Folkestone

Folkestone, town (parish), Shepway district, administrative and historic county of Kent, southeastern England. It is situated on the Strait of Dover, 7 miles (11 km) west-southwest of Dover. The town is the administrative centre for the district.

Once a “limb” of the Cinque Port of Dover, Folkestone shared that town’s privileges and duties until, in 1629, the local inhabitants obtained a license to build a port. From the beginning of the railway age, Folkestone developed both as a passenger port across the English Channel (Boulogne, France, lies 26 miles [42 km] away) and as a high-class seaside resort. Today Folkestone is at the English terminus of the Channel Tunnel to France. Along the sandy cliff to the west, the Leas, a broad promenade with lawns, extends 2 miles (3.2 km) to Sandgate above the shore road and gardens. The 17th-century physician William Harvey was a native and is commemorated by a statue on the Leas.

In 1805, under threat of French invasion, three defensive Martello towers were built east of the town. There the railway line to Dover follows a difficult course by cuttings and tunnels in the chalk cliffs. Like Dover, Folkestone was considerably damaged in World War II both by enemy raids and by cross-Channel artillery bombardment. Located outside the town is a popular racecourse. Pop. (2001) 45,273; (2011) 46,698.