Pencester Gardens & Pavilion

Pencester Gardens may never have been built if some of the proposed schemes for this area had come to fruition.

When Pencester Road was laid out in 1860, it was intended to build a street, to be called Neville Road, from Pencester Road to Eastbrook Place but this never happened. About 1880 the land was acquired with the intention of using it for a Dover station in connection with the Channel Tunnel, which was then being planned to run from St Margaret’s.

When that project failed it was suggested that it be used for building a new Town Hall, but in the end, facilities were improved at the Maison Dieu instead. Other plans included a recreation ground and a relief road to ease congestion in Biggin Street. In its later years the site was used as a timber yard.

In November 1922 the land was purchased by the Corporation and the new gardens were laid out. Pencester Gardens opened in 1924, as well as the usual lawns and flowerbed there was also a play area for children and a miniature golf course. The gardens have been a pleasant green space in the centre of the town since then, and have provided a venue for many fetes and funfairs.

In 2000, a pavilion for band concerts and other performances was built to commemorate the new Millennium. The Millennium Path, which runs around the pavilion, was completed in 2001. The path is made up of 100 flagstones each commemorating an event in Dover’s history, each one sponsored by a local resident or business.

Are you a band, local group or individual who has a talent or a message you would like to share with the community? To take advantage of this wonderful local facility or simply to discuss ideas, please contact Tracey Hubbard at Dover Town Council on 01304 242 625, or book now.

The Millennium Path Flagstones