Evolution: When Our World Changes, We Too Must Change and Adapt

Copyright Janet Cameron

The only life on our planet around 3.5 billion years ago was bacteria. 600 million years ago, animals appeared and began to evolve. Then, we humans arrived a mere 200,000 years ago. In the overall timescale, we have only just, this very minute, emerged into existence. The big question, for Dr. Alice Roberts of Horizon, is: "Have we continued to evolve?

Evolution, we now know, is responsible for the great diversity of life forms on our planet. Dr. Roberts travelled to Devon, where she learned about a very special kind of earthworm that had evolved and flourished in spite of the arsenic-poisoned earth around an abandoned copper mine. This earthworm looks fairly ordinary, maybe a little paler at one end than your common-garden type worm. But this little creature is far from ordinary: it is a brand new species.

Worms from our gardens, transported to the location of the old Devon copper mine, would die of arsenic poisoning, and so the genetic differences between the two worms are immense... "they are more different to ordinary earthworms than we are to mice," a scientist told Dr. Roberts, although Tim Dowling, who reviewed the programme for The Guardian, was understandably cynical, saying, "I believed him at the time, but now I've written it down it looks silly."

Yet, the fact remains, the worms have, in 170 years, evolved by adapting to such high levels of arsenic poisoning that they are now a distinct species.

From African Beginnings to a Victorian Cemetery

60,000 years ago, humans began spreading out from Africa and over the planet. We began to use clothes and fires for protection, and we fashioned tools to make our lives safer and easier. Does this mean that technology gradually began to prevent us evolving through natural selection? Dr. Roberts went to Oxford to meet Revd. William Buckland who showed her the oldest bones in the whole of the UK. These were of a male pelvis, radio carbon dated from 33,000 years ago, well before the peak of the last ice age. Dr. Roberts could see nothing in the bones to indicate that they had changed in any meaningful way.

"The raw material of evolution is dead babies," said one geneticist, as he accompanied Dr. Roberts through a Victorian cemetery and they studied the tombstones. Only one in every two babies born in Darwin's time reached the age of 21 - literally, the survival of the fittest, so that only the healthy humans manage to reproduce. In other words, reproductive success is what alters genes. Today, 99% of children make it to 21. Evolution should, surely, be at a standstill.

Evolving in Fundamental Ways

On the other hand, in the past we were all dark-skinned, but not now. Those of us who moved to cooler climates and did not need to develop pigmentation to protect us from extremes of weather gradually evolved a lighter skin. This, as Dr. Roberts pointed out, is a superficial difference. She wanted to know if we had evolved in more fundamental ways than those apparent on the surface.

Are we protected from natural selection by medical progress, technology and a wide and varied diet? It might seem so, but evolution can still be seen at work in the following ways:

• The sickle cell gene protects against malaria.
• Europeans have evolved to digest lactose. (Apart from those who have allergies.)
• Adaptations to blood circulation have enabled people to live at high altitudes, according to research conducted by Prof. Cynthia Beall.

Testing Evolution in Areas of Extremity

Cynthia Beall, who is a Professor of Anatomy and Global Health, was studying Nepalese Sherpas in the Himalayan mountains. She explained how the mountain air was dangerously low in oxygen and that this was normally physiologically stressful for human beings. There have been cases of people dying when exposed to this oxygen-deficient air. Her research revealed that the Sherpas had developed a unique system of blood circulation with wide blood vessels and many intricate twists and turns, a system that was sophisticated enough to cause them to be unaffected by the poor air quality.

One of the scariest stories exposed by Dr. Roberts was that of the chicken virus that caused appallingly large and fatal tumours. At one time, this same virus was merely a minor irritant and then a chicken vaccination had been developed - but this changed the selective landscape. The virus evolved a resistance to the drug, a change exacerbated by modern factory farming methods, and so the virus became stronger. The virus can now kill a chicken in just ten days. Of course, bacteria was on our planet long long before we arrived and no doubt, it will still be going strong when our species has disappeared.

Meantime, there's still genetic engineering. In the US, on the West Coast, people can choose the gender of their babies and although no one is permitted to select their child's hair or eye colour, it is certainly possible to do so.

