Monument record TR 34 SW 2186 - Former Site of Town Station and railway works, Beach Street, Dover
Summary
Location
Grid reference | Centred TR 3175 4028 (233m by 102m) |
---|---|
Map sheet | TR34SW |
County | KENT |
District | DOVER, KENT |
Civil Parish | DOVER, DOVER, KENT |
Map
Type and Period (2)
Full Description
The building was constructed by South Eastern Railway Company upon the former site of Townsend battery, along Beach Street. As built Dover train station’s trainshed was 300-feet long, 30-feet wide and 20-feet high, within a self-assured Classical building whose exterior presented three storeys on the north western façade along Beach Street, the lower two boasting an arcade, each arch with a tall rectangular window above it on the upper storey. The arcading continued south west wards along Beach Street behind the booking hall, waiting rooms and other facilities that lined the platform beneath the trainshed. It spanned six lines with the passenger platform on the north side, the other lines were used for goods or stabling coaching stock. There were three turn-plates in the centre of the train shed, two at the eastern end and another three at the western end. A loading dock was located on the south side in a single storey extension. The line was completed by 27 January 1844 and the trial run was hauled by the 2-2-2 steam locomotive number 36 Shakespeare. The next day the railway opened to public traffic and according to the Railway Times of 24 February, six trains a day were provided in each direction. Between 08.00hrs until 17.30hrs from London and 07.00hrs until 18.50hrs from Dover. By the 1850’s the railway was beginning to eclipse coach travel as the best form of transport. Charles Dickens first travelled on a train to Dover when he was going to Paris in 1851, having previously undertaken the journey by mail coach. He was astounded by both the comfort and the speed but asked what has SER ‘done with all the horrible little villages we used to pass through, in the diligence? (A Flight published 1851). The miners strike which began in March 1912 created a national fuel shortage and railway companies were hit hard, Town station was closed in 1914 and was used throughout the war as an ambulance station and mortuary, while the newly constructed Marine Station was commandeered for military use. By 1921 the train shed had been demolished and the remaining associated buildings were demolished in 1963. The site is now a lorry park and the old platform has been re used as a car loading dock. (1-2) The location of the station on Beach street is visible on a number of historic cartographic sources (3-5)
Evaluation prior to redevelopment of the Town Yard site. The evaluation demonstrated that areas of early post Medieval buildings and deposits do survive. The most extensive remains relating to the former railway station were concrete foundations and cambered brick floors which probably relate to a large covered railway shed, with lined inspection pits, of mid 20th century date. Further traces of a similar building was also found including a brick lined pit (for engine turntable) and what presumably was footings for the station platform. The railway station was linked to the Lord Warden Hotel which provided lodging for passangers before continuing their journey to London or to France.(6-7)
<1> Nick Catford and Lorraine Sencicle, 2017, Disused Stations - Site record - Dover Town (Website). SKE51694.
<2> Lorraine Sencicle, 2014, The Dover Historian - South Eastern Railway Company and Town Station (Website). SKE51693.
<3> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 1st edition 1862-1875): Landmark Epoch 1 (Map). SKE30964.
<4> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 2nd Edition, 1897-1900): Landmark Epoch 2 (Map). SKE30965.
<5> Landmark, 1907-1923, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 3rd Edition, 1907-1923): Landmark Epoch 3 (Map). SKE30966.
<6> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2000, Town Yard, Dover Western Docks: Archaeological Impact Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE8244.
<7> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2002, Report on Archaeological Evaluation Trenching at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks (Unpublished document). SKE8245.
Sources/Archives (7)
- <1> SKE51694 Website: Nick Catford and Lorraine Sencicle. 2017. Disused Stations - Site record - Dover Town.
- <2> SKE51693 Website: Lorraine Sencicle. 2014. The Dover Historian - South Eastern Railway Company and Town Station.
- <3>XY SKE30964 Map: Landmark. Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 1st edition 1862-1875): Landmark Epoch 1. [Mapped feature: #99591 Train Shed and station, ]
- <4> SKE30965 Map: Landmark. Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 2nd Edition, 1897-1900): Landmark Epoch 2.
- <5> SKE30966 Map: Landmark. 1907-1923. Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 3rd Edition, 1907-1923): Landmark Epoch 3.
- <6> SKE8244 Unpublished document: Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 2000. Town Yard, Dover Western Docks: Archaeological Impact Assessment.
- <7> SKE8245 Unpublished document: Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 2002. Report on Archaeological Evaluation Trenching at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks.
Finds (0)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Related Monuments/Buildings (6)
- Parent of: Brick Built, Barrel Vaulted Sewer associated with railway works at Town Yard, Dover (Monument) (TR 34 SW 664)
- Parent of: Former site of train engine house associated with Town Station, Great Street, Dover (Monument) (TR 34 SW 2187)
- Parent of: Remains of a large railway maintenance shed or terminus building at Town Yard, Dover. (Monument) (TR 34 SW 1458)
- Parent of: Site of railway track turntable at Town Yard, Dover (Monument) (TR 34 SW 1456)
- Parent of: Two barrel vaulted brick drains at Town Yard, Dover (Monument) (TR 34 SW 1454)
- Part of: LONDON AND DOVER RAILWAY (Monument) (TQ 84 SW 1)
Related Events/Activities (6)
- Event Boundary: Evaluation at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks (Ref: DTY-EV-02) (EKE5988)
- Intrusive Event: Evaluation at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks, Trench 1 (Ref: DTY-EV-02) (EKE15753)
- Intrusive Event: Evaluation at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks, Trench 2 (Ref: DTY-EV-02) (EKE15755)
- Intrusive Event: Evaluation at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks, Trench 3 (Ref: DTY-EV-02) (EKE15756)
- Intrusive Event: Evaluation at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks, Trench 4 (Ref: DTY-EV-02) (EKE15757)
- Intrusive Event: Evaluation at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks, Trench 5 (Ref: DTY-EV-02) (EKE15758)
Record last edited
Sep 14 2023 3:03PM