Images of Dover Blog

Constable's Gate, Entrance to Lock and Key of the Kingdom, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:23:00 +0000

The classic view of Constable's Gate, today's pedestrian entrance to Dover Castle and what Matthew Paris (1), a medieval Benedictine monk and English chronicler, once famously described as the "Lock and Key to the Kingdom of England":

(Click this Constable's Gate of Dover Castle text link to see the largest size)

Western Outer Curtain Wall
Rokesley Tower & Canons Gate

The approach to the drawbridge doorway on the Western Outer Curtain Wall of this 12th century Norman castle is via Constable's Road, a junction on Castle Hill Road above Connaught Park and the Zig-Zags Park (both Victorian).

The entrance for vehicular traffic lies further south at Canons Gate, or Canons Gateway.

Constable's Tower was built by John de Fiennes (John de Fienes) under William the Conqueror (2) and for this reason was once known as Fiennes' Tower.

In the 1216 Great Siege of Dover Castle during the First Barons' War against King John (3), the Dauphin Prince Louis, later Louis VIII of France (4), son and heir-apparent of Philip Augustus (one of the most successful medieval French monarchs), unsuccessfully besieged Dover Castle.

The importance of Dover Castle to the Dauphin's campaign is reflected in this 1784 account (5):

When Lewis the Dauphin of France came hither, at the instigation of the pope, and by the invitation of the barons, and had made himself master of most of the castles in the southern counties, his father, hearing that he had not got possession of Dover Castle, swore by St. James's arm, he had not gained a foot of land in England.

Despite the failure to take Dover Castle, Prince Louis' miners so damaged the Northern Entrance that it had to be closed and sealed. In the 1220s, Hubert de Burgh (6) then rebuilt Constable's Tower as an alternative entry point which probably led to it being called by its other name of Newgate Tower.

The Norfolk Towers
St John's Tower

The Norfolk Towers (a rare view), the uniquely-sited St John's Tower, Fitzwilliam's Gate (Fitzwilliam's Gateway), and the Spur (an earthwork) were also built as a result of the 1216 siege; a trebuchet, a medieval catapult, was used when the siege briefly resumed in 1217 after Henry III (7) had became King.

Constable's Gateway (alt. Constable's Gate) was modernized in 1882 and is the living quarters of the Deputy Constable of the Castle, who at one time was the commanding officer of any Dover-based battalion but is now the senior military officer for the district.

In the main photo, Constable's Barbican lies out-of-shot to the right on a line with the drawbridge.

Queen Mary's Tower (Porth's Tower) and then Peverell Gateway (alt. Peverell's Gateway, Peverell's Tower) are the next towers to the south of Constable's Gateway; the Treasurer Tower (Treasurer's Tower: also Paymaster's Tower, Clopton Tower) is the next tower to the north, out-of-shot to the left.

The main photo was taken at 4.38 pm on Friday, 20th of May, 2011, looking across the western outer moat, or ditch, from Constable's Road. An earlier view is shown at 2007 Constable's Gate or Tower, Western Outer Curtain Wall, Dover Castle.

The Connaught Road Pumping Station photo (not yet uploaded) was taken from nearby.

Historical Accounts

A Victorian drawing of "GATEWAY - DOVER CASTLE". The illustration, possibly by S or G Winebridge (indistinct lettering), was printed by W. W. Sprague and Co. Ltd. of London in 1869:

Note the additional chimney stack on the highest tower and the presence of raising chains (or ropes) on the drawbridge - an indication it may still have been operational at that time. At top-left is part of Treasurer's Tower.

Abridged extract from the Georgian book, "The History of the Town and Port of Dover and of Dover Castle (With a Short Account of the Cinque Ports)" (8):

John de Fienes, Constable of Dover Castle, his Gate-way, and Tower

John de Fienes (alt John de Fiennes) being placed, by his royal master and kinsman, at the head of the associated knights, and appointed Constable of Dover Castle, he undertook to re-build the principal gate-way, with apartments over it, suitable for a feudal baron of that age; and the particular situation to which he was appointed.

To enable him to discharge the arduous undertaking, the King gave him many lordships and manors; and those which he kept in his own possession, were called Constabularie.

In re-building this new entrance into the Castle, he adopted the plan introduced by Gundulph, the Bishop of Rochester; and he is said to have been the first, who ventured to have a spacious arched passage into the Castles, which he secured with drawbridges, portcullisses, and massy gates. These he considered as preferable to the low gate-ways, and the contracted passages, adopted by the Saxons; when they first sought the aid of the mason, to secure their fortresses with stone walls.

The foundations for the front of this gate-way, and for the piers of the bridge, are laid below the bottom of the ditch (moat), which is, at this place, sunk deep in the solid rock; and it plainly shews, that labour, materials, and expense, were considered as secondary objects by the Constable, in the execution of his plan.

The entrance to the Saxon vallum is between two thick parallel stone walls, and it is arched over with stone. There are two towers on each side of the gate-way, to command the ascent of the hill, and the passage to the bridge.

The entrance into the Castle was secured by two portcullises, and thick gates; and when the bridge was raised up into the recess in the wall to receive it, these barriers rendered the passage perfectly safe.

Abridged extract from the Victorian book, "The History of the Castle, Town and Port of Dover" (9):

The Constable's Tower (Constable's Gate, Constable's Gateway)

"One of the grandest gateways in England. Its plan is that of a triangle with its obtuse angle presented to the field. The angles at the base fall within the line of the curtain and are capped by two large drum towers. The salient angle in like manner is capped by an oblong tower, rounded at each end and flat in the centre."

The three towers are connected with an embattled curtain. Within the triangle a central tower rises to a greater height, and commands the whole. It was supported by the manors of Allington and Tunstal.

This gate, called New Gate or Fiennes' Tower (Fienes' Tower) at different times, has undergone several alterations, none of which have added to its beauty. The brickwork arches are supposed to have been added in the reign of Charles I (10), and the cement covering to the central tower during the present century (nineteenth).

The modern additions are more in keeping with the building, and have rendered it a convenient dwelling-house for the Officer Commanding the troops in the South-Eastern District. The hall was used as a court house at one time, and there is a general belief that the tower was the ordinary place of execution for the Castle, but we have discovered no proof of it.

The Keep from King's Gate
Dover Castle Keep at Night
For a long time the porter's lodge contained a sword, an old key, and a horn, which were described as belonging to the days of Julius Caesar (11).

The horn was supposed to be the original one used in summoning the labourers to their work when engaged in building the Castle. They are now exhibited in the Keep (Great Tower, or Palace Tower).

The small room, now used as an engine room, was formerly the record office, and the Ports' Domesday Book used to be kept there.

About the beginning of the seventeenth century these invaluable documents were either sold to, or stolen by, tradesmen of the town, fortunately transcripts were made of some which have survived to the present day.

The caponiere (caponier) was erected during the great war with France (Napoleonic Wars) at the beginning of the 19th century, and the outwork, remains of which can still be seen, was built about the same time.

The main entry into the Castle was not until comparatively modern times through this gate, but through Mamignot's Towers farther north. The original approach to this tower was up a flight of steps.

Notes and Sources

(1) Matthew Paris (Latin, Matthæi Parisiensis, ie. Matthew the Parisian) (c. 1200 – 1259) was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. He wrote a number of works, mostly historical, which he scribed and illuminated himself, typically in drawings partly coloured with watercolour washes, sometimes called "tinted drawings". Some were written in Latin, some in Anglo-Norman or French verse. His Chronica Majora is an oft-cited (but not always reliable) source.

(2) William I (circa 1028 – 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant), was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II. Before his conquest of England, he was known as William the Bastard because of the illegitimacy of his birth.

(3) King John (24 December 1166 – 18/19 October 1216), also known as John Lackland (French: Sansterre - landless, without land), was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death. During John's reign, England lost the duchy of Normandy to King Philip II of France, which resulted in the collapse of most of the Angevin Empire and contributed to the subsequent growth in power of the french Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the signing of the Magna Carta, a document often considered to be an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

(4) Louis VIII of France: Louis VIII the Lion (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226) reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190 – 1226.

(5) "The antiquities of England and Wales", by Francis Grose (1784), an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. The same account also appears in the September 1773 edition of "The Universal Magazine for Knowledge and Pleasure".

(6) Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent (c. 1160 – before 5 May 1243) was Earl of Kent, Justiciar of England and Ireland, and one of the most influential men in England during the reigns of King John and Henry III.

(7) Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272) was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready (Ethelred the Unready).

St Mary's Church, Dover

(8) Excerpt from "The History of the Town and Port of Dover and of Dover Castle (With a Short Account of the Cinque Ports)".

Volume I dedicated by the Reverend John Lyon, Minister of St Mary the Virgin of Cannon Street, to John Gunman, Esquire, on May 14th, 1813, and published the same year.

Volume II dedicated to Jonathan Osborn, Edward Thompson, and John Shipdem on April 21st, 1814, and published the same year.

(9) "The History of the Castle, Town and Port of Dover" by Reverend Samuel Percy Hammond Statham, Rector of St Mary-in-the-Castle (ie St Mary-in-Castro) (Longmans, Green, and Co., 1899)

(10) Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.

(11) Julius Caesar (July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. "Caesar's Tower" and "Caesar's Altar" were once local names given to Dover's East Roman Pharos and Bredenstone, respectively.

The main photo first appeared at:

The Constable Gateway, Entrance to the Key of the Kingdom, Dover Castle

To be uploaded:

Constable Gateway and Drawbridge, Western Outer Curtain Wall, Dover Castle
The South Wing of Constable Gateway, the Stately Home of Dover Castle

The English Heritage "Pastscape" entry for Dover Castle states:

"Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle; Angevin), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe."

All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle and Castles category labels.

The castle, a popular tourism and travel destination, is one of Dover's Grade I Listed Buildings and English Heritage sites.

A Dover Medieval (Middle Ages) and Norman history photo.

More Dover Architecture and History photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all Dover Castle-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Dover Castle Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Netherlands 918 Combat Boat 90 Fast Assault Craft Stern, Dover, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 08:50:00 +0000

A Dutch Combat Boat 90, pennant number 918, berthed against Crosswall Quay in the Tidal Harbour of Dover Marina:

(Click this Combat Boat 90 Stern text link to see the largest size)

Soon after the shot was taken, two Royal Marines (1) arrived and were taken onboard by a member of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps (2).

The Dutch boat can carry 18 amphibious troops and has rails fitted on the stern deck to hold a vehicle.

This Dover Harbour photo was taken during a cycle ride (3) at 2.20 pm on Thursday, 3rd of February, 2011, from in front of Dover Lifeboat Station (home to the Dover Lifeboat, RNLB City of London II).

Netherlands CB90 Bow

The caption to the first photo of the vessel, Bow view of Netherlands 918 Combat Boat 90 Fast Assault Craft in Dover Harbour, has a different video and secondary photo to those below.

In 2010, Sweden's Dokstavarvet Shipyard successfully modified 2 Combat Boat 90's to be lifted into davits of LPD's ("landing platform dock") of the Royal Netherlands Navy (4) and the UK's Royal Navy (5).

During trials scheduled to last 6 months, the two boats and a full Swedish boat squadron were embarked on, and deployed from, a Dutch Navy LPD as a fully integrated element of the amphibious forces (6) aboard.

On the 9th of May, 2011, the Royal Navy subsequently announced (7):

1 Assault Group Royal Marines (1AGRM) has taken possession of two Combat Boat 90s being loaned by the Swedish Armed Forces; the UK is to receive four craft in total.

As part of the loan and exchange programme, the Swedes are taking on two of the UK’s Offshore Raiding Craft (ORC).

The scheme is a 12 month agreement between the two states which has been organised and worked out on behalf of the UK by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and Försvarets Materielverk for Sweden. FMV is the Swedish Defence Material Administration.

Video - Following an invitation from the Brazilian Army, Dockstavarvet (manufacturer) shipped a CB90 to Brazil in the spring of 2004 for trials on the Amazon River with the 1st Jungle Infantry Battalion:

Combat Boat CB 90 - Fast Assault Craft (8)

The Combat Boat 90 (CB90) is a class of fast military assault craft originally developed for the Swedish Navy by Dockstavarvet. In addition to the many variants in service with the Swedish Navy under the Strb 90 H designation, the CB90 has been adopted by the navies of several countries, including Norway (as the SB90N), Greece, Mexico (as the CB90 HMN), and Malaysia. Also the German Navy plans to equip the Berlin-class replenishment ships with the CB90.

The CB90 is an exceptionally fast and agile boat. Its light weight, shallow draught, and twin water jets allow it to operate at speeds of up to 40 knots (74 km/h) in shallow coastal waters. The water jets are partially ducted, which, along with underwater control surfaces similar to a submarine's diving planes, allows the CB90 to execute extremely sharp turns at high speed, decelerate from top speed to a full stop in 2.5 boat lengths, and adjust its pitch and roll angle while under way. See the CB90 in different roles video.

In 2004, the Royal Norwegian Navy conducted tests (including a live fire exercise) to evaluate the effectiveness of their SB90N version as an aiming and launching platform for the Hellfire missile. One SB90N was equipped with stabilized Hellfire launcher based on the PROTECTOR M151, and its machine gun was replaced with a gimbal-mounted sensor package containing visible-light and infrared cameras and a laser designator.

Although the tests were successful, there is currently no indication that the Royal Norwegian Navy will actually deploy SB90Ns armed with Hellfire missiles in regular service. The Hellfire can still be carried on the boats without launching platforms and be fired from shore with the Portable Ground Launch System.

In 2005, the UK-led Exercise Green Osprey (an amphibious forces-based exercise in Senegal) ran concurrent with West African Training Cruise 2006 (WATC '06):

US and Royal Netherlands Navy personnel watch Royal Navy of Norway (RNoN) S90N Combat Boat (possibly L4527) being lifted onto the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, USS Gunston Hall, (LSD-44 website) in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa.

The German Water Police (the Wasserschutzpolizei WSP - literally translated "Water Protection Police") rented a Combat Boat 90H from the manufacturer Dockstavarvet for the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany (6 June to 8 June 2007). This boat was involved in a high speed chase with three Greenpeace RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) which were trying to enter the restricted area near the Kempinski Grand Hotel where the meeting was being held. A video clip of the incident was later widely spread around the internet and can also be seen on a Der Spiegel webpage.

In July 2007 The United States Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) specified the CB90 for testing as its Riverine Command Boat. Safeboat International of Port Orchard, Washington, was given a 2.8 million US dollar contract to produce one prototype.

On August 1st, 2007, the US Navy Times reported (9):

If the Stryker armored combat vehicle were a boat, it might be the CB90, a Swedish-designed shallow-water vessel that’s fast, lethal and flexible enough to be an ambulance or a fast-attack craft.

The United States Navy has decided to buy two of the boats, now known in certain Navy circles as the Riverine Command Boat (RCB), for use by the newest incarnation of the brown-water navy, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command’s riverine group.

Already in use with navies around the world, the CB90 originally was a product of the Swedish boatmaker Dockstavarvet. SAFE Boats International, based in Washington state, bought the licenses required to build the same boat for the US Navy. (Abridged)

In June 2009 an unknown buyer from Abu Dhabi bought two civilian luxury versions.

On August 18th, 2011, DVIDS reported (10):

Riverine Command Boat '11
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (Va, USA): Navy Expeditionary Combat Command hosted the Commander of Colombian naval forces, Admiral Alvaro Echandia Duran, in an effort to strengthen relationships between partner nations and provide a first-hand look at NECC capabilities and how expeditionary sailors operate.

The visit included a live demonstration of riverine boat capabilities from Riverine Group 1, and hands on displays from Maritime Expeditionary Security Force, Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command and Navy Expeditionary Intelligence Command.

NECC sailors deploy and operate around the globe, building partnerships and helping to increase partner navies’ capacity and capability to promote peace and prevent war. See the Riverine Command Boat 2011 photo.

CB90-class overview

Builders: Dockstavarvet (Docksta shipyard), Gotlandsvarvet (Gotlands shipyard)
Operators: Swedish Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, Mexican Navy, Malaysian Navy, Brazilian Army
Preceded by: Tpbs 200
In commission: 1991
Completed: 250–300

General characteristics

Displacement: 13,000 kg (28,660 lbs) Empty, 15,300 kg (33,730 lbs) Standard, 20,500 kg (45,190 lbs) Full load
Length: 15.9 m (52') Overall, 14.9 (48') Waterline
Beam: 3.8 m (12'6")
Draught: 0.8 m (2'8")
Propulsion: 2 x 625 bhp Scania DSI14 V8 Diesel; 2 x Kamewa FF water jets
Speed: 40 knots (74 km/h)
Range: 240 nmi (440 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement: 3 (two officers and one engineer)
Up to 21 amphibious troops with full equipment
Armament: 3 × Browning M2HB machine guns, 1 × Mk 19 grenade launcher, 4 naval mines or 6 depth charges

Docksta varvet (Docksta yard) website: Combat Boat CB 90 H - Fast Assault Craft

Notes and Sources

(1) Royal Marines: The Royal Marines' 3 Commando Brigade is the Royal Navy's amphibious infantry on permanent readiness to deploy across the globe, and is a core component of the UK's Joint Rapid Reaction Force. Together the Royal Navy's amphibious ships and the Brigade represent a highly mobile, self-sustained and versatile organisation, with a strategic power projection capability that is unique among the British armed services. The Royal Marines are the cold weather experts of the Services.

(2) Netherlands Marine Corps: The Korps Mariniers is the marine corps and amphibious infantry component of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The marines are trained to operate anywhere in the world in all environments, under any condition and circumstance, as a rapid reaction force. The Korps Mariniers can be deployed to a given location within 48 hours. Their motto is Qua Patet Orbis ("As Far As The World Extends").

Robsons Yard Flats

(3) On a cycle ride beginning at Robsons Yard Flats in the Tower Hamlets area of Dover, then: Athol Terrace (Eastern Docks) - Seafront Promenade - Prince of Wales Pier (Western Docks) - Robsons Yard.

This is where I do my Evolution and Psychology research! (archive)

(4) The Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy) is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In recent times the Royal Netherlands Navy takes part in expeditionary peacekeeping and peace enforcing operations (Maritime Expeditionary Capability). Royal Netherlands Navy website.

(5) The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service. From the end of the 17th century until well into the 20th century it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power. Royal Navy website.

(6) Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain. In this modern era amphibious warfare persists in the form of commando insertion by fast patrol boats, zodiacs and mini-submersibles.

(7) From Landing Craft exchange for UK and Sweden
(8) Abridged from CB90-class fast assault craft
(9) From the US Navy Times website: New riverine boats are fast, lethal, flexible
(10) From the DVIDS website: Colombian military leadership visits NECC, by Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul D. Williams of the United States Navy (USN).

The main photo first appeared at:

Netherlands 918 Combat Boat 90 Fast Assault Craft Stern in Dover Harbour

Of related interest (not yet uploaded):

LCU Mark 10 Royal Marines/Royal Navy Landing Craft, Dover Harbour
P165 HMS Example Fast Training Boat, Tidal Harbour, Dover Marina
P164 HMS Explorer Fast Training Boat and HMS Wasp, Dover Marina
P275 HMS Raider Fast Training Boat, Tidal Harbour, Dover Marina

Click to see all Dover Boat, Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy photos.

A Port of Dover Tidal Harbour, Marina, and Western Docks photo.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Maasdam Cruise Ship after Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:05:00 +0000

A view of the MS Maasdam in early morning sunlight as it begins reversing towards CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1) of the Admiralty Pier in the Western Docks of Dover Harbour:

(Click this MS Maasdam Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

Western Docks at Night
Harbour House

The bow of the Maasdam is pointing towards the open waters of the Straits of Dover and the English Channel through the harbour's Western Entrance. This 245 yard-wide gateway into the Port of Dover is bounded by the Admiralty Pier, behind and to the right of the ship, and the out-of-shot Southern Breakwater further to the left. Also on the right is the bow of the Norwegian Sun cruise ship that berthed alongside Cruise Terminal 2 (CT2) just a few minutes earlier.

The DHB Dauntless tug belongs to Dover Harboard Board of Harbour House.

This post-sunrise photo of the Maasdam was taken at 6.33 am on Tuesday, 3rd of August, 2010, from the lighthouse and Harbour View cafe end of the Prince of Wales Pier while on a morning cycle ride (1) (see all lighthouse photos).

The Maasdam passenger ship left Boston (Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA) on a transatlantic cruise that began on Saturday, July 17. Before arriving in Dover Harbour the ship called at the following ports along the way:

St Pierre (Territorial Collectivity of St Pierre and Miquelon, France), St. Johns (Newfoundland, Canada), Qaqortoq (Danish: Julianehåb, Greenland), Isafjordur (Ísafjörður, Iceland), Akureyri (Iceland), Aalesund (Ålesund, Norway), Bergen (Norway), Oslo (Norway), and Copenhagen (Denmark).