As Tim Dowling says, this was a see-saw programme, with one scientist's work supporting the view that evolution had come to a halt, and yet another confirming that it continued despite our technological progress. 

The conclusion is that in the end, when our world changes, we have to change and adapt or we cease to exist. The greatest threat to our survival is probably that of disease.

"Are We Still Evolving?" Dr. Alice Roberts, Horizon, BBC2, 1 March, 2011.

"Last Night's TV," Tim Dowling, The Guardian, 2 March, 2011.

The Cult of James Jershom Jezreel and the Fallen Queen Jezebel

James Jershom Jezreel was born in 1851. His birth name was James Roland White. He enlisted in the British Army on 27 July 1875, and joined the sixteenth Regiment of Foot in Chatham, in Kent. The young man became obsessed with a religious sect known in England as the Jezreelites.

Jezreel was convinced he was the “Messenger of the Lord” and he was responsible for the erection of Jezreel's Tower in Gillingham in 1881. The Tower stood 120 ft. high until it was demolished in 1961. After the Tower was razed to the ground, a sealed bottle was discovered under a foundation stone containing details of the sect. The bus stop, which now occupies the site, is actually known locally as the Jezreel's bus stop.

The strange sect was founded by Joanna Southcott who believed she would give birth to the new Messiah – even though she was sixty-five years old! Joanna Southcott died in 1814, childless, of course.

Armageddon and Jezreel

The name, Jezreel, is a real place in the lower Galilee Region and is found in the “The Revelation to John” which refers to Armageddon and the battle between good and evil. In Jezreel, the Phoenecian princess, Jezebel, a powerful and influential woman, persuaded her husband, King Ahab, to give up his Jewish god and instead worship the Phoenician god, Baal.

Jezebel’s husband was eventually killed by his enemies in war and was succeeded by his sons. Elisha, the prophet, anointed Jehu to be king and to overthrow the monarchy.

Queen Jezebel dresses to die at Jezreel

Jehu commanded that Queen Jezebel, whom he described as a witch, be killed by defenestration, which meant she was to be flung from the window. “When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window.” There she waited for her fate.

“When Jehu arrived, he told his eunuchs: “Throw her down.” So they threw Jezebel down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot. Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of that accursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing, except her skull, her feet and her hands.” Jehu was content, saying, “Jezebel’s body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no-one will be able to say, “This is Jezebel.” From then on, “Jezebel” was a derogatory term for “fallen woman” or prostitute.

James Jezreel and The Flying Roll

Jezreel wrote a book, “The Flying Roll” which was a collection of three sermons. Its flyer was headed, “TIME IS RUNNING OUT” and continues: “Current events clearly indicate that it is God’s purpose to overthrow the present order, which has run nearly the allotted 6000 years, to be replaced by the glorious reign of the Lord Jesus. This will bring unimaginable peace and happiness to mankind.” The book cost £4, which was a great deal of money for any book at that time.

However, its author, the sect’s founder, James Jezreel, was not the upstanding pillar of church and society that his position implied. Although insisting that his followers abstain from drink, Jezreel was continuously drunk - unseemly behaviour for the leader of a religious sect who was supposed to set an example to his flock.

Eventually, Jezreel became an alcoholic and he became ill and died on 2 March, 1885.

Sources:

Murder & Crime, Medway, Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing, Gloucestershire, 2008.

“The Tower of Mystery Surrenders its Secrets” Stephen Rayner, the “Memories Page” Medway News, May 2006.

Holy Bible – New International Version, Hodder and Stoughton, London, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto, 1979.

Upnor Castle – The Gun Fort with a Short Career

Upnor Castle, Copyright Janet Cameron

Upnor Castle dates from 1559 and is located at Frindsbury on the River Medway - but eventually it proved unfit for purpose. The River Medway was used for the building and repair of warships, and Queen Elizabeth's intention of building a castle here as a gun fort was to protect Chatham Dockyard and the fleet on the River Medway from attack. Stone was taken from the outskirts of Rochester Castle. William Bourne, who was a master gunner, drew up a memorandum claiming that the large guns were inadequate to protect the castle, and although invading ships might be damaged or demasted, they would not be sunk.

First defence - the chain across the River Medway

It was decided to draw a chain across the river between Hoo Ness and Gillingham to help prevent enemy vessels from approaching the castle. Action was taken in 1585, during the war with Spain and it cost £80 a year to maintain.

