In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Dunkirk like this:
DUNKIRK, an extra-parochial ville, which is also a chapelry, in Faversham district, Kent; 1¾ mile NE of Selling r. station, and 2½ W by N of Canterbury. Post town, Boughton, under Faversham. Acres, 4, 620. Real property, £4, 150. Pop., 721. Houses, 146. The land formerly was part of Blean forest; and a large portion of it now belongs to the dean and chapter of Canterbury. ...
The name Dunkirk was first given to it, about the middle of last century, by a body of squatters, who took free or forcible possession of the land, and who became notable for smuggling practices. Many of the persons implicated in the extraordinary outbreak of 1838, connected with Sir William Courtenay or Thoms, were inhabitants of Dunkirk. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £113.* Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is a flint structure, with a tower; and was built after the outbreak of 1838.
Dunkirk through time
Dunkirk is now part of Swale district. Click here for graphs and data of how Swale has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Dunkirk itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Dunkirk, in Swale and Kent | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4971
Date accessed: 24th April 2024
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