The Maasdam left Dover later in the day (5.11pm) on an 18-day "Voyage Of The Vikings" cruise back to Boston. Itinerary (schedule):

Amsterdam (Holland/Netherlands), Dunmore East (Waterford, Eire/Ireland), Liverpool (UK), Dublin (Eire/Ireland), Heimaey (Iceland), Reykjavik (Iceland), Nanortalik (Greenland), St. Anthony (Newfoundland, Canada), Corner Brook (Newfoundland, Canada), Bar Harbor (Maine, USA), and Boston (Massachusetts, USA).

Video - A 3D virtual cruise of the route and ports of call on "Voyage Of The Vikings":

Each port has an inset photo. The one for Dover shows the Castle (classic view) above the White Cliffs.

The MS Maasdam (2) (3)

The Maasdam is a Holland America Line (HAL) cruise ship named for a dam located on the Maas River in the Netherlands. She was ordered along with her sisters MS Statendam and MS Ryndam in 1989 from the Fincantieri Shipyards (a shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy, formed in 1959).

The Maasdam and her sisters have articulated "Hinze" flap rudders, basically a rudder with a small portion of its aft that can be steered in addition to the main rudder, for exceptional maneuverability. When launched in 1993 her class proved to be one of the world's most technically advanced and optimised cruise ships in the world during sea trials.

The ship was dedicated in December 1993, by the actress June Allyson

Concept and Construction

The Maasdam features a teak promenade deck, two-tiered dining room, and atrium with glass sculpture. The ship also features an expansive art collection. In April 2006 Maasdam emerged from drydock in Freeport, Bahamas after a multi-million USD dollar refit. Additions included several new dining venues, a culinary arts center and all new cabin amenities, including flatscreen televisions and DVD players.

Signature of Excellence Program

The Maasdam currently has received SOEP1 which included Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant, the Neptune Lounge (for suite guests), the Culinary Arts Center with demonstration kitchen, expanded children's and teens' facilities, enhanced stateroom amenities, and improved dining and enrichment offerings and recently received SOEP2 in April 2011 which included Spa Staterooms, Mix which is a bar type lounge & Showroom at Sea (nightclub/lounge).

See the Signature of Excellence video.

Current Cruises

The vessel serves the Caribbean in the winter based out of Fort Lauderdale (Florida, US) and during the summer sails from Boston, Massachusetts sailing to Europe, Atlantic Canada and New England.

Vessel Details

Name: MS Maasdam
Owner: Carnival Corporation & PLC
Operator: Holland America Line (Holland America Line website)
Port of registry: Netherlands, Rotterdam
Ordered: 29 November 1989
Builder: Fincantieri, Monfalcone, Italy
Cost: 180 million US dollars
Yard number: 5882
Completed: January 1, 1993
Call sign: PFRO
IMO number: 8919257
MMSI number.: 244958000
Class and type: "S class" cruise ship
Tonnage: 55,575 GT
Displacement: 10,965 DWT
Length: 220 m (721.78 ft)
Beam: 30.937 m (101.50 ft)
Height: 40 m (131.23 ft)
Draught: 7.6 m (24.93 ft)
Decks: 10
Ice class: 1D
Installed power: Two Sulzer 12ZAV40S, Two Sulzer 8ZAL40 diesels (All engines built under license by Fincantieri/Grandi Motori Trieste)
Propulsion: Electric shaftline
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h)
Capacity: 1,258 passengers
Crew: 580

See the official Maasdam webpage.

Holland America Line (4)

The Holland America Line is a cruise shipping company. It was founded in 1873 as the "Netherlands-America Steamship Company" (Dutch: Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij), a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line. HAL is now headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA.

The first ships sailed between Rotterdam and New York in 1872, with New York remaining the American terminal. Other services were started to South America and Baltimore. Cargo service to New York was added in 1899. During the first 25 years the company carried 400,000 people from the old world to the new world. Other North American ports were added during the early 20th century.

Though transportation and shipping were the primary sources of revenue, in 1895 HAL offered its first vacation cruise. Its second vacation cruise, from New York to the Holy Land (Hebrew: ארץ הקודש‎; Eretz HaQodesh ; Arabic: الأرض المقدسة Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah; Palestine, Israel) was first offered in 1910. In 1971, HAL suspended transatlantic passenger trade and in 1973 sold its cargo shipping division.

In 1989, HAL became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & PLC, the largest cruise line. The company operates 15 ships to 7 continents and carries almost 700,000 cruise passengers a year. In addition to its cruise line, Holland America operates the Westmark Hotel chain in Alaska and the Yukon.

The Dover Harbour Board Tug (5)

Bollard-pull DHB Dauntless tug: Call Sign MZGC8, IMO 9190456, MMSI 232004784.

More Tug photos.

Originally established in 1606, Dover Harbour Board is responsible for the administration, maintenance and improvement of the harbour at Dover.

It operates right at the heart of the UK's and Continental Europe's cross-Channel transport network, managing and piloting what has become one of today's busiest drive-on, drive-off terminals in the world.

The history and origins of the Port of Dover can be traced right back to Roman times.

Notes and Sources

Robsons Yard Flats

(1) On a cycle ride beginning at Robsons Yard Flats in the Tower Hamlets area of Dover, then: Athol Terrace (Eastern Docks) - Seafront Promenade - Prince of Wales Pier (Western Docks) - Robsons Yard.

This is where I do my Evolution and Psychology research! (archive)

(2) Wikipedia entry for MS Maasdam
(3) Marinetraffic entry for MV Maasdam
(4) Wikipedia entry for Holland America Line
(5) The official Dover Harbour Board website

The main photo first appeared at:

MS Maasdam Cruise Ship after Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour

Other Dover ships belonging to Holland America Line Cruises include:

MS Ryndam before the Southern Breakwater, Dover Harbour

MS Eurodam just after Sunrise, Eastern Entrance, Dover Harbour

MS Prinsendam Cruise Ship in Fog, Southern Breakwater, Dover

Other ships at Sunrise in the Western Entrance include:

MS Disney Magic Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Western Entrance 2, Dover Harbour

MV Spirit of Adventure at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover

MS Balmoral Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour

Click to see all Dover MS Maasdam, Holland America Line Cruise Ships, Cruise Ship, and Tug photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to at the top of the page below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Prinsendam Cruise Ship in Fog, Southern Breakwater, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:42:00 +0000

A grainy, yet atmospheric, zoomed photo of 1600 yards showing the MS Prinsendam crossing Dover Harbour from east to west in front of the Southern Breakwater on Sunday, 6th of June, 2010:

(Click this MS Prinsendam Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

Western Docks at Night
The Clock Tower

The Prinsendam is on its way to berth at Cruise Terminal 2 on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks. Previously, the passenger ship had left Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA, on Monday, 17th of May 2010, and then made a transatlantic crossing to Le Havre, France, arriving on June 5th.

This was not a good weekend for taking cruise ship photos (even without the fog!) owing to the Prince of Wales Pier - the usual vantage point - being closed in preparation for firework displays commemorating the centenary of Charles Stewart Rolls' non-stop return flight across the English Channel on Thursday, June 2nd 1910 (1).

Unable to get any nearer to the ship, this distant view was taken from the Clock Tower end of Dover's seafront promenade, near the King Charles II Restoration of the Monarchy memorial, at 7.20 am while on a morning cycle ride (2).

The Prinsendam stayed until about 5.30 pm and then sailed for Amsterdam (Holland/Netherlands) via IJmuiden and the North Sea Canal. The ship subsequently called at Travemünde (Travemunde, Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), and Tromsø (Tromso, Norway).

Video - An advertiser has added an opening and closing credit to what is otherwise an official Prinsendam video:

MS Prinsendam (3) (4)

The MS Prinsendam is a cruise ship for Holland America Line PLC and is nicknamed the "Elegant Explorer". She was launched in 1988 as the Royal Viking Sun for the Royal Viking Line, and was renamed Seabourn Sun when Seabourn Cruise Line acquired the ship in 1999. Shortly after, in 2002, The Seabourn company (Yachts of Seabourn) wished to concentrate on more intimate vessels (eg the new MS Seabourn Sojourn). So, in 2002, they transferred the Seabourn Sun to Holland America Line (HAL), where it was renamed the Prinsendam.

Early Career

Launched in 1988 as the Royal Viking Sun for the Royal Viking Line this vessel quickly became renowned for her exquisite service and loyal passenger following. She became a popular addition to the fleet of Global Cruisers employed in Royal Viking service.

Cunard Line career

Cunard PLC purchased the Royal Viking Sun (and the Royal Viking brand) as the failing Royal Viking Line ceased operations in the mid-1990s. Opting to keep the ship's name as is, they placed her into the newly formed Cunard Royal Viking division. This 5-plus star ship was rated the finest vessel afloat for most of her life with Cunard.

Royal Viking Sun undertook World Voyages as Cunard's Global Roamer, and was a popular and highly sought after ship for passengers and crew alike.

In 1999 Cunard and Seabourn were merged by parent company Carnival Corporation & PLC. It was decided to move Royal Viking Sun to Seabourn, and after an extensive refit she emerged as the Seabourn Sun. In 2002 she undertook her last cruise for Seabourn, a circumnavigation of South America.

Holland America Line career

After another extensive refit in 2002, Seabourn Sun re-emerged as the Prinsendam for Holland America Line - another division of the Carnival Corporation. She has remained as Prinsendam to this day.

Ship's details

Name: 1988-1999: Royal Viking Sun, 1999-2002: Seabourn Sun, 2002-present: Prinsendam
Operator: 1988-1994: Royal Viking Line, 1994-1998: Cunard Line, 1998-2002: Seabourn Cruise Line, 2002-present: Holland America Line
Port of registry: 1988-1999: Nassau, Bahamas; 1999-2002: Oslo, Norway; 2002-present: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Builder: Wärtsilä in Turku, Finland
Launched: March 17, 1988
Acquired: November 26, 1988
In service: 1988-present
Nickname: 2002-present: The Elegant Explorer
Class and type: cruise ship
Tonnage: 37,848 gross register tons (GRT)
Length: 674.2 ft (205.5 m)
Beam: 91.8 ft (28.0 m)
Draught: 23.6 ft (7.2 m)
Decks: 9 passenger decks
Speed: 22 knots maximum, (service at 18.5 knots)
Capacity: 740 passengers
Crew: 460 crew
Capacity: 793 passengers
Crew: 443 crew
Call Sign: PBGH
IMO: 8700280
MMSI: 244126000

The official MS Prinsendam webpage

Holland America Line (5)

The Holland America Line is a cruise shipping company. It was founded in 1873 as the "Netherlands-America Steamship Company" (Dutch: Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij), a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line. HAL is now headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA.

The first ships sailed between Rotterdam and New York in 1872, with New York remaining the American terminal. Other services were started to South America and Baltimore. Cargo service to New York was added in 1899. During the first 25 years the company carried 400,000 people from the old world to the new world. Other North American ports were added during the early 20th century.

Though transportation and shipping were the primary sources of revenue, in 1895 HAL offered its first vacation cruise. Its second vacation cruise, from New York to the Holy Land (Hebrew: ארץ הקודש‎; Eretz HaQodesh ; Arabic: الأرض المقدسة Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah; Palestine, Israel) was first offered in 1910. In 1971, HAL suspended transatlantic passenger trade and in 1973 sold its cargo shipping division.

In 1989, HAL became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & PLC, the largest cruise line. The company operates 15 ships to 7 continents and carries almost 700,000 cruise passengers a year. In addition to its cruise line, Holland America operates the Westmark Hotel chain in Alaska and the Yukon.

Notes and Sources

(1) Charles Stewart Rolls was co-founder with Sir Henry Royce of Rolls Royce motor cars. A photo of his statue in front of Dover seafront's Gateway Flats will be uploaded anon.

Other events in Dover at this time were the Grand Shaft and Drop Redoubt open days and the 70th anniversary of the World War II 1940 Dunkirk evacuation (in which a Royal Marines LCU MK10 Landing Craft took part):

Dover's Dunkirk Memorial At the Going Down of the Sun..., Dunkirk War Memorial, Dover Seafront

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) On a cycle ride beginning at Robsons Yard Flats in the Tower Hamlets area of Dover, then: Athol Terrace (Eastern Docks) - Seafront Promenade - Prince of Wales Pier (Western Docks) - Robsons Yard.

This is where I do my Evolution and Psychology research! (archive)

(3) Wikipedia entry for MS Prinsendam
(4) Marinetraffic entry for MS Prinsendam
(5) Wikipedia entry for Holland America Line

Another summer visitor to the Port of Dover in 2010 was the MS Spirit of Adventure. Her captain, Kees Spekman, started his career after joining the MS Prinsendam as a Deck Cadet in March, 1975:

MV Spirit of Adventure at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover

The main photo first appeared at:

MS Prinsendam Cruise Ship in Fog, Southern Breakwater, Dover Harbour

Other Dover ships belonging to Holland America Line Cruises include:

MS Ryndam before the Southern Breakwater, Dover Harbour

MS Eurodam just after Sunrise, Eastern Entrance, Dover Harbour

MS Maasdam Cruise Ship after Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover

Click to see all Dover MS Prinsendam, Holland America Line Cruise Ships, and Cruise Ship photos.

More Fog and Weather views.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MV Spirit of Adventure at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 03:48:00 +0000

A post-sunrise view of the MV Spirit of Adventure in Dover Harbour, her bow pointing through the Western Entrance towards the open waters of the Straits of Dover and the English Channel beyond:

(Click this MV Spirit of Adventure text link to see the largest size)

Western Docks at Night

The Western Entrance is formed by the Admiralty Pier behind the ship and the Southern Breakwater, out-of-shot to the left.

The passenger ship is shown manouevring into position prior to reversing towards CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1) on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks.

The photo was taken while on a cycle ride (1) at 5.34 am on Wednesday, 23rd of June 2010, from the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier.

A little earlier, at 5.21 am, the Spirit of Adventure had entered Dover Harbour through the Eastern Entrance at the end of a 14-night round-trip "Britain and Irelands Garden Coast" cruise that had begun on the 9th of June with the following itinerary (schedule):

St Peter Port (Guernsey, Channel Islands), Dartmouth (England), Tresco (Isles of Scilly), Dublin (Eire/Ireland), Holyhead (Anglesey, Wales), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Oban (Scotland), Portree (Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides of Scotland), Stornoway (Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides of Scotland), Scrabster (Thurso Bay, Scotland), Kirkwall (capital of Orkney, Scotland), and Newcastle-upon-Tyne (England).

The Spirit of Adventure left Dover later in the day at 4.34 pm on a 7-night "Norway's Choral Symphony" cruise. Itinerary:

Bergen, Flåm (Flam), Gudvangen, Jondal, and Stavanger (all in Norway, of course!).

Captain Kees Spekman recorded the following at 11.30 pm (abridged) (2):

Glorious weather and stunning views greeted us as we approached the Dover pilot station at 05.00am. The pilot boarded and with the assistance of a tug we were berthed along the cruise terminal at 06.00am.

...The passengers disembarked on schedule and by 1.00pm we commenced embarkation for a seven-day voyage to Norway, in conjunction with National Trust and with a classical music theme.

White Cliffs of Dover
All passengers were on board by 4.00pm. We were almost ready with the stores with only a few pallets of bottled water remaining. A short while later all was on board and we could leave the port. The pilot guided us out and soon we were on enjoying the White Cliffs of Dover on our way to the first port of call, Bergen.

At 5.15pm we held the general safety and boat drill for the passengers after which all continued enjoying the sights and prepared for the first evening on board.

Roy, our Cruise Director introduced the lecturers and musicians during the course of the evening and the Badke Classical String Quartet with special guest, viola virtuoso Simon Rowland-Jones performed their first concert.

Captain Spekman started his career as a Deck Cadet with Holland America Line after joining his first passenger ship, HAL's MS Prinsendam, in March, 1975.

MV Spirit of Adventure

Video: "Introduction - Spirit of Adventure" is presented by Chris Serle (3):

The Spirit of Adventure is owned by Acromas Holidays Ltd, formerly known as Saga Holidays Ltd (now a trading name).

Ship's details (4)

Name: MV Spirit of Adventure (ex-Berlin, Princess Mahsuri, and Orange Melody)
Ship Type: Passenger/Cruise
Operator: Saga Cruises PLC (from 2005)
Built by: HDW Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH
Year Built: 1980
Length: 139 m
Breadth: 16 m
Draught: 5.1 m
DeadWeight: 1796 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 16.8 / 15.3 knots
Flag: Malta (MT)
Call Sign: 9HA2295
IMO: 7904889
MMSI: 248277000

Click to see the Spirit of Adventure website and the official MV Spirit of Adventure webpage.

Notes and Sources

Robsons Yard Flats

(1) Cycle route begins at Robsons Yard Flats in the Tower Hamlets area of Dover, then: Athol Terrace (Eastern Docks) - Seafront Promenade - Prince of Wales Pier (Western Docks) - Robsons Yard.

This is where I do my Evolution and Psychology research! (archive)

(2) Captain's blog entry for June 23, 2010 (11:30 pm)
(3) Christopher "Chris" Richard Serle (born 13 July 1943, Bristol, England) is a former BBC TV presenter, reporter and actor. Serle was educated at Clifton College and Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied modern languages. He appeared as a foil for Irish comedian Dave Allen (David Tynan O'Mahoney) in his series Dave Allen at Large in 1971, but gained greater UK public recognition as one of the presenters (along with Esther Rantzen) of the TV series, That's Life!
(4) Marinetraffic entry for MS Spirit of Adventure

The main photo first appeared at:

MV Spirit of Adventure at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour

Not yet uploaded:

MV Spirit of Adventure nearing Cruise Terminal 1
MV Spirit of Adventure berthed at Cruise Terminal 1

Other Dover Saga Cruises photos include:

MS Saga Pearl II Cruise Ship and DHB Dauntless Tug, Western Docks, Dover

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and Neptune Catamaran, Western Docks, Dover

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and a God of the Night, Dover Harbour

Other ships at Sunrise in the Western Entrance include:

MS Disney Magic Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Western Entrance 2, Dover Harbour

MS Balmoral Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour

MS Maasdam Cruise Ship after Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover

Click to see all Spirit of Adventure and Cruise Ship photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Ryndam Cruise Ship before the Southern Breakwater, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:47:00 +0000

A view of the MS Ryndam heading for the Eastern Entrance of Dover Harbour and English Channel beyond at 5.12 pm on Sunday, 1st of May, 2011 (1):

(Click this MS Ryndam Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

Harbour House
Western Docks at Night

The passenger ship is accompanied by two tugs, DHB Dauntless (left) and DHB Doughty (right), owned by Dover Harbour Board whose offices, located in Harbour House of Waterloo Crescent, overlook the harbour.

Behind the ship is the Southern Breakwater and the Dover Breakwater West End Light (2)

To the right of the lighthouse is the Western Entrance that lies between the breakwater and the Admiralty Pier (out-of-shot to the right: part of the Western Docks).

Cruise ships berth alongside the Admiralty Pier and then usually leave the Port of Dover by the Western Entrance. On this occasion strong winds have caused the Ryndam to opt for the same route a sister-ship, the MS Eurodam, took the previous year.

The photo was taken from the Prince of Wales Pier just as the Ryndam was passing the wreck site of the Spanish Prince (ex-Knight Bachelor), a World War I blockship scuttled/sunk in 1915.

Earlier in April, the Ryndam left the Gulf of Mexico by sailing south of the Florida Keys and then called at Cherbourg (France) and Zeebrugge (Belgium). The passenger ship is now beginning a 21-day Mediterranean Medley cruise and returned to Dover on Saturday, 21st of May, before the voyage finally ended in Rotterdam on the 22nd. Cruise itinerary (schedule):

Dover (England), Rotterdam (Holland, Netherlands), Lisbon (Portugal), Gibraltar (United Kingdom), Cartagena (Spain), Palma De Mallorca (Spain), Barcelona (Spain), Marseille (France), Villefranche-sur-mer (France), Rome (Italy), Alghero (Italy), Ibiza, Almeria (Spain), Cadiz (Spain), Portimao (Portugal), Dover, Rotterdam.

The MS Ryndam (3)

The MS Ryndam is a cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line (HAL) that is named for a dam on the Rhine River. She offers enhanced amenities and services and is designed to carry fewer passengers than other ships in her class. Themed around Dutch exploration, the (decor) décor features art and artifacts from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries.

The Ryndam is the third Statendam-class ship ordered by Holland America Line after the company's acquisition by Carnival Corporation & PLC.

The preceding two ships in this class are Statendam and Maasdam, both of which are still active.

MS Ryndam's styling builds upon that of the ships that were active for Holland America at the time of the purchase by Carnival, specifically the layouts of the MS Noordam and MS Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam). Public rooms such as the Explorers Lounge, Crow's Nest and Lido Restaurant, as well as their placement on the ship, all are transfers from these previous builds.

