Although now some distance from the sea, Richborough stood at the southern end of the Wantsum Channel from prehistory to the early medieval period.

The channel has now silted up, but prior to this, Richborough was an important natural harbour and was the landing place of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43.

During the First World War the capacity of Dover and other nearby ports was found to be inadequate, and a major harbour was constructed at Richborough.

Its purpose was to provide the British Expeditionary Force with its heavy equipment (tanks, guns, railway locomotives, ammunition, horses and fuel).

[3] In 1917, the British Government began to look into the possibility of installing a cross-Channel train ferry at Richborough to allow roll-on/roll-off transportation of railway rolling stock, artillery and supplies to the allied Front Lines.

Although existing barge services were still in operation across the Channel from Richborough, the use of train-ferries was more practical for larger and heavier cargos, such as tanks.