"A perfect and an absolute work": Expertise, Authority, and the Rebuilding of Dover Harbor, 1579-1583

The rebuilding of Dover harbor was one of the great domestic achievements of Elizabeth I's long reign. 1 The project involved hundreds of day laborers, overseers, and officers who worked throughout the 1580s and early 1590s making gradual yet dramatic improvements to a harbor that dated back to ancient times. Dover's proximity to the Continent made it a major commercial port for trade with the markets of northern Europe, while the ready access it afforded to the Channel made it a vital base for the Royal Navy--few naval harbors allowed a more rapid response against piracy or invasion. With several harbors on the southeastern coast of England in ruins by 1580, it was deemed economically and militarily crucial to keep Dover open and viable. By all contemporary accounts the project was a triumphant success. 2 [End Page 239]