Concept and Construction

Built at Fincantieri (a shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy, formed in 1959), Ryndam features art specifically commissioned for the ship, including the sculpture featured in the central atrium that spans three decks: Lower Promenade, Promenade and Upper Promenade. Included amongst the art collection are pieces gleaned from previous Holland America ships from their more than 130 year history. Since Holland America recycles their ship names (new versions of Noordam and Nieuw Amsterdam are currently sailing), some references to previous ships that bore the Ryndam name can also be found.

The ship features 10 passenger-accessible decks, from the Sky Deck to A Deck. B Deck and below are reserved for crew activities, service facilities and crew accommodations. B Deck is only accessible to passengers during tendering operations. In order to facilitate moving of service equipment and supplies, Ryndam's B Deck features a classic "Broadway" construction: a wide central passage that runs the full length of the ship.

The ship is powered by twin diesel-electric engines with a top cruising speed of 22.6 knots.

Signature of Excellence Program

The Ryndam currently has received SOEP1 which included Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant, the Neptune Lounge (for suite guests), the Culinary Arts Center with demonstration kitchen, expanded children’s and teens’ facilities, enhanced stateroom amenities, and improved dining and enrichment offerings and recently received SOEP2 in February 2011 which included Spa Staterooms, Mix which is a bar type lounge and Showroom at Sea (nightclub/lounge).

Official Signature of Excellence video:

Incidents

During Ryndam's inaugural season in Alaska, a fire broke out in one of the shop storage lockers on the ship's B Deck just off the "Broadway" corridor during docking operations in Juneau, causing minor damage. The fire was quickly contained and cruise operations were unaffected.

In February 2007 Ryndam returned to San Diego (US) from a ten-day tour with 110 sickened from a norovirus outbreak. A CDC report filed later that year listed 40 violations.

On 27 November 2010, an intoxicated passenger released Ryndam's stern anchor while the ship was in international waters en route to Florida (USA). No damage to the ship was reported.

Click to see the MS Ryndam Official Webpage

Vessel Details (3) (4)

Name: Ryndam
Owner: Carnival Corporation & PLC
Operator: Holland America Line (Holland America Line website)
Port of registry: Netherlands, Rotterdam 1996, Bahamas 1994
Builder: Fincantieri, Monfalcone, Italy
Yard number: Monfalcone 5883
Completed: 9 September 1994
Identification Call sign: PHFV
IMO number: 8919269
MMSI no.: 245026000
Status: Operational
Class and type: Statendam-class
Type: Cruise ship
Tonnage: 55,819 GT, 26,118 NT, 7,447 DWT
Length: 220 m (720 ft)
Beam: 32 m (105 ft)
Draught: 7.71 m (25.3 ft)
Depth: 19.13 m (62.8 ft)
Decks: 10
Deck clearance: 11.42 m (37.5 ft)
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h)
Capacity: 1,258 passengers
Crew: 602

The Dover Harbour Board Tugs (6)

Bollard-pull DHB Dauntless tug: Call Sign MZGC8, IMO 9190456, MMSI 232004784.
Bollard-pull DHB Doughty tug: Call Sign MZGA8, IMO 9190468, MMSI 232004783.

More Tug photos.

Originally established in 1606, Dover Harbour Board is responsible for the administration, maintenance and improvement of the harbour at Dover.

It operates right at the heart of the UK's and Continental Europe's cross-Channel transport network, managing and piloting what has become one of today's busiest drive-on, drive-off terminals in the world.

The history and origins of the Port of Dover can be traced right back to Roman times.

Notes and Sources

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) The lighthouse was built in 1909: Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); red light, one 3 second occultation every 30 seconds. 21 m (70 ft) round cast iron tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. See more lighthouse photos.
(3) From MS Ryndam (Wikipedia)
(4) From MS Ryndam (Marinetraffic)
(5) From Holland America Line (Wikipedia)
(6) The official Dover Harbour Board website

The main photo first appeared at:

MS Ryndam Cruise Ship before the Southern Breakwater, Dover Harbour

Other Dover ships belonging to Holland America Line Cruises include:

MS Eurodam just after Sunrise, Eastern Entrance, Dover Harbour

MS Prinsendam Cruise Ship in Fog, Southern Breakwater, Dover

MS Maasdam Cruise Ship after Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover

Click to see all Dover MS Ryndam, Holland America Line Cruise Ships, Cruise Ship, and Tug photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to at the top of the page below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

The Canons Gate and Rokesley Tower, Western Outer Curtain Wall, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:49:00 +0000

The Canons Gateway, located at the southern end of the Western Outer Curtain Wall, is the vehicular entrance to Dover Castle:

(Click this Canons Gate of Dover Castle text link to see the largest size)

Western Outer Curtain Wall

The bridge entrance is accessible from Canons Gate Road, a turning off of Castle Hill Road not far from the Victoria Park junction. The pedestrian entrance to the castle is via Constable's Gateway to the north.

The tower on the left of the Canons Gate entrance is Rokesley's Tower, a D-type mural tower complete with Garderobe (a medieval latrine, or toilet).

Further to the left, Fulbert's Tower lies 80 yards north of Rokesley's Tower; out of view to the right is the Tudor Bulwark.

The photo was taken at 11.40 am on Easter Sunday, 12th of April, 2009.

Abridged excerpt from a Georgian book published in 1828 (1)

The following account refers to the original and now demolished "Canon, or Monk's Gate", once located out-of-shot to the right, and to the "New Entrance" - the Canons Gateway shown in the photo:

Canon, or Monk's Gate: This gate probably took its name from the canons, or secular priests, formerly belonging to the garrison, whose apartments, surmounted with battlements, were over the arched passage. It is uncertain at what period the gates were taken down, and the walls of the gate-way nearly levelled with the ground, on the inside of the curtain. A platform was then made, by filling up the passage with earth, and cannon placed on it.

When alterations were making at this place, in 1797 (see below), the stone frame of the old gates, and the iron hooks on which they hung, were found on the inside of the arch. It is evident there could be no necessity for a bridge in passsing to these gates, which were only a few feet above the basement of the present ditch (moat). After the demolition of this gate, another was made a little farther from the cliff; and the arch of it remained in the curtain until 1797; but the passage had been closed many years.

A souterrain, excavated out of the solid rock, and several feet under the present surface, was discovered, a short time since, in sinking the ground for a new road: but the use for which it was intended, is very uncertain. A well was likewise discovered, about the same time, near Monk's gate.

Within these last fifty years, great alterations have taken place at this part of the wall. A military road (Castle Hill Road and Canons Gate Road) has been constructed, rising with an easy ascent from the town to this point. Here a new entrance (Canons Gate) was constructed, and defended with a draw-bridge, a caponniere (see below) under it, and a tete-du-pont (bridgehead), or an outwork, to annoy an enemy marching up the military road. Several other precautions have been taken, to defend this new entrance.

Abridged excerpt from a Georgian book published in 1814 (2)

Rokesley's Tower: This was a circular tower, built by Albrincis, and it has been called by his name; but the tower, in which he commanded, is on the north-east side of the Castle (see Avranches Tower).

Several of the towers had open fronts, and without the least accommodation for the watchmen, when they were not on duty. This obliged them to build houses, near their stations; and Thomas de Rokesley, of Lenham, had a house belonging to this tower, near the old gate (Canon Gate or Monk Gate, close to the present Canons Gate entrance).

He probably descended from Malerinus de Rokesley, who settled at North Cray, in Kent, in the reign of William the First (William the Conqueror). It was the custom of those, who commanded in the different towers, to have their arms cut in stone, and fixed in the wall, to shew from what family they descended; and it is very probable that they were removed; either at the decease, or at the resignation of the commander, as vey few of them have reached our time.

Heraldry: Thomas de Rokesley's arms were - Argent, a fesse, between three etoiles.

Abridged excerpt from the Pastscape entry for Dover Castle (3)

In a response to the French Revolution of 1789 and subsequent Napoleonic Wars with France a major programme of modifying the castle and its defences took place, between 1794 and 1805, implemented by Lieutenant Colonel (later General) William Twiss of the British Army's Corps of Royal Engineers.

This included instalment of additional gun batteries and four powerful outworks (earthworks): Constable's Bastion to the West and Horseshoe Bastion, Hudson's Bastion, and the detached East Arrow Bastion to the East, some of the latter linked to the castle by underground tunnels.

(A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall or curtain, facilitating active defence against assaulting troops. It allows the defenders of the fort to cover adjacent bastions and curtains with defensive fire.) (4)

The Spur Ravelin

Ashford Flank Caponier covered the Eastern ditch (moat). The Spur was strengthened by a massive redan (the Ravelin, a raised gun platform) and the ditch behind flanked by brick caponiers.

Caponiers were also built at the Constable's Gate and beneath the bridge of the newly formed Canon's Gate at the South-West corner of the outer bailey.

(The term "caponier" refers to a covered passage way that traverses the ditch between the walls of a fortress and a ravelin outside the wall. This was more than simply a passage however as fire from this point could sweep the ditch between the ravelin and the curtain wall and inflict devastating damage on any attempt to storm the wall. Thus the passageway was equipped with musket ports and cannon ports that fired along the ditch.) (5)

Dover Castle Keep

Alterations to the Keep (Great Tower, or Palace Tower) made it bombproof and heavy artillery guns were installed on its roof.

By 1810 the Keep was in use as a gunpowder magazine.

Barracks and a military hospital were also constructed within the castle. However, by 1797 due to severe space limitations excavations were started on underground accommodation. This eventually housed over 2000 soldiers.

These underground excavations were added to over the years and are now known as the "Secret Wartime Tunnels", their most visible entrance being the Cliff Casemates Balcony on the White Cliffs of Dover above East Cliff.

Notes and Sources

(1) "New History Of Dover & Dover Castle During The Roman, Saxon, And Norman Governments" by William Batcheller, 1828.

Full title:

"New History Of Dover & Dover Castle During The Roman, Saxon, And Norman Governments: With A Short Account Of The Cinque Ports, Compiled From Ancient Records, And Continued To The Present Time. To Which Is Added A New Dover Guide, And A Description Of The Villages Near Dover"

The book was printed and published by the author at the King's Arms Library, 1 Snargate Street, Dover.

St Mary's Church

(2) Excerpt from "The History of the Town and Port of Dover and of Dover Castle (With a Short Account of the Cinque Ports)".

Volume I dedicated by the Reverend John Lyon, Minister of St Mary the Virgin of Cannon Street, to John Gunman, Esquire, on May 14th, 1813, and published the same year.

Volume II dedicated to Jonathan Osborn, Edward Thompson, and John Shipdem on April 21st, 1814, and published the same year.

(3) English Heritage Pastscape entry for Dover Castle
(4) From Bastion:

The bastion was designed to offer a full range on which to attack oncoming troops. Previous fortifications were of little use within a certain range. The bastion solved this problem. By using a cannon to cover the curtain side of the wall, the forward cannon could concentrate on oncoming targets.

(5) From Caponier

The main photo first appeared at:

Rokesley Tower and Canons Gate, Western Outer Curtain Wall, Dover Castle

All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle and Castles category labels.

The castle is one of Dover's Grade I Listed Buildings and English Heritage sites.

A Dover British Army, Medieval (Middle Ages), Napoleonic Wars, and History photo.

More Dover Architecture and History photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all Dover Castle-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Dover Castle Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Grand Mistral Cruise Ship at CT1, Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:33:00 +0000

An early morning view of the MS Grand Mistral berthed alongside CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1) of the Admiralty Pier, part of the Western Docks of Dover Harbour:

(Click this MS Grand Mistral Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

The red-bricked structure to the right of the passenger ship is the Cruise Terminal 1 building, previously Dover Marine Railway Station (partial view) and Dover Western Docks Railway Station. Above the CT1 building are the Western Heights with the stern of the vessel obscuring Shakespeare Cliff (part of the White Cliffs of Dover.

The photo was taken on a cycle ride (1) at 6.22 am, Tuesday the 7th of September, 2010, from near the end of the Prince of Wales Pier. The foreground structure on the left-hand side of the photo is the lighthouse (2) with the roof of the Harbour View Cafe at top-right.

The passenger ship is on a Northern European tour. It has just arrived from IJmuiden, (Holland, Netherlands) and left Dover later in the day for Le Harve (France) before ending its journey at Bilbao (Northern Spain).

MS Grand Mistral and Ibero Cruises (3) (4)

The MS Grand Mistral is a cruise ship currently sailing for Ibero Cruceros (Ibero Cruises website) and was formerly owned by Festival Cruise Line (Festival Cruises).

Ibero Cruises (Spanish: Ibero Cruceros) is a British-American and Spanish owned cruise line based in Madrid, Spain. The company was founded in 2007 as a joint subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & PLC and Orizonia Corporation, under the executive control of Costa Cruises Group, Carnival Corporation's European division. The cruise line is aimed at the Spanish and Portuguese speaking market.

Ibero Cruises started operation with three ships: Grand Mistral and Grand Voyager, were provided by Orizonia from its Iberojet fleet, and the third, Grand Celebration, was provided by Carnival Corporation from its Carnival Cruises fleet. A fourth ship, the Grand Holiday, has also been transferred from the Carnival fleet.

An official Ibero Cruzeiros webpage contains a single paragraph stating:

Grand Mistral is an elegant ocean liner, with an ambiance full of charm and good taste. At the same time, the ship is very cozy, a perfect setting for a cruise that the whole family can enjoy during the holidays.

(Portuguese: "Grand Mistral é um transatlântico elegante, com uma ambientação cheia de charme e bom gosto. Ao mesmo tempo, é um navio muito aconchegante, cenário perfeito para um cruzeiro em que a família toda se diverte durante as férias.")

A Grand Mistral video from Ibero Cruzeiros of Brazil:

Vessel Details (3)

Name: 1999-2003: Mistral, 2003 onwards: Grand Mistral
Owner: Iberocruceros
Operator: 1999-2003: Festival Cruise Lines, 2003 onwards: Iberocruceros
Port of registry: France, Mata Utu; Marshall Islands, Majuro; Italy, Genoa; Portugal, Madeira
Builder: Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Completed: 1999
Status: In Active Status as of 2010

General characteristics (3) (5)

Type: Cruise Ship
Tonnage: 48,200 GRT
Length: 216 ft (66 m)
Beam: 28.8 ft (8.8 m)
Decks: 8
Speed: 19.5 knots
Capacity: 1,700 Passengers
Crew: 670
Call Sign: CQNK
IMO: 9172777
MMSI: 255803860

Notes and Sources

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) The Prince of Wales Pier Light is a white conical tower 46 feet high. It was built in 1902 and has a "very quick flashing green" beam.
(3) Wikipedia: Grand Mistral
(4) Wikipedia: Ibero Cruises
(5) Marinetraffic: Grand Mistral

The main photo first appeared at:

MS Grand Mistral Cruise Ship , Cruise Terminal 1, Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour

Also in port this day:

MS Athena Cruise Ship and Tugs in the Western Entrance, Dover Harbour

MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship just after Daybreak, Dover Harbour

To be uploaded:

MS Grand Mistral Cruise Ship, Sunrise before the Storm, Dover Harbour

Click to see all Dover Grand Mistral, Costa Cruises, Ibero Cruises, and Cruise Ship photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to at the top of the page below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship just after Daybreak, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:34:00 +0000

A view of the MS Costa Atlantica reversing towards CT2 (Cruise Terminal 2) on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks, her bow pointing in the direction of the Western Entrance and English Channel beyond:

(Click this MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

This Dover Harbour photo was taken on a cycle ride (1) at 6.05 am on Tuesday, 7th of September, 2010, from the Prince of Wales Pier whose lighthouse can be seen just left of midships (see all lighthouse photos).

The passenger ship is part-way through a 17 Days Copenhagen to New York Transatlantic Cruise which began on September 4th. Itinerary:

Copenhagen (Denmark), Bremerhaven (Germany), Dover (England), Le Havre (France), Sydney (Cape Breton Island, Canada), Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada), Bar Harbor (Maine, USA), Boston (Massachusetts, USA), Newport (Rhode Island, USA), New York (USA).

The MS Costa Atlantica first called at Dover on Wednesday, 19th of May en route from New York to Copenhagen (Denmark). The ship then spent the summer season on a series of 7-night European Cruises calling at:

Hellesylt (Norway; Technical Call), Geiranger (Norway), Flam (Flåm, Norway), Stavanger (Norway), Oslo (Norway), Warnemünde Germany), before returning to Copenhagen.

A Costa Atlantica video with Italian sub-titles:

The MS Costa Atlantica (2) (3)

The MS Costa Atlantica is a Spirit-class cruise ship operated by Costa Cruises. She was built in 2000 by the Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki New Shipyard (also called Hietalahti Shipyard), Helsinki, Finland.

Each passenger deck on the Costa Atlantica is named after a movie by the Italian director Federico Fellini. She is decorated with Carrara marble, Murano-glass accents, and in-laid mosaic tile. She also replicates Venice's Caffe Florian.

General characteristics

Owner: Carnival Corporation & PLC
Class and type: Spirit-class cruise ship
Port of registry: Genoa, Italy
Completed: 2004 (Christened by Paz Vega, a Spanish actress)
Tonnage: 85,619 GT (gross tonnage)
Displacement: 7,500 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Length: 292.56 metres (960 ft)
Beam: 32.20 metres (106 ft)
Draught: 7.80 metres (26 ft)
Installed power: 6 × Wärtsilä 9R46 diesels, combined 63,370 kW
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity: 2,114 passengers (2,680 full occupancy)
Crew: 897
Flag: Italy (IT)
Call Sign: IBLQ
IMO: 9187796
MMSI: 247645000
Launched: 11 November 1999
Acquired: 30 June 2000
In service: 17 July 2000

Click to see the Costa Atlantica webcam, official Costa Atlanica webpage, and official Costa Cruises website

Notes and Sources

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) Wikipedia entry for MS Costa Atlantica
(3) Marine Traffic entry for Costa Atlantica

The main photo first appeared at:

MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship just after Daybreak, Dover Harbour

Also in port this day:

MS Athena Cruise Ship and Tugs in the Western Entrance, Dover Harbour

MS Grand Mistral Cruise Ship, Cruise Terminal 1, Admiralty Pier, Dover

To be uploaded:

MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship berthed at Cruise Terminal 2
MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship leaving Dover Harbour in Fog

Other Dover ships belonging to Costa Cruises include:

MS Costa Magica, Admiralty Pier, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour

Click to see all Dover Costa Atlantica, Costa Cruises, and Cruise Ship photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to at the top of the page below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Old St James Church Ruins and White Horse Inn, St James Street, Dover, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:45:00 +0000

The ruins of 'Old' St James the Apostle Church, Dover, England, showing the west door entrance to the nave:

(Click this Old St James the Apostle Church text link to see the largest size)

This ancient house of religion was destroyed during World War II and is now a memorial to the people of Dover "who suffered between 1939 and 1945" (see below).

The remains of the north wall of the church's square tower are behind and to the right of the doorway.

On the other side of Hubert Passage to the left of the church is The White Horse Inn, ex-The City of Edinburgh public house. An information board once outside the pub stated:

Said to have been erected in the reign of Edward III (1312-1377). In 1365 the premises was occupied by the Verger of St James' Church which stood next door. With the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the house was no longer connected to the Church.

The houses in the background front onto Castle Hill Road that leads up to Dover Castle.

The photo was taken from St James Street. Running along the bottom is Maison Dieu Road to the left of the junction and Woolcomber Street to the right.

Old St James the Apostle Church (1)

St James' Church, known locally as 'the Tidy Ruin' was founded in Saxon times and is probably one of the Dover churches mentioned in the Domesday Book:

Georgian Woodcut Engraving of Old St James Church, Dover

The building was used not only as a church but also by the Barons of the Cinque Ports for several of their official Courts until 1851. The Court of Shepway, the governing body of the Cinque Ports, met here under the Lord Warden, as did, from 1526, the Court of Lodemanage, the body which licensed Cinque Ports Pilots (see next section).

By 1860 a larger church was needed and with the opening of New St James' in 1862 the old church fell into disuse for some years, until it was restored in 1869.

The church was virtually destroyed in the Second World War by German shells fired from France. The large front doors and the original Lord Wardens Bench were taken out and given to Dover Museum where they can still be seen. After the war, in 1948, the ruins of the church were not demolished but kept as a commemorative monument to the people of Dover who, like the church, suffered greatly from the bombs and long-range guns of the 1939-1945 War.

The White Horse Inn next door to the church is said to date back to about 1300, although most of the building visible today dates from the 18th Century.

St James' Street, of which little now remains, ran from the church to the Market Square. It was one of Dover's busiest thoroughfares and the main Stage Coach route until Castle Street was opened up into the Market Square.