On 12 June 1667, Dutch vessels approached up the Thames to Gravesend, then made their way towards Chatham. On the way, they burnt a fort at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. They gained access despite the heavy chain. No one knows for sure if it was broken by a Dutch vessel, or set loose from the riverbank. What is known is that the Dutch were assisted by English soldiers, who were on low, or non-existent pay. They were also angry about bad conditions at the castle. It's entirely possible aggrieved military men may have been responsible for the loosening of the chain. (At this time, the reigning monarch, Charles II, was almost bankrupt.)

Warships destroyed at Chatham Dockyard

When the Dutch reached Upnor Castle on 13 June, they were greeted by fierce fire. Several warships were lost, as well as lives on both sides. However, the English had been badly provided for and although they did their best, eventually their munitions ran out. There was no resistance from Chatham Dockyard, due to the anger of the men at their low pay and conditions. HMS Royal Oak and several other ships moored at the Dockyard were destroyed.

The Dutch were forced to return to Queensborough on 14 June, before setting sail for home. It was decided that chains were a bad idea and so the castle was strengthened and more forts were built, primarily at Cockham Wood and Gillingham.

But Upnor Castle's opportunity to prove its mettle was lost and its career as a gun fort was over.

Sources:

Adapted from Murder & Crime, Medway, Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing, 2008.

Upnor Castle staff and museum.

Further Reading:

Prison Warships of the River Medway

The Ruthless Rabbit Robbers of Rochester

Five young rascals tried to steal some rabbits from a frightened lad - and then lied about it on oath. They almost got away with it.

Copyright Janet Cameron

Walter Chatters, Charles Moore, Charles Warren (yes, Warren!), Sucker Gough and Joseph Brown were accused of assaulting a boy, George Merrit and stealing three rabbits on 31 December 1869. The offence took place on the Rochester to Maidstone Road.

The pilfered bunnies belonged to Mr. E.R. Coles, who was, according to the Chatham News dated 7 January, one of the magistrates on duty that day. Mr. Coles retired from the Bench for the duration of the hearing.

A Cunning Subterfuge

Young George Merrit described how, the previous Friday, he was taking eighteen dead rabbits along the high road, leading to Maidstone. They had been left in his care by some gentlemen, who were still out shooting small animals, as men of that period liked to do. 

On reaching the second milestone, seven men approached George, asking him the way to Chatham. But that was a subterfuge. Instead, they surrounded him.

"Who do these rabbits belong to?" they demanded. George informed them they belonged to gentlemen who were out shooting in the woods.

"Let's have some," said the men, but George explained, with great patience, that the dead rabbits were not his to give away. The men ignored him. Several of them picked up rabbits from the ground. George began to shout for help, then Walter Chatters struck him violently on the back with a stick.

Frightened, George ran away, and when he returned, he found the men had disappeared - and so had five of the rabbits although later he found two on the ground nearby.

George Merritt confirmed that he recognised the prisoners as five of the seven men who had accosted him. All the men, he said, had sticks and this was confirmed by an eye-witness. The assistance of Sergeant Hinds ensured the eventual apprehension of the five men. The newspaper noted that six nets and a rabbit were recovered from Charles Warren at the police station.

We Never Touched No Rabbits, Sir!

Walter Chatters insisted that the boy, George Merrit, had spoken falsely on oath, while Moore declared he had never touched a rabbit, and had told the others not to touch them or they would get into trouble. Charles Warren said he picked up a rabbit, but put it down again quickly after Moore's warning. Gough and Brown also denied touching the rabbits.

The Bench retired and when they returned, the mayor said the charge of a felony against the prisoners was withdrawn, but they would be "proceeded against" on a charge of assault of a boy. The prisoners pleaded not guilty, and again, the evidence given by George Merrit was read out by the clerk. Chatters repeated that the boy spoke falsely because he had never, would not even think of, striking him!

The mayor considered the evidence and decided that there was a violent assault on the young boy. Chatters was fined 30s. including costs, or one calendar month's hard labour. The other men were fined 1s or, in default, fourteen days' hard labour.

