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Deal in Kent County England History and GeographyDEAL, a sea-port, market town and parish, and a member of the town and port of SANDWICH, in the hundred of BEWSBOROUGH, lathe of ST. AUGUSTINE, county of KENT, on the coast of which it is situated, between the north and south Forelands, 18 miles (S.E.) from Canterbury, and 72 (E. by S.) from London, containing 6811 inhabitants. The origin of the town is buried in obscurity: it has been considered the place where C?sar landed when he invaded Britain, but this is doubtful. Leland gives the town the Latinized name of Dela. Nennius, who probably wrote in the ninth century, says, 'C?sar fought at Dola,' which Camden supposes to mean Deal; but there are no records of any town existing here until several centuries after the Romans quitted Britain. Perkin Warbeck, who personated the Duke of York as heir to the crown, made an attempt to land at Deal, July 3d, 1495, but finding that a party which he landed was attacked by his enemies, he returned to Flanders, and afterwards, September 7th, 1497, landed at Whitsun-bay, in Cornwall. In an ordinance of Henry III., dated in 1229, Deal is mentioned as dependent on the port of Sandwich, the jurisdiction of which (as one of the cinque ports) over Deal and Walmer was confirmed by letters patent in the 19th of Henry VI. The town was then governed by a deputy and assistants appointed by the mayor and jurate of Sandwich: in the 11th of William III., notwithstanding the opposition of the corporation of Sandwich, a charter was granted to Deal; but the inhabitants are still obliged to serve on juries at Sandwich as before. Henry VIII. having issued illegal writs for the purpose of raising a subsidy, Deal refused to pay its quota, on which the king annulled its charter, and re-annexed it as a member to Sandwich. There is no harbour; but the sea between the shore and the Good-win sands forms a fine roadstead, called the Downs, which is of great importance to the country, as it is not only a station for ships of war, but merchant vessels, of which four or five hundred are frequently seen here wind-bound, riding in safety, except during heavy gales from the north and east, when they either proceed on their respective voyages, or put into Ramsgate for shelter. Henry VIII. appreciated the value of this position, and built on the south side of the town, a strong castle, surrounded by a ditch, with a draw-bridge: the castle consists of a round tower, in which are apartments for the captain and other officers. The batteries and martello towers, constructed during the late war, completely command the coast, and defend the town, which consists principally of three long streets running parallel with each other along the shore, and connected by cross streets, in general narrow and inconvenient. The houses are irregularly built, chiefly of brick; but in those which have been recently erected greater attention has been paid to uniformity, particularly since the year 1790, when an act was passed for paving and lighting the streets. Here are a custom-house, a naval store-house, and a naval and military hospital, the latter of which is in the parish of Walmer. The East India Company has a resident agent here, to protect the interests of their shipping when detained in the Downs. The pilots of the cinque-ports are under the direction of the Lord Warden; the Downs pilots are those from Gravesend and London, who are under the direction of the Trinity House. The greater part of the male inhabitants are employed in maritime occupations, and in furnishing supplies for ships lying in the Downs. The pilots of Deal are intrepid and excellent seamen, and particularly active in affording assistance to vessels in distress, which they have often rescued from almost inevitable destruction, and been publicly rewarded for their heroic conduct. The markets, which are well supplied with provisions, are on Tuesday and Saturday: the fairs are, April 5th and October 10th. By charter of the 11th of William III., this was constituted a free town and borough, with a body corporate, consisting of a mayor, recorder, town clerk, twelve jurats, and twenty-four common council-men. The mayor and recorder, or their deputies, and one or two other jurats, are authorised to hold a court of record for the recovery of debts to the amount of £100; but no writs have been issued since 1823, the charter requiring the recorder or his deputy to be a barrister of three years' standing, and no person thus qualified being resident within eighteen miles of Deal, and no fees allowed for attendance. A court of requests for debts under 40s. is held under an act of parliament passed in the 26th of George III.: its jurisdiction extends over the town and borough of Deal, and the parishes of Ripple, Sutton, Northbournc, Great Mongeham, Little Mongeham, Tilmanstone, Betshanger, Ham, and Sholden, in this county. The living is a rectory, exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, rated in the king's books at £19. 10., and in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury The church, dedicated to St. Leonard, is situated about a mile from the sea, in that part of the town called Upper Deal. There is also a chapel of ease in Lower Deal, dedicated to St. George the Martyr, built at the expense of £2554. 12. 4¾., raised partly by subscription, and partly by a duty on coal and culm, levied under an act of parliament obtained in 1712: this chapel was consecrated in 1716. The Baptists, Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, have also their places of worship. There is a National school for ninety boys and ninety girls, supported by voluntary contributions. Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, well known in the literary world for her classical attainments, was born here in 1717; her ather, the Rev. Nicholas Carter, having been more than fifty-six years curate of the chapel at Lower Deal. Here also was born, in 1735, William Boys, a distinguished naturalist and antiquary. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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