Editing Folkestone (section)

===Folkestone Harbour===
[[File:Folkestone, Harbour view.jpg|thumb|Folkestone, Harbour view]]
{{Main|Folkestone Harbour}}
Until the 19th century, Folkestone remained a small fishing community with a seafront continually battered by storms and encroaching shingles, making it hard to land boats. In 1807, an [[act of Parliament]], the [[Folkestone Pier and Harbour Act 1807]] ([[47 Geo. 3 Sess. 2]]. c. ii), was passed to build a pier and harbour, which was built by [[Thomas Telford]] in 1809.<ref>White, (1961), p.55.</ref> By 1820 a harbour area of {{convert|14|acre|ha|abbr=off}} had been enclosed. Folkestone's trade and population grew slightly, but development was still hampered by sand and silt from the Pent Stream. The Folkestone Harbour Company invested heavily in removing the silt but with little success. 1842, the company went bankrupt, and the government put the derelict harbour up for sale. It was bought by the [[South Eastern Railway (England)|South Eastern Railway]] (SER), which was then building the London to Dover railway line. [[George Turnbull (civil engineer)|George Turnbull]] was responsible in 1844 for building the Horn pier.<ref>Diaries of George Turnbull (Chief Engineer, [[East Indian Railway Company]]) held at the Centre of South Asian Studies at [[Cambridge University]]</ref><ref>Page 68 of ''George Turnbull, C.E.'' 437-page memoirs published privately 1893, scanned copy held in the British Library, London on compact disk since 2007</ref> Dredging the harbour, and the construction of a rail route down to it, began almost immediately. The town soon became the SER's principal packet station for the Continental traffic to [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]]. The last ferry ran in 2001.

The Harbour Arm, formerly used solely for port activities, has been extensively restored and developed as a recreational space and promenade to which the public has access, including bars and restaurants, with entertainment at weekends and on some evenings. The former railway station and harbour viaduct have been reconstructed as a successful public walkway and promenade following the full closure of the branch railway in 2014.