Thanet Facts
Margate was known as Meregate (in 1254) or Margate (in 1293). Its meaning may be translated as "a pool gate or gap in a cliff where pools of water are found".
Margate has been a leading seaside resort for at least 250 years. Like its neighbour Ramsgate, it has been a traditional holiday destination for Londoners drawn to its sandy beaches.
Donkey rides were introduced to the Margate Sands in 1790, and in 1898, Margate
was the first seaside resort to introduce deck chairs.
Edward Hasted, writing in the 18th century, described Margate as a "poor fishing town", but in 1810, when describing the shore, he wrote: "... [it] was so well adapted to bathing, being an entire level and covered with the finest sand, which extends for several miles on either side of the harbour... [near which] there are several commodious bathing rooms, out of which the bathers are driven in the machines, any depth along the sands into the sea; at the back of the machine is a door, through which the bathers descend a few steps into the water, and an umbrella of canvas dropping over conceals them from the public view. Upwards of 40 of these machines are frequently employed..."The town's history is tied closely to the sea and it has a proud maritime tradition. The record of the vessel, Friend to all Nations, and the Margate Surfboat disaster of 1897 are noteworthy events in Margate's past.
Steamboats
Railways
Margate Jetty
Wherries
Between 1890 and 1939 about 30 pleasure boats operated from Margate beach. The main builder of these Thanet wherries was Brockman's of Margate, which turned them out in large numbers before the Great War. It developed two distinct types of boats: the wherry proper, with high sides, and the wherry punt, with low sides. The hulls were traditionally varnished, a practice employed by boatmen from Thanet to Devon. Some boatmen put a wider beam into the design to assist fishing. Although employing a clinker-built hull, the shape was similar to the Deal galley and the Thames waterman's skiff.The last wherry in service at Margate was operated by a Dusty Miller of Westgate-on-Sea (a suburb of Margate), and built by an apprentice at Brockman's of Margate in 1939. "She was only about 12 ft long and being small was sometimes called a skiff."Spanish armada
Throughout the whole campaign, the English lost no ships and only 100 men in battle. However, over 7,000 English sailors died from disease (dysentery and typhus mostly) during the time the Armada was in English water. Also those English sailors who survived and fought against the Armada were poorly treated by the English government. Many were given only enough money for the journey to their home and some received only part of their pay. John Hawkins showed concern for his men: "The men have long been unpaid and need relief". The overall commander of the English Navy, Lord Howard, was shocked claiming that "I would rather have never a penny in the world, than they (his sailors) should lack...". Howard wrote to William Cecil (20 Aug 1588) " ... It is a most pitiful sight to see, here at Margate, how the men, having no place to receive them into here, die in the streets. I am driven myself, of force, to come a-land, to see them bestowed in some lodging; and the best I can get is barns and outhouses. It would grieve any man's heart to see them that have served so valiantly to die so miserably...". With this, he used his own money to pay his sailors.
The contemporary Spanish record stated that 65 ships survived the Armada and 65 were lost. Of the lost, 41 were major ships. Of the 30,000 soldiers and crew in the Armada probably 20,000 died during the voyage; of wounds, by execution (by the English in Ireland), but mostly of starvation and disease. They continued to die after the Armada had reached Spanish ports.
It is said that there was no noble family in Spain that did not lose a son in the Armada.The Theatre Royal Margate being a Georgian theatre is the second oldest in the United Kingdom and proudly boasts that it has the oldest stage, a record it took from a theatre in Bristol due to their stage being destroyed when they re-built the back stage area.
The Theatre Royal, Margate, was established by Royal Patent in 1786 and opened on the 27th June, 1787. It is the second oldest theatre operating in Great Britain and is also the oldest un-restored theatre in the country, its splendid auditorium dating from the 1874 designs by J T Robinson.
Also our (Claire and Emma's) Great Grandfather was a caretaker at the Theatre for many years
until it closed in 1915.
The "Northern Belle' set out fromNew York crossing the Atlantic only to run into trouble at Thanet, so close to its destination of London. At 3 am, on a bitter cold morning it became apparent that a ship was in some peril in local waters near the little harbour of Broadstairs.The ship had been cast ashore on a dangerous ledge of rocks below the Foreness Point, at Kingsgate, between Broadstairs and the coast of Margate. On seeing the plight of the Northern Belle's crew, the Coastguard had sent warning to Broadstairs, and so despite the awful conditions prevailing, the Mary White and Culmer White lifeboats were hauled overland by horse drawn trailer, against the blizzard, to a point where they could be safely launched.
Whilst these preparations were underway, the lugger Ocean managed to rescue five of the Northern Belle's crew, leaving some 25 men still on board the stricken vessel.In the 1850s with two life craft, it was the regular practice for the boatmen to have one Lifeboat ready at the Harbour, and the other on its launching trailer stored in the coachyard of the "Rose Inn', which had been a coaching inn since 1784, with the horses stabled in nearby Albion Street, close to the Pier. In this way one boat could always be taken to any part of the Thanet coast without delay. On this dramatic occasion, so fierce was the wind however, that both Lifeboats had to be moved overland, one being reloaded from the Pier.In accordance with the prominent local historian William Lapthorne's careful reconstruction of the event, "On arrival at the beach the boats were launched, and with a total disregard for their own safety the crews pulled boldly through the boiling surf and, after making several hazardous trips, saved most of the crew of the stricken vessel.