The woodcut illustration was designed and engraved by wood engraver, George Wilmot Bonner (1796–1836) of London. The work, made before 1837 and probably after 1828, was commissioned by the Old St James Church congregation. William James Linton (1812 - 1897) was Bonner's apprentice during this period.

The Duke of Wellington and The Court of Lodemanage (2)

Wellington 1814
Wellington 1844
The Bredenstone

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852), was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century. He is often referred to as the "Duke of Wellington", even after his death, when there have been subsequent Dukes of Wellington.

Wellington rose to prominence as a general during the Peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, and was promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading the allied forces to victory against the French at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813.

Following Napoleon's exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom. Also in 1814, Wellington had his portrait painted by the artist Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769 - 1830), later president of the Royal Academy (1820). The sitting was held in Lawrence's home at 65 Russell Square, London.

During the Hundred Days in 1815, Wellington commanded the allied army which, with a Prussian army under Blücher (Blucher), defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

Wellington was twice prime minister under the Tory party and also became Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1829.

In keeping with tradition, the installation ceremony took place at the Bredenstone (3) on the Drop Redoubt of the Western Heights.

Wellington held the post of Lord Warden for the rest of his life and in this role, he presided over the last meeting of the Court of Lodemanage that took place in Old St James Church in 1851.

Wellington died, aged 83, of the after effects of a stroke culminating in a series of epileptic seizures, on 14 September 1852, at Walmer Castle - his honorary residence as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, which he enjoyed and at which he hosted Queen Victoria.

His body was then taken by train to London where he was given a state funeral on the 18th of November, causing "as much of a stir in the mass media of 1852 as did Sir Winston Churchill's in the middle of the twentieth century."

1844 image is a "daguerreotype", an early form of photography invented and developed by Louis Daguerre (1787–1851) together with Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.

An 1814 description of the Court of Lodemanage (4):

The court may be considered as a branch of the admiralty court for the Cinque Ports; and the admiral anciently presided at it; and it was held under his authority, after it was separated from the parent stock. The jurisdiction of the court was at first confined to the regulating of the hire for the piloting of ships; and the wages of the pilots were named the lodemanage, from their managing and guiding the vessel.

The members of this society were called lodesmen, and lootsmen, and leadmen, from the Belgic word loot, which signifies lead; and they were also called pail lootes, or men, who measured the depth of the water, over shoals in the narrow seas, by heaving the lead. They were distinguished by their name, from those who navigated ships in the open ocean; and they acquired their knowledge of bays, and the entrance into harbours, by sounding, and remarking how much water there would be, at any given time, both during the flowing and the ebbing of the tide. They were also capable of conducting ships clear of sand banks, between Dover and the rivers Thames and Medway; and to the ports of Flanders, Holland, and the East country.

The "Remains of St. James's Church" is a Grade II Listed Building (5)

The following is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

Building Details:

Building Name: REMAINS OF ST JAMES'S CHURCH
Parish: DOVER
District: DOVER
County: KENT Postcode:
CT16 1QG

Details:

LBS Number: 177821
Grade: II
Date Listed: 30/06/1949
Date Delisted: NGR: TR3226141553

Listing Text:

In the entry for:-

TR 3241 WOOLCOMBER STREET (East side)
1/15 Remains of St James's Church
GV 30.6.49 II

the address shall be amended to read: CASTLE HILL ROAD

1/15 Remains of St James's Church
GV 30.6.49 II
WOOLCOMBER STREET l. (East Side) 1050 Remains of St James's Church TR 3241 1/15 30.6.49.
II GV

2. Originally a Norman building but restored in tile C19 (C19 = 19th Century). There is a Norman zigzag arch (6) and the side elevation, built of flints, has a blocked entrance filled with Norman fragments (the "Devil's Door"). The rest of the church is of Caen stone, with stone quoins.

There is a C14 addition on the South side of the Nave which was used until 1851 as a Court house for the Chancery and Admiralty Courts of the Cinque Ports, and for the Court of Lodemanage. The last Court of Lodemanage was held by the Duke of Wellington here in 1851. The seat and bench used by the Duke of Wellington and the Barons of the Cinque Ports have been transferred to St Mary's Church (St Mary the Virgin).

This building was not used as a church since the middle of the C19 when the garrison Church in the Castle (St Mary-in-Castro) was restored. The building was very badly damaged by shelling from the French coast during the last war. AM.

Remains of St James Church and White Horse Inn form a group.

Listing NGR: TR3226141553

Source: English Heritage.

The "White Horse Inn" is a Grade II Listed Building (5)

The following is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

Building Details:

Building Name: WHITE HORSE INN
Parish: DOVER
District: DOVER
County: KENT
Postcode:

Details:

LBS Number: 177822
Grade: II
Date Listed: 17/12/1973
Date Delisted: NGR:
TR3225041565

Listing Text:

WOOLCOMBER STREET 1. (East Side) 1050 White Horse Inn TR 3241 1/157
II GV

2. Late C18 (C18 = 18th Century) to early C19. 2 storeys, the front elevation stuccoed. Tiled roof with 2 hipped dormers. Stone coping. 3 sashes with verticals only, I a triple sash. C19 right side bar front. Central doorcase with fanlight. Plinth. Side elevation of brick which has an extension of 2 storeys roughcast.

White Horse Inn and Remains of St. James's Church form a group.

Listing NGR: TR3225041565

Source: English Heritage.

(1) Source: information board inside the ruins (abridged)
(2) From Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
(3) The Bredenstone, or "Devil's Drop of Mortar", is part of the remains of the West Roman Pharos, a lighthouse or watchtower. The East Pharos still stands on Harold's Earthwork in the grounds of Dover Castle (see St Mary-in-Castro thumbnail below).

St Mary's Church

(4) Excerpt from "The History of the Town and Port of Dover and of Dover Castle (With a Short Account of the Cinque Ports)".

Volume I dedicated by the Reverend John Lyon, Minister of St Mary the Virgin of Cannon Street, to John Gunman, Esquire, on May 14th, 1813, and published the same year.

Volume II dedicated to Jonathan Osborn, Edward Thompson, and John Shipdem on April 21st, 1814, and published the same year.

(5) Grade II: buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".
(6) The arch is Norman but photographs confirm the zig-zag engraving was added during the 1869 restoration (a Victorian embellishment).

The main photo first appeared at:

Old St James Church and the White Horse Inn, St James Street, Dover

Other Dover Memorial images include:

At the Going Down of the Sun..., Dunkirk War Memorial on Dover Seafront

Other Dover Church images include:

The Saxon Church of St Mary-in-Castro and Roman Pharos, Dover Castle
Dover Unitarian Church Listed Building at Sunrise, Adrian Street, Dover

See all Dover Architecture, Listed Building, and Urban photos.

A History and World War II photo.

Clickable thumbnails of all church- and urban-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at Church and Cemetery Page and Urban Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Unitarian Church Listed Building at Sunrise, Adrian Street, Dover, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:29:00 +0000

A post-sunrise view of the octagonal Georgian (1) Unitarian Church on Adrian Street seen from the A256 York Street central reservation at 6.53 am on Monday, 29th of August, 2011 (2):

(Click this Unitarian Church text link to see the largest size)

The A256 dual carraigeway runs between York Street roundabout to the left, and the Folkestone Road roundabout (fronted on the east by the Dovorian Restaurant and the Golden Lion pub) to the right. Ye Olde Bicycle in the bottom right-hand corner is mine!

Behind the church on the left are part of the Western Heights hills (below the Drop Redoubt and above Cowgate Cemetery).

Abridged from the Dover Unitarian Church website (3)

The Unitarian & Free Christian Church in Dover has been Unitarian since 1828. Freedom of belief and the form of worship was unanimously agreed by the membership in 1916 and this liberal tradition is upheld today.

We meet as a group of friends seeking truth, freedom and tolerance in rational worship and fellowship on the first and third Sunday of every month at 3pm.

Dover Castle Keep

The Church was founded in 1643 by a dissenting group who refused to subscribe to unreasonable beliefs. They were persecuted and some were imprisoned in Dover Castle.

In the early 1800's these 'General Baptists' became Unitarian (asserting the Oneness of God). They questioned belief in a Trinity and considered the religion of Jesus (Love God and your neighbour) more important than a religion about Jesus. They rejected Original Sin, the Virgin Birth, and the condemnation of non-believers.

The first Sunday school in the town of Dover opened at this church in 1803. The present Chapel, built in 1820, is a grade II Listed building and participates each year in Heritage Open Days.

Abridged from The Unitarian Heritage (4)

Dover Unitarian Church, Adrian Street. Kent. 1819. One of the oldest General Baptist foundations (1643); Captain Taverner of Oliver Cromwell's Roundhead army was a founder-member. Second chapel built 1745, enlarged 1793. Recent chapel built to house large following of Benjamin Martin (Benjamin Marten?), disciple of Universalist Williarn Vidler.

Yellow brick, octagonal. Two matching venetian windows on opposite sides wlth pediments over; slate roof, formerly with bellcote. Plain arched wlndows of good proportions. Interior: original plain box-pews; pulpit moved to one side when semi-circular organ chamber added late 19th century. Rear curving gallery supported on four iron pillars. Architect Thomas Read. Meeting hall of 1971, built as compensation for road encroachment (Unitarian Church Hall). Small garden.

Abridged from A new history of Dover (1828) (5)

The foundation stone of a new and elegant chapel, designed by Mr. Thomas Read, was laid, on the 15th of February, 1819, by Mr. Sampson Kingsford, elder of the Baptists' church at Canterbury.

Woodcut Engraving of Dover Unitarian General Baptists Chapel*

This chapel, which is situated above the Fivepost Lane, leading from Snargate Street, was opened for public worship on the 2nd of May, 1820. Several vaults, with entrances from the adjoining cemetery, were constructed in the basement.

Mr. Benjamin Marten's long and zealous ministry was drawing to a close; and only three years were allowed him to officiate in this new structure.

Mr. George C. Pound, after officiating as a minister of this society fourteen years, was chosen pastor on the demise of Mr. Marten; and is assisted in his charge, by Mr. John Marten, son of the late pastor. The present deacons are Messrs. John Igglesden, John Marsh, John Tilly, and William Kingsford, esq.

Of late years, most of the members appear to have embraced the Unitarian doctrine; but we are informed that this does not affect the denomination, as General Baptists. Their Sunday school consists, at present, of about 120 children.

*The woodcut illustration was designed and engraved by wood engraver, George Wilmot Bonner (1796–1836) of London. It was made before 1837 and probably after 1828, thereby missing the first edition of A new history of Dover; William James Linton (1812 - 1897) was Bonner's apprentice during this period. The work was commissioned by the Unitarian Church congregation.

World War I

A Dover Memorial marble tablet was unveiled by the Reverend C. A. Ginever (an ex-Minister of the Unitarian Church) on the 3rd of April, 1920, following a service led by the Reverend John Yeoman (an ex-Chaplain to the Forces). The service commemorated four members of the church's congregation who had died of wounds received during the First World War (6) (7).

The inscription reads (7):

In Proud and Loving Memory of

Albert Edward Amos, RGA. Fell in action at Bray, Somme, 13 October 1916, age 22

Arthur Robert Igglesden. Fell in Action Vimy Ridge, France, 10 April 1917, age 25

John William Blatchford, MGC. Fell in action St Quentin, France, 22 September 1918, age 25

Owen Chitty, 3rd City of London Yeomanry. Invalided from the army and died from heart disease 24 August 1919, aged 43

The above members of this congregation volunteered for service 1914-1918 and died for their country

Greater service can no man render

A Kent Fallen (kentfallen.com) document states (6):

AMOS, ALBERT EDWARD. Gunner, 52863. 25th Siege Battery. Royal Garrison Artillery. Died at Bray-sur-Somme, France on 14 October 1916. Aged 22. Born Peckham, Surrey. Enlisted Dover, Kent. Resided River, Dover, Kent. Buried Grove Town Cemetery. Meaulte, Somme, France. Grave Ref: I. L. 45.

IGGLESDEN, ARTHUR ROBERT. Lance Corporal, 435252. 50th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment). Died at Vimy Ridge, Neuville-St-Vaast, Pas de Calais, France, 10 April 1917. Aged 26. Born Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 13 November 1891. Enlisted Calgary, Alberta, Canada 31 May 1915. Son of Robert W. Igglesden, and Mary E. Igglesden of "The Beacon," Chilton Avenue, Kearsney, Dover, Kent. Buried Canadian Cemetery No 2, Vimy Ridge, Neuville-St-Vaast, Pas de Calais, France. Grave Ref: 2. C. 21.

BLATCHFORD, JOHN WILLIAM. Private, 56192. 74th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). Died 22 September 1918. Aged 25. Enlisted Herne Bay, Kent. Son of James and Ann Eliza Blatchford of 7, Maison Dieu Place, High Street, Dover, Kent. Buried Ronssoy Communal Cemetery, Somme, France. Grave Ref: B. 11. Formerly Trooper, 2170, Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles.

The above are commemorated on the Dover Civic War Memorial.

CHITTY, OWEN. 3/1st City of London Yeomanry. Died 24 August 1919. Aged 43. Owen was invalided out of the army and died from heart disease. He is regrettably not commemorated on Dover, Kent civic war memorial. Of even more concern it would appear that he was not commemorated by the then Imperial War Graves Commission (now Commonwealth War Graves Commission), despite dying well before 31 August 1921, it being the official cut-off date for Great War related deaths.

The source further states:

As Owens' regimental details are not strictly correct it seemed prudent to point out same should family members or other interest parties view his commemoration here." (more)

The Dover Unitarian Church is a Grade II Listed Building group (8)

The following extracts are © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

List Entry Summary

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Name: UNITARIAN CHURCH AND VESTRY ADJOINING

List Entry Number: 1343832

Location

UNITARIAN CHURCH AND VESTRY ADJOINING, ADRIAN STREET

The building may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
County: Kent
District: Dover
District Type: District Authority
Parish: Dover
National Park: Not applicable to this List entry.
Grade: II
Date first listed: 17th of December, 1973
Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.

Legacy System Information

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System: LBS
UID: 177719

Asset Groupings

This List entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.

List Entry Description

Summary of Building

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Reasons for Designation

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

History

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Details

ADRIAN STREET 1. 1050 Unitarian Church and Vestry adjoining TR 3141 2/29
II

Dated 1819. Architect Thomas Read. An irregular octagon in shape. 2 storeys yellow brick with 4 brick pilasters, Slate roof and wide bracket cornice. The front elevation has a pediment set in brick arcading with a round window in its tympanum, 1 large Venetian window under tile pediment and the other windows are round-headed sashes. Single round-headed doorcase approached up a flight of steps having a cast iron handrail. Adjoining to the north side is a building of 2 storeys and 1 window which contains the Vestry.

Listing NGR: TR3189241281

Selected Sources

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

National Grid Reference: TR 31892 41281

Unitarianism (9)

Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being.

For most of its history, Unitarianism has been known for the rejection of several orthodox Protestant doctrines besides the Trinity, including the soteriological doctrines of original sin and predestination, and, in more recent times, biblical inerrancy. In J. Gordon Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions it is classified among "the 'liberal' family of churches".

The first Unitarians, although not called Unitarians initially, were found in Poland and Transylvania from the 1540s onwards, though many of them were Italians. In England the first Unitarian Church was established in 1774 on Essex Street, London, where today's British Unitarian headquarters are still located (Essex Hall). The first official acceptance of the Unitarian faith on the part of a congregation in America was by King's Chapel in Boston, from where James Freeman began teaching Unitarian doctrine in 1784, and was appointed rector and revised the Prayer Book according to Unitarian doctrines in 1786.

References

(1) From the wikipedia entry for Georgian architecture:

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover - George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom, and George IV of the United Kingdom - who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830.

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) Cycle route begins at Robsons Yard Flats in the Tower Hamlets area of Dover, then: Athol Terrace (Eastern Docks) - Seafront Promenade - Prince of Wales Pier (Western Docks) - Robsons Yard.

This is where I do my Evolution and Psychology research! (archive)

(3) Dover Unitarian Church website
(4) The Unitarian Heritage: An Architectural Survey (1986)
(5) A new history of Dover. To which is added A new Dover guide, by William Batcheller (first published 1828)
(6) Dover, the Unitarian Church
(7) The Unitarian Church, Adrian Street, War Memorial
(8) Source: English Heritage. Designation: Grade II: buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest". Click to see photos of all Dover English Heritage sites.
(9) Wikipedia entry for Unitarianism

The main photo was originally uploaded to:

Dover Unitarian Church Listed Building at Sunrise, Adrian Street, Dover, Kent, UK

Other Dover Church images include:

Old St James Church and the White Horse Inn, St James Street, Dover
Victorian Chancel of St. Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Dover

See all Dover Architecture, Listed Building, and Urban photos.

A British Army, History, and World War I photo.

More Sunrise views.

Clickable thumbnails of all church- and urban-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at Church and Cemetery Page and Urban Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MV Minerva Cruise Ship passing in front of Dover Castle, Inner Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:26:00 +0000

The MV Minerva photographed from the Turret on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks at 4.02 pm on Wednesday, 28th July, 2010:

(Click this MS Minerva cruise ship text link to see the largest size)

MS Minerva & Castle (1)

The MS Minerva had previously been berthed at Cruise Terminal 1 on the Admiralty Pier (out-of-shot to the left). The passenger ship has completed the 180 degree turn shown half-a-minute earlier in the MS Minerva & Dover Castle (1) photo and is now heading for the Western Entrance of Dover Harbour and the English Channel beyond.

The Minerva had arrived from Copenhagen (Denmark) earlier in the day at the end of a 15-night, "Treasures of the Baltic" cruise and is leaving port at the start of a 15-night, "Sagas of Fire & Ice" cruise.

Itinerary (schedule): Kirkwall (Orkney Islands, Scotland), Lerwick (Shetland Islands, Scotland), Helmaey (Vestmannaeyjar Islands, Iceland), Reykjavik (Iceland), Grundarfjordur (Grundarfjörður, Iceland), Isafjordur (Ísafjörður, Iceland), Akureyri (Iceland), Thorshavn (Torshavn, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, Denmark), and Edinburgh (Scotland).

A video from Swan Hellenic featuring the MV Minerva:

MV Minerva (1)

The first Minerva is a cruise ship built in 1989, and originally intended as a Soviet research vessel, the Okean. The deal to purchase her fell through and she was purchased by Swan Hellenic (at the time a subsidiary of P and O Cruises) in 1996, and renamed Minerva. She is 436 feet long, has a beam of 65.6 feet and measures 12,500 gross tons.

The ship sailed with Swan Hellenic until her lease ran out in 2003. She briefly sailed with Saga Cruises as the Saga Pearl, and was then chartered to Abercrombie and Kent as the Explorer II, making voyages to Antarctica and South America from December to April with up to 198 passengers. From May to November, she sailed for the German-owned travel company Phoenix Reisen as the Alexander von Humboldt.

In July 2007 it was announced that the ship has been acquired by the re-launched Swan Hellenic line and the name reverted to Minerva.

Vessel details (1) (2):

Name: MS Minerva
Operator: Swan Hellenic Cruises
Port of registry: The Bahamas
In service: April 29, 1996
Status: In service
Tonnage: 12,500 GT
Length: 436 ft (133 m)
Beam: 66.5 ft (20.3 m)
Draught: 18.9 ft (5.8 m)
Decks: 6 (passenger decks)
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Stabilisers: retractable fin
Capacity: 350 passengers
Crew: 160 (mainly Filipino and Ukrainian)
Officers: British and European
Call Sign: SMGH
IMO: 9144196
MMSI: 309477000
Official MV Minerva webpage.
Official Swan Hellenic Cruises website

Elsewhere in the photo (1)

The area between the Admiralty Pier and the Prince of Wales Pier (behind and to the right of the ship) is called the Inner Harbour (ex-Commercial Harbour). Above the Prince of Wales Pier, the Outer Harbour (ex-Admiralty Harbour) extends as far as the out-of-shot Eastern Arm.

Dominating the skyline on the right of the photo is the Norman 12th Century Keep, or Great Tower, of Dover Castle.

Dover Castle Keep
Church and Pharos
Waterloo Crescent

The Keep, or Palace Tower, is 83 feet (25.3m) high and just under 100 feet (30m) square with walls up to 21 feet (6.5m) thick. The architect was 'Maurice the Engineer' (or Mason) and it was built between 1180-1185.

Below the Keep are the massive walls of the Inner Bailey (or Inner Curtain Wall), followed by Constable's Gateway and other Towers of the Western Outer Curtain Wall.

On the right of the skyline are the AD 46 East Roman Pharos (a lighthouse or watchtower) and adjacent church of St Mary-in-Castro, commonly termed Saxon but also attributed to the second-century King Lucius of Britain who ruled under the Romans. The West Roman Pharos is known as the Bredenstone.

Castle, Church, and Pharos are Dover Listed Buildings and Dover English Heritage sites.

