insideKENT Magazine Issue 89 - August 2019 | Page 39

TOWNSPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT ON
SANDWICH
SANDWICH IS AN IDYLLIC TOWN ON THE MAGNIFICENT KENT COAST THAT HARKS BACK
TO TRADITIONAL WAYS AND TIMES, AND YET HAS A DISTINCT AURA OF MODERN ABOUT
IT; IT MAY BE SMALL, BUT IT HAS A HUGE AMOUNT OF VARIETY PACKED INTO IT. A
HAVEN FOR BIRD WATCHERS, A MAGNET FOR HISTORIANS AND DEFINITELY A DRAW
FOR FAMILIES, SANDWICH IS MUCH BIGGER THAN IT SEEMS AT FIRST BITE.
History in Brief
There has al ways been some sort of settlement,
village or town in the environs of Sandwich – it’s in
an important place; being located where it is on the
coast, it allo wed f or in vading f orces to find an
opportune place to land. That’s why it was always
well fortified too; those invading forces were usually
defeated, especially when Henry VIII created his
‘Cinque Ports’, of which Sandwich is one.
Henry VIII wasn’t the first king to realise just how
important Sandwich was. This is where Richard the
Lionheart landed when he returned from the Third
Crusade in 1194. The same landing place was chosen
by Prince Louis of France in 1216 when he came to
do ba ttle with King J ohn and the ensuing fight
became known as the Ba ttle of Sandwich, which
took place in 1217.
In fact, anyone coming to Britain seemed keen on
Sandwich. By the 16th century, it was regarded as
the only place in the w hole of England that had
more immig rants than Eng lishmen and w omen,
which was a g reat thing f or the econom y. These
newcomers brought with them exciting new food,
drinks and other products that simply couldn’t be
bought anywhere else.
Today Sandwich is just as exciting, just as beautiful,
and just as highly r egarded. It is still w here many
visitors c hoose to go to and rightly so – it has
everything that might be needed...no ma tter how
long you intend on staying.
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