Prostitution in Victorian Times – The Plight of the Working Girl

Medway Slums, from Murders and Crime, Medway, with permission

In Victorian times, there was a vigorous upsurge in prostitution, in particular from Star Hill, Rochester to Sun Pier in Chatham. Trade around the River Medway and its dockyard brought many young soldiers and sailors as well as military and engineering workers. All were far from home and looking for sex and excitement. There were many slum areas, many transients employed on river work, and terrible poverty. At the height of its bawdiness in the mid-1800s, Chatham was a riot of soldiers, sailors and prostitutes high on booze and sex. The police, at this time, were inadequate to control the situation.

Pubs and brothels, seedy street bars and the backs of shops and alleyways provided venues for every kind of adventure. Apart from the regular prostitutes, there were poor, working-class women, eager and desperate enough to provide what men wanted. They had little choice. There were few jobs available for them in an area dominated by masculine pursuits of ship-building, engineering and other fields pertaining to Medway's military presence. They must work - or starve.

If anyone was arrested in the 1880s, it set off a chain reaction. "All it took to spark off a riot was for the police to arrest a drunk and take him up to New Road, where the police station was, and they would be followed by a stone-throwing mob, who would try to climb over the station walls," says Brian Joyce in The Chatham Scandal.

Government crackdown on brothels

The Tudor Rose pub at Upnor was once a brothel, serving soldiers from nearby Upnor Castle. The Castle, dates from 1559, and the pub is almost as old. It was formerly known as the King's Head. It's easy to imagine how pretty little Upnor village became a den of vice during Tudor and Victorian times with its close proximity to the Castle.

Eventually, the Government cracked down in an attempt to halt the spread of VD among servicemen. In 1869, the Contagious Diseases Act permitted the police to register working prostitutes, ensuring they had regular medical examinations. Those tested positive were detained in hospital for nine months. (It is reported that in 1864, Supt. Radley attempted to shut down several pubs, the Lord Nelson, the Bear and Staff, the Five Bells, the Flushing, the Homeward Bound, the Duke of Gloucester and the Maidstone Arms. The Magistrate disagreed, perhaps fearing a street riot.)

There were nine brothels in Chatham and around three hundred prostitutes in 1870, but eleven years later, the number had halved to 150 due to the Government crackdown.

A refuge for prostitutes

Eliza Hook was a trial to her mother, Frances. Shortly before Christmas in 1889, she abandoned her position as a maid and ran away. Later, she lived in Greenwich, and learned the laundry trade. During this time, she had a sexual relationship with a man who falsely offered to marry her. She ended up in a refuge for prostitutes in Chatham. Her mother always denied Eliza's profession, but poverty made prostitutes of many unfortunate, working-class women.

While at the Chatham House of Refuge, Frances visited Eliza only once, claiming her daughter seemed happy. The refuge, run by local clergy and businessmen, kept the girls and young women virtual prisoners. In principle, the women could discharge themselves at any time, but they had nowhere else to go. They had to attend church regularly and learn the laundry trade.

Poor Eliza paid dearly for her spirited unruliness with her own death. Before she died she put her mother right about the terrible treatment she had received at the hands of the matrons.

• given only dry bread to eat.
• shut up at weekends.
• dipped in a cold water tub and made to work in a wet chemise.
• held down in a tub for so long she thought she would drown.
• threatened with beating if she complained to her mother or anyone else.
• made to stand twelve hours a day in steaming heat, elbows deep in washing.
• made to work barefoot.
• beaten if she was too weak to do her work.
• nicknamed "the long lamp post" by the other girls because of her scragginess.

The doctor who attended Eliza at the infirmary was shocked at her condition, caused by starvation and torture. One horrific manifestation of her neglect was a dead bone, sticking out from one of her toes and giving off a terrible stench. There were ulcers on her ankle and a painful swelling on her hip. Her hair was rife with vermin and she weighed just 5 stones, less than most eight-year-old children of the time.

The postmortem reported death from pneumonia. The matron, Jane Davey, denied all charges, saying the other girls never complained. Her assistant, Eliza Brown, denied ducking and almost drowning.

The jury decided the matrons had been careless, but this carelessness was not sufficient to embark on criminal proceedings. The matrons escaped with a caution. The people of Chatham were furious and mobbed the women's coach as they left court, throwing stones and rubbish. These two matrons needed police protection from the crowds, even when they were back inside the refuge.