The white building behind the Minerva on the left is part of the Victorian/Georgian Waterloo Crescent on Marine Parade.

The main part of Waterloo Crescent is perhaps best known for once being the "White Cliffs Hotel" (named, of course, after the White Cliffs of Dover). It then became the "Churchill Hotel" until the beginning of 2010. The hotel is now the "Dover Marina Hotel and Spa" and opened as such in early 2011.

Waterloo Crescent is also a Listed Building.

Also see the Dover Castle and the Beach from the Prince of Wales Pier photo (not yet uploaded).

(1) Wikipedia entry for MV Minerva
(2) Marinetraffic entry for MV Minerva

The main photo first appeared at:

MV Minerva Cruise Ship passing in front of Dover Castle, Inner Harbour

To be uploaded:

MV Minerva Cruise Ship at CT1, Admiralty Pier, Western Docks, Dover Harbour
MV Minerva Cruise Ship at CT3, Admiralty Pier, Western Docks, Dover Harbour
MV Minerva approaching CT 3, Admiralty Pier, Western Docks, Dover Harbour

Click to see all Dover MV Minerva, Swan Hellenic Cruises, and Cruise Ship photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

Also see the Dover Castle Page.

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Saxon Church and Roman Pharos on Harold's Earthwork, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:46:00 +0000

The East Roman Pharos (on the right: a lighthouse and watchtower) and Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro sit in a shallow depression on top of a huge horseshoe-shaped mound called "Harold's Earthwork":

(Click this St Mary-in-Castro and Pharos text link to see the largest size)

The rampart is rimmed by a the ruins of a low parapet wall, visible either side of the buildings, that was once connected to the composite Norman and Saxon Colton Gate (behind the viewer; alt. Colton Gateway, Colton Tower).

Harold's Earthwork was raised by Henry III (Henry of Winchester, Plantagenet) and lies south of Henry II's Keep, or "Great Tower", out-of-shot to the left (1).

The photo was taken at 5.31 pm on Sunday, 26th of June, 2011.

Click to see all photos of the Pharos and St Mary-in-Castro; also see all Dover Lighthouse and Church photos.

Dover Castle is a Grade I Dover Listed Building and Dover English Heritage site; the Pharos and St Mary-in-Castro have separate Grade I listings.

The following notes are divided into three sections - Pharos and Church, Pharos, Church:

The Roman Watchtower and Saxon Church on Harold's Earthwork

Left-of-centre in the photo is St Mary-in-Castro's north door (2):

Before and during the Middle Ages (5th century to the 15th century), the north face of a church was considered to belong to the Devil and to people considered heathen.

Churches were invariably built to the north of roads and tracks, to ensure their main entrance was on the south side. It was also common for them to be built on the site of former pagan or other pre-Christian places of worship. Such places were still considered sacred by their former worshippers, who would often continue to visit them.

A doorway would often be inserted in the "heathen" north side of the church to allow them to enter and worship on the site. Because of the association of that side with the Devil, the name "Devil's door" became established.

See The Devil Door of Old St James the Apostle Church, Hubert Passage, Dover (NYA).

Excerpt from the 1863 Victorian book, "Chambers's handy guide to the Kent and Sussex coast" (3):

Quite early in the Christian era, some kind of castle or defence-work was built here by the Romans; together with a Pharos or watch-tower. About the year 200, a Christian church and other works were built by the Romano-Britons. The Saxon kings, after the departure of the Romans, greatly extended the castle, excavated fosses or ditches, and constructed parapets, walls, towers, and gates. Next came the Normans, who added further to the castle.

Whoever, therefore, stands on this bold hill (averaging about 350 feet high), and looks around him, will see the vestiges of four Dover castles, one within another: namely, Roman, the smallest of all (about 400 feet by 140); Romano-British, a little larger; Saxon, larger still; and Norman, largest of all.

The Pharos has an interior 14 feet square, and an octagonal exterior; the walls, 10 feet thick, consist of layers of Roman tiles and conglomerate cement; about 40 feet of the height still remains.

The Church, called St Mary in Castro, close to the Pharos, had a nave 72 feet by 27; a choir, 22 feet by 18; a transept, 72 feet by 20; and a central tower 28 feet square. Since the year 1860, the portions still remaining of this very ancient building have been adapted for a garrison church to accommodate 600 men.

A Georgian engraving of the St Mary-in-Castro and Pharos ruins:

The accompanying 1830s text (author unknown) says many antiquaries were of the opinion that St Mary-in-Castro was founded by Lucius, a British prince who possessed the eastern parts of Kent under the Romans in the second century AD.

The text also states the church was subsequently re-consecrated and dedicated by St Augustine of Canterbury to the Virgin Mary, that religous services ceased in 1690 (owing to the state of dilapidation), and that the illustration is accurate in the degree of ruin portrayed.

East Roman Pharos

Aulus Plautius led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD and became the first governor of the new province serving from 43 to 47 AD.

Abridged Pastscape entry (4):

This stand-alone tower is a Roman lighthouse, one of a pair constructed during the reign of Emperor Claudius in AD 46 on the headland flanking either side of the major Roman port of Dubris. It is one of only three in the world to survive.

The lighthouse survives within Dover Castle and comprises an octagonal stepped tower approximately 19 metres and four storeys high. The fourth storey was reconstructed between 1415 and 1437 when the lighthouse had been adapted for use as a belfry to the church of St Mary-Sub-Castro (St Mary-in-Castro).

The original design of the top of the lighthouse has been destroyed by these alterations, making its functionality unclear. It is thought that both lighthouses were used during fine weather as sea-marks in guiding vessels into the harbour. At night this role would have augmented by fire-lit braziers situated at the top of the lighthouse. The lighthouse may have also been used as a smoke beacon during certain weather and visibility conditions. Another possible role is as a signal tower.

Medieval and later alterations within the immediate locality of the lighthouse have removed any possible evidence of structures associated with the running of the lighthouse. Changes to the lighthouse took place in 1582 when it was converted into a gunpowder magazine.

To the left of the left-hand window near the top of the Pharos is a small square light-coloured stone. In 1814, John Lyon said (5):

This ancient structure was repaired, and the greatest part of it cased with flint, in the year 1259, when Richard de Grey, of Codnore, was Constable of Dover Castle; and his coat of arms, cut in a small square stone, were placed on the north side of the tower, and are still remaining there. A barry of six, argent, and azure (6).

A replica remnant of the West Roman Pharos, known as the Bredenstone, is located in the Napoleonic and Victorian Drop Redoubt on the Western Heights:

The Bredenstone, or Bredon-stone

Also known as the Devil's Drop of Mortar and Julius Caesar's Altar.

Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports used to be invested here.

In an 1899 book by Samuel Statham, the then "Rector of St Mary-in-the-Castle", it says (7):

In the days of Edward I and as late as Elizabeth I the (East Roman) Pharos is spoken of as the Tower of Julius Caesar. In the reign of Henry III, if not earlier, it was converted into a bell tower for the church, and the date given by Lyon (1259) for the flint casing is therefore probably right.

So the East (Castle) Pharos was known as "Caesar's Tower" and the West (Bredenstone) Pharos as "Caesar's Altar".

For more historical background, see the caption to The 1st Century East Roman Pharos, Dover Castle photo (NYA).

The following is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

Building Details:

Building Name: THE ROMAN PHAROS
Parish: DOVER
District: DOVER
County: KENT
Postcode:

Details:

LBS Number: 177825
Grade: I
Date Listed: 07/03/1974
Date Delisted:
NGR: TR3260441815

Listing Text:

1. 1050 DOVER CASTLE The Roman Pharos TR 3241 1/48
I
2. AD 46. Built under the Emperor Claudius. This guided the Roman fleet round to the port of Richborough. In mediaeval (medieval) times it was used as a belfry to the Church of St Mary Sub-Castro. 4 storeys, 3 being Roman and the top storey and remains of battlements mediaeval. An octagonal tower with originally vertical stepped walls rising in tiers set back each within the last, now almost smoothed. Rubble with a facing of green sandstone and tufa and levelled at an interval of 7 courses with a double course of brick set in hard pink mortar. Round-headed windows with a small recessed spy-hole inside them.

Listing NGR: TR3260541815

Source: English Heritage.

Grade I: buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important".

St Mary-in-Castro

Abridged Pastscape entry (8):

Late Saxon Church situated within the defences of Dover Castle. A minster was founded at St Mary-in-Castro by 640 AD but in 696 was transferred to St Martin's Church (St Martin-le-Grand) in the town. The church is thought to have been built before 1020 and reuses Roman building material within its fabric and at some point used the Roman lighthouse as its belfry.

The church was extensively repaired in 1582 but was in little use from the end of the 16th century. By 1724 its bells had been removed and the building was in ruins. It was used as a Fives Court in the early 1790s and a garrison coal store during the Napoleonic Wars with France (1793-1815).

During the modernising of the castle in mid 19th century the church was restored. This was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1862. An additional restoration was undertaken by William Butterfield in 1888.

Alternative names for this ex-British Army Garrison Church: Church of St Mary, St Mary-sub-Castro, St Mary de Castro, King Lucius Church.

Abridged extract from a magazine published in September, 1773 (9):

In the year 180 AD, King Lucius, being converted by Pope Eleutherius (Eleutheros, or Eleuterus), built here a church, wherein were afterwards placed by Eadbald, son of Ethelbert (Aethelbert), twenty-four secular Canons, who remained here 105 years; but at length, in the year 696, Withred King of Kent, thinking Dover Castle in danger from these Canons, who went in and out at all hours, and had frequent disputes with the Officers of the garrison, removed them to the church of St Martin, in the town of Dover.

The following is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

Building Details:

Building Name: CHURCH OF ST MARY SUB-CASTRO
Parish: DOVER
District: DOVER
County: KENT
Postcode:

Details:

LBS Number: 177826
Grade: I
Date Listed: 07/03/1974
Date Delisted: NGR:
TR3262941823

Listing Text:

DOVER
685/1/49 DOVER CASTLE 07-MAR-74 CHURCH OF ST MARY SUB-CASTRO
GV I
The latest possible date for the foundation of the church is c. 1020 AD. The exterior is of 2 storeys flint with some reused Roman brick window dressings and some modern ashlar dressings. Modern tiled roof and restored tower. The Church was roofless and used as a coalstore in the C18 (18th Century) but was restored for use as a garrison church to the Castle by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1862. The interior contains a Chancel arch of Roman brick, a blocked Saxon doorway and the site of a Military or soldiers altar of A.D. 1225. There is a Victorian wooden roof and stained glass windows. Mosaics by Butterfield 1888 (William Butterfield).

Listing NGR: TR3263241823

Source: English Heritage.

Grade I: buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important".

Notes and Sources

Royal Palace King's Hall

(1) Photos of a recreated 12th Century medieval Royal Court in the Keep (once Palace Tower) begin with The Throne of Henry II in the Great Hall.

(2) Wikipedia entry for Devil's Door
(3) "Chambers's handy guide to the Kent and Sussex coast", by George Dodd (1863)
(4) English Heritage Pastscape entry for Roman Pharos

(5) Excerpt from "The History of the Town and Port of Dover and of Dover Castle (With a Short Account of the Cinque Ports)".

Volume I dedicated by the Reverend John Lyon, Minister of St Mary the Virgin of Cannon Street, to John Gunman, Esquire, on May 14th, 1813, and published the same year.

Volume II dedicated to Jonathan Osborn, Edward Thompson, and John Shipdem on April 21st, 1814, and published the same year.

(6) Heraldry: When the field of a coat of arms is patterned with an even number of horizontal (fesswise) stripes, this is described as barry. The colours: Argent is silver/white/blank and azure is blue. Also see Coat of Arms
(7) "The History of the Castle, Town and Port of Dover" by Reverend Samuel Percy Hammond Statham, Rector of St Mary-in-the-Castle (Longmans, Green, and Co., 1899)
(8) English Heritage Pastscape entry for St Mary-in-Castro
(9) The Universal magazine, Volumes 52-53: "Antiquities of Dover Castle" (September, 1773). Published for J. Hinton.

The main photo originally appeared at:

Saxon Church and Roman Pharos on Harold's Earthwork, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

To be uploaded:

The Field of Fire of Bell Battery at Sunrise, Dover Castle
Roman Pharos and Saxon Church from the Norman Keep of Dover Castle
Roman Pharos, Saxon Church, and Victorian Garrison School, Dover Castle

Other Dover Church images include:

Victorian Chancel of St. Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Dover
Old St James Church and the White Horse Inn, St James Street, Dover

More Dover Architecture and History photos.

A Dover and Henry III history photo.

Clickable thumbnails of all castle- and church-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at Dover Castle Page and Church and Cemetery Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Saga Pearl II Cruise Ship and DHB Dauntless Tug, Western Docks, Dover, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 18:53:00 +0000

An early morning view of the MS Saga Pearl II in the last minutes of berthing alongside Cruise Terminal (CT3) of the Admiralty Pier in the Western Docks of Dover Harbour:

(Click this MS Saga Pearl II Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

The photo was taken on a cycle ride (1) at 6.57 am on Saturday, 29th of May, 2010, from near the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier (western side).

The lighthouse in the photo is the Admiralty Pier Light. It was built in 1908, has a cast iron tower 72 feet high, and flashes a white light every 7.5 seconds when operational (see all lighthouse photos).

On the left is the Dover Harbour Board tug, DHB Dauntless. Behind the tug is the Western Entrance. On the far side of the English Channel the cliffs of France can be seen as a hazy line on the horizon.

The Saga Pearl II had to berth at CT3 (the furthest from shore) because CT1 and CT2 were already occupied by the MS Braemar and the MS Eurodam cruise ships, respectively. A busy day in the Port of Dover!

The MS Saga Pearl II is shown returning from a round-trip 15-night "Gems of the Baltic" cruise that had began in Dover on Friday, 14th of May, 2010.

Itinerary: Copenhagen (Denmark, via the Kiel Canal), Travemünde (Travemunde, Germany), Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), St. Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), Visby (Sweden), Klaipeda (Lithuania), Glydnia (Poland), Rønne (Ronne, Denmark), and then back to Dover.

The Saga Pearl II left port again later in the evening. The following day (May 30th) Captain David Warden-Owen recorded the following (abridged) (2):

Dover's Dunkirk Memorial
Dover Castle Keep
Yesterday we began this very special cruise called "Remembering Dunkirk" – a week of experiences that, I am sure, will be both fascinating and emotive. Having said farewell to our guests that had joined us for our superb Baltic cruise, the ship's company had just three hours to make the Saga Pearl II ship-shape before we began embarking our ‘new’ guests. It never fails to impress me how the crew ‘click’ into action.

We were to sail from Dover and our tours began even before we left. Needless to say, the White Cliffs of Dover go hand in hand with memories of World War II, and so we had decided to take our guests on a late afternoon tour of the Secret Wartime Tunnels beneath Dover Castle.

At 5.30pm coaches were waiting at the quayside and the tours began a staggered departure from the ship and everyone without exception returned to us two hours later full of compliments on how fascinating the experience had been.

Following dinner, all of our passengers were invited to the Discovery Lounge for a presentation by Major General Stephen Carr-Smith on Dunkirk and the landings, Stephen is a most excellent speaker and the Lounge was filled to capacity for his compelling presentation.

(November 5th, 2011: the captain of the MS Saga Pearl II is now Captain Alistair McLundie.)

After Dunkirk, the ship subsequently called at: Rotterdam (Netherlands/Holland), Terneuzen (Netherlands/Holland), Gent (Ghent, Belgium), Terneuzen (Netherlands/Holland), Cherbourg (France), Guernsey (Channel Islands), Dover (5th of June; no photo taken), Guernsey (Channel Islands), and Cork (Eire/Ireland).

An official video of the MS Saga Pearl II:

MS Saga Pearl II (3)

This passenger ship was previously known as the Astoria and has been operating for more than 28 years, making cruises world wide. The Astoria had a sister-ship (MS Astor) and both were operated by Transocean Tours until August, 2009, when Saga Cruises PLC made a successful bid for the Astoria at auction.

In late 2009, the ship sailed to Swansea, Wales where she underwent a £20 million three-month refit in the re-opened Swansea dry dock. She sailed on her first cruise as Saga Pearl II on 15th March 2010 to the Norwegian Fjords.

Ship's details (3) (4)

Previous Name: Astoria
Operator: 1981-2009: Transocean Tours, 2010-present: Saga Shipping Company
Launched: 1981
Builder: Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH
Status: Currently in service
Call sign: C6SI2
IMO Number: 8000214
MMSI: 311348000
Flag: Nassau (Bahamas)
Class and type: cruise ship
Tonnage: 18,591gross tons
Length: 164.30 meters
Beam: 22.60 meters
Propulsion: Sulzer-Wartsila 15,400 kW
Speed: 21.4 knots (maximum), 20.3 knots (cruising)
Capacity: 602 passengers (maximum), 512 passengers (normal)
Crew: 220 crew

Click to see the official Saga Cruises website and official MS Saga Pearl II webpage.

Tug Details

DHB Dauntless bollard-pull tug: Call Sign MZGC8, IMO 9190456, MMSI 232004784

Notes and Sources

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) Captain's blog entry for May 30, 2010 (11.22 pm).
(3) Wikipedia entry for Saga Pearl II (alt. Saga Pearl 2)
(4) Marine Traffic entry for MS Saga Pearl II

The main photo was originally uploaded to:

MS Saga Pearl II Cruise Ship and DHB Dauntless Tug, Western Docks, Dover

Other Dover Saga Cruises photos include:

MV Spirit of Adventure at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and Neptune Catamaran, Western Docks, Dover
MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and a God of the Night, Dover Harbour

Click to see all Saga Pearl II and Cruise Ship photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and Neptune Catamaran, Western Docks, Dover, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:28:00 +0000

A post-sunrise view of the MS Saga Ruby berthed at CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1) on the Admiralty Pier of Dover Harbour's Western Docks:

(Click this MS Saga Ruby cruise ship text link to see the largest size)

Usually the cruise ships reverse into position so that their bows point towards the Western Entrance and English Channel (to the left).

However, like the MS Saga Pearl II, the MS Saga Ruby is small enough to turn around in the Inner Harbour with room to spare when the times comes to leave.

This Dover Harbour photo was taken on a cycle ride (1) at 6.07 am on Tuesday, 24th of August 2010, from a point between the central Porthole Shelters (to the right) and the lighthouse (to the left) on the Prince of Wales Pier.

Western Docks at Night

Half-an-hour earlier, the MS Saga Ruby had been photographed from St Martin's Battery, a Victorian and World War II coastal artillery position on top of the Western Heights overlooking the harbour. See Night Panorama of the Western Docks in Dover Harbour.

Beyond the passenger ship on the right of the photo is Shakespeare Cliff of King Lear fame and part of the White Cliffs of Dover.

At bottom-left is the Neptune catamaran, a charter boat powered by twin Caterpillar diesel engines and available for angling, diving, and commercial work. The skipper is David Batchelor: more information on the Neptune website.

The MS Saga Ruby has just completed the "Treasures of the Anglo-Celtic Isles" cruise that called at various ports in England, Scotland, Wales, Nothern Ireland, and Eire (Ireland).

Full itinerary (2): Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Portree, Greenock (Glasgow), Belfast, Holyhead (Wales), Dublin, Cork, Falmouth, Guernsey (Channel Islands).

Later in the day, the MS Saga Ruby left Dover for Leith in Scotland where Captain Steve Angove reported (3):

After leaving Dover on the 24th in 40 knots of wind via the eastern entrance to the harbour the Saga Ruby had a reasonable journey north towards its Scottish destination. There was a swell in the afternoon emanating from the north, where Norway was getting a bit of a battering, but the sun was shining and the wind and rain was confined to the South and Western regions of the UK, leaving our passengers to enjoy the day.

Saga Ruby arrived in the Firth of Forth to pick up the pilot at 1:15am, again an unfortunate time for all of us involved in the operation, due to tidal restrictions. The night was calm and Mars was in clear view as a slightly reddish star in the Southwest sector of the sky. For those using binoculars both moons, Phobos and Deimos, were also visible to any would be star gazer.

...Most of our passengers were off to the Edinburgh Tattoo in the evening, an experience I’d had the opportunity to enjoy on our previous visit to Leith less than two weeks ago. Once again the weather was being kind, with not a drop of rain in sight to dampen the spirits of our passengers as they returned for a party on the after deck. With a distinctly Scottish ambiance being created by the sound of the bagpipes and dances around the lido in full swing, the ship prepared to set off in search of some Tall Ships reported to have last been seen in German waters. (Abridged)

Videos: Saga Travel use the Saga Pearl II video to illustrate the Saga Ruby on their website. "A Look Inside" features both ships:

MS Saga Ruby (4)

The MS Saga Ruby is a cruise ship owned and operated by Saga Cruises PLC. She was built as the combined ocean liner/cruise ship MS Vistafjord in 1973 by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders in the United Kingdom for the Norwegian America Line.

