The whole of the ground between modern day Limekiln Street, to the north and west, Elizabeth Street, to the north and north-east, Archcliffe Fort, to the south-west and Beach Street Compound, to the south-east, was, in the early post medieval period, a small harbour named 'Paradise Pent'. Originally It would have been situated in the centre of Dover’s Historic Pier District but is today within Dover’s western harbour works and is mostly overlain by the A20 dual carriage way. This history of this small harbour and Dover’s pier district seems to have essentially begun at the end of the 15th century when a the new harbour was established within a small bay at the foot or Archcliffe headland at a spot where fresh-water springs flowed from the chalk cliffs into the sea. It was protected by a pier built by Sir John Clerk in the late medieval/early post medieval period. (1)

The development of Dover harbour in the late Medieval and post medieval periods may be split into three phases, the creation of Clerk’s pier and the small harbour it protected being the first. The later phases include Thompsons pier and associated groins (1535-1551) and the creation of the great and tidal pents, alongside other features by Digges (1580-1594). (2)

The success of the ‘Paradise Pent’ refuge seems to have been quite short-lived. The shingle beach pebbles that had previously moved unobstructed along the coast now began to build up against the south eastern side of Clerk’s pier by the eastward drift, a natural phenomenon that brings shingle from the west, and eventually they rounded the pier’s head and blocked the mouth of the harbour. (3)

Numerous early plans and maps show the location and extent of the Paradise Pent; a good early example of a detailed cartographic source which depicts this pent is that produced by Thomas Digges in 1595. This shows Paradise Pent with Clerks tower on its eastern side and Archcliffe fort to the south-west. This map numbers and labels the important features within the harbour, including Paradise Pent to which it attributes a name 'Little Paradise Pent'. The label also notes that the pent is 'Decaying' suggesting that it had been created and was in use for some time before its depiction on this map. The ‘Paradise Pent’ on this plan occupies two areas; the larger of the two areas, leading into the tidal harbour, is to the south and a small narrow area is situated to the north, these are separated by a bridge/gate. The 'Paradise Pent' is also visible on two further plans produced by Digges; one dating to 1581, before the third phase of works had begun, and the other dating to 1588. (4-6)

William Eldred's plans dating to 1631 and 1641, shows Paradise Pent bounded on all sides by roads and houses with a gap in its north eastern corner for sea water to flow in and out of it, over which is a bridge linking Strond Street and Round Tower Lane. (7-8)

Further historic maps showing the former and changing extent of the Paradise Pent include that by Thomas Miles dating to 1580 (9), John Symonds dating to 1583-84 (10), Foquet dating to 1737 (11), Hogben dating to 1769 (12)

William Van Mildert, writing in 1823, notes that 'Paradise Pent was for many years a waste useless and unhealthy swamp' he goes on to say that in 1788 the warden and assistants of the harbour arranged the necessary steps to prevent the entrance of the sea to this area and the ground was made 'good and firm for building'. (13) This infilling resulted in the construction of a number of streets, the main ones include Paradise Street, Hawkbury Street, Oxden street and Strond Lane, some of which survived until the early part of the 20th century.

Numerous excavations undertaken within the area formerly encompassed by the ‘Paradise Pent’ have revealed deposits associated with its infilling; for example 2m of post medieval made ground was revealed over natural gravels at the site of the Elizabeth Street Pumping station. (14)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2002, Report on Archaeological Evaluation Trenching at Town Yard, Dover Western Docks (Unpublished document). SKE8245.

<2> Stephen Johnson, 1994, Making mathematical practice: gentlemen, practitioners and artisans in Elizabethan England (Monograph). SKE32014.

<3> Martin Biddle and John Summerson, 1982, History of the King's Works. Volume 4 part 2. Dover Harbour (Monograph). SKE32135.

<4> Thomas Digges, 1595, The state of Dover Haven with the New workes (Map). SKE31987.

<5> Thomas Digges, 1588, Plan of Work at Dover Harbour (Map). SKE31986.

<6> Thomas Digges, 1581, The State of Dover Haven (Map). SKE31984.

<7> William Eldred (?), 1631, Plan of lands belonging to the Priory and now to Master Buffkyn (Map). SKE31988.

<8> William Eldred, 1641, The Platt of Dover Castle Towne and Harbor (Map). SKE31804.

<9> Thomas Miles, 1580, Proposal for Dover Harbour (Map). SKE31983.

<10> John Symonds, 1583-1584, Dover Harbour (Map). SKE32347.

<11> J. Foquet, 1737, Plan of the town, harbour and fortifications of Dover (Map). SKE31991.

<12> Thomas and Henry Hogben, 1769, The topography and Mensuration of Dover Pier, Harbour, Houses and Lands from DHB (Map). SKE31992.

<13> William Van Mildert, 1828, A Short Historical sketch of the Town of Dover and its Neighbourhood. (Monograph). SKE32004.

<14> Wessex Archaeology, 1994, Dover & Folkestone Wastewater Treatment Scheme: Elizabeth St Pumping Station and associated Installations, Western Docks (Unpublished document). SKE6902.