Sandwich, Kent
Encyclopedia
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour
River Stour, Kent
The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...

 in the Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 of Dover
Dover (district)
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...

, within the ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...

 of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, south-east England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It has a population of 6,800.

It was one of the Cinque Ports
Cinque Ports
The Confederation of Cinque Ports is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest...

 and still has many original medieval buildings, including several listed public houses and gates in the old town walls, churches, almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...

s and the White Mill
White Mill, Sandwich
White Mill is a smock mill west of Sandwich, Kent, England that was built in 1760. The mill has been restored and is open to the public as part of the White Mill Rural Heritage Centre. The museum also includes the miller's cottage, which has been furnished to appear as during 1900 and 1939...

. While once a major port, it is now two miles from the sea, its historic centre preserved.

Sandwich Bay
Sandwich Bay
Sandwich Bay is a long sweeping inlet of the sea between Ramsgate and Deal, on the east coast of Kent, England. The coastal area consists of sand flats with their associated salt marshes and coastal sand dunes. The Sandwich Flats stretch for about five miles along the coast...

 is home to nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

s and two world-class golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 courses, Royal St George's and Prince's
Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich
Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich is a links golf course located in Sandwich in Kent in South East England. Prince's is immediately adjacent to the more famous Royal St George's golf club, and both clubs lie on the same stretch of coastline as nearby Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club.Prince's was completed...

. The town is also home to educational and cultural events.

Etymology

The name is likely of Saxon origin, and probably means "Sand wake
Wake
A wake is the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a moving or stationary solid body, caused by the flow of surrounding fluid around the body.-Fluid dynamics:...

".

History

In 1028 King Canute granted a charter to the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury to operate a ferry across the river and collect tolls.

The Port of Sandwich is no stranger to odd events in English history. It was here in 1255 that the first captive elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...

 was landed in England, The prize beast arrived at Sandwich quayside, delivered as a gift to the English monarch Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

, from the French king, and was then taken on foot to the king's zoo at the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

. The journey through Kent is reported to have proceeded without incident, except when a bull in a field adjacent to the roadside took umbrage to the great beast passing and attacked it. In one move the animal was thrown by the elephant and killed outright.
Before Sandwich became a Cinque Port, the ancient Saxon town of Stonar, located on the bank of the Wantsum estuary
Wantsum Channel
The Wantsum Channel is the name given to a now silted-up watercourse separating the Isle of Thanet and what was the mainland of the English county of Kent...

, but on the opposite side of the mouth of the River Stour
River Stour, Kent
The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...

, was already well established. It remained a place of considerable importance until it disappeared almost without trace in the 14th century. The ruins of the major Roman fort of Richborough
Richborough
Richborough is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet....

 are close by. It was the landing place of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43. The 2008 discovery proved that this was a defensive site of a Roman beachhead, protecting 700 metres of coast.

On 21 May 1216, Prince Louis of France landed at Sandwich in support of the baron's war against King John.

The Fisher Gate on the quay dates from 1384 and has been scheduled as an Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

. It is the only one of the original mediaeval town gates to survive. It is a Grade I listed building. The nearby Barbican dates from the 14th century and stands at the end of the bridge over the River Stour
River Stour, Kent
The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...

 where it acted as a toll house.

On 28 August 1457, after four years of uneasy peace in England the king presided over a wasting realm, with feudal barons lording over the population of the north and the west of the realm. The French took advantage of the situation by sending a raiding party to Kent, burning much of Sandwich to the ground. A force of around 4,000 men from Honfleur
Honfleur
Honfleur is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie...

, under the command of Marshal de Breze came ashore to pillage the town, in the process murdering the mayor, John Drury. It thereafter became an established tradition, which survives to this day, that the Mayor of Sandwich wears a black robe in mourning for this ignoble deed.

Sandwich was later to gain significantly from the skills brought to the town by many Dutch settlers, who were granted the right to settle by Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

 in 1560. These settlers, brought with them techniques of market gardening, and were responsible for growing the first English celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...

