Dreamland:
Margate (above)
Dreamland opened
its doors in 1920
and became a
popular destination
for visitors. The park
has the UK's second
oldest roller coaster,
the Scenic Railway.
It is a grade II listed
structure. Although
badly damaged by
fire there are plans
to restore the ride to
its former glory. The
Cinema has had its
listed building status
raised to Grade II*,
which is given to
buildings of
particular
significance and of
more than local
interest.
Respectable
bathing: Margate
(below)
Quaker Benjamin
Beale introduced
(adapting and
adding a `modesty
hood' but not
inventing) the
bathing machine to
Margate to ensure
the proper
separation of the
sexes whilst
bathing. Pulled by
horse or man, it
consisted of a high
wagon, with a door
at one end and a
canvas hood at the
other. Assistants
would help the
customer down the
steps of the wagon,
with the hood
lowered to the water
for the bather to be
totally out of the
sight of prying eyes.
Charles Dickens:
Broadstairs
Fort House, where
Dickens wrote part
of Bleak House and
David Copperfield,
is now called Bleak
House and stands
overlooking the
harbour. The
Dickens Museum
further round the
cliff-top was once
the home of Mary
Pearson Strong,
inspiration for the
Dickens character
of Betsey Trotwood
in David
Copperfield.
The German
Navy's window:
Reading Street,
Broadstairs
(above)
In 1917, a German
Destroyer fired a
shell through the
wall of Rosemary
Cottage killing the
occupants. In both
Worlds Wars,
Thanet suffered
attack from the sea
and air, from
Zeppelins to V1
rockets.
The smugglers'
feather: Thanet's
waters
Smuggling was,
since medieval
times an important
part of Thanet's
economy. It started
as the `export' of
wool at night (hence
`moonlighting') to
avoid tax. Rope was
tied around
`imports' and slid
over the side of the
boat into our
shallow waters. The
rope was tied to
string, the string to
fine thread and the
thread to the
floating feather. This
feather marked the
spot of where the
contraband lay for
later retrieval. Keep
your eyes peeled)
Richard Joy (The
Kentish
Sampson): St
Peter's,
Broadstairs
Famous strongman,
smuggler and sailor
drowned in 1742.
The epitaph on his
gravestone in part
reads, "...and the
same judgement
doth befall Goliath
great as David
small."
The Obelisk:
Royal Harbour,
Ramsgate
George IV used the
port on his
progresses between
Hanover and Britain.
The burgers of
Ramsgate erected
an obelisk in 1821
to commemorate
the event.
Air raid tunnel:
Ramsgate
A long tunnel runs
beneath the streets
of Ramsgate. The
town started the
tunnel project in the
1930s to ease local
unemployment, but,
with the coming of
the war, it was used
as an air raid
shelter. Unlined and
dug in the chalk, the
various entrances to
the tunnel are
dotted around the
town. More
information can be
found at the Visitor
Information Centres,
listed in Attractions.
Sanger's Circus
Memorials:
Margate cemetery
(above)
`Lord' Sanger used
Thanet as the winter
base for his circus in
the nineteenth
century. He created
an amusement hall
on the seafront,
which eventually
became Dreamland.
Sanger is part of the
great tradition of the
island as a prime
resort for amusement
.
The Ghost
Village: Stonar,
Ramsgate
In Medieval times, a
spit of land jutted
out into the channel.
The major port of
Stonar was situated
at its southern most
tip. In 1385 the
French sacked the
town and it was
never rebuilt. Most
of the site of the
town was destroyed
when Stonar lake
was dug in the early
twentieth century to
provide aggregate
attractions
16 Isle Magazine

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