Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom

The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 7 February  1844, as the terminus of their new line from London via Redhill. The  station was designed to resemble the London Bridge Station, which at  the time was the London terminus of the South Eastern Railway.  It was originally designed with an impressive tower, as can be seen in the  artist’s impression of the opening ceremony, but this was never built.  The railway company did build the Lord Warden Hotel on land adjoining  the station, which was connected to the station at first floor level by a  glazed footbridge over the road. In 1859 work started extending the line from the station onto the  Admiralty Pier, it was completed in 1861 and allowed the trains to  connect with the cross-Channel steamers. In 1863 the station, which  had originally just been called Dover, changed its name to Dover Town  after the London Chatham & Dover Railway’s ‘Dover Town’ had changed  its name to Dover Priory. In June 1881 a double track line was opened to the London Chatham &  Dover Railway’s Harbour Station. This branched off the main line just  before it entered the Town Station. This new line allowed through  working of South Eastern Railway trains onto the newly opened joint  line to Deal.   In October 1914 the station closed to passengers when the South  Eastern Railway decided to concentrate local passenger services at the  Priory Station. The station continued in military use during the First  World War. In 1928 new engine sheds were opened close to the site of  the old town station, replacing the original small sheds at Dover Town  and Dover Priory. The remaining station buildings were demolished in  December 1963.