Margate

Even as late as 1957 the ‘Royal Daffodil’ carried 144,000 passengers down to Margate in a ten-week period. However, with increasing car ownership and organised outings by coach and rail, the steamers proved uneconomic, and the last steamer sailed down from London in 1966.
An extract from from"Margate Town and City Memories".

Below Newgate Gap Bridge, on the right hand side, was Charlotte Pettman’s original sea water baths, and she claimed that her bathing machines were far superior to any others. Donkeys could be hired here for strolls along the sandy beaches.
An extract from from"Around the Kent Coast".

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".

The impressive facade of the Hotel Metropole, with the Ship Hotel next door, faced the end of the Jetty to greet the thousands of holidaymakers who travelled down on the paddle steamers. In the foreground is a ‘guess your weight’ machine, where you only paid if the proprietor guessed your weight correctly. He could do this by cleverly adjusting the weights to his advantage. Six houses to the left was the lodging house of Mrs Sophia Booth, where J M W Turner stayed between 1827 and 1851. From here he painted watercolours of golden sunsets over the sea to the west and the misty dawns to the east. Between 1939 and 1945 the Hotel Metropole and surrounding properties were demolished as part of the town’s Fort Road Improvement Scheme. The area as it was before demolition can be seen in the aerial photograph on pages 8-9. Three acres of rundown cafes, souvenir shops and a wooden arcade were cleared, and a new dual-carriageway swept down the hill offering a clear panoramic view of the sands and bay.
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".