Walmer

For other uses, see Walmer (disambiguation).

Walmer
Walmer Castle
Walmer is located in Kent
Walmer
Walmer
Location within Kent
Population7,842 (2021 census)[1]
OS grid referenceTR374505
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDeal
Postcode districtCT14
Dialling code01304
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament

Walmer is a town in the district of Dover, Kent, in England. Located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is six miles (9.7 km) south-east of Sandwich, Kent. The town's coastline and castle are popular amongst tourists. It has a population of 6,693 (2001), increasing to 8,178 at the 2011 Census.[1]

Walmer is closely associated with its adjoining neighbour, the town of Deal - sharing many amenities and services and benefiting from Deal's High Street shopping area.

Walmer railway station is on the Kent Coast Line.

History

Julius Caesar

A monument to the Roman conquest of Britain, in Walmer

Julius Caesar reputedly landed on the beach here in 55 BC and 54 BC. It is only one possible landing place, proposed judging from the distances given in his account of the landings in his Gallic Wars. In the 19th century it was thought that he had landed by Deal Castle – hence a house there with SPQR emblazoned on its gate – but in 1907 the landing point has been proposed to be half a mile further south, beyond the lifeboat station, and marked by a concrete memorial. However, new archaeological excavations performed since 2015 suggest instead that the landing occurred at Ebbsfleet, at the head of Pegwell Bay[3][4][5], in Thanet, further north along the Kent coast.

Medieval

The coastal confederation of Cinque Ports during its mediæval period consisted of a confederation of 42 towns and villages in all. This includes Walmer, as a 'Limb' of Sandwich, Kent.[6]

Walmer Castle

Main article: Walmer Castle

Walmer Castle and its formal gardens are an attraction for visitors. The official residence of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports since the 18th Century, the building is now an English Heritage property. Famous Lords Warden have included Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother,[7] Sir Winston Churchill, William Pitt the Younger (whose niece Lady Hester Stanhope first created the gardens), and the Duke of Wellington (of the Battle of Waterloo fame). Wellington lived there for 23 years and the castle houses not only a collection of Wellington memorabilia but also the room in which he died.

The Castle was built in 1540 as one of three on this part of the Kent coast by orders of Henry VIII. The others were nearby at Deal (southern Deal) and Sandown (north Deal) - the Deal one survives, the Sandown one has been lost to coastal erosion.[8]

Walmer Aerodrome

Walmer Aerodrome was a First World War airfield established by the Royal Naval Air Service in 1917 on Hawkshill Down near Walmer, Kent.[9] Its primary role was to provide air defence during both World Wars. The station operated fighter aircraft including Sopwith Camels during the First World War, and accommodated both British and Allied pilots.[9]

The last aeroplanes left the aerodrome in 1919, and the site later reopened during the Second World War for radar tracking.[9] After 1945 the land returned to agricultural use, though memorials and information boards mark its historical significance.[10]

The Walmer Brewery 1816–1978

It is believed that Upper Walmer was home to a brewery from Tudor times and possibly earlier. In 1816 a small brewery on the Dover Road just south of the old Walmer Village was acquired by Edmund Thompson who then operated it as Thompson & Sons. In 1867 John Matthews bought the business and greatly expanded and modernised it, although he retained the Thompson Brewery name.

The development of maltings, bottling plants, brew house, stables and blacksmith's eventually made it an important local employer. Further houses were bought in Dover Road for use as offices and to house staff, and a long terrace of brick cottages was built in Belmont to house more workers.

During the 1950s, the brewery became part of the Charrington's company and its role was reduced to a bottling and distribution plant. It eventually closed in 1972 and was demolished in 1978 to make way for a housing development called Downlands. An old bell, once housed in the belfry at the brewery, was re-sited at The Thompson Bell, the last remaining public house in the village.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 7,434.[11]

Churches

People from Walmer

People born in Walmer include:

People who died in Walmer include:

Lifeboats

Main article: Walmer and Deal lifeboats

References

  1. ^ a b "Town population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Walmer Parish Council". Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  3. ^ Sample, Ian (29 November 2017). "Caesar's invasion of Britain began from Pegwell Bay in Kent, say archaeologists". Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  4. ^ "In the Footsteps of Caesar: the archaeology of the first Roman invasions of Britain". University of Leicester. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  5. ^ Daley, Jason (29 November 2017). "Archaeologists Discover Where Julius Caesar Landed in Britain". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  6. ^ Simon. "Cinque Ports". villagenet.co.uk.
  7. ^ "Queen Mother's castle apartment opened to public". BBC News. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Sandown Castle". Deal Heritage. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b c "The History of Walmer Aerodrome". Walmer Town Council. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Hawkshill Freedown and Walmer Aerodrome". WalmerWeb. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 4 October 2015.
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