Sources:

Murder & Crime, Medway, Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing, 2008.

Medway Memories

The Chatham Scandal, Brian Joyce, 2009.

Militant Women and the Cat and Mouse Act

A suffragette called Marian Wallace Dunlop (1864-1942) was the first woman to go on hunger strike while in jail in July 1909. She was force-fed, a horrible, painful process involving gags and nasogastric tubes. Soon, other suffragettes were also subjected to this humiliating process. The Bishop of London visited the women in prison and claimed there was no cause for concern and that the whole thing was done in a spirit of kindness!

The suffragettes had been frustrated by lack of progress, which they addressed by employing more militant tactics. Continuous disappointment only fuelled the anger of the Women’s Social and Political Union who embarked on even more explosive action, causing some ministers to harden their attitude to the indiscriminate violence. For example, the most militant women resorted to damaging National Gallery paintings and setting buildings alight as well as biting and scratching policemen whose job it was to apprehend them.

It was in this bitter maelstrom that the women began to retaliate by refusing to eat and hostility towards them increased. They were frequently represented as ugly, wizened, unpleasant old spinsters. In 1912, Sir Almroth E. Wright, the bacteriologist, wrote to The Times saying the women’s frustration was due to the excess of the female population over the male – it’s said there were over a million more women than men. They should go abroad to seek mates,” said Sir Almroth E. Wright. They should be kept away from politics, he claimed, because of their physical and intellectual deficiencies as well as their lack of moral standards.

According to Great Events of the 20^th Century, Mrs. Winston Churchill retaliated with an ironic reply, reflecting back to the hostile gentleman his own ridiculous accusations: “After reading Sir Almroth Wright’s able and weighty exposition of women as he knows them, the question seems no longer to be, “Should women have votes?” but “Ought women not to be abolished altogether?”

The “Cat and Mouse Act” Becomes Law

In 1913, the Prisoners’ Temporary Discharge for Health Bill was passed, and became known at the “Cat and Mouse Act.” The forced-feeding stopped, but the act allowed the authorities to release a woman when she became weak and ill, so she could recover and then be re-arrested when she was well. In this way, the Government, under Asquith, could not be blamed if she starved to death because it would be her fault – on the other hand, if she did wrong, then she would be hauled back to prison. In this way, the possibility of martyrdom would be avoided.

The act became known as the “Cat and Mouse Act” because it symbolised the way a cat plays with a mouse, torturing it for a time without actually finishing it off. Worryingly, class also came into the equation according to a suffragette, Jane Wharton, who wrote a book claiming that working class women were more likely to be force-fed than upper class women. Women were, in those days, defined very much in terms of their gender and their class.

In the end, the act actually undermined the Government’s position. The suffragettes who were released to get well, did their best with the help of friends and sympathisers to elude capture by the authorities. The Government lost face and it was seen as a violation of human rights, as indicated by the naming of the Act as The Cat and Mouse Act. Prime Minister Asquith was regarded as the enemy.

The philosopher and philanthropist, Bertrand Russell, left the Liberal party and wrote pamphlets against the Government and in support of the suffragettes. Someone wrote this extremely patronising short verse about him:

Although we may oppose the plan

Of giving womenfolk a vote,

Still to the ordinary man

Few things are more engaging than

The Russell of the Petticoat.

Sensibly, the poet preferred to remain anonymous, and finally suffragette activities ceased with the onset of War in August 1914.

Great Events of the 20^th Century, Multiple Contributors, The Automobile Association, 1989.

LGBT Brighton & Hove, Janet Cameron, Amberley Publishing, 2009.

The Terrible Plight of the Drowned Spanish Sailor

Photo with Permission

Michael Street of Faversham in Kent, who is a regular customer at the Shipwrights Arms pub, claims to have seen a ghost four times in the neighbouring boatyard. The Shipwrights Arms stands by a creek that flows into the River Swale. The pub is dated from the early 18th century, although there is evidence of a building on the site since the 13th century. Throughout the ages, the pub has been visited by pirates, smugglers and sailors, and once a Viking king arrived, who called the area the "Holy Shore" and from this came its present name, Hollowshore.

