insideKENT Magazine Issue 49 - April 2016 | Page 101

TOWNSPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT
ON

Deal

Deal is one of Kent’s finest hidden gems, tucked away between Dover and Ramsgate.
But it would be a pity to pass it by on your way to the larger towns on the coast of
Kent; Deal is a beautiful spot that requires some time set aside to really explore and
enjoy it. With its glorious range of independent shops, weekly markets, pier, castles,
impressive architecture, and museums – all walkable and all worth walking to – Deal
is a quiet place with a lot going on. BY LISAMARIE LAMB
Deal Pier at Sunrise

history in brief
The first known mention of Deal (as Addelam) is
from 1086, where it can be found in the Domesday
Book. Its name changed to Dela by 1158 and it
is thought that the name itself comes from the
Old English ‘dael’ which means valley, or dale;
this seems to be borne out by the fact that by
1275 the village was known as Dale. How this
became Deal we don’t know for sure, but it could
have been as simple as a document being
transcribed incorrectly, and the new name sticking.
Deal was a small fishing village until Henry VIII
realised just how important and useful its position
on the Kent coast really was. He built Deal Castle
(as well as Walmer and Sandown nearby) in

around 1540 in order to protect the coast against
a naval attack, which had been threatening for
some time. It was then that Deal became one of
the limbs of the famous Cinque Ports, and began
to grow not only in stature, but in popularity as
a place to live and work. A naval yard was
established in the town (the village had grown
enough to call itself that) in 1672, which meant
that boat repairs and storage could take place
in Deal – thus proving it to be invaluable once
again.
Deal almost lost it all in 1784 when William Pitt
the Younger, Prime Minister at the time, declared
that, due to the influence and growing number
of smugglers in and around the town, the boats
should be set on fire. Undaunted, the Deal

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boatmen started afresh, and in fact were the
perfect messengers during the Napoleonic Wars
since news from France would get to them first,
and they could quickly