Deal is situated on the sea coast, five miles from Sandwich. It is supposed that Julius Caesar landed here in his first descent upon Britain, having found the shore at Dover inaccessible.

The town consists principally of three long streets, running parallel with the sea, and connected by others which are in general narrow and inconvenient. Most of the inhabitants are employed in maritime occupations, or in furnishing supplies for the numerous ships which anchor in the Downs. Here are a naval storehouse, and an office of the customs. The East India Company have also an agent constantly resident here. At this place, as at Dover, is an establishment of Pilots for the conveyance of shipping into, and out of, the Downs, and up the rivers Thames and Medway. Many improvements have been effected in this town since the year 1790, when an act was passed for paving and lighting the streets. By charter of the 11th of King William III., Deal was made a free town and borough of itself, and a body corporate, consisting of a mayor, twelve jurats, and twenty-four common council men.

Deal Castle stands on the south side of the town, encompassed with a ditch, over which is a drawbridge leading to the gate. It consists chiefly of a round tower, with a suite of apartments designed for the convenience of the captain; a battery of a few guns, with lunettes, make its chief defence.

The church is dedicated to St. Leonard, and is situated about a mile from the sea, in a Tillage called Upper Deal. There is also a chapel of ease, situated in Lower Deal, which is a neat edifice, dependant upon the mother church.

Immediately opposite to Deal is the famous road for shipping, so well known all over the trading world by the name of the Downs, and where almost all the ships that arrive from foreign ports to London, or go from London to foreign ports, and pass the Channel, generally stop. In particular states of the wind, nearly 400 sail of shipping have rode at anchor here at one time. On these occasions it will be readily supposed that the town is a scene of great bustle and traffic. It may be added that the sea-view, when thus animated by "the pride and strength of Britain," is fine beyond description.

The number of houses in Deal, according to the returns of 1811, was 1350, and the total number of inhabitants 7351.

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DEAL is a pleasantly situated sea-coast town and pilot station, municipal borough and a member of the Cinque Port of Sandwich, head of a county court district and was formerly the terminus of a branch line of the South Eastern and Chatham railway from Minster. Another line uniting this town to Dover was constructed in 1879, and is worked jointly by the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover railway companies. Deal is 73 miles from London by road and 90 by railway, 20 south-east from Canterbury by rail, 9 north from Dover, 4 south-east from Sandwich, 13 south from Ramsgate, 17 south from Margate, 34 north-east from Ashford and 15 ½ north-east from Folkestone, in the Eastern division of the county, lathe of St. Augustine, Wingham petty sessional division, Eastry union, rural deanery of Sandwich and archdeaconry and diocese of Canterbury. As a watering-place it is very healthy and bracing, and is extending rapidly both north and south by the erection of numerous residences and boarding establishments. The fine asphalted promenade, made along the beach, and extended in 1894, is continued southward through Lower Walmer, and northward to the rains of Sandown Castle, a total length of nearly 4 miles, and affords fine views of the Downs, the Goodwin Sands, the Isle of Thanet and the French coast.

The pier, begun in 1861 and finished in 1864, at a cost of £13,500, by the Deal Promenade Pier Company Lim. is 1,000 feet in length and 23 feet wide; a pavilion for concerts was erected at the head of the pier in 1886 and enlarged in 1897, and will now seat 500 persons.

Deal was incorporated by charter, 9th of William III. (1698—9). The municipal body, as remodeled by the “Municipal Corporations Act, 1835” (5 & 6 William IV. c. 76), consists of a mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors. The Town is paved and lighted with gas from works the property of the Deal and Walmer Gas Co. and is well supplied with water from works at Upper Deal, established in 1840, and now (1902) the property of the Deal and Walmer joint Water Board, who purchased the works in Dec. 1897: the water is pumped from the chalk into covered reservoirs, containing 850,000 gallons; it is under the jurisdiction of the county police force and has a Court of General Sessions of the Peace and a Court of Record; the borough has a Commission of the Peace and separate Court of Quarter Sessions.

The “Cinque Port Justices,” appointed under the Act 51 George III. cap. 36, for the Deal division of the liberties of the Cinque Ports (comprising Walmer and Ringwould), hold their sessions at Deal.