. The Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

 refugees also brought over Dutch architectural techniques, that are now as much a part of Kent as the thatched cottage. In addition techniques of silk manufacture were imported, enhancing the Kent cloth industry.

The title Earl of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a 17th century title in the Peerage of England, nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. He was made Baron Montagu, of St Neots in the County of Huntingdon, and Viscount Hinchingbrooke, at the...

 was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu
Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich
Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG was an English Infantry officer who later became a naval officer. He was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montagu, and was brought up at Hinchingbrooke House....

.

In 1759, Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...

 had his home and shop in a house at 20 New Street, Sandwich. The house is now marked with a plaque and is a listed building.

In 1912 Sir Edwin Lutyens
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...

 built The Salutation in Queen Anne style
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...

. The gardens were laid out by Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...

.

In 1980 Jean Barker
Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington
Jean Alys Barker, Baroness Trumpington, DCVO, PC is a Conservative member of the House of Lords.Born Jean Alys Campbell-Harris to Major Arthur Campbell-Harris and Doris Robson, she was educated privately. During World War II, she worked in Naval intelligence at Bletchley Park...

 was made Baroness Trumpington of Sandwich.

Governance

The town and parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch
Neighbourhood Watch (UK)
The Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the United Kingdom is a partnership where people come together to make their communities safer. It involves the Police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, other voluntary organisations and, above all, individuals and families who want to make their...

 groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

The town falls within the Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 of Dover
Dover (district)
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...

. The district council is responsible for local planning
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...

 and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health
Environmental health
Environmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health...

, market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...

s and fairs, refuse collection and recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...

, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

.

Kent County Council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...

 is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...

, social services, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, main roads, public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

, policing
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 and fire services, trading standards
Trading Standards
Trading Standards is the name given to local authority departments in the UK formerly known as Weights and Measures. These departments investigate commercial organisations that carry out trade in unethical ways or outside the scope of the law.-History:...

, waste disposal and strategic planning.

It is also part of a county constituency represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

, and at the next general election in 2010 will become part of the South Thanet constituency. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 by the first past the post system of election, and part of the South East England constituency
South East England (European Parliament constituency)
South East England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 Members of the European Parliament using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...

 of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 which elects ten MEPs using the d'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...

 of party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...

.

Sandwich is twinned with Ronse
Ronse
Ronse is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Ronse proper.- Early settlements to 14th century :...

 in Belgium, Honfleur
Honfleur
Honfleur is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie...

 in France and Sonsbeck
Sonsbeck
Sonsbeck is a municipality in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km west of Wesel, and 25 km south-east of Cleves as well as 8 km from the historic city of Xanten....

 in Germany.

Geography

There is Monk's Wall nature reserve
Monk's Wall nature reserve
The Monk's Wall nature reserve is located a short distance from the quay in Sandwich, Kent and is ideal for seeing wild duck and other wildlife in a wetland habitat. The reserve was opened by celebrity bird-watcher Bill Oddie in May 2000...

 and a bird observatory
Bird observatory
A bird observatory is a centre for the study of bird migration and bird populations. They are usually focused on local birds, but may also include interest in far flung areas. Most bird observatories are small operations with a limited staff, many volunteers and a not-for-profit educational status...

 at Sandwich Bay
Sandwich Bay
Sandwich Bay is a long sweeping inlet of the sea between Ramsgate and Deal, on the east coast of Kent, England. The coastal area consists of sand flats with their associated salt marshes and coastal sand dunes. The Sandwich Flats stretch for about five miles along the coast...

, which provides a home for wild duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

 and other wildlife in a wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

 habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

. The reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 was opened by celebrity bird-watcher Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....

 in May 2000. Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust proposed the design and a Management plan including modifications to ditch
Ditch
A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced 'deek' in northern England and 'deetch' in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank...

es and control of water levels to create ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

 conditions that attract wetland species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

s, animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

s and bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s. Historically the land was reclaimed
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...

 from the river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 and sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...

 by the monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s of Sandwich and the northern boundary is still the old Monks' wall of the 13th century. In the 1953 flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

s the sea covered the whole area around Sandwich and after these field
Field (agriculture)
In agriculture, the word field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock...

s were drained a new river bank was created and the land plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...

ed for arable
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...

 farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

ing with heavy use of fertiliser
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...

