History of Sandwich
Sandwich is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in England, but its story begins long before the Middle Ages. Over nearly two thousand years, it evolved from a Roman frontier zone into a Saxon trading port, then into one of the wealthiest towns in medieval England before declining into the quiet lovely historic town seen today.
The Roman Frontier (AD 43-410)
Long before Sandwich existed, the nearby area was dominated by the Roman port and fortress of Richborough, known as Rutupiae. This was one of the most important entry points into Roman Britain.
In AD 43, Emperor Claudius launched the Roman invasion of Britain. Archaeological evidence strongly suggests Roman forces landed near Richborough, only a short distance from modern Sandwich.
At that time the geography looked completely different. The Isle of Thanet was separated from mainland Kent by the Wantsum Channel, a broad navigable sea passage. Sandwich itself did not yet exist; the sea reached much farther inland.
At the northern end of this channel the romans built the fort of Reculver (Regulbiae) and at the southern end, the fort of Richborough (Rutupiae). Standing on high ground, impregnable with a large garrison, it overlooked Stonar. The town of Stonar was destroyed by a great flood in 1365.
Roman Richborough and the Wantsum Channel
The Wantsum Channel became one of the most strategically important waterways in Roman Britain. Ships moving between Britain and continental Europe could safely anchor there, protected from the rougher waters of the Channel.
As Roman Britain declined in the 4th and 5th centuries, Richborough fell into ruin. Stone from the abandoned Roman fort was later reused in medieval Sandwich buildings.
Did You Know
Saxon Origins and the First References (5th–11th Centuries)
597 The Roman missionary, Augustine, landed at Ebbsfleet, proceeded to Canterbury and built a great church, becoming Canterbury Cathedral.
After the Roman withdrawal, Saxon settlers established trading communities around the estuary. The first clear written mention of Sandwich appears around AD 664, when the chronicler Eddius Stephanus recorded that Bishop Wilfrid “landed happily and pleasantly at Sandwic.”
The name “Sandwic” comes from Old English:
- Sand = sandy ground
- Wic = trading settlement or market town
So Sandwich literally meant something like:
“Trading settlement on sandy ground.”
By the early Saxon era, the town occupied a sandbank beside the sheltered harbour formed by the Wantsum Channel.
Early Saxon Sandwich
The harbour was ideal for merchants travelling between England and Frankish Europe. Small quays, warehouses, fishing huts, and markets gradually developed along the shoreline.
Even before the Norman Conquest, Sandwich was already prosperous.
851 The Battle of Sandwich was the first known naval battle in English history. It was a Kentish victory against a Danish Viking fleet.
King Æthelwulf of Wessex scored a major victory at the battle of Aclea over an army drawn from 350 Danish ships. He had appointed his eldest son Æthelstan under-king of Kent, and in the same year Æthelstan and his ealdorman Ealhhere defeated a Danish fleet off Sandwich in Kent.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded under 851 that: “King Æthelstan and Ealdorman Ealhhere fought in ships, and slew a great army at Sandwich in Kent, and captured nine ships, and put the others to flight.
Did You Know
979 King Ethelred gave Sandwich to the monks of Christ Church in Canterbury.
993-1046 Danes frequently raided East Kent. In 1009 a huge sum of £3000 ‘Danegeld’ was paid for peace, but to no avail. In 1014, Cnut landed a number of English hostages at Sandwich “after depriving them of their hands, ears and noses.”
1023 King Cnut granted a Charter to the monks of Christ Church for the profits of the ferry across the River Stour.
The Cinque Ports and Medieval Power (11th–14th Centuries)
Sandwich became one of the original Cinque Ports, alongside:
- Dover
- Hastings
- Hythe
- New Romney
The Cinque Ports were a military and naval alliance created to provide ships and sailors to the English Crown in exchange for privileges and tax exemptions.
This transformed Sandwich into one of England’s greatest ports.
Why Sandwich Became So Important
Sandwich grew powerful because it sat on the Wantsum Channel, a wide shipping lane that separated the Isle of Thanet from mainland Kent. This sheltered waterway allowed up to 600 ships to anchor at “Sandwich Haven,” making it England’s premier gateway to continental Europe, second only to London.
With direct access to continental Europe, Royal support, a growing wool and cloth trade, Sandwich also gained military significance during wars with France.