Upper Deal is the site of the ancient Deal described by Leland in his “Itinerary” as a “fisher” village, and at that time half a mile from the sea-shore; but now at a greater distance, and it still retains some quaint old buildings.

The parish church of St. Leonard, at Upper Deal, dates from about 1051; it was rebuilt in 1684 and enlarged in 1819, and is a spacious edifice of flint and brick, with some remains of Norman and Transitional work, and has a tower containing a clock and 6 bells: there is a brass, with kneeling effigy to Thomas Boyd esq. 1562; and several memorial windows; the lectern was presented in memory of Lieut. T. Ll. Griffith (son of the present rector), killed at Isandwhlana, Zululand, 22nd January, 1879; there are 600 sittings. The register dates from the year 1559. The living is a rectory, net yearly value £250, with residence, in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and held since 1862 by the Rev. Thomas Llewelyn Griffith M.A. of University College, Oxford. The population in 1891 was 3,544.

St. Andrew’s is an ecclesiastical parish, formed April 9Th 1852. The church, erected in 1850, at a cost, including site, of about £7,000, is of Kentish rag stone with Caen stone dressings in the Early English style, and has a tower with spire containing one bell; in 1865 the chancel was extended and aisles added; the east window is a memorial to Elizabeth (Herbert), Countess of Clanwilliam, d. 20 Sept. 1858, and there are other stained windows; the church affords 630 sittings, of which 473 are free. The register dates from the year 1850. The living is a rectory, gross yearly value £320, with residence, in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and held since 1900 by the Rev. Thomas Frederick Bigg M.A. of Caius College, Cambridge.

St. George’s is an ecclesiastical parish, formed April 9Th 1852. The church of St. George the Martyr, Lower Deal, completed in 1715, is of brick, in the Queen Anne style; there are 900 sittings, about 300 being free. The Corporation pew, a fine example of enriched oak carving, was constructed in June, 1892, at a cost of £100. The register dates from the year 1852. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £300, in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and held since 1868 by the Rev. David Bruce Payne D.D. of University College, Durham, Hon. Canon of Canterbury and surrogate.

The Mission Hall in connection with St. Andrew’s was erected in 1881 at the north end of the parish for boatmen and others, and has 200 sittings.

The Catholic church, in Blenheim road, erected in 1885 end dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury, is a building of red brick, in the Norman style, consisting of chancel, nave, transepts and western tower, and affords 200 sittings.

The Congregational chapel, founded in 1662, has 750 sittings; the Baptist chapel, erected in 1814, will seat 600; there are also Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist and Free Christian chapels, and meeting house for the Brethren.

The Cemetery, at Cemetery road, formed at an inclusive cost of about £3,000 and consecrated in March, 1856, consists of about six acres, with two mortuary chapels, and is controlled by a burial board of nine members.

The convent and orphanage of St. Ethelburga, West street, established in 1871, for educating young girls, consists of two large houses, with a chapel attached, and surrounded by extensive grounds, near the railway station and about five minutes’ walk from the sea; the teaching is conducted by the sisters of Notre Dame des Missions; and there is room for about 100 inmates. The Sacred Heart boarding and day school for young ladies is also conducted by the sisters.

The Town Hall, in High street, erected in 1803, is a spacious building with a hall 57 by 27 feet, used for sessions and other public purposes, and containing fine portraits of William III. and William IV. and of Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, born at Deal, 16th December, 1717, and well known as the translator of Epictetus; a council chamber, magistrates’ room and police cells were added in 1883.

St. George’s Hall and Public Rooms, in Park street, the property of a company, were erected in 1864, at a cost of £3,000, and contain an assembly room, seating 800 persons, and committee, billiard and reading rooms; the Deal and Walmer Carter Institute also has rooms in this building; the public rooms contain a good library of above 1,500 volumes, and are well supplied with periodicals and newspapers; in the reading room is a collection of curiosities presented by residents of the town and neighbourhood. Classes for technical instruction are held here from October till May under the auspices of the Deal Corporation and Walmer Urban District Council.

The premises of the Deal and Walmer Union Club are on the beach near Deal Castle, and opposite the pier is the Wellington Club, with 70 members.

The Cinque Ports Golf Club, established in 1892, has 500 members; the links are about half a mile north of the Railway Station, and there is a well-appointed clubhouse for members.