The ghost that haunts the pub and manifested itself to Michael Street is of a sailor. Mr. Street and others describe him with staring, haunted eyes and wearing a reefer jacket. He "smells of death and decay," says Michael, shuddering. It's claimed by the locals that this is the ghost of a captain who was the only survivor of a shipwreck of a Spanish galleon.

A Horrible Sight and a Vile Smell of Decay

One night, in the 1700s, a storm blew up, wrecking the foreign vessel, but the captain managed to struggle to shore. He staggered up to the Shipwrights Arms begging for help. Sadly for him, the landlord thought he was a yokel who just wanted to drink after hours, and so he refused the half-drowned sailor admission. The poor man collapsed onto the ground and died.

Michael Street's sighting of the captain's ghost is frightening. "He looks as though he's all in black and he only ever shows himself in winter," says Mr. Street. The pub's landlord, Derek Cole, claims there is often a dreadful smell of decay that occurs in one part of the pub. When Derek Cole and his family first moved in, they thought the smell was caused by the drains and tried to treat it with special chemicals, freshener, candles, etc. It made little difference. The vile smell continued for days.

Other Ghosts Haunt This Old Kent Inn

The Coles claim there had been many strange things happening in the pub:

• Furniture has moved or been mysteriously rearranged.
• A shelf holding books for customers to use is tidied up at night, but when the family come down in the morning, there is often a book lying open on a table.
• The bar is affected by sudden temperature chills.
• Someone making a TV documentary about the hauntings brought in his dog. To test the dog, a customer placed a biscuit in the corner of the pub, an area that was prone to turn freezing cold. The poor dog desperately wanted that biscuit, but it didn't dare go into the haunted corner to retrieve it.
• Neil Cole's brother Carl heard his mobile phone ring. The number on the display was that of the bar telephone. He went downstairs to look, as it was out of hours, and sure enough, the bar was empty.
• One of the customers also reported a strange meeting with a lady in twin-set and pearls called Helen in the ladies' cloakroom. But no one else came out because there was no one there.

Sources:

Adapted from Haunted Kent, Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing, 2005.

The Cole Family.

Mr. Michael Street.

Reign of Terror by a Wannabe King

Dover - Photo Copyright Janet Cameron

He wanted land, money and power. He wanted to be King. He even wanted to be Pope.

When King William conquered England in 1066, his half-brother, Odo, was Bishop of Bayeux, but that wasn't enough for him. He wanted, someday, to take big brother William's place. His ruthless pursuit of power made him one of the most hated of Dover's historical figures, and his reign of terror spread from Dover across the entire county of Kent.

Odo was greedy to acquire a large fortune in gold and treasure for the longed-for day when he became King. He set out to destroy all the Saxon landeowners and take over their estates. He gave their houses to his friends and family and, in his arrogance, he even confiscated the Guildhall from the King.

In the mid-eleventh century, Dover was a busy port with packet ships leaving regularly for France. This didn't worry Odo; he permitted one of his tenants to build a mill at the entrance to Dover Harbour. This caused such a disturbance to the sea that shipping was affected and many vessels were wrecked as a result.

Odo Pursues the Papacy

If all this wasn't enough, around 1082, he decided to ask the English knights to assist him in deposing the Pope so he could take the Papacy for himself. An army gathered to go to Italy, but then Odo was arrested, tried, and condemned under his secular title of the Earl of Kent. He was imprisoned in Normandy until 1087, when he was released by William, who generously restored Odo's earldom. Still, the unruly Odo continued his campaign against the new King, William Rufus, second son of William the Conqueror.

After William Rufus attacked Tonbridge Castle, which was held by Gilbert de Clare, a cohort of Odo's, he then marched on Pevensey Castle, and the Earldom of Kent ceased to exist. So, after thirteen years of terrorising the country, Odo was exiled, and he died in France in 1097.

Odo wasn't the only important personage to benefit from the miseries of others during his lifetime. When men were fined for adultery, the King pocketed the cash, and also received half the property of those condemned to death. Adulterous women had their fines paid to the Archbishop.



Sources:

Lee, Christopher, This Sceptred Isle, Penguin Books, 1997.

Local Studies Resources, Dover, Margate, Westage and Birchington.

