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 The
original Sandwich haven: 
was a safe natural harbour for ships traveling
between the continent and London, and by the eleventh to thirteenth
centuries the town had become an important major port. Its wealth lead to
repeated raids by the Danes and the French and the town protected itself
with fortified walls and a great boom which prevented passage of ships up
the river Stour.
The
alliance between the other important ports of Hastings, Rye, Hythe and
Dover lead to the formation of the Cinque Ports which in return for
providing ships and seamen were granted many privileges and
freedoms. Tax and toll free trading was permitted and the five towns
had their own courts to deal with their own affairs. At their height only
the Church and the Monarch were more powerful.
Many
famous and important people have passed through the town, notably Thomas a
Becket during his escape from Henry II and Richard the Lionheart on his
return from the crusades. The Black Prince brought King John of France
back as prisoner from his victory in Poitiers. Several Kings and Queens of
England have visited, and Elizabeth the Ist was entertained in Sandwich to
try to persuade her to help restore the harbour when it started to silt up
and the towns fortunes went into decline. Sandwich is now two miles inland
and the famous golf courses of Royal St Georges and Princes now occupy the
once flourishing port.
 Protestants
fleeing persecution in the Netherlands and France settled after 1560 and
introduced dyke drainage to permit market gardening, weaving and other
skills such as clay tile making which give us our characteristic Kent peg
tiles, as well as numerous dutch gabled houses. Sandwich became a peaceful
market town though involved in emigrations to New England and in the
Napoleonic wars. The haven was used again in 1914-18 when a secret port
known as Richborough was built to supply the forces in France, and in the
second world war provided accommodation for German refugees.
Now
the port area has been developed as an impressive industrial estate
housing the worlds largest drug company Pfizer as well as local
companies. The lovely old town is enjoying new prosperity in association
with the companys' growth and tourism as Sandwich is arguably the most
complete medieval historic town in England. The central conservation
areas' narrow twisting street plan remains essentially unchanged since the
Domesday book, and visitors can enjoy the pretty little houses in their
original layout.
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