent have to negotiate their way through the constant stream of shipping crossing their path. Because of this, maritime occupations are one of the main sources of employment in the Dover area.

In addition to this, the train Chunnel to France is nearby, again providing major opportunities for employment.

Other than these two major areas, Dover is the primary location for retail activities for the South East corner of the UK, with major stores and shopping centers providing much employment.

Societies

 * Kent Family History Society


 * The Dover Society


 * Kent Genealogy


 * Genuki for Kent

Archives
East Kent Archives Centre The UK National Archives Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU Tel: +44 (0) 20 8876 3444

Websites

 * Dover Port
 * Dover District Council
 * White Cliffs Country