Folkestone

"FOLKESTONE, a parish, market town, ancient seaport, municipal borough, and member of the Cinque Port of Dover, in the hundred of Folkestone, lathe of Shepway, county Kent, 6 miles S.W. of Dover, and 70 from London by road, or 82 by the South-Eastern railway, on which it is a principal station, being one of the chief routes to France from the metropolis. The harbour was formed at an expense of £50,000. It is a place of ancient date, having been fortified by the Romans, who built a tower on Folkestone Hill, which rises to the height of 575 feet above the sea. Under the Saxon King of Kent, Eadbald, a castle and priory were founded here, but were destroyed by the Danes in the reign of Athelstan. After the Conquest the castle was rebuilt by William de Albrincis, or Avranches, but all traces of it are now obliterated. ... More"

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]