Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

Deal

Deal is a small seaside resort on the Kent coast, 8 miles from Dover.

It was here that Julius Caesar made his brief landings in 55 BC and 54 BC.

As is common with seaside settlements, the original settlement was a mile inland, at what is now known as Upper Deal.

Deal was a limb of the Cinque Ports, being subordinate to nearby Sandwich. There was a long tradition of smuggling in the town.

St. Leonard`s Church at Upper Deal dates from the Norman period.

The fascinating Time Ball Tower stands on the seafront.

Deal Castle is one of several built by Henry VIII for coastal defence, and dates from 1540. During the Civil War, it was successfully besieged by the Parliamentary forces. The remains of another, Sandown Castle, lie a little to the North, and Walmer Castle stands to the South.

The town is similar to Aldeburgh in Suffolk, having three streets parallel with the sea, connected by atractive lanes, and with fishing boats pulling up on the pebble beach.

Deal Pier is quite long, and mostly used by fishermen.

The Walmer Lifeboat Station is situated at Deal, and there are Royal Marines barracks, once home to the Royal Marines School of Music. An IRA bomb in 1989 killed 10 bandsmen.

The Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club is nearby.

The notorious Goodwin Sands are only five miles offshore. At certain states of the tide, they become an extensive island, where annual cricket matches were formerly played. Legend says that the sands were once a permanent island owned by Earl Godwin of Wessex. Ships have to pass close to land to avoid the sands.

William Penn sailed from Deal in 1642 on his first voyage to America.

Blue Badge Guide Colin Crosby is available to lead Guided Walks around Deal for groups.