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Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom
St Martin’s Priory
In 1131, King Henry I granted a charter founding the Priory of
St Martin of Tours at Dover. The monastery stood on the site of
what is now Dover College, between Priory Road and Dover
Priory Station. The church was longer than the combined
length of churches of St James and St Mary, being 285 feet
long and 70 feet wide.
In addition to their monastic duties of prayer and worship, the
monks managed a large farm and provided well used
accommodation for pilgrims from Europe to the shrine of St
Thomas Becket at Canterbury, and for crusaders, pilgrims and
VIPs on their way to Europe and the Holy Land. The popularity
of this accommodation led to the building of the Maison Dieu in
1203 by Hubert de Burgh to ease the pressure on the Priory’s
guest house.
In 1154 King Stephen died while staying at the Priory and in
1295 it was burnt by the French. On that occasion, all the
monks fled except for a very old monk, who was found sitting
on his bed in the dormitory, and when he refused to tell the
raiders where the treasures of the monastery were hidden he
was killed. There was an attempt to have the monk, Thomas de
la Hale canonised, but the Prior of Canterbury gave an
unfavourable report, fearing that St Thomas of Dover might be
a rival to St Thomas of Canterbury!
In the autumn of 1535 the Priory was closed as part of Henry
VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. The fact that it was
dissolved very soon after it had been visited by the king's
commissioners, could indicate that something was seriously
amiss. Before the government's scheme for dissolving the
smaller monasteries was put into general operation in 1536,
only the poorest, most corrupt or otherwise decrepit houses
were closed down immediately after an official visitation.
After this the lands passed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and
were leased to various tenants. The church and Priory buildings
became a quarry for building materials, the only ones to
survive being those which found another use, like the
Refectory, which became a barn. In the early part of the 19th
Century the land started to be leased for building purposes,
parts of Effingham Street and Saxon Street stand over the
transepts and chancel of the Priory church.
In the 1870’s the remaining lands became the site of Dover
College, a preparatory school for boys. The remaining Priory
buildings were restored for use by the College. The 12th
Century Refectory became the hall and is used today for its
original purpose of a dining room. The gatehouse was
converted into the library and is now used as a music
classroom. The Priory’s guest house, after many years
agricultural use, became the College Chapel. Dover College,
which is now co-educational, occupies the same site today and
the original buildings are still in use.
St Martin of Tours at Dover. The monastery stood on the site of
what is now Dover College, between Priory Road and Dover
Priory Station. The church was longer than the combined
length of churches of St James and St Mary, being 285 feet
long and 70 feet wide.
In addition to their monastic duties of prayer and worship, the
monks managed a large farm and provided well used
accommodation for pilgrims from Europe to the shrine of St
Thomas Becket at Canterbury, and for crusaders, pilgrims and
VIPs on their way to Europe and the Holy Land. The popularity
of this accommodation led to the building of the Maison Dieu in
1203 by Hubert de Burgh to ease the pressure on the Priory’s
guest house.
In 1154 King Stephen died while staying at the Priory and in
1295 it was burnt by the French. On that occasion, all the
monks fled except for a very old monk, who was found sitting
on his bed in the dormitory, and when he refused to tell the
raiders where the treasures of the monastery were hidden he
was killed. There was an attempt to have the monk, Thomas de
la Hale canonised, but the Prior of Canterbury gave an
unfavourable report, fearing that St Thomas of Dover might be
a rival to St Thomas of Canterbury!
In the autumn of 1535 the Priory was closed as part of Henry
VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. The fact that it was
dissolved very soon after it had been visited by the king's
commissioners, could indicate that something was seriously
amiss. Before the government's scheme for dissolving the
smaller monasteries was put into general operation in 1536,
only the poorest, most corrupt or otherwise decrepit houses
were closed down immediately after an official visitation.
After this the lands passed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and
were leased to various tenants. The church and Priory buildings
became a quarry for building materials, the only ones to
survive being those which found another use, like the
Refectory, which became a barn. In the early part of the 19th
Century the land started to be leased for building purposes,
parts of Effingham Street and Saxon Street stand over the
transepts and chancel of the Priory church.
In the 1870’s the remaining lands became the site of Dover
College, a preparatory school for boys. The remaining Priory
buildings were restored for use by the College. The 12th
Century Refectory became the hall and is used today for its
original purpose of a dining room. The gatehouse was
converted into the library and is now used as a music
classroom. The Priory’s guest house, after many years
agricultural use, became the College Chapel. Dover College,
which is now co-educational, occupies the same site today and
the original buildings are still in use.