"The Mary White,having been dragged across fields of snow, was able to bring off seven of the American crew, and then the Culmer White having arrived with a fresh crew made two further journeys, on the first attempt rescuing 14 shipwrecked men, and only then returning to recover the Captain and the Pilot"
After the event one of Margate's oldest pubs the "Watermans Arms" was renamed the "Northern Belle",and timber salvaged from the shipwreck was used to renovate the pub. The original wooden beams and davitts which became bar posts are still visible today. The pub is still called the "Northern Belle" and is still open daily. The Northern Belle is thought to be the oldest pub in Margate and is supposedly quite haunted. There are also thought to be smugglers caves below the pub.
The old town is centred around the old Town Hall in the Market Place and is adjacent to the harbour. In recent years The Town Hall has been open to the public as a fascinating museum of Margate History with a rich collection of seaside memorabilia, art and photographs. The ground floor of the Town Hall had been a small prison and was preserved as such in the museum. The museum closed early in 2009 due to lack of funding, the future use of the building is uncertain but it is hoped funding and management will be found to reopen the museum.
The Tudor House on King Street was thought to be originally a manor house, and was built around 1515 when a substantial creek ran along King Street. In about 1815 it was coverted into 3 cottages. It was in very poor condition when bought by the Corporation of Margate in 1938. It was restored as one house in the 1950's and used as a museum, though it is only occasionally open to the public.
The Shell Grotto lies further to the east, beyond the Tudor House towards Cliftonville. It is a mysterious underground system of caves and tunnels which are completely decorated in shells. Why or when it was created is unknown but it seems to have been discovered in the 1830's. It is still open to the public and quite fascinating.
Probably the most famous person to visit Margate was the artist J M W Turner. He frequently spent long periods in Margate painting the sunsets and sea.
The building is now in progress of The Turner Contemporary Art Gallery which is due to finish in 2011 and overlooks where the old pier was located.
The Harbour Arm now has a lovely restaurant, a bar, a jewellery shop, as well as several art studios which display modern art.
The Tom Thumb Theatre is one of the smallest theatres in the Country, and once boasted it was the smallest.
Very little is known about this building apart from that it used to be stables and was originally part of a
nearby hotel. It was turned into a theatre in the 1980's. The newest owners are lovingly restoring the property.
A by-product of Thanet's coastal trading was the growth of smuggling in the 18th to early 19th century. Before the 18th century smuggling mostly concerned the export of highly taxed products, especially wool, with the introduction of import tax following wars on the continent, smuggling goods into the country became a profitable. Coastal Thanet is full of caves and tunnels utilised by smugglers.
One of the most notorious groups of Thanet smugglers were the Callis Court Gang from Broadstairs. Evidence of smuggling can be seen not just in the activities of smugglers but also of the officials who's job it was to prevent smuggling. The Napoleonic Fort at Broadstairs was converted into a Preventative Station in 1816 to keep vigil for smugglers.
The Tartar Frigate Pub takes its name from a revenue boat
commissioned to prevent smuggling. There is evidence however
that the pub itself may well have been used by smugglers and is
said to have hidden tunnels and storage areas. The Landguard
and the Waterguard sent to patrol the coasts for smugglers
became our familiar Coast Guards in 1831.
Perhaps the most famous of all the tunnels and caves are the Margate Caves, otherwise known as the Vortigern Caves.
The origins of these caves, which are not natural but built by man, is shrouded in mystery. The caves may take their name from Vortigern, who supposedly gave the area around Margate to the Saxons as a reward for helping him fight the Picts and Scots. Rediscovered by accident in 1798, the caves are considered by some to be of Saxon origin, consisting of a series of natural passages, which have been artificially enlarged. However, few experts think these 'artificial cavities' (as they are called) go back that far. The first time they appear in history is fairly recent. The guide book would have the visitor believe that the caves are over a 1000 years old and possible even of Phoenician origin! Locally they put the Shell Grotto down as a Victorian folly built at a time when the local shell fish industry would have produced enough shells for them to be freely available (being a by-product).
Somewhere near the close of the 18th Century, a man of eccentric habits, named Francis Forster, built a large house in Margate which he named after the county of his birth - Northumberland House. In or about the year 1798 his gardener, digging behind the house, made the discovery of the Caves. A private entrance was cut. It was during this time that the cave murals were created. In 1914, a new entrance was made from the cellar of the vicarage and this is the entrance used today.
These wonderful caves are under threat of being lost forever -- developers have got permission to build on this site. Save the caves before the developers move in. Please join this campaign to stop the development.
