Who is St Martin?

The Patron Saint of soldiers, beggars and poor people.

St Martin was born in 335 A.D. At an early age, he converted to Christianity. His father, a tribune in the Roman Army, insisted he follow a soldier’s career. Martin joined the imperial cavalry and was stationed in France. In Amiens, one cold day, he came across a beggar, clad only in a few rags.Seeing the poor man’s need, Martin took off his cloak and cutting it in two with his sword, gave half of it to the beggar. That night Christ appeared to him in a vision. This experience impelled Martin to devote himself to religion.

After obtaining a discharge from military service, he founded the monastery of Liguge, the first in France. In 372, he became Bishop of Tours and served faithfully there for over thirty years until his death.

November 11th is known as St Martin’s Day and it is a time for feasting celebrations. This is the time when autumn wheat seeding was completed. In the United Kingdom however, November 11th is now better known for being Remembrance Day.

(Sourced from

Why was St Martin’s School built?

Between 1801-1891, there had been a huge increase in the population of Dover. It was therefore decided, by the Dover Board of education to determine future requirements of elementary education within the Borough of Dover.

In 1900, a report established that a further one thousand places should be made available. Barton Road School was to provide three hundred and twenty places, leaving six hundred and eighty places to be found within Clarendon, Tower Hamlets and Maxton areas. A central location for these areas was sought.

In 1901, Church Road had been laid to link Folkestone Road and Elms Road and was also the site of the new St Martin’s Church. Markland Road at this time was at the time a rough, unsurfaced road. A site on this road was bought for the school by the Dover Church Schools Company. Plans for the school were drawn up by Messrs. Worsfold and Hayward and work began in late 1902.

Notes.

Markland Road- this was originally called St Martin’s Road, when the school was virtually only the only building; the name was changed to Markland in about 1906 following housing development.

Elms Vale Road – originally called Elms Road dates from 1898 and by 1906 it was only built upon to the Crown and Sceptre.

Notable entries from school log between 1903-1978

7/9/1903School opened

9/11/1903‘NO LIGHTING YET’ and playgrounds left ‘ unmade and useless’.

1907Infant Department was closed permanently with the rooms being used by the Girls’ school and the Infants were transferred to Belgrave Infant School.

1913 Two new classrooms were built.

Infants were admitted making a combined Girls’ and Infants’ School.

1916 The first record of a ‘warning of an air raid was sounded at 11.55 on April

5th 1916.’

1928 The school closed in the afternoon as a celebration of 25th anniversary.

1929 A soup kitchen opened in school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

1938Houses had been built around the school .’Now that the land in the

immediate neighbourhood of the school is taken by houses and gardens

ball games are out of the question, so wire fencing is an absolute

necessity.’

1939School remained closed in September 1939 as no air raid shelters had

been provided. Small classes were opened in private houses.

1940On 27th May, registration for evacuation began.The entire staff moved to

Wales.Girls and Infants divided into three local schools.Boys billeted

into districts CefnFforest, Pengam and Fleur de Lis.

1941Some classes opened for children remaining in Dover.

1942A severe air raid badly damaged the school ‘with windows out,

ceilings down and roof off’.

1944On July 10th school dinners were served for the first time.

1945In April the school was handed over from the control of Dover Borough

Council and taken over by Kent Education Authority

1976The school hall was built and opened.

1978The school celebrated 75th Anniversary.