Deal - A Small Town in East Kent Quiz

Answer: Adellam

The Old English word 'dael' means valley and the main part of the town lies in the low-lying Lydden Valley. The incorrect answers have all been alternative names for Deal at various times. The original location of the settlement which later became Deal was situated a mile inland on a ridge where traces of Iron Age settlements have been found.

The fishermen built shelters originally along what was a long, featureless and steep bank of pebbles stretching from the south northwards to the sandhills of Sandwich Bay, gradually developed into the seaside town we know today.

Answer: Sandown Castle

Building work on the castle started in April 1539 and was rapidly completed by the end of 1540. It was almost identical to Walmer Castle in plan so we can see today just what it would have looked like in its prime. Records show that it was always a damp and uncomfortable place to be and soldiers billeted there must have had an unpleasant stay.

Much of the stonework was re-used in other buildings. The few remains of Sandown Castle today are now partly covered by pleasant flower beds tended by local volunteers.

Answer: The Downs - Goodwin Sands

The area of sea called the Downs, laying to the east off Deal, is protected in the west by the land and, in the east, by the miles of tidal sandbanks named the Goodwins. Known historically as 'The Great Shyppe Swallower', the Goodwins is the resting place of many hundreds - probably thousands - of shipwrecks. Local Deal boatmen, who were renowned world-wide for their seamanship, kept watch for signs of sailing ships ashore on the sands and would heroically rescue both men and vessels.

Answer: Horatio Nelson

The Royal Hotel [once named the Three Kings], where Nelson is reputed to have entertained his mistress Emma Hamilton and her husband, still stands on the seafront. There is a tomb in St. George the Martyr churchyard in the High Street where lays Captain Edward Parker RN who died in 1801, "My gallant good friend and able assistant" to Nelson. Nelson paid £50 towards the costs of his funeral and memorial and was reportedly 'seen to weep' leant against a tree by the graveside. It is the only known tomb to have been paid for by Nelson himself.
The other names are all notorious pirates.

Answer: Deal Naval Yard

The first storehouse was built on the bare beach beside Deal Castle in 1672 and, before its closure in 1864, the Yard had grown to become one of the major Royal Naval facilities in the country. The site is covered today by impressive Victorian terraced houses known as 'Victoria town'. Next to the yard, but outside the gates, stood [and still stands] the Timeball Tower which incorporated a means of communicating the correct time by semaphore and, later, telegraph sent all the way from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.

This allowed ships in the Downs to set their chronometers daily at 1pm. Knowing the correct time was vital for accurate navigation. Deal has no harbour and the first pier wasn't built until 1838.

Answer: Sir Francis Drake - mariner, explorer.

Born the eldest of twelve brothers in Tavistock, Devon, Sir Francis was once the mayor of Plymouth. He is seen as a romantic figure in British history and his list of occupations is long but not always savoury. He was a naval officer, sea captain, explorer, privateer, politician and slave trader but he is perhaps best known for nonchalantly finishing his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe before sailing to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588. He died of dysentery in 1596 and was buried in a lead coffin at sea off the coast of Panama. He achieved many things but is not known to have resided in Deal.

The artist Joseph Mallord William Turner lived in Beach Street and painted three of his major works in Deal. Norman Wisdom, the comic actor and singer, lived for a while as a child in a children's home. Actor Charles Hawtrey, known for starring in the popular Sixties' 'Carry On' films, lived in Middle Street.

Answer: Coal mining

Betteshanger - the last and the biggest pit on the Kent Coalfield - in the nearby village of of the same name - finally closed in 1989 as a result of the Thatcher Government policies regarding mining and the prolonged and bitter Miners Strike.

The wider Kent Coalfield had opened in the 1920's and miners - including some who had been militants and troublemakers in their previous employments - came, together with their families, from other coal mining areas such as Wales and the North East, to work in the Betteshanger pit.

Many miners and their families lived on the specially built housing estate around the Mill Hill area of Deal.This sudden influx of 'outsiders' into the town was not popular with the Deal locals and, in the early days, many pubs and boarding houses banned them from entering! Little remains today of the pit and the old waste heap has been converted into a pleasant country park but the old mining communities are still there with their not always fond memories.

Answer: Royal Marines

Deal's association with the Royal Marines began shortly after the French Revolution when barracks were first constructed south of Deal Castle. In more modern times Deal folk always had an affection for the Marines which was mutual. That long held affection was enhanced in September 1989 when an IRA bomb exploded in the barracks killing eleven bandsmen from the School of Music and wounding many others.

A week later the defiant Royal Marines Band marched proudly through the town accompanied by sombre applause from the thousands of Deal residents lining the streets. Each year they send a band from their new home in Portsmouth to give an amazing free summer concert from the bandstand on Walmer Green which was erected as a memorial to the lost bandsmen.

Answer: Duke of Edinburgh

On a cold November day the Duke, dressed in naval uniform and accompanied by the mayor and local dignitaries and surrounded by hordes of flag-waving children, gave a short speech and then unlocked the iron gates to the new pier accompanied by rain and music from the Royal Marines Band. The late Duke was a naval man and had seen active service during the Second World War as a first lieutenant in the Royal Navy.

Answer: East

Although designated a 'south-east coast' town, Deal actually faces due east. In winter, when the nor' easterlies blow a gale and the breakers rattle against the pebble beach, it is indeed Nelson's 'coldest place in England!'.