Canterbury Branch met for the first time in 18 months for a long-awaited guided walk of Historic Deal, led by George Chittenden of The History Project. Due to the Covid19 lockdown the walk had been on hold since July 2020. Once again, we were very lucky with the weather as although it rained in the afternoon it was a beautiful dry and sunny evening.
George, met us at the entrance to Deal’s Pier dressed as a Naval Officer of yesteryear, including a tricorn hat which the steady breeze threatened to remove for him! In his introduction George said that his commentary would be as much about the geography of the area as its history.
Deal has a long shoreline between the North and South Forelands known as The Downs which creates a natural harbour. The Downs has sheltered anchorage for hundreds of ships in the past as they load and offload cargo and passengers, giving employment to horde of boatmen. George showed a map of the sea off Deal to demonstrate how close to the coast, just 6 miles , from the treacherous Goodwin Sands. Over many centuries from before the Roman era the Goodwins have become a graveyard to many hundreds of ships plus, in recent times, a handful of submarines. We were reminded that the Goodwins are also the final resting place of at least 80 World War II planes. Sadly, pilots crash landed on the Sands in the hopes of rescue, only to be sucked into them as the incoming tide made the ground liquid.
Our first port of call was the Pier and George walked the group a third of its length so we could view the coastline from the sea. He showed us photographs of past piers and talked about the position and their rise and fall. Deal’s second pier was being considered for demolition in WWII as it was considered an aid to an enemy invasion. Thankfully it was already under the governments wing when it was badly damaged by a very large ship, the Norah. Hence the third pier, the one we were standing on, was able to be rebuilt after the war at government expense. It was opened in 1957 by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who famously remarked that he disliked piers; having had to walk the length of the longest pier to reach his ship in his naval days!
As George led us into the town, he reminded us about the days when Deal was a very rough wild town reminiscent of the wild west. Those were the days of the Smugglers and George said to forget the image of the romance of Smuggling because the truth was that Smugglers were hard and brutal characters. He recommended reading accounts of the Hawkhurst Gang to gain an appreciation of the vicious nature of those involved in the illegal trade.
Our walk took us along peaceful Middle Street with its quaint buildings. George remarked how much the area has changed in a couple of hundred years. The picturesque properties much sort after today would have been completely the opposite in past times. Plus, with its unsavoury inhabitants, the area was not a place you would have wanted to walk along in days gone by. George mentioned the many pubs in the area which are remembered today in the street names and stopped at buildings to talk about some famous residents.
Returning to the seafront George told us the tale of Julius Caesar’s Roman invasions. Defeated on his first attempt in 55 BC by our ancestors of the Cantiaci tribe, Caesar returned and succeeded the following year. But after a campaign lasting a few months, he and his army left. George said as accounts of the invasion were written by Caesar himself, we may never know the actual happenings. In 43AD the troops of Claudius invaded and that was the start of four centuries of Roman occupation.
George brought us up to date with Deal’s place in the history of the English Channel. He suggested we visited Deal Castle, if we hadn't already, as it was one of the coastal defences that Henry VIII ordered built. Whilst, in the Napoleonic War era ships of the Royal Navy secured the English Channel ports from French blockades.
George told us about famous folk who were devotees of Deal. Nelson was known to have been a frequent visitor as was Queen Adelaide the wife of William IV. Deal was a favourite of Queen Adelaide as she was to the town and several buildings were named after her. George indicated Adelaide House opposite to where we were standing. George ended the walk with tales about the coastguards and the blockades off Deal.
A very enjoyable evening enhanced by our guide George who is an excellent storyteller.
Report by Tricia Baxter