About the town » Deal, Kent, England, Great Britain

Deal is a town in Kent, England, UK. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town. Closely associated with Deal are the villages of Kingsdown, Sholden and Walmer, the latter being where Julius Caesar first arrived in Britain (according to the best guess by historians). Deal was named as a 'limb port' of the Cinque Ports in 1278. Due to its position on the Downs, the town grew to become for a while the busiest port in England; today it enjoys the reputation of being a quiet seaside resort, its quaint streets and houses the only reminder of its history. In 1968, Middle Street was the first Conservation Area in Kent to be designated and since that time the boundary has been extended three times. The coast of France is approximately twenty-five miles from the town, and is visible on clear days. Its finest building is the Tudor Deal Castle, commissioned by King Henry VIII and designed with an attractive rose floor plan.