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Thursday 3 September 2020

I have been to ... Sandwich, Kent

Sue does a considerable amount of sewing and dressmaking, and buys a lot of the material she uses from a market stall holder who visits various markets in Kent. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the stall holder has moved most of his sales online, but he has now resumed running his market stall twice each week in the centre of Sandwich, Kent.

Yesterday we drove to Sandwich so that Sue could visit her favourite material stall, and we used the opportunity to have a day out. (When we got back, I realised that this was the longest drive I had done since March!)

We parked in the Quay Car Park near the famous barbican and toll bridge over the River Stour.

The River Stour, looking towards the toll bridge. The bridge is a swing bridge that pivots to allow small boats to pass through.
The barbican at the town end of the toll bridge.
The barbican as seen from the town side.
From there, we walked along the narrow medieval streets ...


The local Masonic Hall.
The Pellicane House in the High Street is an important Grade II* listed townhouse. The original house was built during the fifteenth century, and it was altered and remodelled during the seventeenth century. It is currently on sale for £1,100,000.


St Peter's Church, Sandwich. It is thought that is was built on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon church.
St Peter's Church was rebuilt by Carmelite monks in 1216 after the original building had been destroyed during a French raid on Sandwich. It was rebuilt again in during the 1660s by Dutch refugees after the central tower collapsed and destroyed much of the south aisle late on the evening of Sunday, 13th October 1661.
... to the Guildhall, which is situated in the centre of the oldest part of the town, and which is the location of the Wednesday market.

The wonderfully named 'No Name Shop' on the corner of No Name Street! The courtyard in front of the Guildhall can be seen in the distance.
A view of New Street, Sandwich.
Another view of New Street, this time from the corner of Moat Sole.

The street layout of the centre of Sandwich is very definitely medieval, and although many of the buildings were remodelled or rebuilt during the Georgian and Victorian eras, the town still has a distinctly medieval feel to it.

We finished our visit to Sandwich with lunch in an Italian restaurant called ‘Luigi’s’. Although the entrance looked small and a bit off putting, once you had gone upstairs, you discovered that it was a light and airy restaurant that served good food in large portions! We ate the two-course, set-priced lunch, which with drinks and a few extras cost us less than £30.00, including a tip.


Sandwich is one of the original Cinque Ports. These were Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich, and by the time of the Norman Conquest they had been granted the local 'profits of justice' in return for providing ships for the king in time of war. In exchange for providing fifty-seven ships for fifteen days' annual service to the king, the Cinque Ports were:
  • Given exemption from tax and tolls
  • Given self-government
  • Given permission to levy tolls
  • Granted the right to punish those who shed blood or fled justice
  • Granted the right to punish minor offences
  • Granted the right to detain and execute criminals both inside and outside the port's jurisdiction
  • Granted the right to punish breaches of the peace
  • Given possession of lost goods that remain unclaimed after a year
  • Given possession of goods that had been thrown overboard
  • Given possession of any floating wreckage
The original five towns were later joined by Rye and Winchelsea, and the Cinque Ports were the centre of a confederation that included seven ‘limbs’ (the towns of Lydd, Folkestone, Faversham, Margate, Deal, Ramsgate, and Tenterden) and twenty-three associated small towns and villages.

The importance of the Cinque Ports declined over the years, and by the middle of the sixteenth century they no longer enjoyed their former privileges. The role of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, who had been the monarch’s representative during the period of the Cinque Ports’ prominence, became a ceremonial one. Amongst those who have held this honour are:
  • William Pitt the Younger (1792-1806)
  • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1829-1852): He died at Walmer Castle, the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
  • Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1860-1865)
  • Sir Winston Churchill (1941-1965)
  • Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1978-2002): To date, she is the only female to have held the post of a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

28 comments:

  1. The fish and chip shop next to Luigi's is excellent.

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    1. Nigel Drury,

      That doesn’t surprise me as it had a queue of local outside, wait8ng to be served.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. You might find this entry of interest - http://www.open-sandwich.co.uk/town_history/mayors.htm#:~:text=The%20Mayor%20of%20Sandwich%2C%20John,a%20hundred%20years%20had%20passed.

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    1. Nigel Drury,

      What an interesting historical anomaly. I’m used to seeing local mayors in red robes, but I’ve never seen one who wore black.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. It was his surname that caught my attention.

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    3. Nigel Drury,

      I had completely missed that when I read the website!

      These Normans get everywhere!

      All the best,

      Bob

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    4. Nigel Drury,

      Sue and I are members of EH and NT, and had hoped to visit lots of places this summer ... but never managed to.

      Reculver is on our list of places to visit, along with Richborough, the museum at Manston, and Airfix Visitors Centre near Margate.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Hi Bob,
    Thank you for posting this very interesting visit to Sandwich. I marvel at the shear History of towns such as Sandwich. As you say some buildings had been Medieval though re-modeled in Victorian times - totally fascinating. I lost all our digital photos of England after we toured in 2015 because of my PC Hard Drive failure...looking at your photos is indeed very heart warming and compensating too. Best Wishes. KEV.