.

There is also a 15 acres (6.1 ha) Local Nature Reserve
Local Nature Reserve
Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...

 known as Gazen Salts.

Sandwich lies at the southern end of Pegwell Bay
Pegwell Bay
Pegwell Bay is a shallow inlet in the English Channel coast at the estuary of the River Stour between Ramsgate and Sandwich in Kent. Situated in the bay is a large nature reserve, known for its migrating waders and wildfowl, with a complete series of seashore habitats including extensive mudflats...

 which includes a large nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

, known for its migrating wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...

s and wildfowl, with a complete series of seashore habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

s including extensive mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...

s and salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

.

Economy

The local economy has benefited from significant investment by Pfizer UK
Pfizer UK
Pfizer UK is the principal subsidiary of the multinational pharmaceutical company Pfizer in the United Kingdom. Pfizer UK employs over 4,000 people and spends around £550 million per year on research and development in the UK...

, the British subsidiary of the multinational pharmaceuticals company Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...

, which has built a research and development centre near Sandwich, employing over 3,000 people. Laboratory experiments at the site have aroused negative comment by animal rights activists. On June 18, 2007 Pfizer announced it will move the Sandwich Animal Health Research (VMRD) division to Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...

. Several important drugs including Viagra, Pfizer's treatment for erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance....

 and Maraviroc
Maraviroc
Maraviroc is an antiretroviral drug in the CCR5 receptor antagonist class used in the treatment of HIV infection. It is also classed as an entry inhibitor.-Mechanism of action:...

, a drug used for treatment of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

, were discovered here. On February 1, 2011 Pfizer announced that the entire research and development facility at Sandwich would be closed within 18-24 months, with a loss of 2,400 jobs. The University of Kent is considering use of the campus style site.

Landmarks

The Guildhall, in the town square, was built in 1579. Work in 1812 encased the building in yellow brick, this was removed 100 years later in 1912, when the south-west wing was also added. Further alterations were undertaken later in the 20th century. It contains antique panelling and paintings, particularly within the council chamber. It is a Grade II* listed building. It includes a stained glass window, showing Queen Elizabeth I arriving at Sandown Gate in 1573, which was added in 1906.

The Admiral Owen is a pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 in a two storey 15th century timber-framed building
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...

. It was refronted in the 18th century but this preserved the overhang of its 1st floor on a Bressummer
Bressummer
A bressummer, or breastsummer, in timber-building, is a beam in the outward part of the building, and the middle floors, into which the girders are framed...

 and massive corner post with 3 brackets. The nearby Crispin Inn was originally called the Crispin and Crispianus. It has similar timber framing and was built in the 16th century. Across the road on the quay is the Bell Hotel, which underwent major rebuilding in the 18th and 19th centuries. There’s been a Bell Inn on the quay since the 14th century.

The three pubs cluster around The Barbican which was built in the late 14th century. It consists of 2 round towers, with chequered work of stone and flints. A narrow road passes between the towers with a semi-circular timber barrel roof
Barrel roof
A barrel roof is a curved roof that, especially from below, is curved like a cut-away barrel. They have some advantages over dome roofs, especially being able to cover rectangular buildings., due to their uniform cross-section....

 over it. A small 2-storeyed 20th century house built on to north side of the north west tower was occupied by the toll collector for the bridge. The bridge itself was built in 1773 of Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...

 with a Dutch type timber raised platform which was replaced in 1892 with an iron swing bridge.

Windmills

Sandwich has had at least eight windmills over the centuries, the earliest reference to a mill being dated 1608. Two windmills were marked by Hasted
Edward Hasted
Edward Hasted was the author of a major county history, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent .-Life:...

 at the New Cut on the Stour estuary
River Stour, Kent
The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...