Medieval Sandwich
The town became wealthy from:
- wool exports
- wine imports
- spices
- timber
- fish
- continental trade
Canterbury Cathedral even imported Caen stone through Sandwich’s harbour routes.
Royal Connections
Many English kings passed through Sandwich:
- King John used the port frequently
- Edward I launched campaigns from there
- Richard I (“Richard the Lionheart”) landed at Sandwich in 1194 returning from the Third Crusade
1066 The Cinque Ports fleet sailed north in support of King Harold, thus leaving the south coast exposed for William of Normandy to invade.
1086 According to the Domesday Book, there were 383 houses inhabited.
1164 Thomas a’Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, embarked at Sandwich for Gravelines into exile on 10th November after hiding for eight days at Eastry in a manor belonging to the Prior of Canterbury.
1170 Thomas a’Becket returned to Sandwich early December. He stayed at Eastry then returned to Canterbury, where he was murdered on 29th December.
1190 St Bartholomew’s Hospital was founded.
1217 The French landed on 29th April and sacked the town. They returned on 24th August and were defeated after a great sea battle.
1226 The first recorded mayor, Helyas de Kington, was elected.
c1280 St John’s Hospital founded.
1290 Edward I withdraws most of the privileges of the monks of Christ Church.
1301 “The Customal of Sandwich” is written by Adam Champneys, the then Town Clerk.
The text is highly structured, famously detailing the elaborate civic ceremonies surrounding the annual election of the town’s government and the “perambulation” (walking the physical boundaries) of its liberty. According to historical records and cross-references in neighboring town records (like the Fordwich Custumal which copied heavily from Sandwich), it covers:
– Daily Life & Order: Local ordinances, trade regulations governing victuallers, and the town’s mandatory nightly curfew.
– Local Justice: Rules for holding the Hundred Court, penalties for assault or drawing weapons, and handling stolen goods.
– Property & Family: Laws regarding inheritance, the sale of land, and the custody of orphans.
– Town Liberties: The confirmation of freedom from tolls and specific historical rights, such as the 1349 grant of ferry rights to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.
Where is it Today?
The vellum manuscript is kept as a centerpiece at the Sandwich Guildhall Museum. It is displayed alongside other world-class historical treasures of the town, including Sandwich’s own 1300 copy of the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest.
1349 Edward III grants the profits from the ferry to St Bartholomew’s Hospital “for ever”.
1364 Edward III withdraws the last of the privileges of the monks of Christ Church.
1384 Richard II issued a Royal order to enclose and fortify the town.
Did You Know
1385 A large wooden defensive wall was captured in two French vessels, brought to Sandwich, and incorporated into the defences.
1392 St Thomas’s Hospital was founded.
1435 Two silver-gilt maces purchased. They are still part of the town’s regalia.
1442 Agreed at a Brotherhood of the Ports held on 24th July that “the inhabitants of Brightlingsea in Essex, an ancient member of the Ports, shall enjoy all the privileges of the Cinque Ports.”
1454 The first institution of the Common Council, consisting of 70 persons.
1457 The French landed 4000 men near Sandwich and “after a long and bloody conflict”, during which the Mayor, John Drury, was killed, plundered and burned the town.
1469 All entries in the town records to be made in English, instead of Latin, in future.
1471 “The Commonality shall elect 12 men from each of the three parishes to consult with the Mayor and Jurats respecting the government of the town.”
1483 A Deputy of Sarre appointed by the Mayor and Jurats at Sarr.
1491 Brightlingsea covenants to pay a yearly contribution of 10 shillings “towards the navy of the Ports.”
1512 Letter sent to Henry VIII advising him that the haven could hold between 500 and 600 hoys, and that the quays could accommodate 60 hoys at each tide “for the loading of horses”
Flemish Refugees and Tudor Sandwich
Henry VIII was concerned about the state of Sandwich Haven and the effect of silting up.
1532 He paid his first visit to Sandwich, returning in 1539 spending two days, lodging at “Mr Manwood’s house”, later known as the “King’s Lodging”, with his arms over the door. Nothing happened to improve the Haven during his reign, or that of Edward VI, despite frequent appeals for help
1560 The Spanish conquests of the Low Countries meant persecution for those who were Protestants, and their only hope for survival was to emigrate. Trade in Sandwich at this time was decaying, and the Corporation decided that it would be good for the town if some of the refugees, who had found their way to England, were allowed to settle in Sandwich.
