VIII. HARBOUR AFFAIRS FROM 1670 TO 1723.
The many claims upon the Exchequer in ihe latter part of the reign of Charles II. were the excuse of Statesmen for refusing to renew the Passing Tolls Act when it expired in 1670, and no further help from that source was received until 1694. During that interval, mud that came down the River Dour in flood time, and shingle that had been piled in front of the harbour mouth by repeated south-west gales, had so choked up the harbour as to render it useless. A saddening picture of its neglected condition is given by Sir Henry Shears, an officer of the Ordnance Department, in a report that he made by command of Charles II. in 1682. He having been to Dover and viewed the Harbour, he reported the result in an interview with the King. He said : —
I told His Majesty that the port was, at that time, become entirely useless, the pier, within, being filled and choked up with sand and mud, and that there was a bank of beach at the mouth of the harbour of many thousand tons, which barred up the entrance ; that the town, which was wont to abound in shipping, seamen, commerce, people and plenty of all things, was become poor, desolate and dispeopled, which was visible every where by their uecayed buildings and habitations, v.here half the houses at least, throughout the whole town had bills on the doors ; all which could be ascribed to no other reason than the decay of the Harbour ; touching the true cause thereof, on the cure, the inhabitants, with whom I had frequent conference, could give me little or no light.
This narration of the state of Dover Harbour, the desolation that it brought upon the town in 1682, and the
recommendations made as to the remedy, aroused the King's interest ; but, after a few days' consideration, he gave the officer this short answer: — " That it was a noble project indeed, but that it was too big for his present purse, and would keep cold." Sir Henry Shears continues: — " Shortly after that I was dispatched to my business in a remote country." About three years later Charles II. died, and no further aid for improving the Harbour was granted by Parliament during his reign.
Hopes had been raised in 1676 that something in the way of improvement would follow a Commission of Inquiry issued bv the Barons of the Exchequer *-o require and empower several persons to point out the limits of the Port of Dover seaward, and also the quays and wharves in the Harbour. The Mayor, Captain William Stokes, R.N., Messrs. Giles Dunston, Richard Breton, Walter Braems, John Matson, and James Housman were deputed to make the survey, and they reported that on the 20th January, 1676, and on several following days, they went to view the open bays on the coast, and they described the limits of the Port of Dover as follow^s : —
"From the town to the South Foreland, bearinfj east four miles ; and from thence to the Cioodwin Sands, the same distance from the shore ; and in twelve fathoms water at the time of the ebb. From the Goociwin Sands they continued the lx)undary 'ine, south-west by west, to a point near the promontory called East Wear liay, four miles distance from the shore, and in the same depth of water. From East Wear Point to Dover pierhead, north-north-west to the bridge over the sluice. The quays and wharves for shipping and landing goods are also particular. y descriled thus: — "Crane Quay: From the crane 36tt.. W.N.W. to a jiost fixed at the end of it. This was near the Harbour House. The next was called James Hammond's Quay, and it meisured from a post at .S.W. by W. to another, X.E. bv N., 55 feet. This quay was bounded by the house of James Hammond, \V.N.W., and by the harbour, K.S.E. The next quay is described as belonj^intr to several inhabitants and mt asuring 657 feet from the end of Bnnders Quay to the north part of Major Braem's Quay. The fourth was John Matson "s Quay, which measured on the western side of his warehouse 45 feet. Major Braem's Quay, which measured from N.E. to S.W., 276 feet, and was bounded by the New Buildings on the N.E., and the Harbour on the .S.W."
The inquiry by the Barons of the Exchequer led to nothing. The .state of the harbour went from bad to wor.se, as already detailed in the report made by Sir Henry Shears, who presented a memorial to William HI. soon after he ascended the Throne, setting forth the deplorable condition of Dover Harbour, and praying for a renewal of the Pa.ssing Tolls. In anticipation of a favourable response to that petition, the Commissioners in j688 adopted plans for placing double gates and a more effective sluice in the lower Crosswall, so as to make the backwater operate more effectively on the bar between the North and South Piers. It is of interest to mention that the materials for the sluice and the walls in which the gates were to be set were obtained from one of the original Round Towers built by Sir John Clark in 1500, which, having stood at the entrance to Round Tower Street until 1668, was then removed. In 1690 the Harbour Act, II and 12 William III., renewing the Passing Tolls for nine years. The expense of obtaining the Act was ^488 14s. lid., and to pay that and to meet the cost of the proposed w^orks for better sluicing arrangements the Commissioners were authorised to borrow ;i^6,ooo for five years. There had been a very considerable outlay in manual and horse labour to clear away the bar, consisting of many thousands of tons which lay in front of and between the Piers, so that all the revenue that the Act above mentioned yielded during the nine years for which it was granted was spent in removing the bar and repairs.
By order of William III, the Lords of the Admiralty directed Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel and Captain Whiteham to make a survey of Dover Harbour, with a view to its further improvement on the 28th April, 1689; and they reported as follows: —
"We have been to the said Port and have surveyed the present condition thereof, and have likewise advised with the Commissioners and Overseers of the said Harbour as to how it might be made more useful to the Navy and at what charge. The good condition of this Harbour depends on the maintenance of the Piers, which preserve an entrance into the same, and likewise on the good management of the land freshes for clearing away all sullage, sediment and beach stones either carried down from the land or carried in by the sea. These two principal things have been very much neglected, the income being insufficient for extraordinary works. The piers are now much decayed and the harbour itself has contracted very much sediment, beach stones and ouze, therefore is in great danger of becoming totally useless to the GovernmeTit. Finding by enquiry that this Port has been a place of good resort in former times for merchant ships and of convenience to the smaller ships of war to fit and clean, for the advantage of the Navy and for trade in general it ought to be {)reserved from decay, and improved for the advantage of the Nation. We propose the building of a wall 30 feet thick at the bottom, with sluices through the same about 500 feet below the present water pent, which with all the side wharfs already built will make a basin for ten or twelve ships, from 40 guns downwards, which may always lie afloat and room for four score more outside the basin within the piers. We recommend that about £5oo be immediately spent on the North Pier, and £7,350 on the wall and sluices."
This report eventually led to the building of the Cros.swall in a substantial manner and the construction of sluices therein, but to do this further financial arrangements had to be made.
At the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne, it being represented to her Government that the above-mentioned necessary works remained to be done, the Passing Tolls Act was again renewed to continue until the end of the year 17 18, The Passing Tolls yielded between the years 1700 and 17 18 a total of ^20,876 6s. 5d., and after the works indicated by Sir Cloudesley Shovel's report had been carried out only a balance of ;^739 us. iid. remained. There was still much more to be done, and the Commissioners petitioned for the Tolls Act to be renewed.
Queen Anne had then been dead four years, and her bounty to Dover Harbour had outlived her. George I. who was then on the Throne, and his Whig Ministers were not very favourably disposed to Dover. They appointed a Committee to investigate the matter and they reported that " If the piers were not kept up the harbour and the town would be lost." The tolls were then renewed until 1723, and the works proceeded. In the year 1718 both pier heads were repaired and Cheeseman's Head, a small jetty on the south-west of the Harbour mouth was built out to low-water mark, but the l)earh fUiring heavy seas from the south-west was often carried in between the piers, rendering the harbour useless until the beach was removed. Lord Aylmer, at that time, invited Capt. John Perry to survey the harbour and report to him thereon.