Deal Pier © P.E. Blanche 1999

DEAL

Deal, guarded by its often overlooked fort at the South end of the seafront, rose to prominence for so many English school-children with the coming of that well-known Roman, Julius Caesar in 55 B.C.. Although it is not known exactly where his first landing on these God forsaken shores took place, the descriptions of the events and the depth of the water into which his legionaries had to jump, very much suggests the shoreline at Deal. On the other hand, the desciption of events also states that the local barbarians (nothing seems to have changed in 2,000 years!), drove at the invading craft in their chariots, actually taking them into the water. With the sloping and heavy shingle beach at Deal, I often wonder whether this was possible. On the other hand, coastlines tend to change, particularly in this part of the World, but I would tend to favour the North end of Deal where there might have also been sand mixed with the pebbles. However, to continue, the men of the Roman Legions were always taught to protect their standard and it was the bearer of the standard for the Tenth Legion that saved the day. Jumping from the his ship into the water that came up to his chest, he uttered those immortal words, "leap down, soldiers, unless you wish to betray the eagle to the enemy; I, at any rate, shall have performed my duty to the state and my general". Of course, the 'ancient brits' hadn't a clue what he was talking about at the time because nobody spoke Roman. Latin eventually found wisespread use in England but I, for one, really wish that Julius had stayed home. It wasn't my favourite subject!

Much has been said in these pages about the connection with Deal and smuggling. In the 17th Century, Colonel John Hutchinson who strongly defended Nottingham against the Royalist Forces at the time of the Civil War was imprisoned by Charles II in Sandown Castle at Deal and eventually died there. His wife, Lucy Hutchinson found rooms in Deal to be near to her husband and described the place, even in 1664, as "the cut-throat town of Deal". I have found a quote, given by an elderly gentleman towards the end of the 19th Century, in which he states, " Good times them, when a brave man might smuggle honest. Ah! them were grand times; when a man didn't go a-stealing wi' his gloves on, an' weren't afraid to die for his principles".

That the smugglers died for their principles at times there is little doubt but there were many that died around Deal for lack of principles. Many is the ship that has been left to flounder off Deal and the crew and passengers left to drown, which of course, made it easier to release the cargo. On the night of the 26th/27th November, 1703 there was a storm which is said was the most violent ever in the British Isles. The Channel Squadron consisting of 13 ships which was commanded at the time by Rear Admiral Sir Basil Beaumont was completely lost. Included in the Squadron were three 70-gun ships, the Stirling Castle, the Restoration, the Northumberland and also the Mary of 60-guns. These four ships alone had a total of 1,260 men aboard and there were 71 survivors of which 70 were from the Stirling Castle.
Towards the end the storm, it is said that as many as a thousand survivors from the ships that had been washed onto the Goodwins during the night were alive and safe on the sands offshore. This means that at that point it must have been low tide. It is reported by Defoe that the assistance of the Deal men was sought but that they ignored the request because the pickings from the sea were so good at the time. Consequently, everyone that had made it onto the sands, subsequently perished. Defoe later wrote:

If I had any satire left to write,
Could I with suited spleen indite,
My verse should blast that fatal town,
And drown'd sailors' widows pull it down;
No footsteps of it should appear,
And ships no more cast anchor there.
The barbarous hated name of Deal shou'd die,
Or be a term of infamy;
And till that's done, the town will stand
A just reproach to all the land.

There is no question that Deal has a black and heavy past but I should also mention that lives of the men of Deal have also been lost at other times when performing rescues from the Goodwins. The local lifeboat of the R.N.L.I. resides at Walmer which is as much as anything, the Southern part of Deal. I do not presently have any records of the lifeboat but like so many others around the coast of England, they perform amazing act of bravery and heroism. I should not want my comments about the past which are written here to even suggest that I do not admire the men that are ready at all times and in all weather to yet again brave the Channel and the Goodwins. One thing is for sure, the incredible seafaring capabilites of these men of Deal, which have never been in doubt, are alive and well today.

One final story that I should tell about Deal was first brought to my attention by one of my visitors, Luis Velez of Venezuela, and I am grateful for his assistance. This is the story of the ship, The Lady Lovibund. It seems that the ship set sail on the night of 13th February, 1748 to celebrate the wedding of its Captain, Simon Peel. There were a large number of guests aboard and also a former contender for the hand of the lovely Mrs. Peel. It appears that this jealous lover deliberately ran the ship aground resulting in the loss of all that were on board. From that time to this the ship appears from the mists off Deal once every 50 years. According to a reference in a book, Ghosts of Kent by Peter Underwood, the ship was seen in 1898 and 1948 and should therefore have manifested itself again in 1998. It was a miserable misty night, it didn't show up and we all have to wait another 50 years but don't hold your breath, it would probably defeat the object!

See also:

Deal Castle
Deal - St. Leonard's Church and The Time Ball Tower
Some pictures and history by Dick Barton.

..and additional information about the area:

The Cinque Ports
The Deal Boatmen