Interesting Dover items …. From the old newspapers
and other records
Streets
Cannon Street with St Mary's church, Dover
Smoking and snuff-taking -
A Liverpool paper says, ‘the practise of smoking and snuff-taking is so greatly increased that every clerk, even the youngest boys admitted into counting houses smoke cigars, and that the fashion is extending to females, who would be offended if not called ladies. A lover in that town was lately dismissed by his mistress for refusing to pledge himself not to smoke not more than 16 cigars a day; she did not wish to marry a chimney. The late Lord Stanhope calculated that an inveterate snuff-taker in 40 years dedicated 2 years to tickling his nose and two more to blowing and wiping it ! The inveterate smoker consumes still more time than the snuff-taker; some men of sedentary habits had become so enslaved by it that many hours in the day are passed with a pipe in their mouths…..
I dug up this small worn metal object, after a detecting signal while out on a friend’s market garden field. They don’t always have names on but this one read “LEIGH, BREECHES MAKER, DOVER”.
I found James LEIGH was a breeches maker and tailor at 12 Cannon Street, Dover (1), and that there was a James LEIGH baptised at St Marys Church Dover on 30 January 1811 (born 28.12.1810), a son of Stephen and Sarah LEIGH (2).
Stephen LEIGH of Dover, Leather Breechesmaker is recorded in Dover Apprentice Enrolments as taking two apprentices: John CULLMER aged about 13 was apprenticed “until 21 yrs of age”, £8. 8s. was paid to the master by River overseer and churchwarden, apprenticeship was enrolled 13.5.1808 and
The other recorded apprenticeship was John MARLOW son of Wm MARLOW of Dover, cabinetmaker, for 7 yrs, enrolled on 7.7.1820.
In 1839 Stephen LEIGH was selling braces (and presumably breeches) in the same area of Cannon Street – he gave evidence in 1839 when 12 pairs of braces were stolen from his premises:
“George BAKER, 20, labourer, charged with stealing at St Marys Dover on 1 December last, 12 pairs of braces the property of Stephen LEIGH, pleaded not guilty. William CARLTON butcher of Tilmanstone saw the prisoner making off from Mr LEIGH’s shop with the braces under his gabardine, and saw prisoner take the braces from a nail outside Mr LEIGH’s door, put them under his gabardine and walk away with them. John CRICK, policeman on the same day saw prisoner coming down Cannon Street with the braces under his gabardine and took him into custody. Mr LEIGH identified the braces found in prisoner’s possession as his. The recorder recommended Mr LEIGH to be careful not so to expose his goods, to which the latter replied that goods had “hung at his door for 30 years” without being disturbed. The prisoner was found guilty and sentenced to 2 months’ imprisonment with hard labour” (Dover Telegraph 12 Jan 1839 p.8) (3)
"Tu 27 Aug 1799 This morning Captain Wellard called to ask me if the Title deeds of my House mentioned the name of the Street. I told him they did not, but only expressed so many feet in length extending from the Bench to a place called the Freeman’s Prison or watering place, as at the time the House was built in the year 1636 there was no houses near mine to be called a Street. Afterwards W. King Esqr. and the Committee called and I informed him the same, he marked my house No.1 and agreed to name it Town Wall Street in conformity to the ancient wall and gates having stood all along to the Cliff under ye Castle."
DODD'S LANE: THE DEEDS WHICH DISAPPEARED - New building recalls local law case:
“The news that the Corporation are to build flats on the site of some of the war-destroyed cottages in Dodd’s Lane recalls an interesting court case which stirred Dover more than a century ago.
“John DODD, a bricklayer, built a dozen cottages in the lane about 1808. In 1841, when he was about 70, he gave an election day dinner at which one of the guests was a master mariner named George HUDSON, who had laid claim to a lot of property in the town, and, in one instance, employed men to take the roof off a house to assert his ownership.
“During the dinner, John DODD brought out his deeds, and HUDSON asked if he might take them away to read at his leisure. Permission was given, but he did not return the deeds as promised.
“At the Dover Quarter Sessions in July 1842, HUDSON was indicted for unlawfully retaining the deeds. In the meantime, however John DODD died and, because of a supposed informality, the Recorder ruled that a deposition he had made was inadmissible as evidence.
The Recorder directed the Jury to return a verdict of “not guilty” but, after a retirement, the jury announced that they would “do justice irrespective of the law” and found HUDSON guilty. The prisoner was remanded in custody until the next sessions when, the secretary of State having been advised that John DODD’s testimony might be accepted, HUDSON was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
“HUDSON said he would “suffer a thousand deaths” before he would give up the deeds, and as far as is known they were never seen again. Those which have come into the hands of the Corporation begin with an abstract of title dated 1872 showing that four of the properties had passed, on John DODD’s death, to Maria DODD, Jane DODD and John Dodd HATCH, and were on mortgage to Edward LONG.
CASTLE HILL, NEW TURNPIKE: From Diary of Thomas PATTENDEN of Dover: "Sunday 24 June. 1798 This evening Mrs P. and Self walked up to the top of the Castle Hill New Road, and observed the Turnpike House was just built and the posts for the Gate put down. We met Mr Prall there, looked in his glass and saw the town of Calais. The evening was exceedingly fine and the sea quite calm. We came home and called at Mrs Nairnes for Miss Sandys and then we went together on the ropewalk to hear the Sussex band."
"THE OLD TOLL GATE ON CASTLE HILL and John LINNET: There are few people now living who will remember the little cottage shown in this interesting photograph of old Dover, taken at least eighty years ago. It is of the toll gate at the top of Castle Hill, which was taken down about 1878. It stood on the ridge of the hill a little above the present turning to Deal, the old Turnpike road to Deal having turned rather sharply off the Guston road just beyond the brow of the hill. "One Dovorian who does remember the building is Mr George H. Hogbin, of Castle Street, who, at 91, is the town's oldest living freeman. The picture shows the toll gate fully open and behind that gate, says Mr Hogbin, was Prescott's Pond, on the site of which now stands the new Sergeants' Mess of Connaught Barracks. The pond was named after the Prescotts who for centuries lived and farmed in this area ..... "One of the last occupants of the toll house was a shepherd known as Mr "Cock" Linnett. Mr Hogbin went to school with one of his sons. Mr LINNET cared for sheep which grazed around the slopes. Later, he was a night watchman for the Corporation. A little further towards Deal, near the Duke of York's R.M. School, was another cottage with a well, where lived another shepherd, Mr CALCRAFT, whose flock grazed the downs behind the Castle.
"Another toll house, at Crabble Hill, was taken down about the same time, having been occupied for several years by a police constable, part of whose duty was to collect dues on coal brought into the town from Kearsney Station." (Dover Express 3 October 1980, with photo)
NEW TURNPIKE ROAD from Dover through Deal to Sandwich – contract (Kentish Gazette Dec 12 1797 p.1)
TURNPIKE ROAD - Dover to Sandgate – notice of AGM of the Trustees. (Dover Telegraph 14.2.1846 p.1 col.2)
TURNPIKE ROAD - Dover to Sandgate – notice of meeting (Dover Telegraph 23 Jan 1847 p.8 col.1)
TURNPIKE TOLLS - to be let by auction (Dover Telegraph 17 Jul 1847 p.1 col.4)
THE CHARLTON TOLL GATES which barred London Road by the Falcon and Bridge Street “at the same point” were removed on 1st March 1855 when the mayor, WH Payn, bearing the mace and the town sergeant attended to witness the removal of the gates from their hinges on which they had hung for about 80 years. About the same time the gate house was removed and the entrance to Bridge Street improved. (R.E.H.)
Post Office Directory 1878