Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
#1
I first arrived in Dover as a fresh faced youth in 1978. I had left behind the dirt and grime of the north-west for the sunnier clime in the 'Garden of England'. I started work at the Dover Eastern docks and was amazed at how busy it was,teeming with tourists and truckers arriving and departing for the continent. The dock lights blazed as if holding back the fall of night as the ferries continued to ply their trade.
Further down the seafront was the iconic Western Docks that I had only previously seen on tv programmes like 'Time to Remember' with its newsreels of 'temps passe' depicting grainy pictures of the Unknown Warrior returning to his final resting place. Whilst less then a generation later scenes of of the battered B.E.F troops coming home after being plucked off the beaches of Dunkirk. Now the ferries were still going to and from Dunkirk but with rail passengers and tourists. The trains still boarded the ferries and arrived in its destination whilst the passengers slept.
The town trumpets were taken out of their dusty cupboards to herald the opening of the new purpose built Hoverport. Dover was thriving and the future boded well. The dock workers,port staff and seamen frequented the bars, too numerous to name but now long since gone . Public houses, like the New Mogul, that had changed little since the war when Dover was referred to as 'Hellfire Corner' were alive as seafarers spun their yarns of the good old days.
The shop tills rang out like church bells as Belgians flocked into the town off the early morning ferry eager to buy butter and sugar, still provided by our Commonwealth, which was far cheaper than in their own country. The French mobbed Marks and Spencers buying off the peg suits,ladies dresses and not forgetting the world famous ladies underwear .
The town bristled with activity and so did the villages. The collery toiled day and night as the miners kept the wheels of industry turning. Country pubs at Eastry,Eyethorne,Shepherdswell and Martin flowed over into the gardens in the summer months as many Dovorians drove out for meals to treat Granny to Sunday lunch in the country.
Then as if overnight the mines were closed and the villages became ghost towns. The famous railway track leading to the Western Docks was tarmacked over and with it followed the decline and closure of the routes to Dunkirk and Boulogne. The much heralded new Hoverport ceased trading and the new buildings lay empty until finally being demolished and all in the period of just a few short years. The channel constructors came and went and now cars, trains and trucks stopped elsewhere and travelled to France and beyond through the tunnel.
A new life line was thrown to Dover in the shape of the new A20 and the residents were reliably informed by the great and the good that it would work wonders for the town, it did, it sliced off our beloved unspoilt seafront from the townsfolk. Now a walk with your children or grand kids along the seafront entailed walking through the urine smelling, litter ridden , beggar and busker infested underpass. Alternatively ,the brave or fool hardy could risk life and limb by crossing the busy A20 near the swimming baths.
But through it all successive councils and councillors have come and gone and with them their false promises. They tried to reassure the good people of Dover that 'things were going to improve'. Meanwhile the desolate DTIZ site grows ever larger with no sign of development and the Crypt, burnt down before I arrived in Dover as a youth of 23 years of age, still stands undeveloped as arguments and point scoring prevail behind the closed doors of the Town Hall as to its future.
Now as my 56 birthday grows closer I am older, greyer and probably none the wiser. I look back on the tears, the laughter and the mistakes I made as I walked my path through life and with a heavy heart I look at Dover and see my decline mirrored there but in far greater detail as the mistakes are there for all to see on the streets, port and life of Dover.
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#2
that was an incredible read, a lot of thought went into it.
i hear daily different reasons for dover's decline, the a20 is the most popular one.
the ever cheerful friendly people of dover deserve better, there have been recent improvements.
the new station precinct looks the business and the high speed train has benefited many of our commuters
the promenade looks a lot better since the revamp, we even have an information kiosk in a central position.
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
#3
Thank you Marek. A delightful insight into life in Dover and East Kent over a time of much hype as to improvement and progress nationwide.
The Kentish miner was a much put-upon beast as I recall.
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
#4
Thanks Marek also.
I came back to live in Dover in 1966 after leaving school, the careers office who handles under 18 job seekers at that time apologised that they couldn't find me anything immediately and I'd have to wait two weeks, but I could take my choice of several different careers to go into. The memories of all those country pubs are also vivid.
I remember a public consultation being sent out with a glossy brochure of several different routes for the A20 - the choice of most people was skirting the town from Capel and joining up at the top of Lydden Hill with a dualled A2 to the Eastern Docks. The one nobody wanted is the one we got.
Guest 657- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 3,037
#5
Excellent Marek.
I live in Essex and have never lived in Dover but about 8 years ago I was doing some research on an architect who built the London office block I worked in and had connections with Dover, Arthur Beresford Pite (1861 - 1934.) Pite married a local Dover woman, Mary Kilvington Mowll in 1887 and built the Former Customs Watch House. Mary's family were quite prominent locally as coal merchants and involved with the Cinque of Ports. They also donated land for a cemetery to be built - Cowgate cemetery. I stumbled across Doverforum whist carrying out this research and posted a request for information. Through that I came to 'talk' to some lovely people. I visited Dover shortly afterwards and got to meet many of them at one or two social functions and have made some wonderful lifelong friends.
Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
#6
Thanks everyone for your very kind comments.
I wrote the article because I was sick to death of certain ,nameless, people harping on about their passion for Dover as if it was their sole God given right and no-one elses. Others who thought that those forumites living away from Dover could or should not make comments about the comings and goings on in the town. .My 3 children were born in Dover and I still have many friends there and especially on this forum.
So if I lose my rag occasionally and 'go off on one' its because I,like many others,have sat and listened to false promises in the past always hoping that tomorrow will bring a new dawn,a new beginning. I am not prepared to kowtow or go down without a fight.
Love and Peace ..man
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,931
#7
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 684- Registered: 26 Feb 2009
- Posts: 635
#8
Brilliant stuff, Marek. I couldn't agree more.
Moving, humbling, shocking - and it made this Dovorian angry and at the same time very, very sad.
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
#9
Dover. The land of (missed) opportunity. Let's try and change it for the better. What is clear is that the Government (central or local) have not a clue how to go about it. Thank you Marek for your heartfelt contribution.
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
Guest 643- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,321
#10
I moved to Dover in 1983 and my two youngest were born here. At the time my husband was a traindriver at the Western docks and having no car in those days he had to walk to work at all hours of the day and night. His route took him along Snargate Street which at that time was very dark and dismal with old gas lamps - it reminded me of an old fashioned gangster film. Since then of course we have seen the area flourish and now it is a beautiful street with the marina visible from the road and a lot of the old buildings either demolished or modernised. The seafront looks fabulous now too with a modern underpass leading to it.Now we have a beautiful new hotel too it looks fantastic.
Ok I know there is still a lot to do but I trust PaulW's word that things are moving. I still love the town and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
There's always a little truth behind every "Just kidding", a little emotion behind every "I don't care" and a little pain behind every "I'm ok".
#11
I was once privileged to be given a very very old book about Dover to look at (I used to help out at the Children's Library). I think that these days they would have to let you handle it with gloves. I remember reading there that Dover people are (or were when it was written!) mostly very distrustful of strangers, due to the large amount of foreigners and travellers who pass through. Perhaps this accounts for your experiences Marek! However, personally I think the more people who love Dover the better, no matter where they were unfortunate enough to be born.
Guest 664- Registered: 23 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,039
#12
Thankyou for this Marek - a very thoughtful and thought-provoking essay...
I am threatening to produce a "20 people who b*******d" up Dover" polemic a-la Quentin Letts' similarly titled book about Britain.
Mind you I know how it works - too many people would be offended...
But I will reveal that the first one is kaiser Wilhelm who IMHO started the rot. Work it our for yourselves.
Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
#13
Andrew
Love it. Please forward me a signed copy when it's completed,,,
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
Guest 664- Registered: 23 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,039
#14
It's a deal Marek. When I get round to it I will put numbers 1-5 on line meanwhile. All are/were non-local btw. In some cases long-dead.
The reasons for Dover's decline are of course many and some are simply the result of global forces beyond the control of any one individual.
Perhaps forumites would like to send in suggestions for numbers 16-20?
Guest 656- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 2,262
#15
Thanks from me too, Marek, a brilliantly written piece and a joy to read although so poignant that I swung from sad to happy to sad and so on. I first came to visit Dover in the early seventies and liked it so much that I just kept on coming back and eventually I came to live down here about 14 years ago. I often say that I must have lived here in a past life
Its a crying shame though that the great historic town of Dover has been so neglected over the years
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
#16
Indeed a good post Marek, but the biggest question must be why does Dover seem to suffer more than some other Towns - not all, because there are other coastal towns that are suffering much more than Dover is.
We have so many beautiful aspects, but it's the physical side of Dover - the man-made structures in Town that let the side down.
As the Channel Chamber's Dover Business Support Manager, I have a list of projects and initiatives that I intend, with the help and support (financial and moral) of local stake-holders, to implement.
We (mainly) need more visitors/tourists and we need the scruffy buildings tidied up, we need more flowers, more vibrancy, more going on in Town and more pride in our Town.
I started off well the last time round until it got stopped - and nothing real has been done since, maybe this time it will be different.
Maybe.
Roger
Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
#17
Roger
Thanks for your comments.I have always thought a "Come to Dover" weekend preferably over a Bank Holiday where all the attractions ie Castle, Roman Painted House etc were half the normal admittance price and these coupled with reduced prices for daytrip foot passengers and a seafront market would be a great way of attracting day tourists who would hopefully spend on attractions,seafront, pubs,cafes and restaurants.
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
