Sandwich
is one of the five ancient cinque ports, located between Ramsgate
and Dover. It is a peaceful market town and has the highest proportion
of timbered buildings in England.
Fact
1: The word 'sandwich' was possibly named after John Montagu
who was the 4th Earl of Sandwich. It is said that in 1762,
he asked for meat to be served between slices of bread, to
avoid interrupting a gambling game
Fact
2: The Cinque Ports are Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, Romney
and Hastings, plus two other towns, Rye and Winchelsea
Fact
3: St Thomas Becket sailed from Sandwich in 1164 to escape
the wrath of Henry II
Many
characters from English history have graced Sandwich. St Thomas
Becket once sailed from Sandwich in 1164 to escape the wrath of
Henry II.
On
his return, he lodged in Strand Street at the Pilgrims in December
1170 before being murdered in Canterbury Cathedral.
Richard Lionheart passed through the town in 1194 on his return
from the Crusades. In 1357, Edward the Black Prince also landed
there after his victory at Poitiers, bringing King John of France
as a prisoner. Take
our Sandwich town tour