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    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson (Kev),

      When you live surrounded by history and historical buildings or structures, it is very easy to stop noticing them. We live less than 200m from a pre-historic burial mound, and yet most locals have no idea that it is there. A bit father away (500m) is Watling Street, the route of the Roman road from Dover, via Canterbury, to the south end of London Bridge ... and we used it yesterday to go to Sandwich.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. Have you visited Richborough? You can stand in the gateway where Watling Street started.

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    3. Nigel Drury,

      I would have done so yesterday, but I understand that during the present pandemic, you have to book a visit in advance ... and we hadn’t.

      It’s on our list for our next visit.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    4. If you can plan to visit Reculver in the same day then the history and the geography tie up nicely. The EH guidebook is worth getting.

      Delete
  4. Enjoyed the photo-tour of Sandwich, hard to believe how deserted it looks (for obvious reasons). A well deserved and productive day out. Cheers Greg

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    Replies
    1. Delta Coy (Greg),

      There were a few tourists about, but most of the people we saw were locals. Almost everyone was wearing a face mask, even in the open where they are not required.

      Sandwich is one of the places we might retire to if we decide to sell up and leave London, which is why we know how much ‘The Pellicane House’ is on sale for. I’d certainly buy it, if I had the money ... but unless I win the a Lottery, that isn’t going to happen!

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. The pub in your fourth photo might be for sale.

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    3. Nigel Drury,

      I once though of buying a pub, but decided against it, now, I’m too old for that sort of life.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. You are so lucky to have places to visit like this. We have nothing like it in the Pacific North West.

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    1. Steve8,

      As we live reasonably close to loads of places like this that we can visit, one tends to forget just how lucky we are.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. What a lovely looking town. I lived in east Kent one way and another for a few years but never made it to Sandwich.

    Your money goes further there. £1.1m won’t buy that much in London.

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    1. Nundanket,

      It is a lovely little town, and that part of Kent seems to have quite a few of them.

      The house prices in London are simply crazy! In the old Woolwich Arsenal (which is just over a mile from where I live), a three-bed luxury penthouse apartment with a river view is over a million, whilst just around the corner a four-bed semi-detached costs about half that.

      Our house is now worth more than we could afford to pay for it if we were still working.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  7. Looks like a very lovely place to visit (or retire to)! Wonderful pics. Sounds like it was a nice outing, too. And for my money better for the lack of crowds.

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    1. Fitz-Badger,

      It is one of several coastal towns in Kent we are looking at as possible places to retire to. Not all of them are quite as historic as Sandwich, but at preent, many of them are almost empty of tourists.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  8. Lovely place Sandwich, spent a lot of holidays around there as a child. You mention house prices in London and Kent, the house where I was born (Foxberry Road, Brockley) was rented by my Nan & Grandfather and I was shocked to see it listed on Zoopla recently at 1.3 million! What chance young people working on basic wages these days?

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    1. ‘Lee,

      We have friends who live in Ash, which is only a few miles from Sandwich, and got to know the area quite well.

      Brockley is what is termed a ‘property hotspot’, with lots of big houses that are now beginning to rocket in price. Quite a few actors and artists have moved into the area, especially since Blackheath began to get too pricey and attractive to ‘luvey lovers’ (I.e. middle-class people who want to name-drop about their neighbours at dinner parties).

      As even a two-bed flat in our road goes for £300,000, one wonders how any young working people can get a mortgage, let alone pay for it. At the same time, whole floors of luxury tower blocks in the local area have been bought up by foreign investors and just left vacant. It’s no wonder that basic public services are having problems recruiting people.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  9. My father announced aged 70 that despite living there all his life he was moving from N Staffs to Sandwich and he always said it was one of the best decisions he made. He lived just up the road from the masonic hall you photographed and he went to a couple of meetings there and in Canterbury. My brother also lives there. Top tip. Don't buy a posh car. The locals park like bumper cars and all the cars are bashed and scratched. There are still lots of little shops and a tiny cinema.

    Guy

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    1. Guy,

      Thanks for the very encouraging and helpful comments ... and the advice about local parking!

      Sandwich has lots to commend it, and we are seriously looking at it as an option for where we might move to. Other places include Walmer, Deal, and Broadstairs on the coast! and Upnor and Rochester on the Medway.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  10. Lindsay's brother is in Deal. I keep reading that it has improved in recent years and I can't help but say really? Personally I think Sandwich pips Deal. It still has the butcher, the baker and instead of candlestick maker I will say cobbler. I get my shoes repaired there rather than the useless equivalent tradesman here.

    Guy

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    Replies
    1. Guy,

      Deal has changed quite a bit since the Royal Marines moved out, and thanks to the railway links, it has become more of a commuter town that it used to be. The High Street does still have a few local shops, but not as many as Sandwich.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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