[2] The school occupies some of the medieval buildings of Dover Priory, on a site just east of the eponymous railway station.

It is set in the grounds and ruins of the Priory of St. Martin, which was ransacked by King Henry VIII as part of his dissolution of the monasteries.

The refectory was restored, revealing an important but damaged fresco, as (in 1881, to mark a charitable act by Sir Richard Dickenson the then mayor of Dover) was the gatehouse.

During World War I, in common with many other schools, Old Dovorians became officers in the British Armed Forces and as a result suffered high casualty rates.

During the war 102 former pupils died; Lt Col Terence Otway won a famous DSO for his action in capturing the Merville Battery on D-Day.

Under the leadership of Gerry Holden from 2011 to 2014, the college went through a period of change, which was re-directed upon the appointment of Gareth Doodes as headmaster from January 2015.

In the intervening years the college now has the highest inspection judgements possible, an increase in the school roll, and a new curriculum based on creativity.

[9] Canon William Bell, 1871–1892[10][11] Reverend William Cookorthy Compton, 1892-1910 F de W Lushington, 1910-1915 George Renwick 1934–1954 Alec Peterson 1954–1957 Tim Cobb David Cope, Jack Ind, 1980s Martin Wright, 1990s Howard Blackett, 1997-2004 Stephen Jones, 2004–2011 Gerry Holden, 2011–2014 Gareth Doodes, 2015–2020[12] Simon Fisher 2020–present[9] Media related to Dover College at Wikimedia Commons