Bleriot Memorial

Visit this simple monument to human endeavour and progress, tucked away in a peaceful woodland near Dover Castle. Read on to find out more...

A world first

On 25 July 1909, Louis Blériot became the first person to fly across the English Channel and the first to make an overseas flight in a powered aeroplane. At 5.12am he touched down after a 37-minute flight from Calais in which he averaged a speed of 45 miles per hour.

Flying over the sea at an altitude of about 60m (200ft), Blériot took advantage of the gap created in Dover’s 92-m (300-ft) high white cliffs by the natural depression forming Broadlees Bottom. He landed in Northfall Meadow, just outside Dover Castle.

He was guided down by a French newspaper man waving the French tricolour flag from the ground. Arriving so early in the morning there were few other people about to witness his historic landing - he had won a £1000 reward offered by an English newspaper for being the first person to fly across the channel.

This historic occasion did not overwhelm His Majesty’s Customs who promptly arrived to register Blériot’s arrival in England. Being the first ever foreign aeroplane to cross British borders, there were no official forms for this craft so it was registered as a yacht.

First World War

Dover Castle was still actively garrisoned at the time of Blériot’s flight, being strategically placed on the Channel coast.

Soon after Blériot’s historic achievement, the British realised it had some serious implications for the defence of the country − from now on Britain could be vulnerable to attack and invasion from the air as well as the sea.

It was a portent of things to come all too soon, with the terrifying air battles over the skies of northern France during the First World War (1914-1918).

Blériot went on to build aircraft for the French government during the War and later went into commercial aircraft development. He died in Paris in 1936.  

The original plane used for his cross-Channel flight is preserved at the Museum of Arts and Crafts (Musée des Arts et Métiers), Paris. 

Northfall Meadow

An extensive hutted military camp was erected across much of this area during the First World War with rows of more than 50 wooden huts separated by narrow roadways extending down the valley.

The camp was bombed by German aircraft several times during the war, causing a number of fatalities. A few foundations and slight earthworks can still be seen on the ground today.