In 1983 the MS Vistafjord was sold to Cunard Line, retaining her original name until 1999 when she was renamed MS Caronia. In 2004 she was sold to her current owners. She is the last cruise ship to have been built in the United Kingdom.

Career (4) (5)

Name: 1973-1999: MS Vistafjord, 1999-2004: MS Caronia, 2004 onwards: MS Saga Ruby
Owner: 1973-1983: Norwegian America Line, 1983-2004: Cunard Line, 2004 onwards: Saga Shipping Company
Operator: 1973-1983: Norwegian American Line, 1983-2004: Cunard Line, 2004 onwards: Saga Cruises
Port of registry: 1973-1983: Oslo, Norway, 1983-1999: Nassau, Bahamas, 1999-2004: Southampton, United Kingdom, 2004 onwards: London, United Kingdom
Builder: Swan Hunter Shipbuilders, Newcastle, England, United Kingdom
Call Sign: 9HA2415
IMO: 7214715
MMSI: 248563000
Status: In service

General characteristics (as built)

Type: cruise ship
Tonnage: 24,292 GRT
Displacement: 5,954 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Length: 191.09 m (626 ft 11 in)
Beam: 25.00 m (82 ft 0 in)
Draught: 8.20 m (26 ft 11 in)
Ice class: 1 C
Installed power: 2 × Sulzer 9RD68 diesels, combined 17,650 kW
Propulsion: 2 propellers
Speed: 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) service speed
Capacity: 670 passengers (maximum)

General characteristics (after 2005 refit)

Tonnage: 24,492 GT (gross tonnage)
Draught: 8.23 m (27 ft 0 in)
Decks: 9 (passenger accessible)
Capacity: 655 passengers (maximum)
Crew: 380

Click to see the official Saga Cruises website and official Saga Ruby webpage.

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) Cruise Scotland 2010 Schedules
(3) Captain’s blog entry for August 26, 2010 (10:40 pm).
(4) Wikipedia entry for MS Saga Ruby
(5) Marinetraffic entry for MS Saga Ruby

More information on the photo's original webpage:

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and Neptune Catamaran, Western Docks, Dover

Also see:

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and a God of the Night, Dover Harbour

To be uploaded:

MS Saga Ruby approaching the Admiralty Pier

Other Dover Saga Cruises photos include:

MV Spirit of Adventure at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover

MS Saga Pearl II Cruise Ship and DHB Dauntless Tug, Western Docks, Dover

Click to see all Saga Ruby and Cruise Ship photos.

More Dover at Sunrise photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Clock Tower, First Lifeboat Station, and Lord Warden House, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:15:00 +0000

In the foreground on the left are the Clock Tower and a single-storey structure that was Dover's first Lifeboat Station:

(Click this Clock Tower text link to see the largest size)

Waterloo Crescent
Fairbairn Tubular Crane
Lord Warden House

These two listed buildings (see below) are situated on the seafront esplanade at the landward end of the Prince of Wales Pier (out-of-shot to the left) close to the Georgian Waterloo Crescent, the popular Sue's Seafood Stall, the non-tidal Wellington Dock (with its tubular swan-necked Fairbairn Crane), the King Charles II Commemorative Walk - and not forgetting the pebble-strewn beach, of course!

A building on the other side of the Clock Tower contains showers, wash-rooms, and a launderette for the use of people with yachts and boats berthed in Dover Marina.

Part of a tug belonging to Dover Harbour Board, the DHB Dauntless, can be seen near the bottom right-hand corner on higher magnifications. The tug is berthed in the Tug Haven on the far side of the Tidal Harbour (no sign of the sister-tug, DHB Doughty, though).

Beyond the Tug Haven is the large white Lord Warden House, also a listed building. This was once the Lord Warden Hotel where Louis Bleriot had breakfast after the first cross-channel aeroplane flight on Sunday, 25th July, 1909.

The building became the Royal Navy's HMS Wasp shore station durating World War II and is located at the landward end of the Admiralty Pier (where the cruise ships berth).

This post-sunrise photo was taken at 6.33 am on Monday, 22nd of August, 2011, while on a morning cycle ride (1) along the seafront.

The Victorian Clock Tower, built in 1876-1877 to the designs of George Devey (architect, 1820-1886), was renovated in 2010. However, the flagpole flying the Union Jack flag (the Union Flag), and topped by a weather vane, wasn't restored until sometime after April, 2011.

Also in 2010, a news report said that a proposal to move the Clock Tower had been put on hold (2):

PLANS to move the Clock Tower – formerly the lifeboat station – on Dover seafront have been put on hold as a result of the landmark being listed as a monument.

The news was revealed by Mike Krayenbrink, Dover Harbour Board's port development director, when questioned at the Port Consultative Committee by Dover's deputy mayor David Hannent.

Mr Krayenbrink explained that it had been proposed that the Clock Tower be dismantled brick by brick and moved to the stem of a new pier on the seafront where the new marina is to be provided.

However, he added, the Clock Tower had recently been listed and as a result Dover Harbour Board now had to get involved with the authorities, including the district council, in order to obtain authorisation for the original proposal.

No decision had yet been made whether it would be possible to remove the structure, he added.

Dover Harbour Board wants to move the rebuilt Clock Tower because, in its existing position, it is in the way of the proposed second ferry terminal at the Western Docks. If the move does go ahead, then this will be the second time the Clock Tower has been moved.

(Dover Harbour Board website)

An 1893 news report, in describing the proposals for constructing the Prince of Wales Pier and extending the Admiralty Pier, stated (3):

The scheme of the Dover Harbour Board, for the accommodation of commercial shipping east of the Admiralty Pier, is being carried into execution by Messrs. Coode, Son, and Matthews, engineers, successors to the late Sir John Coode, by whom the works were designed. There will be a new pier, starting from an open iron viaduct. 1260 ft. long, forming an agreeable marine promenade, which will be approached from the esplanade near the Granville Clock-tower (Granville Dock). This involves the removal and rebuilding of the clock-tower.

The building to the right of the Clock Tower is Dover's first Lifeboat Station, or Lifeboat House, which was originally orientated with its doors to the north. Devey had located the Clock Tower to the east of the Lifeboat House and linked the two buildings to the north with an archway. Sometime after construction of the new Prince of Wales Pier began in 1892, the Clock Tower and Lifeboat House, in the way of the new pier approach, were both taken down and re-erected a very short distance away but on a different alignment with one another. The connecting archway was lost at this time.

A Dover Lifeboat webpage states (4):

Dover's lifeboat has had several different homes over the years. The first lifeboat station at Dover was the building under the clock tower at the landward end of the Prince of Wales Pier. When the Station reopened in 1930 it was in the Camber at the Eastern Docks. After the Second World War, the lifeboat moved into one of the Motor torpedo boat (submarine) pens.

In 1984, development works in the Eastern Docks meant that the MTB Pens were earmarked for destruction and so the lifeboat moved to the Tug Haven. 2000 saw the completion of the current boathouse and an official handover took place in August 2001.

The current Dover Lifeboat Station and RNLB 17-09 City of London II lifeboat are located on Crosswall Quay.

The Clock Tower and Old Lifeboat House Grade II Listed Buildings (5).

The following extracts are © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

List Entry Summary

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Name: CLOCK TOWER AND FORMER LIFEBOAT HOUSE
List Entry Number: 1393606

Location

The building may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
County: Kent
District: Dover
District Type: District Authority
Parish: Dover
National Park: Not applicable to this List entry.
Grade: II
Date first listed: 16th of December, 2009
Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.

Legacy System Information

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System: LBS
UID: 507157

Asset Groupings

This List entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.

List Entry Description

Summary of Building

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Reasons for Designation

The Clock Tower and former Lifeboat House at the Western Docks, Dover are designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

The Clock Tower has special architectural interest as an unusual and distinguished design by an influential C19 (19th Century) English architect.

The former Lifeboat House has special historic interest as a relatively early example of this building type and as an evocative reminder of the altruism and charity which established the RNLI.

The buildings are two of the few remaining buildings in the Western Docks area which reflect the C19 development of this nationally important harbour.

The buildings have group value with the other designated assets within the Western Docks.

History

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Details

DOVER
685/0/10034 Clock Tower and former Lifeboat House
16-DEC-09
II

Clock tower, 1876-7 by George Devey (1820-1886) and former Lifeboat House, 1866 with late 1870s and C20 (20th Century) alterations.

MATERIALS: Rough faced snecked ragstone (rag-stone) with dressed stone details. The Clock Tower has metal-framed casement windows, the Lifeboat House has timber framed casement windows.
PLAN: The Clock Tower has a square plan with four stages and an off-set hexagonal stair tower to the north west corner. The former Lifeboat House has a rectangular plan and is single storey.

EXTERIOR: Each face of the tower bears a circular clock-face beneath a projecting modillion cornice with parapet above. On the roof of the tower is a flag pole with a weather vane. Above the stair tower is a lead-covered hexagonal roof with ball finial, supported on shaped columns. Two doors to the first stage give access to the base of the stair tower and an electricity sub-station in the base of the main tower. The principal entrance to the building is on the second stage, accessed via a flight of stone steps with solid stone balusters. The door surround is of dressed stone with a four-centred head and stop-moulded jambs. Fenestration is irregular and sparse, generally comprising small rectangular openings surrounded by dressed stone. On the second stage of the east elevation is a canted oriel window with mullioned lights.

The former Lifeboat House is set at an angle to the north west of the Clocktower. The roof is pitched with gable end parapets to the east and west, a parapet to the north and eaves to the south. There is a central pitch-roofed half dormer to the north with a central louvred oculus and a pair of casement windows beneath, these are flanked by two casement windows. To the west the lifeboat doors have been replaced with a simple timber shop-front comprising a half-glazed door to the left and a shop window to the right. A continuous hoodmould runs around the timber lintel over the shop-front and continues along the length of the north elevation. Above the shop-front is a stone mullioned window with three six-light casements with an infilled oculus above the central casement. A hoodmould runs over the window. The west gable is topped with a ball finial.

INTERIOR: The Clock Tower contains a stone spiral staircase. The clock mechanism is contained in the fourth stage.

The Lifeboat House has a modern commercial interior that is not of special interest.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: The buildings are linked by a short section of decorative cast iron railing.

HISTORY: The Lifeboat House was built in 1866 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which had taken over the lifeboat service from the Dover Humane and Shipwreck Institution in 1855. The building was modified in the late 1870s to accomodate a bigger lifeboat.

The Clock Tower was built in 1876-7 to the designs of George Devey (1820-1886). The work was commissioned by the Dover Harbour Board, and following the completion of the Clock Tower, Devey was further commissioned to design a marine bathing establishment and to lay-out some adjacent building land. The building work was undertaken by a local builder, W.J. Adcock. The Clock Tower is all that remains of Devey's work, the rest being destroyed by shelling in World War II.

The Lifeboat House was originally orientated with its doors to the north, and Devey located the Clock Tower to the east of the Lifeboat House and linked the two buildings to the north with an archway. Devey created both a stylistic as well as physical link between the two buildings, giving the appearance of a complex, rather than two isolated structures. In 1892, construction started on the new Prince of Wales Pier so the Clock Tower and Lifeboat House, in the way of the new pier approach, were both carefully taken down and re-erected a very short distance away, but on a different alignment with one another. The connecting archway was lost at this time.

George Devey was born in London in 1820. During the latter part of his formal education, between 1832 and 1835, he attended King’s College School (KCS), London, where he was taught drawing by John Sell Cotman. A skilled draughtsman, he was articled to, and later employed by, architect Thomas Little in Northumberland Street, London, who appreciated his talent for drawing. It was not until 1846 that Devey set up an architectural practice by himself. As well as designing new houses, much of Devey's work was remodelling older houses and designing estate buildings. It was through these more modest buildings that he revealed most clearly his understanding of, and sympathy for, vernacular building.

Devey is now recognised as a pioneer of the interest in English vernacular architecture in the late C19. He enjoyed the patronage of a number of Liberal politicians, and it was Devey's friendship with Lord Granville (Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville), Liberal statesman and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, that brought him the commission for the Clock Tower at Dover Harbour.

SOURCES

Jill Allibone, George Devey: Architect 1820-1886, (1991) p61-63, 171
English Heritage, Dover Harbour, Notes on Historical and Engineering Interest, (2008)
Dover Terminal 2 Historic Environment Baseline Report, Maritime Archaeology Ltd (2008)

Selected Sources

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

End of Listed Building Entry

Source: English Heritage

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) Extract from the This is Kent article, Clock Tower move on hold, published Friday, June 18, 2010.
(3) Extract from the Illustrated London News article, The new Harbour works at Dover, published July 22, 1893.
(4) Extract from the Dover Lifeboat website: The Dover Lifeboat Station
(5) Grade II: buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".

The main photo was originally uploaded to:

Clock Tower, First Lifeboat Station, and Lord Warden House, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

A Western Docks and Dover Harbour history photo.

Not yet available: Panorama of the Clock Tower and Beach from Dover Castle

Other Clock Tower and Listed Building photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour- and marina-related photos from the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at Port of Dover (also linked to at the top of the page below the blog title).

The main site Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Pride of Dover Ferry, Admiralty Pier, Western Docks, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:41:00 +0000

The cross-channel ferry, MS Pride of Dover berthed alongside the Admiralty Pier in the Western Docks of Dover Harbour:

(Click this MS Pride of Dover text link to see the largest size)

The photo was taken from the Prince of Wales Pier on Tuesday, 27st of April, 2010.

The MF Pride of Dover primarily operated on the Dover to Calais route, normally berthing in the ferry terminal of the Eastern Docks (the Western Docks is the cruise ship terminal).

The ferry was tied up at Cruise Terminal 1 (CT1) on the Admiralty Pier for several days, however, which may have had some connection to the airline crisis that arose as a result of ash fall-out from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruptions in Iceland.

The MS Pride of Dover (1)

The MS Pride of Dover was built by Schichau Unterweser AG (Schichau Seebeckwerft) in 1987 as a cross-channel ferry for Townsend Thoresen. She was the last new ship to appear in service with the famous Townsend Thoresen orange hull though she was delivered with the P&O house flag painted on her funnel which was changed from the 'TT' logo during construction. Townsend Thoresen was renamed P and O European Ferries late in 1987, following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster, and Pride of Dover was swiftly repainted in the new company colours.

The industry generally regarded Pride Of Dover and her sister MV Pride Of Calais (photo not yet uploaded) as the most successful ferries ever built for English Channel service. The ships boasted superb handling characteristics and excellent sea-keeping abilities. Between 1998 and 2002 she was under the control of P&O Stena Line and carried the name MV P&OSL Dover from 1999 until 2002 (sometimes P&O SL Dover). Once returned to P&O control she was renamed MV PO Dover before she was repainted into new P&O Ferries livery when her name returned to MV Pride of Dover.

MS Pride Of Dover details (1) (2):

Career

Name: 1987-1999: Pride of Dover, 1999-2002: P&OSL Dover, 2002-2003: PO Dover, 2003-2010: Pride of Dover
Owner: 1987: Stanhope Steamship Co. Ltd (Townsend Car Ferries Ltd), 1987-2006: P&O European Ferries (Dover) Ltd, 2006-present: P&O Ferries Ltd
Operator: P&O Ferries
Port of registry: Dover, United Kingdom
Route: Dover-Calais
Builder: Schichau Unterweser AG, West Germany
Yard number: 93
Launched: 20 September 1986
Completed: 27 May 1987
Maiden voyage: 2 June 1987
Out of service: 15th December 2010
Fate: Currently Unknown
Status: Out of Service, laid up in Tilbury

General characteristics

Tonnage: 26,433 tonnes
Length: 169.6 m (556.4 ft)
Beam: 28.27 m (92.7 ft)
Draft: 6.12 m (20.1 ft)
Installed power: 3 x Sulzer ZA40S Diesels
Propulsion: Triple controllable pitch propellers
Speed: 22 kn (41 km/h)
Capacity: 2,290 passengers, 650 vehicles
Call Sign: GJCR
IMO: 8517736
MMSI: 232001670

Owner's website: P&O Ferries

"P&O" is derived from Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company.

The Pride of Dover primarily operated the Dover–Calais route, but on a number of occasions she made crossings between Dover and Zeebrugge as a result of industrial action in France.

MS Spirit of Britain

The vessel ended her P&O service on 15 December 2010 with her last crossing leaving Dover at 2345 local time. She has now been replaced by the new super-ferry, MS Spirit of Britain that arrived in the Port of Dover on Sunday, 9th of January, 2011, after a handover ceremony at the STX Europe shipyard in Rauma (Finland) on the 5th of January.

With a bigger capacity and almost double the amount of tonnage, at 49,000 tonnes, the Spirit of Britain (ex-Olympic Spirit) is the largest ferry to ever cross the channel.

Video - The caption to "Pride of Dover Tribute" reads:

A tribute to the Pride of Dover one of the most successful cross channel ferries that served on the Dover Strait. This video is dedicated to the ship and the crew. The movie features some unique footage of bridge operations. Some scenes feature the Pride of Dover's sister ship the Pride of Calais.

(1) Abridged from the Wikipedia entry for Pride of Dover; also see the Pride of Calais entry
(2) Marinetraffic entry for MS Pride of Dover

The main photo was originally uploaded to:

MS Pride of Dover Ferry, Admiralty Pier, Western Docks, Dover Harbour

Also taken this day:

AIDAblu Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour (2)

AIDAblu Cruise Ship and Pride of Dover Ferry, Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour

To be uploaded:

Pride of Canterbury passing in front of the Southern Breakwater of Dover Harbour

A Cross-Channel Ferry photo.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Athena Cruise Ship and Tugs in the Western Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:41:00 +0000

Stormy weather ahead: a gunmetal-grey early morning view of the MS Athena, survivor of a famous maritime disaster (see below), in the process of berthing at Cruise Terminal 3 (CT3) on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks:

(Click this MS Athena Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

The bow of the MS Athena (alt. MV Athena) is pointing towards the Western Entrance with the Straits of Dover and English Channel beyond; the Cliffs of France can be seen on higher resolutions.

The Western Entrance is formed by the Southern Breakwater, out-of-shot to the left, and the Admiralty Pier behind the ship on the right.

This Dover Harbour photo was taken at 6.31 am on Tuesday, 7th of September, 2010, from the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier.

The two Dover Harbour Board bollard-pull tugs assisting the Athena, DHB Dauntless (on the left) and DHB Doughty (on the right), along with the DHB David Church dredger, berth in the Tug Haven of the Tidal Harbour.

The MS Athena, chartered by tour operator Page and Moy for the 2010 summer season, has just finished "A Taste of Europe", her last summer cruise this year, which began in Dover on Friday, the 3rd of September with the following itinerary: Dover - Amsterdam (Netherlands, Holland; Anne Frank house, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum) - Zeebrugge (Belgium; for Bruges or Ghent) - Honfleur (France; Saint Catherine Church, Monet's Garden at Giverny, or Paris) .

MS Athena (1)

MV Princess Daphne

MS Athena, like the MS Princess Dapne, is a cruise ship owned and operated by Classic International Cruises (CI Cruises) of the World Cruises Agency. She was built in 1948 as the MS Stockholm by Götaverken in Gothenburg for the Swedish America Line (SAL). Since her career with SAL she has sailed under the names MS Völkerfreundschaft, MS Volker, MS Fridtjof Nansen, MS Italia I, MS Italia Prima, MS Valtur Prima and MS Caribe, before beginning service under her current name.

As Stockholm, the MS Athena was best known for colliding with the SS Andrea Doria in 1956, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship:

SS Andrea Doria Ocean Liner
On the night of July 25, 1956, at 11:10 PM, in heavy fog in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nantucket, the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria of the Italian Line (Società di navigazione Italia) collided in what was to become one of history's most famous maritime disasters.

Although most passengers and crew survived the collision, the larger Andrea Doria luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning. Owing to the collision, 50% of the Andrea Doria's lifeboats were unusable.

Charles Lightoller in Dover
However, a number of ships responded and provided assistance, which averted a massive loss of life like that suffered by the RMS Titanic over 40 years earlier (see the Charles Lightoller of the Titanic, 8 East Cliff, Dover photo).

Five crew members on the Stockholm were killed instantly and several more were trapped in the wrecked bow. Despite its having sunk about three feet (0.9 m), the crippled Stockholm helped in the rescue and ended up carrying 327 passengers and 245 crewmembers from the Andrea Doria, in addition to her own passengers and crew. After Andrea Doria sank, Stockholm sailed to New York City under her own power and arrived on July 27. The crushed bow portion was repaired at a cost of 1 million US dollars three months later.

