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''This article is about the English port town. For other uses see Dover (disambiguation) .'' Dover is a major . Dover is famous for its White Cliffs , which are made of Chalk . The cliffs gave Britain its Nickname of '' Albion '', meaning "white". The town's name derives from the Brythonic ''Dubrās'' ("the waters"). The French name of Dover is ''Douvres'', pronounced . Its closeness to continental Europe – it is only 34 kilometres (21 miles) from the French port of Calais – makes Dover one of the United Kingdom 's busiest cross- Channel ports, with 18 million passengers passing through each year. Regular Ferry services operate from Dover to Calais and Dunkerque . A regular catamaran service to Boulogne recommenced in May 2004. Catamaran services provided by Hoverspeed to Ostend were withdrawn in 2003, and to Calais on 7 November 2005. Hoverspeed had previously operated hovercraft services to and from Calais and Boulogne for many years. Dover is represented in Parliament by the Labour MP Gwyn Prosser . Maxton was once a rural parish to the west of Dover, and the terminus of the Tramway system serving the town until its closure in 1938 . It is now a suburb of the town. HISTORY Dover has been an important port for millennia. Bronze Age ''Main article Bronze Age#Bronze Age Boats '' In 1992 , a waterlogged Boat was discovered in a depth of 6 m that dates to the Bronze Age and is one of the oldest seagoing vessels ever recovered. It has been dated by the Radiocarbon Method to ca. 1550 BC . The Langdon Bay Hoard , discovered in 1974 off the Dover coast contains bronze axes of a French type and may represent the cargo of a sunken vessel, thus demonstrating cross-channel Trade already for the Bronze Age, if not earlier. Both this hoard and the boat are on display in a new purpose-built gallery of the Dover Museum in Market Square. Roman ''Main article- Dubris '' In Roman times it became an important fortified port named '' Portus Dubris ''. Dover was the starting point of the Watling Street Roman road, and was an important harbour of the Classis Britannica . In around AD 50 the Romans built two lighthouses, one on either side of the then-river-estaury (now Silt ed-up, one on the Western Heights whose few remains are now within the Drop Redoubt , and the other which still stands to its full height in the grounds of Dover Castle , making it one of the oldest buildings in Britain . The " Painted House " is a Roman Mansio from about AD 200 and one of the best preserved Roman houses in Britain. On the same site and nearby there is also a Classis Britannica fort and the Saxon Shore Fort which was built over them both. Anglo-Saxon and medieval In Anglo-Saxon times a fort was built, which was the first part of what became Dover Castle. In 1216 , Dover Was Attacked By The French and successfully defended by Hubert De Burgh . Dover was always a chief member of the medieval Cinque Ports . English Civil War and Stuarts During the English Civil War it was taken by a Parliamentarian trick without a shot being fired (hence it avoided being ravaged and still survives) in 1642 . On May 26 , 1670 Charles II Of England and Louis XIV Of France secretly signed a treaty here which ended hostilities between their kingdoms. 20th century In the 20th Century Dover became the centre of English Channel defense during World War I . During World War II the town was repeatedly bombarded by German bombers and long-range guns. A series of underground caves and tunnels in the cliffs were used as air-raid shelters during the war. SPORT Dover Athletic F.C. are Dover's Football team. They are a non-league side. Dover Life Guard Club are Dover's competitive swimming club. PLACES OF INTEREST
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