Dover Harbour Board originally laid the gardens on this site which were opened on 3 August 1878. They were named in honour of George Leveson Gower, Earl Granville (1815-1891), Lord Warden (1866-1891) and Chairman of the Dover Harbour Board (DHB). Local military bands, paid for by public subscription, provided entertainment most weekends and the Gardens became very popular. In 1887, when the Dover Proprietary Library was destroyed in a fire, temporary accommodation for the library was erected on the Gardens. In spring 1911, the Granville Gardens were re-laid at a cost of £1,050 but the building that had been the Granville Restaurant and the Library remained closed. The bandstand remained a popular attraction, until the 19 February 1914 when Captain Palliser, who lived in Camden Crescent, took legal action against DHB and Dover Corporation, to remove it from the Gardens. During World War I (1914-1918) the Gardens were used by the military but Following the War Granville Gardens, like the rest of the seafront, was in a state of neglect. It was not until 1925 that the dilapidated bandstand and pavilion were replaced and summer military band concerts reintroduced. Dover Corporation were, in 1929, were forced to pay the military bands the same rate as professional civilian bands and the number of performances were cut to three a week and 1,000 people protested. Dover was the original centre of the Kent coalmining industry, it was to Granville Gardens where coalminers from all over the country came, following the 1926 General Strike. Miners from South Yorkshire, Durham, Lancashire, Scotland and Wales came to Dover. At the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945) a barrage balloon was erected in Granville Gardens. This was an easy target for enemy aircraft and consequently the Gardens suffered serious damage nonetheless the gun battery there, for the most part of the War, was manned by the Home Guard. In the 1950’s Camden Crescent was re-aligned and Granville Gardens were re-laid as public gardens complete with illuminated fountain. However, Edinburgh Road, the opening between Granville Gardens and Waterloo Crescent where the National Coal Board had their offices, was closed and made into a car park. (1)

The gardens are visible in this location on a number of historic maps, though they differ in form over time. The first edition (1862-75) shows them as sub-oval in form with the band stand at the north-eastern end. (2) By the time the second edition had been completed (1897-1900) they have been altered and accommodate much the same area as they do now, though with a resturant and library on the south eastern side. (3-5)

<1> Lorraine Sencicle, 2013, The Dover Historian - Camden Crescent and Granville Gardens (Website). SKE51673.

<2> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 1st edition 1862-1875): Landmark Epoch 1 (Map). SKE30964.

<3> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 2nd Edition, 1897-1900): Landmark Epoch 2 (Map). SKE30965.

<4> Landmark, 1907-1923, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 3rd Edition, 1907-1923): Landmark Epoch 3 (Map). SKE30966.

<5> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 4th Edition, 1929-1952): Landmark Epoch 4 (Map). SKE30967.