(Named after the 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the ship had a gross register tonnage of 29,100 and a capacity of about 1,200 passengers and 500 crew. Home Port: Genoa, or Genova, Italy. Wreck location: 40°29′30″N 69°51′0″W)

MS Athena Career

Name: 1948 - 1960: MS Stockholm, 1960 - 1985: MS Völkerfreundschaft, 1985 - 1986: MS Volker, 1986 - 1993: MS Fridtjof Nansen, 1993 - 1994: MS Italia I, 1994 - 1998: MS Italia Prima, 1998 - 2002: MS Valtur Prima, 2002 - 2005: MS Caribe, 2005 - present: MS Athena

Owner: 1948 - 1960: Swedish America Line, 1960 - 1985: VEB Deutsche Seereederei, 1985 - 1989: Neptunus Rex Enterprises, 1989 - 1994: StarLauro, 1994 - 2002: Nina Cia. di Navigazione, 2002 - 2004: Festival Cruises, 2004 - present: Nina SpA

Operator: 1948 - 1960: Swedish America Line, 1960 - 1966: VEB Deutsche Seereederei, 1966 - 1985: VEB Deutsche Seereederei (summer seasons)/Stena Line (winter seasons), 1985 - 1994: laid up/rebuilt, 1994 - 1995:Nina Cia. di Navigazione, 1995 - 1998: Neckermann Seereisen, 1998: laid up, 1998 - 2001: Valtur Tourist, 2001 - 2002: laid up, 2002 - 2004: Festival Cruises, 2004 - 2005: laid up, 2005 - present: Classic International Cruises

Port of registry: 1948 - 1960: Gothenburg, Sweden, 1960 - 1985: Rostock, East Germany, 1985 - 1989: Panama City, Panama, 1989 - 2004: Naples, Italy, 2004 - present: Lisbon, Portugal

Ordered: October 1944
Builder: Götaverken, Gothenburg, Sweden
Yard number: 611
Launched: 9 September 1946
Christened: 9 September 1946
Acquired: 7 February 1948
In service: 21 February 1948
Identification: Swedish Official Number 8926 (1948), Italian Official Number 1749 (1993)
Status: In service

General characteristics (as built)

Type: Ocean liner
Tonnage: 12,165 GRT
Length: 160.08 m (525 ft 2 in)
Beam: 21.04 m (69 ft 0 in)
Draught: 7.90 m (25 ft 11 in)
Installed power: 2 × 8-cylinder Götaverken diesels, combined 12,000 hp (8,900 kW)
Speed: 17 kn (31.48 km/h)
Capacity: 390 passengers, 4,700 metric tons deadweight (DWT)

General characteristics (currently) (1) (2)

Type: Cruise ship
Tonnage: 15,614 GRT
Decks: 8
Installed power: 2 × Wärtsilä 16V32 diesels 14,300 hp (10,700 kW)
Speed: 19 kn (35.19 km/h)
Capacity: 556 passengers
Call Sign: CQRV
MMSI: 255801380
IMO number: 5383304

Click to see the official MS Athena webpage.

An MS Athena video from Hansa Touristik (Hansa Tourism):

(1) Wikipedia entry for MS Athena
(2) Marinetraffic entry for MS Athena

The main photo's original webpage is at:

MS Athena Cruise Ship and Tugs in the Western Entrance of Dover Harbour

To be uploaded:

MS Athena Cruise Ship before the White Cliffs of Dover
MS Athena Cruise Ship before the Southern Breakwater.

Also in port this day:

MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship just after Daybreak, Dover Harbour

MS Grand Mistral Cruise Ship, Cruise Terminal 1, Admiralty Pier, Dover

Click to see all MS Athena, Classic International Cruises (CI Cruises), Cruise Ship, and Tug photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to at the top of the page below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Guest Chamber of King Henry II, Great Tower of Dover Castle, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 21:09:00 +0000

A view of the Guest Chamber on the first-floor of the Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle after "a major transformation by English Heritage to re-create the splendour of a royal court in the late 12th century" (1):

(Click this Palace Guest Chamber text link to see the largest size)

Entry to this representation of a medieval royal palace is via the Forebuilding and King's Hall on the second-floor. Adjacent to the King's Hall (Great Hall) is the King's Chamber (bedroom, or solar). The Guest Hall is on the floor below the King's Hall, and the Guest Chamber is below the King's Chamber.

Embroidered textiles throughout the four-room complex are by the Royal School of Needlework (RSN).

Above the chest at bottom-left is a bed on top of which lie a patchwork blanket, bolster, and two pillows. Next is the main bed which can be completely enclosed by drawing the hanging curtains along their rail. There are two other beds set against the far wall.

The beds are quite small by modern standards which I immediately put down to the average height being less in the 12th Century than it is today. A 2007 newspaper report, however, suggests otherwise (2):

Judged by the height of the door-frames he built, medieval man was assumed to be vertically challenged.

But after examining the bones of those who lived in the Middle Ages, scientists have discovered a much bigger truth.

Evidence gathered from 3,000 skeletons reveals that human height has varied little over the past 1,000 years.

From the 10th century through to the 19th, the average height of adult men was 5ft 7in or 170cm - just 2in below today's average.

Women were an average of 5ft 2in or 158cm - just over an inch shorter than today.
All the bones in the study came from the medieval St Peter's Church in Barton upon Humber, North East Lincolnshire.

...Researchers from Bristol Royal Infirmary studied every skeleton in an attempt to identify its sex, age and size and analysed bones for evidence of disease, injury, and diet.

The real reason for the size of the beds, however, was explained by speaker Steven Lang (Head Custodian of Dover Castle) at the 2010 General Meeting of The Dover Society:

The beds seem unusual and are small by today's standards. In Henry's reign people would not lie down to sleep. They were afraid that if they fell asleep and their mouths opened the devil would enter their bodies. With a shorter bed they could sleep in more of a sitting position and this would not happen.

An additional reason given by a Dover Castle English Heritage guide (Keith Ashley-Thomas) is that sleeping sitting up reduced wood smoke inhalation - for those who could afford such a luxury at night, that is!

On the right-hand side of the photo, the sooty residue above the hearth shows that the fire is still in use.

Two of the objects on the green-topped table in front of the fireplace are a harp and a backgammon board:

As part of the re-presentation of the Norman Keep, Alexandra Buckle, a junior research fellow in the Music Faculty at Oxford University, was employed by English Heritage as a music consultant for the project (3):

"Henry II (Curtmantle) was married to Eleanore of Aquitaine, a lifelong patron of the troubadours (composers and performers of Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages, 1100-1350) and someone who is credited with spreading the influence of the troubadours to England. Therefore we hear troubadour music in the Guest Hall, reflecting this." (The female equivalent of a troubadour is a trobairitz)
There is a harp displayed in the Guest Chamber, which is sturdier than the other instrument on display and is not fixed to the table. Children are allowed to pick it up so they can engage with the era.

Eleanor has been described as "a remarkable child" (4):

In her time, girls were rarely educated. They learned to embroider and play checkers and backgammon. Eleanor was educated in diplomacy, art, history, and languages.

The Gloucester Tabulae Set was discovered by Ian Stewart in 1983 and is "the earliest surviving Backgammon set found in the world" (5):

The owner of this game was probably a Royal Constable of England called Walter of Gloucester (Walter de Gloucester) who was a close friend of Henry II (1100 - 1135)

(Tabula was a board game in the tables family, and is generally thought to be the direct ancestor of modern backgammon)

King John, one of Henry II's sons, "enjoyed gambling, in particular on backgammon, and was an enthusiastic hunter".

Two other commentaries on the first floor of the Keep:

The first floor was probably intended as the Constable of Dover Castle's residence (presumably only up until the Constable Gateway became available) (6).

The following excerpt from a 1787 book has had the "long s" replaced for readability (f instead of s, formerly used where s occurred in the middle or at the beginning of a word). The account uses "ground", "second", and "third" to describe what are nowadays termed ground, first, and second floors:

The present entrance (ie the Forebuilding) is on the fourth side of the Keep; and by a grand flight of Stone Steps you ascend round the eastern side to the third story; on which, in Gundulph's Castles, were the royal, or governor's apartments. The rooms are large, and lofty; but they have very little at this time, except strength, and security, which can recommend them to our refined tastes.

The second floor was intended for the use of the garrison; and that on the ground, for stores (7).

Notes on King Henry II and Thomas Becket (also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London, and later Thomas à Becket):

New research by Professor John Gillingham has shown that the spectre of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in 1170 by four of the King's knights, was the main reason for Henry II to build something impressive at Dover.

The need to erect a symbol of royal power visible from afar to exploit and counter the growing cult around the saint was top on his mind, so was the need to have a suitably grand place to entertain dignitaries who were passing through Dover to visit Becket's shrine in Canterbury (1).

Dover Castle Keep

The Keep, or Palace Tower, is 83 feet (25.3m) high and just under 100 feet (30m) square with walls up to 21 feet (6.5m) thick. The architect was 'Maurice the Engineer' (or Mason) and it was built between 1180-1185.

Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) ruled as King of England (1154–1189), Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the first of the House of Plantagenet to rule England. Henry was the first to use the title "King of England" (as opposed to "King of the English").

He is known as Henry Curtmantle or Curtmantel (French: Henri Court-manteau) and Henry Fitz-Empress.

(1) The Royal Palace project, which costs GBP 2.45 million, took over two years of research by English Heritage, "with a team of historians working closely with some 140 artists and craftspeople". The Great Tower re-opened on August 1st, 2009: Medieval Royal Palace at Dover Castle to re-open to the Public
(2) Our medieval ancestors were just as tall as us
(3) Abridged from: Oxford academic brings music to Dover Castle
(4) Women of Royalty: Eleanor of Aquitaine
(5) Gloucester Tabulae Set
(6) Abridged from English Castles: A Guide by Counties by Adrian Pettifer
(7) A brief history Dover Castle; or description of Roman, Saxon Norman, fortifications. Unknown author but: "Printed for the author, and sold by G. Ledger, Dover, sold also by Simmons and Kirkby, T. Smith, and Flackton and Marrable, Canterbury; W. Gillman, Rochester; J. Hall, Margate; P. Burgess, Ramsgate; and T. Evans, London, 1787".

More information (including sources used) can be found on this photo's original webpage at:

The Guest Chamber of King Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle

Also see:

The Throne of Henry II in King's Hall, Great Tower of Dover Castle

The King's Chamber of Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle

Guest Hall of King Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle

The English Heritage "Pastscape" entry for Dover Castle states:

"Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle; Angevin), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe."

All Keep and Dover Castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle, Keep, and Castles category labels.

The castle is one of Dover's Grade I Listed Buildings and English Heritage sites.

A Dover Medieval (Middle Ages) and Norman history photo.

Clickable thumbnails of all Dover Castle-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Dover Castle Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

Guest Hall of King Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:40:00 +0000

A view of the Guest Hall on the first-floor of the Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle after "a major transformation by English Heritage to re-create the splendour of a royal court in the late 12th century" (1):

(Click this Palace Guest Hall text link to see the largest size)

The Guest Hall, or lower hall, is shown being prepared for a feast, although it would have been a multi-purpose room (see below). Leading off this hall are the pantry and the buttery (2).

The Guest Hall backcloth above the 'high table', a powerful reminder to the guests of whose palace they are visiting, shows the mounted King Henry II (Curtmantle), ready for battle in mail, although without helmet so that all might see his face, wearing his crown and holding his sword aloft (3). The backcloth was made by the Royal School of Needlework (RSN):

2009 for the re-presentation of The Great Hall, Dover Castle. Six large pieces were produced in an extremely short timescale including the King’s Hall backcloth; a canopy and tester; the Guest Hall backcloth and a standard and altar frontal. These were completed with the help of volunteers from the RSN Certificate Course (4).

As part of the re-presentation of the Norman Keep, Alexandra Buckle, a junior research fellow in the Music Faculty at Oxford University, was employed by English Heritage as a music consultant for the project (5):

"Henry II was married to Eleanore of Aquitaine, a lifelong patron of the troubadours (composers and performers of Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages, 1100-1350) and someone who is credited with spreading the influence of the troubadours to England. Therefore we hear troubadour music in the Guest Hall, reflecting this." (The female equivalent of a troubadour is a trobairitz)

At other times:

The first floor was probably intended as the Constable of Dover Castle's residence (presumably only up until the Constable Gateway became available) (6).

The present entrance (ie the Forebuilding) is on the fourth side of the Keep; and by a grand flight of Stone Steps you ascend round the eastern side to the third story; on which, in Gundulph's Castles, were the royal, or governor's apartments. The rooms are large, and lofty; but they have very little at this time, except strength, and security, which can recommend them to our refined tastes.

The second floor was intended for the use of the garrison; and that on the ground, for stores (7).

Out-of-shot to the right of the Guest Hall is the Guest Chamber with the King's Chamber directly above it on the second floor. The King's Hall is above the Guest Hall. See below for links.

Notes on King Henry II and Thomas Becket (also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London, and later Thomas à Becket):

New research by Professor John Gillingham has shown that the spectre of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in 1170 by four of the King's knights, was the main reason for Henry II to build something impressive at Dover.

The need to erect a symbol of royal power visible from afar to exploit and counter the growing cult around the saint was top on his mind, so was the need to have a suitably grand place to entertain dignitaries who were passing through Dover to visit Becket's shrine in Canterbury (1).

Dover Castle Keep

The Keep, or Palace Tower, is 83 feet (25.3m) high and just under 100 feet (30m) square with walls up to 21 feet (6.5m) thick. The architect was 'Maurice the Engineer' (or Mason) and it was built between 1180-1185.

Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) ruled as King of England (1154–1189), Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the first of the House of Plantagenet to rule England. Henry was the first to use the title "King of England" (as opposed to "King of the English").

He is known as Henry Curtmantle or Curtmantel (French: Henri Court-manteau) and Henry Fitz-Empress.

(1) The Royal Palace project, which costs GBP 2.45 million, took over two years of research by English Heritage, "with a team of historians working closely with some 140 artists and craftspeople". The Great Tower re-opened on August 1st, 2009: Medieval Royal Palace at Dover Castle to re-open to the Public
(2) Making a Visit to Dover Castle: Notes for Teachers
(3) The Textile Society: Traditional Crafts Bring Dover Castle Back to Life
(4) RSN work on display
(5) Oxford academic brings music to Dover Castle
(6) Abridged from English Castles: A Guide by Counties by Adrian Pettifer
(7) A brief history Dover Castle; or description of Roman, Saxon Norman, fortifications. Unknown author but: "Printed for the author, and sold by G. Ledger, Dover, sold also by Simmons and Kirkby, T. Smith, and Flackton and Marrable, Canterbury; W. Gillman, Rochester; J. Hall, Margate; P. Burgess, Ramsgate; and T. Evans, London, 1787".

More information (including sources used) can be found on this photo's original webpage at:

The Guest Hall of King Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle

Also see:

The Throne of Henry II in King's Hall, Great Tower of Dover Castle

The King's Chamber of Henry II in the Great Tower of Dover Castle

Guest Chamber of King Henry II, Great Tower of Dover Castle

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and a God of the Night, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:35:00 +0000

At top-right, the fiery eyes of some departing God of the Night blaze down in rage as a last-minute prey achieves sanctuary upon entering the harbour:

(Click this MS Saga Ruby cruise ship text link to see the largest size)

The unsuspecting ship, the MS Saga Ruby cruise liner, is shown framed in the Eastern Entrance of Dover Harbour, formed by the Eastern Arm pier on the left and the Southern Breakwater on the right.

The structure on the end of the Eastern Arm pier is the Dover Port Control building; beyond the Eastern Entrance lie the dangerous waters of the Straits of Dover and English Channel.

The photo was taken from near the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier at 6.17 am on Wednesday the 11th of August, 2010.

Another Saga Cruises ship in port this day was the Spirit of Adventure (photographed during an earlier visit in June).

Later, the Saga Ruby left Dover at the start of the "Treasures of the Anglo-Celtic Isles" cruise that called at various ports in England, Scotland, Wales, Nothern Ireland, and Eire (Ireland).

Full itinerary (1):

Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Portree, Greenock (Glasgow), Belfast, Holyhead (Wales), Dublin, Cork, Falmouth, Guernsey (Channel Islands).

Western Docks at Night
MS Saga Ruby at CT1

The Saga Ruby returned to Dover on Tuesday, 24th of August, to appear in two further photographs:

The first is the Night Panorama of the Western Docks in Dover Harbour photo that was taken from St Martin's Battery, a Victorian and World War II coastal artillery position on top of the Western Heights cliffs overlooking the harbour.

The second photo, MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and Neptune Catamaran in the Western Docks, was taken shortly after the first and is a side-view of the passenger ship while berthed at Cruise Terminal 1 (CT1) on the Admiralty Pier.

This view from the from the Prince of Wales Pier also shows the Dover-based Neptune catamaran, a charter boat powered by twin Caterpillar diesel engines, in the bottom left-hand corner.

Click to see the official Saga Ruby webpage and Saga Ruby Captain's blog.

Saga Holidays cater for solo travellers and claim both the Saga Ruby and Saga Pearl II have a "a high number of single cabins".

Videos: Saga Travel use the Saga Pearl II video to illustrate the Saga Ruby on their website. "Life on Board" also applies to both ships:

MS Saga Ruby

The MS Saga Ruby is a cruise ship owned and operated by Saga Cruises PLC. She was built as the combined ocean liner/cruise ship MS Vistafjord in 1973 by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders in the United Kingdom for the Norwegian America Line.

In 1983 the MS Vistafjord was sold to Cunard Line, retaining her original name until 1999 when she was renamed MS Caronia. In 2004 she was sold to her current owners. She is the last cruise ship to have been built in the United Kingdom.

Career (2) (3)

Name: 1973-1999: MS Vistafjord, 1999-2004: MS Caronia, 2004 onwards: MS Saga Ruby
Owner: 1973-1983: Norwegian America Line, 1983-2004: Cunard Line, 2004 onwards: Saga Shipping Company
Operator: 1973-1983: Norwegian American Line, 1983-2004: Cunard Line, 2004 onwards: Saga Cruises
Port of registry: 1973-1983: Oslo, Norway, 1983-1999: Nassau, Bahamas, 1999-2004: Southampton, United Kingdom, 2004 onwards: London, United Kingdom
Builder: Swan Hunter Shipbuilders, Newcastle, England, United Kingdom
Call Sign: 9HA2415
IMO: 7214715
MMSI: 248563000
Status: In service

General characteristics (as built)

Type: cruise ship
Tonnage: 24,292 GRT
Displacement: 5,954 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Length: 191.09 m (626 ft 11 in)
Beam: 25.00 m (82 ft 0 in)
Draught: 8.20 m (26 ft 11 in)
Ice class: 1 C
Installed power: 2 × Sulzer 9RD68 diesels, combined 17,650 kW
Propulsion: 2 propellers
Speed: 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) service speed
Capacity: 670 passengers (maximum)

General characteristics (after 2005 refit)

Tonnage: 24,492 GT (gross tonnage)
Draught: 8.23 m (27 ft 0 in)
Decks: 9 (passenger accessible)
Capacity: 655 passengers (maximum)
Crew: 380

Click to see the official Saga Cruises website.

(1) Cruise Scotland 2010 Schedules
(2) Excerpt from Saga Ruby
(3) Marinetraffic entry for MS Saga Ruby

The main photo first appeared at:

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and a God of the Night, Dover Harbour

To be uploaded:

MS Saga Ruby approaching the Admiralty Pier

Other Dover Saga Cruises photos include:

MV Spirit of Adventure at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover

MS Saga Pearl II Cruise Ship and DHB Dauntless Tug, Western Docks, Dover

Click to see all Saga Ruby and Cruise Ship photos.

More Dover at Sunrise photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Seabourn Sojourn Cruise Ship nearing CT1, Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:12:00 +0000

An early morning view of the MS Seabourn Sojourn reversing towards Cruise Terminal 1 (CT1) on the Admiralty Pier of Dover Harbour:

(Click this MS Seabourn Sojourn text link to see the largest size)

Western Docks at Night
White Cliffs of Dover

The photo was taken at 6.42 am on Thursday, 3rd of June, 2010 (1) from the southern end of the Prince of Wales Pier, part of the Western Docks.

The foreground structure on the left-hand side is the lighthouse (2) with the roof of the cafe at top-right. In the background are Shakespeare Cliff (part of the White Cliffs of Dover) and the ex-Dover Marine Railway Station (now the Cruise Terminal 1 building).

The Yachts of Seabourn took delivery of Seabourn Sojourn on May 28th from her builders at the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, Italy. The ship then set sail for Greenwich in London via this stop-over in Dover.

After spending the day berthed at Cruise Terminal 1, the Seabourn Sojourn left Dover at 8.38 pm and continued to London where she moored mid-river near Canary Wharf early on Friday, the 4th of June.

Later in the day, the British supermodel and fashion icon Twiggy (Twiggy Lawson) became godmother to Seabourn Sojourn and officially named the yacht during an onboard ceremony.