1561 A request was made to Queen Elizabeth and permission was granted, the Queen in her reply stating that it would be an advantage for the City of London, where too many of the refugees had settled, if some settled in Sandwich, especially for the manufacture of “rags, bayze, and other cloth, which hath not been used to be made in this realme of England, or for fishing in the seas”. The number was limited to twenty-five householders, and the households limited to twelve persons. A number of those who came were gardeners, who found the soil of Sandwich favourable for growing vegetables as do the market gardeners of the district to this day.
1564 Plague was rampant in Sandwich, and the strangers suffered many deaths. But, despite these, in 1569 their number exceeded the limit originally ordained, and many had entered different trades. The Mayor and Jurats laid it down that carpenters, bricklayers and masons might only work with official permission if no Englishman were available. No Stranger was allowed to make or sell shoes. Tailors and hosiers were licensed by the Mayor and Jurats, and makers of silks, laces and similar materials might only sell them between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on market days. Bakers were only allowed to bake the kinds of bread not usually available in the town, or sweet bread for their own use. And they were not allowed to retail English butter, cheese or bacon.
Did You Know
1572 Queen Elizabeth visited Sandwich with grand preparations made for her reception. Houses in Strand Street and elsewhere were “beautiful and adorned with black and white”. The streets were paved, and all dung and filth removed, or covered with earth. The Queen arrived at Sandwich on Monday, August 31st, about 7 in the evening, and was received by John Gilbert, the Mayor, who on this occasion, wore a scarlet gown. Her Majesty rode into the town to her lodging in the house where her father had stayed. The next day a mock battle took place for her amusement, and the day following a great banquet of ninety dishes on a table twenty-eight feet long, held in the school house, and prepared by the Mayoress and the wives of the jurats. It is recorded that the Queen was very merry, ate of many dishes, and caused some of the food remaining to be carried to her lodging for further consumption.
1575 A commission, appointed to examine the “strangers born in the Low countries”, found that they maintained “the most horrible and damnable error of Ana-baptists”, that is, baptism of adults, and demanded that they conform to certain strict religious laws, among them that infants must be baptised, “according to the law here”, and if this were not done, they would be banished.
1609 A grant of £25 was voted by the Sandwich Corporation “for the settlement of Virginia”, and in 1614 a lottery was held for the same purpose. Twenty years later a return is given of the names of 102 persons who embarked at Sandwich for New England, in “the good ship Hercules of Sandwich”. In this list are included the names of twenty-four adults and twenty-one children from Sandwich who left for the “American plantations”. There are today three towns in the United States which bear the name of Sandwich, and one in Canada.
1635 A fresh influx of foreigners seeking refuge from troubles abroad arrived in Sandwich; they were not permitted to remain there, but they had to proceed elsewhere. The previous year, Archbishop Laud deviated from the toleration which had been granted to the Dutch and Walloons regarding their religion, and tried to insist on their conformity to the English liturgy and Church government. He declared they were setting an evil example of Puritanism. A fierce controversy arose, in which Sandwich was involved, because of the Dutch church in the town; as well as Maidstone, for the same reason, and Canterbury, where there was the French Walloon church. But six years later, after the impeachment of Laud, the con-troversy came to an end, and the churches for the Strangers remained unmolested.
1706 The Congregational Church in Sandwich, which is the earliest of that denomination in England, was built opposite the Guildhall. Inside a memory of the Huguenots stands with two main columns of wood being the masts of the ships in which the Huguenots reached the shore.
Many Sandwich families of today are descended from the Strangers who came from the Low Countries.
Origin of the "Sandwich"
The “sandwich” gets its name from John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat.
1762 Legend has it that the Earl was deep into a marathon gambling card game. Unwilling to leave the table for a formal meal or get his cards greasy from handling meat with his bare hands, he asked his valet or cook to bring him roast beef placed between two slices of bread.
Other players at the club began asking for “the same as Sandwich!”, and the term quickly caught on in London before spreading globally.
The word first appeared in the diary of historian Edward Gibbon on November 24, 1762 writing “Twenty or thirty of the first men in the kingdom… supping at little tables, upon a bit of cold meat, or a Sandwich”.
Did You Know
2026 Hellmann’s launched a marketing campaign on April 2 at The Crispin Inn in Sandwich, to recreate and serve the world’s first-ever sandwich from 1762.