. They were most likely pumping mills associated with the saltworks there in the late eighteenth century.

The White Mill
White Mill, Sandwich
White Mill is a smock mill west of Sandwich, Kent, England that was built in 1760. The mill has been restored and is open to the public as part of the White Mill Rural Heritage Centre. The museum also includes the miller's cottage, which has been furnished to appear as during 1900 and 1939...

 is the only survivor. It was built in 1760 and worked by wind until 1929, then by engine until 1957. Today it has been restored and is a heritage and folk museum. The Black Mill was a smock mill
Smock mill
The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind...

 which burnt down circa 1910. There was also a post mill
Post mill
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. The defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. The earliest post mills in England are thought to have...

 which stood near the Black Mill, and was worked in conjunction with it. A smock mill on the Millwall was also known as the Town Mill. It was burnt down. Another mill of unknown type is known to have stood on the Millwall. A sixth windmill stood to the north west of Sandwich, and west of the railway. It formed a group of three with the Black Mill and its neighbour.

Transport

The town is served by Sandwich railway station
Sandwich railway station
Sandwich railway station serves Sandwich in Kent, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern. The station is 8¼ miles south of Ramsgate on the Kent Coast Line....

. It was formerly also served by Sandwich Road railway station
Sandwich Road railway station
Sandwich Road railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened in November 1925 and closed to passenger traffic on 31 October 1928...

 on the East Kent Light Railway
East Kent Light Railway
The East Kent Light Railway was part of the Colonel Stephens group of cheaply built rural light railways in England. Holman Fred Stephens was engineer from its inception, subsequently becoming director and manager...

.

Sandwich has been bypassed by the A256 road
A256 road
The A256 is a key road running north-south through East Kent which connects the Thanet towns to Dover.- Thanet :The road begins in the outskirts of the Thanet town of Broadstairs, at a roundabout with the A255 where it heads westwards through the Westwood Retail Parks via "Westwood Road".The A256...

, which connects the Thanet
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...

 towns to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

, and is reached from Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

 by the A256 road
A256 road
The A256 is a key road running north-south through East Kent which connects the Thanet towns to Dover.- Thanet :The road begins in the outskirts of the Thanet town of Broadstairs, at a roundabout with the A255 where it heads westwards through the Westwood Retail Parks via "Westwood Road".The A256...

.

Religious sites

St Bartholomews Chapel was restored and enlarged by Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...

 in the 19th century. Nearby were two religious almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...

s; St. Barts Hospital dates back to around 1190 and St. Thomas's Hospital which was built in the 14th century and named in honour of St. Thomas Becket.

The Church of St Peter
St Peter's Church, Sandwich
St Peter's Church, Sandwich, is a redundant Anglican church in Sandwich, Kent, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.-Early history:...

 includes some evidence of early Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 work, but was rebuilt in the early 13th century. In 1661 the top of the central tower collapsed, destroying the south aisle. The Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

 parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 is St. Clement which has a tower dating from the latter half of the 12th century, with the rest of the church being from the 12th and 14th centuries. St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church, Sandwich
St Mary's Church, Sandwich, is a redundant Anglican church in the town of Sandwich, Kent, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust...

 also has Norman features and was built on the site of a convent founded by Domne Eafe
Domne Eafe
Domne Eafe was, according to the Mildrith legend, a granddaughter of King Eadbald of Kent and the foundress of the double monastery at Minster-in-Thanet during the reign of her cousin King Ecgberht of Kent.The various versions of the Mildrith legend disagree as to whether Domne Eafe or her sister...

, cousin to King Ecgberht of Kent
Ecgberht of Kent
Ecgberht was a King of Kent who ruled from 664 to 673, succeeding his father Eorcenberht s:Ecclesiastical History of the English People/Book 4#1....

.

