DISCOVER FOLKESTONE
Folkestone is a resort town on the south coast of Kent, England, traditionally known as The Garden Coast. Situated at the foot of the North Downs, the town has stunning views of the surrounding countryside as well as the coast of France. A hundred years ago the town was a Royal holiday destination.
The Channel Tunnel connects Folkestone to mainland Europe.
Currently the town is undergoing an artistic renaissance thanks to local millionaire philanthropist & founder of SAGA, Roger De Haan CBE. The annual Folkestone Literary Festival is internationally renowned.
Folkestone developed because of its transport links. With France visible across the Straits of Dover, the town became an important transit point for those travelling from the UK to the Continent. While there is no ferry traffic any more from the town, it all being concentrated at Dover, the Channel Tunnel enters the ground a couple of kilometres north of the town centre. The Dover Strait is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, but there is very little commercial shipping traffic using the small harbour.
The town is located at the eastern end of the M20 which provides fast access to Ashford, Maidstone, London and the M25. The A20 is motorway-standard to Dover. Folkestone also marks the eastern end of the A259 South Coast Trunk Road with access to Hastings, Eastbourne and beyond. To the north, roads connect Folkestone to Canterbury and the nearby villages of Elham and Lyminge.
The town is served by two railway stations, Folkestone West and Folkestone Central, as described in the "Folkestone Railways" section.
'High Speed 1' - previously known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, is a high speed railway built to French 'LGV' (Ligne a Grande Vitesse) standards, that connects the Channel Tunnel to London. There is no link or station onto HS1 at Folkestone, other than to/from the tunnel. The International Station at Ashford is the closest (in the UK) station for the high speed trains to the Continent. In 2009 High Speed commuter services from Dover will call at Folkestone and run along the old lines to Ashford before joining HS1 for a 37 minute dash to Stratford (East London) and London St Pancras.
 NATURE
The town is situated at the foot of the North Downs, offering stunning views of the surrounding countryside and the coast of France, a mere 24 miles away. The North Downs Way, starting its course in Surrey, reaches the coast at Folkestone and continues through Capel-le-Ferne, and to its end at Dover, some 8 miles away. Many walkers enjoy this fabulous scenic route and the Folkestone White Horse, which has been carved into the hill side of the Downs. The area is a magnet for passing migrating birds and the Warren (woodlands adjoining Wear Bay) and the cliffs above are of particular interest during the spring and autumn periods.
The Downs are characterised by 'chalk grassland' habitat. This habitat is one of the richest for biodiversity, but is becoming very rare, being found in only a few places in Europe. Chalk grasslands have thin (often virtually non-existent) poor-quality soil, and require grazing to prevent scrub and trees from taking hold. They are a man-made environment, but are thousands of years old and have a distinct ecology. Most of the UK's species of orchids, and half of the butterflies thrive on this habitat. Conservation work is being carried out on some areas, this involves felling trees and clearing scrub, and then introducing cattle (e.g., the docile Dexter breed).
The Saxon Shore Way starts at Gravesend, Kent and traces the coast as it was in Roman times, via Folkestone, as far as Hastings, East Sussex, 163 miles (262 km) in total.
Nearby is Brockhill Country Park, an area with footpaths around the lake and in the valley, linking with the Royal Military Canal at Hythe.
HISTORY OF FOLKESTONE
Archaeological finds from a 1st century cemetery were discovered in 1948 at Cheriton, to the West of Folkestone, and in about 1920 a landslip on the East Cliff at Folkestone revealed the remains of a large Roman villa complete with bathrooms and hypocausts, a courtyard with a mosaic floor and a kitchen with two fireplaces. The excavations were undertaken by Mr. S. E. Winbolt. The site was eventually recorded and covered over in 1957. It is now being lost to the sea.
Nevertheless the name of the town of Folkestone in Kent has its origin in the late 7th century as 'Folcanstan', in all probability referring to the 'stone of Folca', a common old English name. In about 630, King Eadbald of Kent built an abbey on the western cliff at Folkestone, for Eanswith, his daughter, and her nuns. This is believed to have been the first Christian community for women in England. Her name lends itself to the parish church of St Mary and St Eanswythe where her mortal remains are believed to be interred.
Viking raids were common to the area and left extensive damage to the settlements at Folkestone up until the 10th century, and even after Edward the Confessor came to the throne in 1042, the village was again put to the torch by Earl Godwin of Wessex, after being exiled by the king.
