'The Cause is Altered' Public House

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On the corner of Queen Street, on the site of Cow Gate, stood the "Cause is Altered" public house, once a popular haunt for smugglers. The pub was directly opposite the PWSTS and the staff and Dover sailors used to frequent the premises. There are a number of accounts of how this pub came to get its name: one suggests that the landlord changed his allegiance in the Civil War; another that an early 19th century landlord wanted to get away from the reputation of being a den of smugglers.

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In 1972 the pub was demolished to make way for a dual carriageway linking Folkestone Road to Townwall Street to take the dock traffic away from the town centre. After it had been demolished, the course of the road was altered, and would have completely missed the pub! The photos below show the route of the dual carriageway and the demolition of the pub.

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More great photographs on the Dover Kent Archives web site