Adisham

This Frith scene from 1950 contrasts with Francis Frith’s photographs of Margate Sands in Victorian and Edwardian times. The sands are still crowded but postwar society has brought a marked change to our seaside resorts. The needs of holidaymakers changed over the years, and Margate reflected many of these social changes. The bathing machines, the concert party stage, Punch and Judy, the newspaper and magazine stalls, the various hawkers, the organ grinders have gone. One of the last to go was the Punch and Judy man who lasted until 1970. The workmen’s outings and beanfeast parties now patronise the seafront public houses and the amusement arcades instead of congregating on the beach. The distinctive art deco Dreamland Cinema, built in 1936, still looks over the crowded sands. The scene may change in detail from decade to decade, but Margate’s golden sands should still attract its quota of visitors in the future. Nostalgic memories of the first paddle in the sea and wet sand trickling between their toes will remain with many children in the future as they did for the children depicted by Francis Frith in the past.
An extract from from"Margate Town and City Memories".

By 1918 Margate Council had become envious of Pettman’s monopoly of bathing at Cliftonville and made a charge for the bathing rights and the hiring of deckchairs on the popular Cliftonville beaches. During the winter the wooden boards of the ‘Splashboard’ and the temporary cabins had to be removed and stored inland. Most winters the platform suffered considerable storm damage.
An extract from from"Margate Town and City Memories".

HIGH on the hill at the top of Margate High Street is the parish church of St John the Baptist, which has served generations of Margatonians for nearly 1000 years (see 27445). Originally built as a chapel in 1050 to serve the humble fishing hamlet of Meregat, it also gave its name to the farming village of St John’s. The church in its present rectangular form was made parochial in 1290. During the next 200 years there were considerable enlargements with side chapels. In 1875 a restoration of the church was undertaken. The old high pews were removed and new stained glass fitted to all windows. The present broach spire was built replacing the smaller one on the tower and a new organ installed. St John’s was used as a gunpowder store during the troubled 16th and 17th centuries when Margate had its own small Fort overlooking the harbour.
An extract from from"Margate Town and City Memories".

During the Georgian and Regency eras most visitors came to Margate for their health and the sea bathing. By the mid-19th century visitors demanded more in the way of leisure activities and amusement. The centre for this was a site of many acres behind the houses on Marine Terrace facing the golden sands. In 150 years it has just had two names, the Hall by the Sea and Dreamland. The Hall by the Sea opened in 1865 taking over the booking hall of a railway terminus that was never used and was converted into a ballroom and concert hall. By 1872 it had added Zoological Gardens and became the base for Sangers’ Circus and Menagerie. Over succeeding years many attractions were added but due to the short season it was never a commercial success. In 1919 John Henry Iles bought the Hall by the Sea with the aim of developing an American-style amusement park. Iles had visited New York’s Coney Island and copied the name Dreamland from there. Dreamland developed into a popular amusement park between the wars with imaginative and thrilling rides. The Scenic Railway and the Great Arcade were enclosed by ornamental gardens and a miniature railway. A Skating Rink and Ballroom were added, and in 1936 the smaller cinema was rebuilt into a vast 2,000 seat complex with stage and Wurlitzer organ. Dreamland soon became the Londoner’s equivalent of Blackpool’s pleasure beach. A new concept was introduced in 1983 when new owners acquired Dreamland and ‘white knuckle rides’ were advertised with a single payment admission charge to the amusement park, in place of free admission and payment for individual rides.
An extract from from"Margate Town and City Memories".

THE golden sands have always been one of Margate’s main attractions and have given the resort an advantage over the more common shingle beaches of South-East England. Families on holiday in Edwardian Margate appeared to spend far more time relaxing on the sands than present day visitors. These were the days of the fortnight by the sea - bucket and spade holidays with simple activities. Until ‘mixed bathing’ was allowed by the Council around 1906/8, the separate rows of bathing machines for the sexes had to be kept apart by a space of 50 yards. At one time a Margate policeman on horseback would patrol the bathing machine area to see that the necessary decorum was being observed. The original bathing machines had a canvas hood perfected by local bather Benjamin Beale in 1753, which, in the absence of any bathing costumes, protected the bather’s modesty. With the increasing use of costumes these hoods were later dispensed with. By the First World War it seemed rather absurd to employ a man, a horse and ‘a wooden house on wheels’ to splash about in some three feet of water (see 19869). The scene in 54760 is of an indiscriminate noisy mass of children playing and digging holes, with itinerant hawkers and photographers vending their fruit, icecream, drinks and magazines. A temporary canvas stage is the backdrop for the minstrels and pierrots, apparently with more enjoying a free show than those paying. Holidaymakers clearly were not dressed for comfort or convenience. Thick heavy clothing with ladies in long woollen skirts were the norm, even in the heat of high summer. A far cry from the lightweight casual clothing of today.
An extract from from"Margate Town and City Memories".