There are three local newspapers: the “Kentish Telegram,” founded in 1858, published on Wednesday, by Mr. H. T. Pain, proprietor, of High street; the “Deal Mercury,” founded in 1865, published on friday, by T. F. Pain & Sons, proprietors, Queen street; and the “Deal Paper,” published on friday by the Minerva Printing Co. Oak street.

The Downs, which lie off Deal, form a safe roadstead except from the south for fleets and ships of the largest description; they are well protected on the east, west and north and contain 10 miles of good anchorage. A magnificent sight is presented here on a change taking place after a continuance of contrary winds, when hundreds of ships may be seen at one time making sail.

The Goodwin Sands, which form the protection of the anchorage, and on which are four light ships, extend for a length of about 9 miles, but are highly dangerous and occasion frequent wrecks, demanding and invariably receiving that ready activity and daring intrepidity for which the boatmen of Deal are justly celebrated: the number of boatmen is now estimated at about 400.

There are two reading-rooms for the Deal boatmen, one at the north end of the town and the other at the south end: the former was erected in the year 1862 and rebuilt in 1884 and contains a valuable library: the reading room at the south end was established in 1858 by the Rev. J. M. Nisbet M.A. formerly rector of Upper Deal (1856—61).

On the beach at the south end of the town is a lofty square tower, formerly used as a signal or telegraph station, on the summit of which there is a time ball for shipping: the ball is raised half-mast high at five minutes before 1 p.m. nearly, and to the top at three minutes before 1 p.m. nearly, every day; it is dropped by an instantaneous galvanic current from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, exactly at 1 p.m. Greenwich mean time every day; the time to be noted being the instant at which the ball begins to fall from the cross-arms of the vane; if, however, the wind is very strong, the ball is not raised.

The Custom House is in College road.

Deal is a pilot station for the licensed Trinity pilots, there being 16 attached to the port and employed in piloting vessels from the Downs to Gravesend.

The Life Boat, “Mary Somerville,” stationed at the north end, is one of the largest and most powerful boats in the country and replaces one given to the town by the well-known marine artist, Mr. E. W. Cooke, at a cost of £600.

The Coast Guard Station at the north end is in telephonic communication with South Foreland lighthouse, and intervening Coast Guard stations to the south and No. 2 battery, Sandwich and Ramsgate to the north.

The trade of Deal consists largely in supplying vessels in the Downs with water, provisions and hovelling; and there are fish curing and provision preserving establishments.

The 6th Company 1st Cinque Ports Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) is stationed in the town.

The charities, derived from various bequests, amount to £16 yearly, and are distributed in bread; there is also a soup kitchen in Brewer street, a coal charity, a clothing club and a Boatman’s Benevolent Society. The Mary Hougham Alms Houses, in Beach street, were founded in 1890 by George Coleman esq. of Rosway, in trust for the benefit of old and infirm Deal boatmen and their families, and are administered by the Mayor, aldermen and town clerk for the time being. The income is derived from £105 16s. 2 ¾ Consols, purchased in 1891 by the corporation and burgesses, and £1,000, 2 ¾ Consols, given by the above George Coleman esq. in 1892. The almshouses comprise twelve messuages and the capstan ground in front. The Deal and Walmer Provident Dispensary and Infirmary and Victoria Cottage Hospital and Private Nursing Institution in Wellington road, established in 1862, was enlarged in 1897 by public subscription, and is also conducted on the provident system, is intended for the relief of the sick poor of Deal and Walmer; and contains an infirmary ward with twelve beds for seamen and others, who may meet with accidents. Medical and surgical cases are also taken.

The pretender, Perkin Warbeck, landed at Deal with his forces in July, 1495, and was defeated by the trained bands of Sandwich. In 1540 Anne of Cleves rested here to recover from the fatigues of her voyage, on her way to be married to Henry VIII. In August, 1648, during the Civil War, Prince Charles, afterwards Charles II. came into the Downs with a considerable fleet and on the 15th of that month attacked the town of Deal; but his forces were entirely routed by the Parliamentary troops, under Colonel Rich.

