Sandwich
Sandwich is a town in the east of Kent in the South East region of England. Other towns and cities close to Sandwich include Canterbury, Ashford, Dover, Ramsgate and the revitalised resort town of Margate. The name of the town is probably of Saxon derivation meaning a “sandy place” rather than the well-known lunchtime food item. It is thought that the term “sandwich” came about when the 4th Earl of Sandwich asked for his lunchtime meat to be served between slices of bread so that he did not have to interrupt his gambling for lunch! Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports which was a confederation maritime towns and villages in Kent and East Sussex dating back 1000 years that supplied fleet, military and transport services to the Monarchy prior to the creation of the Royal Navy. Although it was a major port in bygone days, Sandwich is now two miles from the sea and the reclaimed land is home to nature reserves and golf courses including Royal St George’s.
Pfizer, the multinational pharmaceuticals company, is a major employer in Sandwich and many well-known drugs including Viagra were developed in their laboratories in Sandwich. In addition to Pfizer, Discovery Park in Sandwich, the leading science park in Kent, is home to numerous Life Science, Biotech, Technology and R & D companies which employ a total of 3000 staff.