Dover has a long history. Stone and Iron Age settlements gave way to Celts and Romans, which gave way to Anglo-Saxons. These were supplanted by the Normans, who designated Dover one of the Cinque Ports and gave it an importance matching that name. Forts were built above the Port of Dover, and lighthouses constructed to guide passing ships - these made it a bastion of some note against various attackers.

What sufficed to hold the Napoleonic French back was not enough to keep the Germans away. One of the day one objectives of Operation Sealion, it fell after two weeks. But the Germans and the English agreed that Dover needed to be a first priority for repair efforts - so they restored it to its prior glory. Today, Dover serves as the main port for trans-Channel ferrying and shipping other than that of London and Rotterdam.