Deal Castle, on the southern boundary of the town, built by Henry VIII. in the year 1539, for the defence of the coast, has four round bastions of stone, of thick arched work, with numerous embrasures: from the centre of these rises a large round tower, having a cistern at the summit and in the basement an arched bomb-proof cavern, the walls of which are from 20 to 30 feet thick at the foundation, gradually diminishing to about 11 feet towards the summit: the residence of the Captain of the castle, who is generally a nobleman appointed by the Lord Warden, is a modern building facing the sea: the present occupant is the Right Hon. Lord George Francis Hamilton M.P., P.C.

Sundown Castle, formerly standing at the northern extremity of Deal, is now only represented by the ruins of some part of the original structure, erected by Henry VIII.: during the reign of Charles II. Colonel John Hutchinson, who had been a member of the Long Parliament and governor of Nottingham Castle, and was one of the judges of Charles I. was confined and died here September 11, 1664; it was purchased by the Corporation in 1894.

The parish is co-extensive with the municipal borough, which is divided into north and south wards. The population in 1901 was 10,581, viz.:-North Ward, 5,461; South Ward, 5,120. The area is 1,110 acres of land, 1 of water and 20 of foreshore; rateable value, £37,222.

The population of the ecclesiastical parishes are:-St. Leonard (parish church), 4,351; St. Andrew, 3,815; St. George the Martyr, 2,415.

Petty sessions are held at the Sessions house at Wingham the first thursday in every month at 11 a.m. & at Dover the third thursday in every month at 2 p.m.

PLACES OF WORSHIP, with times of Services

St. Leonard’s Parish Church, Upper Deal, Rev. Thomas Llewelyn Griffith M.A. rector; Rev. Archibald Cochrane M.A.; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; 1st sunday in the month litany 3 p.m.; wed. evening service 7 p.m.

St. Andrew’s Church, West street, Rev. Thomas Frederick Bigg M.A. rector; Sunday services 11 a.m. 3.15 (children) & 6.30 p.m. & 1st Sunday in the month 3 p.m. (men); week days, 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. except wed. & fri. when it is 11 a.m. & wed. 7 p.m.

St. George’s Church, High street, Rev. Canon David Bruce Payne D.D. vicar; 11 a.m. 6 & 6.30 p.m.; week days, 12 noon; wed. 7 p.m.; holy days, 12 noon & 7 p.m.

Missions to Seamen, North end, Beach street, Rev. Thomas Stanley Treanor M.A. chaplain; services twice weekly.

St. Andrew’s Mission Hall, Sandown road; 6.30 p.m. sun. from October to May only.

St. Thomas of Canterbury Catholic, Blenheim road, Rev. Anthony Limpens, priest; mass for marines 9 a.m. & for civilians 11 a.m.; benediction 6.30 p.m.; holy days, mass 9 a.m.; week days, mass in convent 7.30 a.m.; benediction, wed. in convent 5 p.m.; fri. in church 6.30 p.m.

Baptist, Victoria road, Rev. Nicholas Dobson; 10.45 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; wed. 8 p.m.

Congregational, High street, Rev. David S. Dakin; 10.45 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; mon. & wed. 7 p.m.

Free Christian, High street, Rev. Thomas Shakespeare; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

Plymouth Brethren, St. George’s place; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

Primitive Methodist, Park street; 10.45 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; wed. 7 p.m.

Wesleyan, West street, Rev. Charles L. Tabraham; 10.45 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; mon. & wed. 7 p.m.

SCHOOLS

A School Attendance Committee, consisting of 9 members of the Corporation, was formed in January, 1877; Edwin Noble, 149 College road, attendance officer.

Deal Central (St. George's), Middle street, founded in 1829, rebuilt in 1870 & enlarged in 1882 & in 1894, for 190 boys, 150 girls & 165 infants; average attendance, 145 boys, 140 girls & 113 infants.

Deal Parochial (St. Leonard’s & St. Andrew’s), Middle Deal, erected in 1852 & enlarged in 1890, for 180 boys, 159 girls & as many infants; average attendance, 175 boys, 136 girls & 112 infants.

Infants’, St. Andrew’s, Duke street, opened in 1870 & enlarged & restored in 1885 at an expense of £300. for 250 children; average attendance, 120.

Catholic, West street, for 100 girls; average attendance, 100; conducted by Sisters of Notre Dame des Missions.

Wesleyan, Union street, erected in 1860 by William Betts, for 260 boys & girls & 115 infants; average attendance, 189 boys & girls & 90 infants.