Dover (district)

Dover District
—  Non-metropolitan district  —
Dover shown within Kent
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Non-metropolitan county	Kent
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Dover
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
– Type	Non-metropolitan district council
– Body	Dover District Council
– Leadership	Leader & Cabinet (Conservative)
– MPs	Charlie Elphicke Laura Sandys
Area
– Total	121.6 sq mi (314.84 km2)
Area rank	136th (of 326)
Population (2010 est.)
– Total	106,900
– Rank	211th (of 326)
– Density	879.4/sq mi (339.5/km2)
– Ethnicity	98.5% White
Time zone	GMT (UTC0)
– Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
ONS code	29UE
OS grid reference	TR315415
Website	www.dover.gov.uk

Dover is a local government district in Kent, England. Dover is its administrative centre. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the boroughs of Deal, Dover, and Sandwich along with Dover Rural District and most of Eastry Rural District. There are three towns within the district: Dover, Deal and Sandwich; and the parishes below:

• Alkham
• Ash
• Aylesham
• Capel-le-Ferne
• Denton with Wootton
• Eastry
• Eythorne
• Goodnestone
• Great Mongeham
• Guston
• Hougham without
• Langdon
• Lydden
• Nonington
• Northbourne
• Preston
• Ringwould with Kingsdown
• Ripple
• River
• Shepherdswell with Coldred
• Sholden
• St Margaret-at-Cliffe
• Staple
• Stourmouth
• Sutton by Dover
• Temple Ewell
• Tilmanstone
• Walmer
• Whitfield
• Wingham
• Woodnesborough
• Worth

The northern boundary of the district is the River Stour; on its eastern side is the district of Canterbury; to the south the parish of Capel-le-Ferne; and to the east the Straits of Dover. The southern part of the latter is the point where the North Downs meets the sea, at the so-called ‘White cliffs of Dover’. Further north along the coast, from Deal onwards, the land is at sea level, where the River Stour enters the sea by a circuitous route. It is here, on the sand-dunes, that the Royal St George's Golf Club, founded in 1887, and of international repute, is situated.

In the district are industrial remains of the erstwhile Kent coalfield, situated around Tilmanstone and Betteshanger. Technically speaking, half of the underwater section of the Channel Tunnel is under British Sovereignty and thus part of the district.

Communications

Crossing Dover district are the Roman roads of Watling Street and that leading from Richborough. Today the main road, the A2, closely follows Watling Street to Dover.

External links

• Parish listing
• Kent coalfield history
• Dover Soul Local Website for Dover & White Cliffs Country: history, geography, Kent's radio history, pictures and community information
• Dover pictorial website
• Dover Community Radio (DCR)

Coordinates: 51°07′48″N 1°18′40″E / 51.130°N 1.311°E / 51.130; 1.311