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Early History
The settlement is at least Saxon in
origin as it is mentioned in the Domesday Book, the
survey ordered by William the Conqueror and carried
out in 1086. The survey lists the then owners of the
properties and the pre-conquest Saxon owners (in the
time of King Edward - i.e. King Edward the Confessor,
reigned 1042-1066). The entry for Charlton ( Cerlentone)
reads:
"Ralph de Sansone holds one
manor in prebend, it is called Cerlentone, and answers
for one sulung. He has three villagers and four smallholders
with one plough. In total, value 70 shillings; in
the time of King Edward, 100 shillings. Leofwin held
it in prebend.
In the same village William son of Odger holds
one sulung. He has one villager and seven smallholders
with half a plough. And one mill at 40 shillings.
A Frenchman has one plough. William also holds one
monastery in Dover from the Bishop; it pays him eleven
shillings; the Canons claim it. Value of all this
£6: in the time of King Edward, £12. Sired Held it."
(Note: prebend - a stipend granted to a priest
of a cathedral or collegiate church, usually consisting
of the revenues of one of the manors in the estates
belonging to that cathedral or church; sulung a word
only used in entries for Kent and believed to mean
the area of land which could be worked by one plough
team in a year)
So in 1086 there were at least 15 people living in Charlton,
probably a scattering of dwellings around the mill and
the ford across the river Dour. As the Domesday Book
only listed the working men it must be assumed that
at least some of them had families. It is likely that
the landowners lived elsewhere drawing income from a
number of estates.
The church is first
mentioned in a manuscript reference to its dedication
dating from between 1147 and 1182. Presumably by this
time the village had grown sufficiently to justify the
building of a place of worship. |
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Charlton Green, c.1800.
Charlton Green c.1893. Just before
the street was widened by the demolition of the houses
on the left hand side. Click
to see a larger image.
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Charlton
Green
The village developed around the church,
the mill and the ford, centred on the area now called
Charlton Green. Until the late 18th century, when Buckland
Bridge was built, the main road from Dover to Canterbury
ran through Charlton Green, along what are now Frith
Road, Barton Road
and Buckland Avenue. When Dover first became fashionable
as a seaside resort in the first quarter of the 19th
century, the Green was regarded as one of the prettiest
spots in the area. The houses stood far back from the
road, and the intervening gardens were carefully kept
up, with rows of beehives to take advantage of all the
flowers. By about the year 1840 Charlton had started
to lose its rustic charm. In 1829 a bridge was built
to replace the old ford and connected Charlton Green
with Bridge Street.
Charlton Fair
For centuries Charlton Green was the
site of the Charlton Fair, held annually on 6 July.
For a long time the fair thrived, the population being
small and the Green large, there was plenty of room
for business and entertainment. As the population grew
and the Green reduced in size the space for the fair
became limited, and in the mid 19th century the fair
as a parochial institution ceased, although it struggled
on until the end of the 19th century when the surrounding
meadows where it was held were built upon.
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The Red Lion
The earliest reference to this public
house in Charlton Green dates from 1843 when Mary Whiting
was the licensee. It is likely that a inn of some description
had existed here for many years in the heart of the
old village. In May 1859 the Red Lion was auctioned
and the property on offer was described as "the old
established, freehold pub, recently rebuilt and together
with tea gardens, outbuildings and a large stable".
The pub has always been successful only closing for
a few months in 1941, during World
War Two.
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Nineteenth Century
Expansion
In 1801 Charlton was separated from
Dover by open country, yet within 20 years they were
connected by a continuous string of properties along
the main road to London, stretching from the Maison
Dieu to Buckland
Bridge. In 1836 Charlton was incorporated into
the Borough of Dover. The growth can be seen from
the population figures in the Census:
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1801 |
279 |
1841 |
2513 |
1881 |
6683 |
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1811 |
600 |
1851 |
3126 |
1891 |
7839 |
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1821 |
791 |
1861 |
4093 |
1901 |
8941 |
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1831 |
1720 |
1871 |
5340 |
1911 |
9213 |
As the population grew the village started to
expand out from its old centre. The Tower Hamlets
area started to be developed from 1846, adding greatly
to the housing stock of the parish. Frith
Road was widened and houses built in the 1880s
and at the same time the Dover Castle Estate, including
Castle Avenue, Salisbury Road and Park Avenue was
under construction.
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Charlton on an Ordnance Survey Map of 1864.
Click on image for larger version.
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View across Barton Farm to Charlton, c.1800.
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Barton
Farm
The farm used to stand on the southern
side of Buckland Back Road and to the west of Charlton
Church, between the road and the River Dour. About
1900 Buckland Back Road was renamed Barton
Road, as part of the development of new housing
in the area. At the same time Barton Farm was demolished
and Beaconsfield Avenue, Charlton Avenue, Limes Road
and Barton Grove were built on the site. In fact,
Charlton Avenue passes over the site of the farmhouse.
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Charlton School, 2000.
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Charlton
School
The Parochial School was built in
the churchyard in 1841. It took 80 children, all boys.
This building was used until the new building in Granville
Street was built in 1875. The girls' department appears
to have started on 1 January 1877. It is likely that
the girls were housed in the old building at first.
On 2 June 1882 they moved to the new building for
girls and infants. This building, which was enlarged
in 1898, is still used by Charlton School today. The
Granville Street building was destroyed during World
War Two.
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Chitty's
Flour Mill
There had been mill at Charlton since
Saxon times. In 1865 Mr Chitty bought the mill after
the previous owner had gone bankrupt. Chitty introduced
modern machinery and supplemented the water wheel
with steam power. The water power was also used to
generate electricity to light the mill and offices.
The tower contained a water reservoir to feed the
boilers and the fire sprinkler system that was installed
throughout the factory. The mill was too badly damaged
by shelling during World
War Two to be repaired.
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Chitty's Mill, c.1910.
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The
Footbridge over the Dour
A footbridge used to cross the Dour
close to old Charlton Church and can be seen in the
photograph of the old
and new churches. This bridge was built in 1881
at a cost of £82.10s (£82.50). In 1902 a road bridge
was built to connect Beaconsfield Road and Beaconsfield
Avenue and the footbridge was removed.
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Charlton
Today
Charlton is a major residential area
in the heart of Dover with modern retail development.
In 2006-7 a new river-side residential development
was built on the site of an old furniture factory.
The 46 houses are built in a tradition brick and clap-board
style and are a big improvement on the old light industrial
use of the site.
A little of Charlton’s more peaceful past can
be glimpsed around the churchyard and the Red Lion
in the old centre of the village.
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New river-side development.
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