A short history

Folkestone's first life was as a fishing village, prospering enough to become part of the Cinque Ports. Smuggling and quarrying were also important to its early economy.

Folkestone’s modern history starts in the mid-nineteenth century, with the coming of the railway to the town.

Famous for its warm climate and beneficial air Folkestone became one of Britain's most fashionable resorts.

The town attracted royal patronage as well as distinguished literary figures and artists, including Agatha Christie, Joseph Conrad, Ian Fleming, George Bernard Shaw, Turner and HG Wells. Marcel Duchamp played chess and Samuel Beckett was married here.

Much of the infrastructure was built in the late Victorian and Edwardian period, including the elegant cliff top promenade called the Leas, and the monumental Metropole and Grand hotels.

But tourism was changing. Wealthier patrons began to travel further overseas. Package holidays brought continental European destinations within easy reach of everyone. People came to Folkestone for a day out, rather than an extended stay.

In the 1980s the Channel Tunnel construction brought a temporary boom, but when the tunnel opened it quickly killed off the remaining ferry business (the last passenger service moved to Dover in 2003).

Folkestone suffered with the rest of East Kent from the collapse of coal mining, agricultural problems and the decline of fishing. By the mid 1990s the town had serious problems.

The extension of the M20 in the late 1980s vastly improved road network connections in East Kent, but it had little immediate impact on Folkestone’s decline.

Although its elegant infrastructure to some extent remained in place, property values across the town were well below south eastern averages and its four eastern wards were among the most depressed in the country. Numerous empty shop fronts made the town centre a depressing experience, creating a vicious circle of decline.

Signs of hope
Folkestone’s sorry state has been all too visible, and yet this town of 47,000 people has much going for it.

It has a fantastic location. It is close to London, and yet far enough away to have its own identity. The good climate, the draw of the sea, the beaches nestling in the shadow of the white cliffs all remain.

Rail connections to London are set to be transformed in the near future, with a high speed link to St Pancras/Kings Cross scheduled for introduction in December 2009. Cutting the journey to less than an hour, it will bring Folkestone within easy reach of north Londoners, a significant new market. It could also bring much larger numbers of commuters to the town, shifting its economy again.