Dover’s name originated with its river – the River Dour, deriving from the
Brythonic Dubrās ("the
waters"), via its Latinised form of Dubris.
The cliffs also gave England its ancient name of Albion ("white"). The Romans called it ’’Portus
Dubris’’; the modern name was in use at least by the time Shakespeare wrote King Lear (between 1603 and 1606), in
which the town and its cliffs play a prominent role