Legends of Dover Castle

The Castle Keep - Photo Copyright Janet Cameron

When the Romans first tried to invade Dover, they had to withdraw due to the barbaric warriors who hurled stones at them from the clifftops. Magnificent Dover Castle was built to protect the harbour from invasion. Work began in 1180 and the Castle remained a military fortress until the 1960s. The following stories, like most legendary tales, almost certainly contain grains of truth, while the fiction and fantasy imparts an insight into the beliefs and concerns of our ancestors.

A Living Death

While Dover Castle was being built, masons were confounded by the way one of the towers (Peverell's Tower) kept collapsing. They would build it up again and again, but still it kept coming down and no one could work out why. The builders did not blame their own poor workmanship, but instead decided the collapses were due to evil spirits that needed appeasing. An old woman was walking nearby with her dog, so the men seized them both and interred them in the wall alive as a sacrifice to the angry spirits. The terrified old woman cursed them as she and her innocent pet were entombed, but it didn't deter the masons.

After the building was finished, the chief mason fell from the top of the tower to his death. Rumour had it that it was the old woman, wreaking her revenge. (In medieval times, it was common practice for people to be buried in the foundations of buildings to ward off evil spirits.)

The Stick that Grew

A soldier from Dover Castle killed another man with a stick. The soldier, Donald, was convinced he had escaped justice as there was no one else around to witness his action. The soldier made a bizarre bargain with himself, Pushing a stick into the ground close to the road, he told himself he would be safe so long as the stick did not take root. Later, his regiment was sent abroad. When it returned in around twenty years and Donald arrived in Dover, he found, to his amazement, that the stick had grown into a fine young elm tree.

Overcome with guilt for what he had done, he confessed to his crime. He was tried, found guilty and hanged in chains next to the elm tree.

The Drummer Boy of Dover Castle

A drummer boy lost his life in Dover Castle. It's claimed he is the source of the headless ghost that walks the battlements. The young man was carrying out an errand for his captain involving a large sum of money, but he was set upon by thugs. Courageously, the boy fought back and tried to hold onto the money he was guarding. He was outnumbered by the ruffians and beheaded.

A medium, David Acorah, conducted an investigation of the site, and claimed the attack came from men from the boy's regiment. He believed that the boy's headless body was recovered in 1802, although, mysteriously, the head was never discovered. Mr. Acorah was convinced the boy came from Cork in Ireland, and that his mother's name was Mary. He added he would try to set the boy's spirit free.

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, was half-brother to King William the Conqueror. Odo was jealous and wanted to take William's place someday as King. His pursuit of power and the inevitable reign of terror he instigated and which spread across the whole county of Kent, made the Bishop a much hated figure.

Odo was ambitious and he wanted gold and treasure for the day when he took his brother's place on the throne. His plan was to destroy the Saxon landlowners and take their estates for himself. As he added to his personal treasury, he set up his friends and family in the properties he stole. In his arrogance, he even confiscated the Guildhall from the King.

Many ships were wrecked due to Odo's negligence. In the mid-eleventh century, Dover was a busy port with packet ships leaving regularly for France. This didn't worry Odo, who allowed a tenant of his to construct a mill at the entrance to Dover Harbour. This structure caused such a disturbance to the sea that shipping was badly disrupted and many vessels came to grief.

If that wasn't enough, Odo asked the English knights to help him in deposing the Pope, so he could secure the Papacy for himself. An army gathered to go to Italy, but Odo was arrested, tried and condemned under his secular title of the Earl of Kent. He was imprisoned in Normandy until 1087, and released by William, who, rather generously, gave him back his earldom.

Ironic Justice

Odo wasn't the only privileged noble to take advantage and twist the laws of the land to suit himself. When men were fined for adultery, the King pocketed the cash. The King also received half the property of those condemned to death. Also, an ironic justice - adulterous women had their fines paid to the archbishop.

"When it's dark in Dover / It's dark the whole world over." - Old Dover saying.

Sources:

Adapted from Murder & Crime, Dover, Janet Cameron, Tempus Publishing, 2006.

'Past Times,' Dover Telegaph, 9 March, 1844.

This Sceptred Isle, Christopher Lee, Penguin Books, 1997.