Sport

Sandwich has two world-class golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 courses, Royal St George's which hosts The Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...

 approximately every 10 years, and Prince's
Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich
Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich is a links golf course located in Sandwich in Kent in South East England. Prince's is immediately adjacent to the more famous Royal St George's golf club, and both clubs lie on the same stretch of coastline as nearby Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club.Prince's was completed...

 which hosted The Open Championship in 1932, and is currently an Open Championship Final Qualifying course. The Open Championship has returned to Sandwich in 2011.

Education

Within the immediate area of Sandwich there are 4 schools, Sandwich Infants for children aged 4 to 8, Sandwich Juniors for children form the ages of 8 to 11, and Sir Roger Manwood's School
Sir Roger Manwood's School
Sir Roger Manwood's School is a grammar foundation school located in Sandwich, Kent, England, the 96th oldest school in the UK.-Admissions:The school has language college and computing status, meaning that it specialises in teaching modern foreign languages and ICT. In order to gain entry into the...

, for 11-18 and Sandwich Technology School
Sandwich Technology School
Sandwich Technology School is a school in Sandwich, Kent, United Kingdom. The school is a specialist Technology College. The school also holds Applied Learning and Training School specialisms. The school was rated as 'outstanding' by OFSTED in December 2008. The school became a converter Academy in...

, again, 11-18.

Culture

The town's connection with the snack
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...

 of the same name is that John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten...

, who lived in the 18th century allegedly invented it. It is said that he ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread. Because Montagu also happened to be the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" However, the exact circumstances of the invention are still the subject of debate. A rumour in a contemporary travel book called Tour to London (although not confirmed) by Pierre Jean Grosley formed the popular myth that bread and meat sustained Lord Sandwich at the gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

 table. The sober alternative is provided by Sandwich's biographer, N. A. M. Rodger, who suggests Sandwich's commitments to the navy, to politics and the arts mean the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his desk.

Sandwich Festival

The town of Sandwich has an annual festival period towards the end of August where a number of events are staged. During Sandwich festivals of the past there have been European markets, motorcycle meets, illuminsted boat parade or dressed ship parade on The Quay, a street Barn Dance, various concerts (both classical and modern pop/rock), Simultaneous Chess Tournament with Grand Master John Emms and a vintage Car Show. The festival usually lasts for 8 days. Full details can be found on the Sandwich Festival website www.sandwichfestival.org.uk

Newspapers

Sandwich has two paid-for newspapers, the Deal and Sandwich Express (published by Kent Regional News and Media) and the East Kent Mercury
East Kent Mercury and Dover Mercury
The East Kent Mercury and Dover Mercury are weekly newspapers serving the district of Dover in Kent. The Dover Mercury covers the town of Dover, and the East Kent Mercury the towns of Deal and Sandwich...

(published by the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...

). Free newspapers for the town include the Dover Extra, part of the KM Group; and yoursandwich, part of KOS Media
KOS Media
KOS Media is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England. The company operates local newspapers and internet sites throughout the county.-History:...

.

Radio

The local radio station for Sandwich is KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country
KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country
KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country is an Independent Local Radio serving the districts of Dover and Shepway and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group....

, although the town has good coverage of KMFM Thanet
KMFM Thanet
KMFM Thanet is an Independent Local Radio serving the Isle of Thanet and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...

. Sandwich is also served by the county-wide stations Heart, Gold and BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...

.Sandwich is also covered by Podcasting service Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

 Community Radio who cover Dover District with local podcasts on their website. They hope to create a district-wide internet based radio station in the future leading to a community licence.
Academy FM Thanet can also be well received in the Sandwich area.

Road signs

There is a nearby hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 to the south called Ham
Ham, Kent
Ham is a hamlet near the town of Sandwich in Kent, England, within the parish of Northbourne.There is a signpost nearby which points to both the hamlet and the town, thus appearing to read "Ham Sandwich"....

. A fingerpost
Fingerpost
A fingerpost is a name given to traditional British and Irish sign posts comprising a post with one or more arms — known as fingers — pointing in the direction of travel to named places on the fingers...

some miles away in the village of Worth points towards both Ham and Sandwich, thus reading:"Ham Sandwich."

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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