Ramsgate - Safety to the Shipwrecked, Health to the Sick

The story of Ramsgate and the surrounding area goes back to Roman and Anglo-Saxon times, and two famous landings occurred nearby - first, it is said, of Hengist and Horsa, as a result of whose presence Kent eventually became a predominantly Anglo-Saxon kingdom, and then, in 597, of St Augustine, from Rome, who re-introduced Christianity to this part of Britain. Initially, Ramsgate itself was just a collection of fishermen's cottages near the harbour. Later on, towards the end of the seventeenth century, as shipping trade increased, the port began to grow in importance. In the middle of Ramsgate four ‘Ends', or roadways, grew, which crossed where the centre of the town now is, and along which houses were gradually built.

The Royal Harbour (so named at the request of George IV), was developed in the form we mainly know it now from 1749 onwards, following an Act of Parliament. It was intended as a Harbour of Refuge, following a violent storm in 1748. Later, during the Napoleonic wars, British troops were quartered at Ramsgate and embarked for the continent from the harbour. Climb up Madeira Walk to Ramsgate's East Cliff to see Wellington Crescent, which bear witness to this period. Down at the waterfront, don't omit a visit to the Sailors' Church and, not far away, the Maritime Museum building - all part of Ramsgate's sea-based heritage.

The eighteenth-century craze for sea-bathing contributed to developing Ramsgate, and Queen Victoria, when still a Princess, stayed in the town on several occasions in the 1820s, helping to make it fashionable. She later bought the famous painting ‘Ramsgate Sands' by W. P. Frith, perhaps as a memento of happy childhood days. The coming of the first railway in 1846, with eventually a station on the sands, brought ever-increasing numbers of visitors to the town. Countless renowned people have stayed here - artists George du Maurier, James Tissot, Vincent Van Gogh, and writers Wilkie Collins and Jane Austen, to name just a few. Over on the West Cliff, walking past Nelson Crescent and the pretty Spencer Square and Regency Crescent, the great Augustus Pugin, designer of the interiors of the Houses of Parliament and leader of the Gothic Revival, built his house, the Grange looking out over the sea, which you can visit, and a beautiful church, St Augustine's, adjacent. Back on the East Cliff, the equally celebrated Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore lived for many years at East Cliff Lodge, dying in 1885 at the age of 101. Although the main house has gone, the lovely Regency greenhouse  in Sir Moses' grounds can still be seen, in what is now the King George VI Memorial Park.

Considerable bomb damage in World War One and more in World War Two, did not stop Ramsgate from playing a heroic part in 1940 in sending some of the ‘little ships', as they were called, out to Dunkirk, and subsequently receiving in the harbour approximately 80,000 soldiers, safely brought back from France. The Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum and the RAF Manston History Museum, not far from the town, are well worth visiting, with their moving mementoes of this period.

Post-war and twenty-first century Ramsgate and its inhabitants have retained a strong identity and independence of character. Today the town is upbeat and lively, with a growing café culture and the knowledge that it can look to the future by building confidently on its impressive historic past.