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A late 17th century view of Dover.
Celia Fiennes (1662 - 1741) was born at Newton
Toney, near Salisbury, into a Puritan, anti-monarchist family.
She travelled extensively throughout England and Scotland,
on horseback and by coach, staying at inns or with relatives,
and recorded vivid descriptions of her journeys. These journeys,
supposedly for her health, were mostly undertaken between
1685 and 1703; during her ‘Great Journey’ of 1698 she travelled
over 1,000 miles. Her travel diaries were published in 1888
under the title ‘Through England on a Side Saddle in the time
of William and Mary’, and in them she comments on towns, roads,
inns, religious practices and particularly on local trade
and industry. She admitted that her journeys were inspired
by curiosity.
During her travels Celia visited Dover:
“…and so to Dover, much up hill and down,
it was a good Road and sort of champion country, yet at a
distance you see many good woods and pretty houses with rows
of trees; the Castle
at Dover is discover’d five mile off standing on the edge
of a very steep high hill, on which you ascend up to the tower
120 steps up, whence you discover Callice [Calais] in France;
I saw the clifts and hills plaine, but in some cleer dayes
towards the evening you may see the towers and buildings of
Callice; the Castle is left much to decay and ruinated, only
a small appartment for the Governour of three or four roomes,
else the whole is spoyl’d, the floores taken up and the wanscoate
pulled down;…”
“…there is on the Plattform guns mounted
which being so high commands the Road so as no ship durst
saile under it; it’s a mighty steep clift at the poynt which
makes ones head giddy to look down to the sea; there is one
Gun of cast brass of a great length and finely carv’d
and adorn’d with figures, this carrys a ball a great way,
tho’ the bore or muzzle of the Gun be not bigger than my fist
so the Ball its charged with cannot be bigg but it will do
execution a great way off; this was made at Utriche [Utrecht]
in Holland and presented to Queen Elizabeth, its worth a great
sum of money for its curiosity; there are Gunns also planted
in a little fort at the foote of this steepe clift to secure
the Road from Pirates, for as to Dover town it looks like
a place of no defence, it’s a little place, the houses are
little and it looks thrust together; there is a market house
and town hall, its well enough for the accomodation of the
seamen and to supply the shipps with everything;…”
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