Broadstairs
Broadstairs photos (74 available)
Broadstairs maps (2 available)
Map of Kent
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
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Broadstairs books (30 available)
- 49 photos on Broadstairs appear in 8 Frith books - View photos of Broadstairs
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Broadstairs and Kent
Broadstairs memories
Read and share memories of Broadstairs and Kent inspired by Frith photos
Fun on the beach
In the year 1950 (or thereabouts) we lived in Reading Street, a village quite close to Broadstairs. 'Mr. Broadstairs' used to organise events such as sandcastle competitions, races and each week held a contest amongst the children to choose a 'Prince' and 'Princess' for the week. He also used to put on shows on the jetty such as variety shows and talent contests. My father - Doug Vince - worked for Mr.Broadstairs helping to run these events and also appeared in the shows doing his act as a ventriloquist. My sister and I had such happy times then. I can't remember events ever being 'rained off' although I am sure they sometimes were!
Contributed by Dorothy George
Cafe
I remember coming here as a child. My Mum used to go to Broadstairs every year when she was young & we used to have day-trips for my Mum & Nan as a nostalgic visit. We always used to go into this cafe (can just see windows on left of pic) for breakfast & even after 40 odd years it was still being run by the same family and they always recognised my Nan's (really not that Cockney) voice! Bearing in mind that they only visited once a year I always used to think that was amazing! Unfortunately, it has now been sold and is now a pizza place. Have never been in there, and to be honest, don't think I ...read more here
Contributed by Catherine Murray
Port Regis
I had a couple of holidays at Broadstairs, staying at the Convent at Port Regis. I attended St Philomena's in Carshalton Surrey and I think they owned the Convent at Port Regis. I can remember Broadstairs and going to Margate. I now live in Sydney, Australia but will be in England in September and I hope to get down to Kent (amid a very busy itinerary) and relive those memories. Bette Schoots (nee Miller).
Contributed by Bette Schoots
Ancestral Ties
My 4th Gt grandfather was Michael Breckinridge--he died in a storm at sea c 1808. He and his son, Michael (married to Elizabeth Shrewsbury---her father and husband both shipwrights), were both Chief, Cinque Ports.
Some of the (then) cousins, surname Hiller, were born IN the North Foreland Light. My 3rd Gt. grandfather, Edward William Breckinridge, who married Mary Ann Adkins of Ramsgate, Kent, sailed to America in c1833, my 2nd Gt. grandfather Henry Breckinridge, in their arms.
Later, Mary Ann's sister, Martha, left there--joined them in the US---living with Henry and Mary Ann until she died.
Henry's sisters (born in the US) and his nieces, made trips back---hopefully I will make the trip one day soon ...read more here
Contributed by Sheila Stover
Extracts From Broadstairs & Kent books
We are looking across Main Bay (now Viking Bay) towards the harbour,
the pier and the prominent mansion Fort House (now called Bleak
House), prior to its extension and castellation in 1901.This house was
Dickens’ summer residence in 1850, and here he completed ‘David
Copperfield’.The old pier, which dates from 1808, stands on the site of
a Tudor pier destroyed by storms.
An extract from from"Thanet Pocket Album".
The chalk cliffs of the coast at Broadstairs show superbly in this late
Victorian view, looking across Louisa Bay and Viking Bay towards
the harbour, in the days before any coastal protection work had been
undertaken.The present sea wall was not built until the 1960s.
An extract from from"Thanet Pocket Album".
The attractive old streets of St Peters are
still one of the most delightful aspects of
Broadstairs. It was traditionally much more
important than its ‘little suburb by the
sea’, and was included in the jurisdiction of
the Cinque Ports.
An extract from from"Thanet Pocket Album".
The 85-foot high functional-looking white tower of
the North Foreland Lighthouse was built in the late
17th century.The light, 188 feet above high water,
is visible for 19 miles.There is said to have been a
lighthouse here since 1515. It was here, off the
Foreland in 1666, that the English fleet engaged the
Dutch in a four-day-long sea battle,‘the longest and
most stubborn that the seas have seen’.
An extract from from"Thanet Pocket Album".
Bathing tents dot the beach at Viking
Bay, while two bathing machines stand
at the water’s edge. At the time of this
picture, Broadstairs was ‘especially in
high favour with family parties who find
quite a little paradise in its sheltered
beach’. The main steps to the
promenade and Victoria Parade are in
the centre of the picture.
An extract from from"Thanet Pocket Album".