By 1066, at the time of the next great invasion, Folkestone was a mere hamlet occupied by fishermen and farm workers who cultivated the arable lands that had been cleared in the heavily wooded countryside. At this time the manor of Folkestone was in the ownership of the church at Canterbury. After William became king he took the barony and made a gift of it to his half brother Bishop Odo. By 1086, the year of Doomsday the barony was held by William D'Arcy. It was given a value of £100 and consisted of approximately 6240 acres, 5 churches, approximately 600 people of whom 209 were villains and 83 bondsmen.
Subtenants of the Barony included Hugh Fitzwilliam, Walter de Appeville, Bernard de St. Owens, Walter FitzEnglebert, Eudo, Baldric, Richard, Alured, Wesman and Alured Dapifer. In 1095 the lord of the manor was Nigel de Muneville. Nigel de Muneville built the town a new church to replace that which was destroyed by Earl Godwin. He did not rebuild the nunnery but built the Folkestone Priory for Benedictine Monks instead. In 1138 a new church and priory were again built, this time by William D'Averanches and dedicated to St. Mary & St. Eanswythe.
The French took the opportunity of attacking Folkestone in 1216 and also laid waste much of the settlement. The village even at this early period in its history was significant enough to have a Mayor and a Corporation, and in 1313 it received a charter as a Corporate Limb of the Cinque Ports. Folkestone was thus obliged as a "limb" of the Cinque Port of Dover, until in 1629 the local inhabitants obtained a licence to build a port.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I Folkestone contained about 120 houses.
In 1794 the Army purchased over 229 acres (930,000 m²) of open land to the West of Folkestone on the heights overlooking Sandgate and in 1796 and 1806 Shorncliffe Garrison was further extended. Troops were stationed here before being sent off to the Peninsula Wars. During these later developments in 1804 the original wooden barracks were replaced with building of stone construction and were used to house cavalry and artillery brigades. The present Sir John Moore Barracks are the home of Gurkha Regiment in Britain.
FOLKESTONE HARBOUR
Until the 19th century Folkestone remained a small fishing community whose seafront was continually battered by storms and encroaching shingle, making the landing of boats difficult. In 1807 an Act of Parliament was passed to build a pier and harbour; and by 1820 a harbour area of 14 acres (57,000 m²) had been enclosed. At this time trade and consequently population of Folkestone grew slightly; although the development was still hampered, with sand and silt continuing to choke the harbour.
The Folkestone Harbour Company invested heavily in removing the silt but with little success. In 1842 the company went bankrupt and the Government put the harbour up for sale. It was bought by the South Eastern Railway Company (SER), which was then building the London to Dover railway line. Dredging the harbour, and the construction of a freight route down to it commenced almost immediately, and the town soon became the SER’s principal packet station for the Continental traffic to Boulogne.
FOLKESTONE RAILWAYS
The railway reached Folkestone on 28 June 1843, although the building of the Foord viaduct delayed further extension until the following year, when what was to become Folkestone Junction station was opened. Once the line was opened to Dover, and the town’s prosperity (which meant growth westwards), further stations were opened at Folkestone West (originally named Shorncliffe Camp) in 1863, and Folkestone Central in 1884.
Folkestone Harbour station was used to trans-ship whole trains; the line from the junction was very steep and needed much additional locomotive help. The entire line closed in 2002; Folkestone Junction station had closed 6 September 1965. The line has since reopened to "special" trains such as the British Pullman (VSOE) which is a regular visitor and other rail tours. The line, and the Harbour station, are likely to close completely in the near future to make way for a comprehensive development of the harbour and sea-front areas.
FOLKESTONE CREATIVE QUARTER
The Creative Foundation is a new charitable organisation which is acquiring a large number of run-down properties in the Creative Quarter of Folkestone (the oldest part of town, including the Old High Street and The Bayle), renovating them and letting them at long-term affordable rents as work-spaces for artists and creative businesses (some with living accommodation).
100 creative individuals are already in residence and more are taking up space as the renovation work is completed.
The Strange Cargo Arts Company is central to the creative quarter, and Georges House Gallery holds frequent exhibitions by local artists.
The vision is to attract people to live, work and visit, creating a vibrant and exciting environment buzzing with life and ideas, bustling with studios, shops, galleries, street art, festivals, cafes and restaurants providing a long term sustainable future for Folkestone as a centre for creativity.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
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