Whitstable
Whitstable photos (17 available)
Whitstable maps (2 available)
Map of Kent
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Whitstable books (30 available)
- 10 photos on Whitstable appear in 3 Frith books - View photos of Whitstable
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Whitstable and Kent
Whitstable memories
Read and share memories of Whitstable and Kent inspired by Frith photos
Childhood beach hut
This scene of the old fishermen's beach huts shows my family's beach hut on the left. The lady just about to enter the beach hut was my grandmother, I am playing on the beach and my sister is in the pushchair next to the lady. Families had all the necessary facilities in the beach huts and almost every day of the summer holidays was spent down there. My grandfather belonged to the Angling Society and there were frequent fishing competitions between the Society, the Ambulance Brigade, the Fire Brigade and the Police. As a child, I was given the job of polishing the silver cups presented to the winners.
This scene has changed vastly since the 1950s. A sea wall ...read more here
Contributed by Jan Talikowski
Kent memories
Childhood beach hut
This scene of the old fishermen's beach huts shows my family's beach hut on the left. The lady just about to enter the beach hut was my grandmother, I am playing on the beach and my sister is in the pushchair next to the lady. Families had all the necessary facilities in the beach huts and almost every day of the summer holidays was spent down there. My grandfather belonged to the Angling Society and there were frequent fishing competitions between the Society, the Ambulance Brigade, the Fire Brigade and the Police. As a child, I was given the job of polishing the silver cups presented to the winners.
This scene has changed vastly since the 1950s. A sea wall ...read more here
A memory of Whitstable contributed by Jan Talikowski
Tankerton Slopes
I was 8 in 1964 & used to Cycle down from Castle Road for a swim.
I remember Tankerton for the fun of the slopes & the amazing water for swimming.
I visit about twice a year.
I reccommend a stay in the Marine Hotel on the road by Slopes
A memory of Tankerton contributed by paul croft
Memories of good times
Coming across this picture sparked memories of such happy times I had as as a child spending my summer holidays in a chalet at Seaview. It was not unusual to stay for four or more weeks in one of the chalets and spend practically every waking hour being on the beach or walking into either Whitstable or Herne Bay. I remember rummaging along the beach finding bits of pottery from the houses that fell into the sea where the cliffs had been eroded towards Herne Bay, and the time British Rail sent our luggage to Chesterfield in Derbyshire only to be located some fortnight later. Even the mud at low tide had its attraction and the huge shallow pools left behind ...read more here
A memory of Swalecliffe contributed by Roger Steer
Extracts From Whitstable & Kent books
Here we have two views of the spacious harbour, opened in 1832 as the port for Canterbury, seven miles further inland. The drying nets on the harbour wall, and a rich assortment of small fishing boats and pleasure craft moored at low water, provide evidence of the demand on its facilities.
An extract from from"Kent Living Memories".
A feature of beaches in the 1950s was the
religious gatherings. Here the Whitstable
United Christians hold a beach gathering;
on the sheet at the back it says ‘Suffer
little children to come unto me.’ The
gentleman on the right is holding a
trumpet, waiting to add his contribution
to the religious meeting.
An extract from from"Around the Kent Coast".
To the right of this
photograph is a poster
advertising the film
You Were Meant for Me,
starring Jeanne Crain
and Dan Dailey, and
showing at the Embassy
cinema. Next to it is a
fish and chip shop, with
a slate saying: ‘Frying
today, gurnet, rock
salmon, plaice, cod
fillet’. On the left is Aunt
Pat’s shop.
An extract from from"Around the Kent Coast".
Once a boat builder’s
premises, it obtained
a licence to sell beer
in 1897. It was swept
away in a great flood.
The new Old Neptune
was a conversion
of two cottages;
at the time of this
photograph it was a
local brewer’s Tomson
& Wotton’s house.
An extract from from"Around the Kent Coast".
These trim houses with their first-floor verandas overlooking the shingle beach and breakwaters, and the neat gardens behind their fences, present an almost idyllic seaside vista. But when fierce onshore winter storms arrive, as they did most devastatingly in 1953, the householders are made all too aware of their vulnerability to the forces of nature.
An extract from from"Kent Living Memories".