On Saturday the 5th, the company donated Seabourn Sojourn to the non-profit Breast Cancer Haven as the venue for a gala fundraising event to celebrate the charity's 10th anniversary. (3)

On Sunday, 6th of June, the MS Seabourn Sojourn embarked on her maiden voyage of a 14-day "Iceland Cruise" and a 28-day "Northern Europe Cruise", initially calling at Invergordon (Scotland), Thorshavn (Faroe Islands, Denmark), Reykjavik (Iceland), Heimaey (West-Man Islands/Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland), Olden (Nordfjord, Norway), Bergen (Norway), and Amsterdam (Holland).

From Amsterdam, the ship returned Dover on the 20th of June where passengers on the Iceland Cruise disembarked and those staying for the second half of the Northern Europe Cruise were joined by new passengers on a 14-day "Baltic Sea Cruise".

The Seabourn Sojourn then called at the Kiel Canal (Germany; transit only), Travemünde (Germany), Tallinn (Estonia ), St. Petersburg (Russia), Helsinki (Finland), Stockholm (Sweden), Kiel (Germany). The ship returned to Dover on the 4th of July.

Click to see the Seabourn Sojourn official webpage and the Seabourn Sojourn blog. The ship doesn't appear to have a webcam.

Ship's details (4) (5)

Name: Seabourn Sojourn
Operator: Seabourn Cruise Line
Ordered: November 2008
Completed: May 28th, 2010
Class and type: Cruise ship
Tonnage: 32,000 metric tons (deadweight tonnage)
Length: 198.00 meters
Beam: 25.60 meters
Draft: 6.40 meters
Speed: 22.3 knots (maximum), 21.6 knots (cruising)
Capacity: 450 passengers
Flag: Bahamas (BS)
Call Sign: C6YA5
IMO: 9417098
MMSI: 311027100

Notes

Robsons Yard Flats

(2) The Prince of Wales Pier Light is a white conical tower 46 feet high. It was built in 1902 and has a "very quick flashing green" beam.
(3) From a Seabourn media statement and the Seabourn Sojourn blog
(4) Wikipedia entry for MV Seabourn Sojourn
(5) Marinetraffic entry for MV Seabourn Sojourn

The main photo was first uploaded to:

MS Seabourn Sojourn Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour

Other photos of the ship taken this day (3rd of June, 2010) will be uploaded in due course and linked to here.

Click to see all Seabourn Sojourn, Seabourn Cruises, and Cruise Ship photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

The Louis Bleriot Memorial from South-East Northfall Meadow, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:49:00 +0000

Prior to the July 2009 Centennial of Louis Bleriot's historic first flight across the English Channel, the immediate area had been landscaped and new access pathways laid. Even so, the location is still hidden from view and not a place visitors would find by acident. This view is from the south-east:

(Click this Louis Bleriot Memorial text link to see the largest size)

The inscription on the 'Cockpit Stone' between the propellor and fuselage reads:

After making the first Channel flight by aeroplane
LOUIS BLERIOT
Landed at this spot on Sunday 25th July 1909
This memorial was presented to the Aero Club of the United Kingdom (1) by Alexander Duckham

The memorial is located in Northfall Meadow, now a wooded area, behind Dover Castle.

Extract from an Aviation Online Magazine article (2):

July 27, 2009, Edmond Salis a Frenchman restored a Blériot XI Monoplane and flew it from Calais to Dover on Saturday to commemorate the centennial of the first airplane to cross the English Channel.

Other news articles about the anniversary can be found at The New York Times, Life Magazine, and The Observer (UK).

Bleriot XI Video Links

The first film is a 4 minute clip taken at the Imperial War Museum's 1995 Duxford Air Show (Video). The behaviour of the Bleriot monoplane shown is reminiscent of cycling against a headwind - at one point the commentator says, "I'm sure he's going backwards there!"

The second film is a 37 second clip taken at New Zealand's 2006 Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow (Video). A caption from the accompanying website states:

The first aircraft ever to fly the English Channel, flown by it's maker Louis Bleriot, in 1909 in a time of 36 minutes, a Bleriot XI made history. In 1913 an American, "Wizard" Stone brought one to New Zealand and undertook several flights before writing it off at Napier. This Bleriot XI is an original, built in 1918 and brought to New Zealand by it’s owner, Mikael Carlson, exclusively to fly at Warbirds Over Wanaka. Powered by a 50hp Gnome Omega, it cruises a sedate 42 knots.

Louis Bleriot's Record-setting Flight Across the English Channel (3)

Louis Bleriot, the 37-year old French inventor, aircraft designer, and self-trained pilot, flew across the treacherous English Channel early on July 25, 1909, in an aircraft he designed himself--the Bleriot XI. The flight from Les Barraques (now Sangatte Bleriot Plage), France, to Dover, England, undertaken in bad weather, earned him the GBP 1000 prize that the London Daily Mail had offered to the first aviator to cross the Channel in either direction. His accomplishment delighted the public and shocked many in the British military and political establishment.

Bleriot was born in Cambrai, France, in 1872, and obtained a degree in Arts and Trades from École Centrale Paris. He invented automobile headlamps and established a very successful acetylene headlamp business, amassing a small fortune. He used the money from his business to experiment with towed gliders on the Seine River, learning much about aircraft and flight dynamics. He built a model ornithopter, which further aroused his interest in aircraft. Bleriot's earliest real aircraft design was for a glider, built in 1905 by another aircraft manufacturer, and he experimented with many biplane and monoplane configurations. His designs were modified and consistently improved, and his planes became known for their high quality and performance.

Bleriot did not invent the monoplane; a Romanian lawyer turned inventor who lived in Paris, Trajan Vuia, built the first one that achieved successful flight, flying 40 feet (12 meters) on March 18, 1906. That year, Bleriot switched from a biplane to a monoplane configuration to increase the efficiency of the wing structure. Then, in 1907 at Bagatelle, France, he flew a plane he had designed himself, the Bleriot Model VII, for the first time, flying more than 1,640 feet (500 meters). Although the craft itself was not considered a success, the Model VII set the pattern for much of Europe's monoplane development.

Flying in those early years of flight was risky. Aircraft engines were small, unreliable, and generally prone to overheating rapidly and most engines of this period could run for only about 20 minutes before they began malfunctioning. In addition, the planes themselves were unreliable, especially for longer flights. Pilots frequently stayed over land or close to the shoreline to avoid open stretches of water, allowing them to head for a roadway or field in an emergency. Less than a week before Bleriot's successful flight, Hubert Latham, another early aviator, was the victim of a failed motor on July 19, when he had to ditch his plane in the water as he tried to cross the Channel. Bleriot acknowledged the danger of early flight in his paper Above the Channel when he reported, "At first I promised my wife that I would not make the attempt." He said that she had begged him not to make the flight and afterward, he promised he would fly "no more" once he completed a race that he had already entered.

The Bleriot XI made its first flight on January 23, 1909, at Issy-les-Moulineaux. The plane was first equipped with a 30-horsepower (22.4-kilowatt) R.E.P. engine, which drove a four-bladed metal propeller. During testing, however, Bleriot replaced it with the more-reliable 25-horsepower (18.6-kilowatt) Anzani engine and installed a Chauviere two-bladed propeller. (But this did not remove all risk--in an earlier flight, Bleriot's Anzani engine had overheated.) The tail consisted of a central rudder and elevators at each end of fixed horizontal tail surfaces. Lateral movement of the aircraft was controlled by wing warping the trailing edges of the wings. The plane had a 25.5-foot (7.8-meter) wingspan, was a little over 26 feet (8 meters) long, and was 8.5 feet (2.6 meters) high. It had an ash fuselage with supporting struts and wire ties, and the shoulder-mounted wing was also wood.

This Bleriot performed admirably. Between May 27, 1909, when the Anzani engine was installed, and its historic Channel crossing, it made some remarkable flights--the best on July 4, which lasted 50 minutes and 8 seconds.

For the July 25 attempt, the French government authorized Bleriot to have a destroyer, the Escopette, support his attempt to span the English Channel. The day before the flight, Bleriot ordered the destroyer to sea. The next morning, when Bleriot drove to the field in Les Barraques, France, where his Model XI was garaged, he noted the light, southwest breeze that would favor his attempt. By 4:30 a.m., just before takeoff, daylight arrived and the wind began to blow. He reported, in a cable to the Washington Post, that he pushed his engine to 1,200 revolutions per minute, nearly top speed, to clear telegraph wires at the crest of the cliff near the field. Then he lowered the engine speed to give the XI an airspeed of approximately 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour) and an altitude of about 250 feet (76 meters). At that speed, he rapidly overtook the destroyer and became lost in the clouds, which blocked his view of all landmarks. He could not even see the ship. The sea below had grown rough. There was wind and rain. His craft did not have a compass! Afterward, he reported those moments, "I am alone. I can see nothing at all. For ten minutes, I am lost."

Dover Castle from the Sea
White Cliffs of Dover

He continued flying straight ahead as best he could. Roughly 20 minutes after leaving France, he spied the green hills of Dover and the famous castle. The wind had blown him off course. He was near St Margaret's Bay, west of the field where he had planned to land. He would have to push his engine to a greater distance. However, the rain that might otherwise be a problem was cooling his engine. As he approached the Cliffs of Dover, gusts were stronger and airspeed slower as his "beautiful" plane fought the wind. But the Anzani was powerful enough to propel the XI over the Cliff. He spotted his friend waving a French flag to confirm he had the right field. Now Bleriot had to maneuver the craft to not hit any of the buildings near the field (Northfall Meadow). Bleriot reported that the wind caught his plane and whirled him around two or three times. With his altitude at about 65 feet (20 meters) and being driven by the wind, he immediately cut the engine and dropped to the ground! Bleriot commented, "At the risk of smashing everything, I cut the ignition at 20 meters. Now it was up to chance. The landing gear took it rather badly, the propeller was damaged, but my word, so what? I HAD CROSSED THE CHANNEL!" British Customs had no provision for a landing other than by ship, so Bleriot was logged in as a ship's Master and the XI as a yacht (4).

The significance of Louis Bleriot's successful 37-minute flight over the English Channel could be measured not only by his "immense acclaim" upon landing in Dover but also by the impact on political figures, military commanders, and planners. They came to the startling realization that Britain was susceptible to enemy attack by other than water. The nation had a strong navy and could face attack from the sea--not from the air. Politicians saw that Britain was not prepared for this new transportation system and its new technology. David Lloyd George, chancellor of the Exchequer, said, "Flying machines are no longer toys and dreams, they are established fact. The possibilities of this new system of locomotion are infinite. I feel, as a Britisher, rather ashamed that we are so completely out of it."

After his triumph over the angry seas of the English Channel, Bleriot went on to build aircraft for the French government for use in World War I and commercial aircraft thereafter. His vision, skill, and ingenuity contributed to aeronautical science and the growing popularity of aviation as a sport. The basic layout of the standard control panel that he designed in 1908 holds true for today's modern aircraft. Bleriot remained active in the aircraft industry until his death in August 1936.

In July 1964, Australia chose Bleriot's Model XI for its postage stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first airmail flight in Australia. The plane was similar to that used by Maurice Guiilaux for his milestone Melbourne to Sydney flight.

(1) Founder members of the Aero Club of the United Kingdom: Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera Butler, and the Hon. (Honourable) Charles Stewart Rolls.

Not uploaded yet is a Dover Seafront photo of a Charles Stewart Rolls statue that commemorates his non-stop flight across the English Channel and back on June 2nd, 1910. Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce were co-founders of Rolls Royce motor cars

(2) Bleriot's Centennial Flight Over The English Channel

(3) From Louis Bleriot's Record-setting Flight Across the English Channel on the History of Flight - US Centennial of Flight Commission website. Also see "Explorers, Daredevils and Record Setters" under Essays.

(4) Excerpt from "Contact! The Story of the Early Aviators" (Henry Villard, 2002):

When Bleriot climbed out of his cockpit, he was embraced with Gallic fervor by two Frenchmen, and photographed with the correspondent not from the Daily Mail but from Le Matin - together with the flag of France prominently displayed.

Lord Warden House
...But the British had Bleriot in tow moments after this display of chauvinism. After breakfast at the Lord Warden Hotel, he was approached by three authorities from the customs house, who - in the best traditions of their office - solemnly asked him if he had anything to declare. On answering in the negative, the flyer was granted clearance by an immigration officer in the following historic terms:

"I certify I have examined Louis Bleriot, master of a vessel, Monoplane, lately arrived from Calais, and that it appears by the verbal answers of the said master to the questions put to him that there has not been on board during the voyage any infectious disease demanding detention of the vessel, and that she is free to proceed"

Bleriot proceeded to London, where, through endless festivities, he was cheered, applauded, and praised.

The main photo was first uploaded to:

The Louis Bleriot Memorial, South-East Northfall Meadow, Dover Castle

Click to see all Louis Bleriot, Memorial, and White Cliffs Country photos.

A Dover aviation history photo.

Clickable thumbnails of all White Cliffs Country-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the White Cliffs Country Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS Asuka II Cruise Ship berthed at the Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:38:00 +0000

The MS Asuka II passenger ship berthed at CT2 (Cruise Terminal 2) on the Admiralty Pier of Dover Harbour, her bow pointing in the direction of the Western Entrance and English Channel beyond:

(Click this MS Asuka II Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

Western Docks at Night

The Asuka II is in the Inner Harbour (ex-Commercial Harbour), part of the Western Docks, that is bounded to the left by the out-of-shot Prince of Wales Pier.

To the left of the passenger ship is the Southern Breakwater and DHB David Church dredger, a Dover Harbour Board vessel.

Towards the bow on the right is the Cruise Terminal 2 building; near the stern is part of the Admiralty Pier Turret base (alt. Dover Turret), an enclosed Victorian armoured turret built in 1882.

The photo was taken at 1.05 pm on Monday, 16th of May, 2011, from the upper level of the Admiralty Pier.

The MS Asuka II (飛鳥II, alt. MV Asuka 2) "changed to foreign trade" on Sunday, 3rd of April, and departed Yokohama (横浜市, Yokohama-shi, 日本, Japan) at 4 pm on a World Cruise (1) and then called at Singapore, Port Louis (capital of Mauritius), Cape Town (South Africa), Walvis Bay (Namibia), Dakar (capital of Senegal), Lisbon (capital of Portugal), and Rouen (capital of Normandy, France) before arriving at Dover, England (nb this itinerary may not include tourist ports of call).

After leaving Dover, the passenger ship will call at Amsterdam (Holland/Netherlands), Warnemunde (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden), Bergen (Norway), Honningsvag (Norway), Rekyjavik (Iceland), New York (USA), Nassau (Bahamas), Plays del Carmen (for Cozumel Island, Mexico), Panama Canal, Acapulco (Mexico), San Francisco (USA), Hilo (Hawaii, US), Honolulu (Hawaii, US), and Yokohama (Japan) on Thursday, 14th of July.

The following day, 15th of July, 2011, the MS Asuka II is scheduled to arrive in Kobe (Japan) and change back to domestic trade.

Videos:

1) The official "Welcome to Asuka II" video (in Japanese)

2) A well-made amateur video of the MS Asuka II sailing up the Hudson River and passing under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge connecting the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City:

MS Asuka II (2)

MS Asuka II (飛鳥II - the "Flying Bird") is a cruise ship owned and operated by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (日本郵船株式会社 Nippon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha). It was originally built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan as MS Crystal Harmony for Crystal Cruises (see below). In 2006 Crystal Harmony was transferred from the fleet of Crystal Cruises to that of Crystal's parent company Nippon Yusen Kaisha and entered service under her current name. As of February 2009 it is the largest cruise ship in Japan.

Ship Service History

1990 - 2006: During the Crystal Harmony's maiden voyage in the South American/Caribbean waters, the ship caught on fire due to water entering her engine system. The Crystal Harmony drifted afloat for three days when, eventually, it was towed into dry dock for repair the island of Curacao (Curaçao).

2006 onwards: The Crystal Harmony was retired from the Crystal fleet in 2005. It was transferred to the parent company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, underwent some renovations, and re-entered service as Asuka II.

Ship Features

The MS Asuka II features 8 passenger accessible decks. The ship has 2 swimming pools, 8 bars, a casino and fitness centre. There is also a 277 seat theatre. There are 461 outside cabins, 260 of which have private balconies. There are 19 inside cabins.

Vessel details (2) (3)

Name: 1990 - 2006: Crystal Harmony, 2006 onwards: Asuka II
Owner: 1990 - 2006: Crystal Cruises, 2006 onwards: Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line)
Operator: 1990 - 2006: Crystal Cruises, 2006 onwards: Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Cruises)
Port of registry: 1990 - 2006: Nassau, Bahamas, 2006 onwards: Unknown, Japan
Builder: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki, Japan
Yard number: 2100
Launched: 30 September 1989
Acquired: July 1990
Type: cruise ship
Tonnage: 50,142 GT (gross tonnage), 8,642 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Length: 241 m (790 ft 8 in)
Beam: 29.6 m (97 ft 1 in)
Draught: 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
Decks: 8
Installed power: 4 × MAN Diesel Engines, 32,800 kW
Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Capacity: 960 passengers
Crew: 545
Flag: Japan
Call Sign: 7JBI
IMO: 8806204
MMSI: 432545000

Crystal Cruises (4)

Crystal Cruise Lines, most commonly seen as Crystal Cruises, is a Japanese luxury cruise line founded in 1988 and notable for its two medium-sized, high-end ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, which each hold about 1,000 guests. The line is a wholly owned subsidiary of the large Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The line has its headquarters in Century City, Los Angeles, California.

Notes and Sources

(1) Asuka II Voyage Plan (from International Cruise Management Agency, ICMA, a fully owned subsidiary of NYK Line, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, of Tokyo, Japan)
(2) Wikipedia entry for MS Asuka II
(3) Marinetraffic entry for MS Asuka II
(4) Wikipedia entry for Crystal Cruises

The main photo first appeared at:

MS Asuka II Cruise Ship berthed at the Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour

Berthed at Cruise Terminal 2 on Tuesday, 10th of May, 2011:

MS Emerald Princess Cruise Ship berthed at the Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour

Click to see all Cruise Ship photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).

The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

Port of Dover travel and tourism in the Western Docks.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town

MS AIDAsol Cruise Ship in Dover Harbour on her Maiden Voyage, Kent, UK

noreply@blogger.com (John Latter) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:17:00 +0000

The MS AIDAsol cruise ship entered Dover Harbour on Wednesday, 13th of April, 2011 (closely followed by fog!) via the Eastern Entrance and is shown in front of the White Cliffs of Dover and Eastern Arm pier:

(Click this MS AIDAsol cruise ship text link to see the largest size)

The passenger ship is now heading towards the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks to berth at CT2 (Cruise Terminal 2).

The photo was taken at 8.49 am approximately 1300 yards away from near the lighthouse and cafe end of the Prince of Wales Pier (eastern side).

In the English Channel, sea fog can occur at any time of the year but seems to be more common in the late Spring and early to mid-Summer when the water inshore is still fairly cold (1).

The maiden voyage of the MS AIDAsol had the following itinerary: Kiel (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), Dover (England), Le Havre (France), Amsterdam (Netherlands/Holland), and Hamburg (Germany).

The AIDA Sol had been christened in Kiel 4 days earlier on April 9th by godmother Bettina Zwickler (Betty Zwickler), accompanied by Michael Thamm (AIDA president) after a free concert featuring Kim Wilde, OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark), and John Miles.

Thorsten Albig (Mayor of Kiel) also attended.

An official video showing the MS AIDAsol's arrival in Hamburg prior to the christening on April 1st:

The MS AIDAsol is a Sphinx-class cruise ship, built at Meyer Werft for AIDA Cruises, a British-American owned German cruise line based in Rostock, Germany. Carnival Corporation & PLC is the parent company of AIDA Cruises (2).

Vessel Details (2) (3):

Gross Tonnage: 71,300 tons
Length: 252 metres (826.77 ft)
Beam: 32.2 metres (105.64 ft)
Passengers: 2174
Speed recorded (Maximum / Average): 20.5 / 19.5 knots
Flag: Italy (IT)
Call Sign: ICPE
IMO: 9490040
MMSI: 247302900

Click to see the official AIDAsol webpage (in German), the AIDA Cruises website, and the AIDAsol webcam ("bugcam"). The view is a stitched panorama of three webcams so use the scrollbar at the bottom of the picture.

(1) Fog De-mystified - when, where and how it forms
(2) Wikipedia entry for MS AIDAsol
(3) Marinetraffic entry for MS AIDAsol

The main photo first appeared at:

MS AIDAsol Cruise Ship in Dover Harbour on her Maiden Voyage

Also see:

MS AIDAsol Cruise Ship berthed at Cruise Terminal 2, Admiralty Pier, Dover (not yet uploaded)

Click to see all Dover AIDA Cruises and Cruise Ship photos.

Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos from the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog at Port of Dover Page (also linked to at the top below the blog title).

The main site Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town