DEAL, a parish and sea-port and market-town, and
a member of the town and port of SANDWICH, in the
hundred of BEWSBOROUGH, lathe of ST-AUGUSTINE,
county of KENT, on the coast of which it is situated,
between the north and south Forelands, 18 miles (S.B.)
from Canterbury, and 72 (E. by S.) from London, containing
6811 inhabitants. The origin of the town is
buried in obscurity: it has been considered the place
where Caesar landed when he invaded Britain, but this
is doubtful. Leland gives the town the Latinized name
of Dela. Nennius, who probably wrote in the ninth
century, says, " Cassar fought at Dola," which Camden
supposes to mean Deal; but there are no records of
any town existing here until several centuries after
the Romans quitted Britain. Perkin Warbeck, who
personated the Duke of York as heir to the crown,
made an attempt to land at Deal, July 3d, 1495, but
finding that a party which he landed was attacked
by his enemies, he returned to Flanders, and afterwards,
September 7th, 1497,. landed at Whitsun-bay, in
Cornwall. In an ordinance of Henry III., dated in 1229,
Deal is mentioned as dependent on the port of Sandwich,
the jurisdiction of which (as one of the cinque ports)
over Deal find Walmer was confirmed by letters patent
in the 19th of Henry VI. The town was then governed
by a deputy and assistants appointed by the mayor
and jurate of Sandwich; in the llth of William HI.,
notwithstanding the opposition of the corporation of
Sandwich, a charter was granted to Deal; but the inhabitants
are still obliged to serve on juries at Sandwich
as before. Henry VIII. having issued illegal writs for
the purpose of raising a subsidy, Deal refused to pay
its quota, on which the king annulled its charter, and
re-annexed it as a member to Sandwich. There is no
harbour; but the sea between the shore and the Goodwin
sands forms a fine roadstead, called the Downs,
which is of great importance to the country, as it IB
not only a station for ships of war, but merchant vessels,
of which four or five hundred are frequently
seen here wind-bound, riding in safety, except during
heavy gales from the north and east, when they
either proceed on their respective voyages, or put
into Ramsgate for shelter. Henry VIII. appreciated
the value of this position, and built on the south side
of the town, a strong castle, surrounded by a ditch,
with a draw-bridge: the castle consists of a round
tower, in which are apartments for the captain and
other officers. The batteries and martello towers, constructed
during the late war, completely command the
coast, and defend the town, which consists principally of
three long streets running parallel with each other along
the shore, and connected by cross streets, in general narrow
and inconvenient. The houses are irregularly built,
chiefly of brick; but in those which have been recentlyerected
greater attention has been paid to uniformity, particularly
since the year 1790, when an act was passed
for paving and lighting the streets. Here are a custom-
house, a naval store-house, and a naval and military
hospital, the latter of which is in the parish of Walmer.
The East India Company has a resident agent here,
to protect the interests of their shipping when detained
in the Downs. The pilots of the cinque-ports are under
the direction of the Lord Warden; the Downs pilots are
those from Gravesend and London, who are under the
direction of the Trinity House. The greater part of the
male inhabitants are employed in maritime occupations,
and in furnishing supplies for ships lying in the Downs.
The pilots of Deal are intrepid and excellent seamen, and
particularly active in affording assistance to vessels in
distress, which they have often rescued from almost, inevitable
destruction, and been publicly rewarded for their
heroic conduct. The markets, which are well supplied
with provisions, are on Tuesday and Saturday; the fairs
are, April 5th and October 10th. By charter of the
11th of William III., this was constituted afree town and
borough, with a body corporate, consisting of a mayor,
recorder, town clerk, twelve jurats, and twenty-four common
council-men. The mayor and recorder, or their deputies,
and one or two other jurats, are authorised to hold
a court of record for the recovery of debts to the amount
of £100; but no writs have been issued since 1823, the
charter requiring the recorder or his deputy to be a barrister
of three years standing, and no person thus qualified
being resident within eighteen miles of Deal, and no
fees allowed for attendance. A court of requests for debts
under 40s. is held under an act of parliament passed
in the 26th of George III.; its jurisdiction extends over
the town and borough of Deal, and the parishes of
Ripple, Sutton, Northbourne, Great Mongeham, Little
Mongeham, Tilmanstone, Betshanger, Ham, and Sholclen,in this county.
The living is a rectory, exempt from the jurisdiction
of the archdeacon, rated in the king's books at £1910.,
and in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The church, dedicated to St. Leonard, is situated
about a mile from the sea, in that part of the town
called Upper Deal. There is also a chapel of ease in
Lower Deal, dedicated to St. George the Martyr, built
at the expense of £2554. 12. 4., raised partly by
subscription, and partly" by a duty on coal and culm,
levied under an act of parliament obtained in 1712: this
chapel was consecrated in 1716. The Baptists, Independents,
and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists,
have also their places of worship. There is a National
school for ninety boys  and ninety girls, supported by
voluntary contributions. Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, well
known in the literary world for her classical attainments,
was born here in 1717; her ather, the Rev. Nicholas
Carter, having been more than fifty-six years curate of
the  chapel at Lower Deal. Here also was born, in 1735,
William Boys, a distinguished naturalist and antiquary.