Westgate-on-Sea

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Westgate-on-Sea
Kent
Westgate's West Bay.jpg
West Bay
Location
Grid reference: TR321701
Location: 51°22’60"N, 1°19’60"E
Data
Population: 6,996  (2011 (ward))
Post town: Westgate-on-Sea
Postcode: CT8
Dialling code: 01843
Local Government
Council: Thanet
Parliamentary
constituency: 		North Thanet

Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town in north-east Kent, with a population of 6,996 at the 2011 Census.[1] It borders the larger seaside resort of Margate. Its two sandy beaches have remained a popular tourist attraction since the town's development in the 1860s from a small farming community.

The town is notable for once being the location of a Royal Naval Air Service seaplane base at St Mildred's Bay, which defended the Thames Estuary coastal towns during World War I. The town is the subject of Sir John Betjeman's poem, Westgate-on-Sea. Residents have included the 19th-century surgeon Sir Erasmus Wilson and former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple. The artist Sir William Quiller Orchardson painted several of his best-known pictures while living in Westgate-on-Sea. The British composer Arnold Cooke attended the town's Streete Preparatory School in the early 20th century, and Eton headmaster Anthony Chenevix-Trench spent the earliest few years of his education in the town.[2]

History

St James, a Victorian church designed by C. N. Beazley

Before the 1760s, Westgate consisted of only a farm, a coastguard station (built 1791 and still standing in Old Boundary Road) and a few cottages for the crew that surrounded it. These were located beside the coast at St Mildred's Bay, named after Mildrith, Thanet's patron saint and a one-time Abbess of Minster. The town inherited its name from the Westgate Manor, which was located in the area in mediæval times. In the early 20th century, the remains of a Roman villa were discovered in what is now Beach Road, where a stream once used to flow. Fresh water can still be seen rising from the sand at low tide.

During the late 1860s, businessmen developed the area into a seaside resort for the upper to middle-classes.[3] A stretch of sea wall, with promenade on top, was constructed around the beaches at St Mildred's Bay and West Bay, and the land divided into plots to be sold for what would become an exclusive development by the sea for wealthy metropolitan families[4] within a gated community, rather than for occasional tourists.[5][6] The opening of a railway station, in 1871, led to the rapid expansion of the population,[3] which reached 2,738 by 1901.[7] The demands of the increasing population led to the building of the parish churches of St James in 1872[8] and St Saviour in 1884.[9] St Saviour's was designed by the architect C.N. Beazley.[9] In 1884 it was reported that Essex, on the other side of the Thames Estuary, was hit by a tremor so large that it caused the bells of St James' Church to ring.[10] In 1884, ownership of most of the resort passed to Coutts Bank, after the previous proprietors had gone bankrupt.[5][11]

Wellington House was established in 1886 by two clergymen, the Bull brothers. It closed in 1970 and was demolished in 1972. Notable old boys included Doctor Who actor Jon Pertwee and cabinet minister John Profumo, known for his involvement in the Profumo affair.[12][13] Streete Court School was opened in 1894 by John Vine Milne, the father of the author A. A. Milne. In the 1890s, the school was attended by St John Philby, the father of the spy Kim Philby.[14][15]

The Coronation Bandstand was built by the cliff edge in 1903, at a cost of £350, to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII.[16] The following year, a group of French Ursuline nuns, who were banned from teaching in France, fled with some of their pupils to Westgate-on-Sea and established the Ursuline Convent School, which in 1995 was re-established as Ursuline College.[17] In 1910, a Swiss-Gothic styled town hall was built. However, it was soon decided that the building could be put to better use, and in 1912, it was transformed into the Town Hall Cinema. In 1932, it was renamed the Carlton Cinema.[18]

On 1 August 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, a Royal Navy seaplane base was opened by the coast to defend the Thames Estuary naval towns against attack. It was at first used for both seaplanes and landplanes, but due to landing problems, a separate landplane base was opened in Manston in 1916. After the war, the seaplane base was decommissioned, and the landplane base in Manston eventually became Kent International Airport.[19][20] During the war, the Coronation Bandstand was converted into sleeping quarters for use by the Royal West Kent Regiment. In 1925, the bandstand was refurbished and reopened as the 600-seat Westgate Pavilion theatre.[21] By 1931, the town's population had reached 4,554.[7] During World War II, several schools were evacuated to inland areas,[17][22] with some, such as Streete Court School, leaving the town permanently.[15] On 24 August 1942, a German fighter pilot, Herbert Bischoff, was captured after being shot down and crash landing in a field adjacent to Linksfield Rd, just south of the town.[23][24]

On 27 April 1944 a Liberator aircraft from the 392nd USAAF bombing group Based in East Anglia near Wendling, Norfolk, crashed off the beach, adjacent to the Westgate Pavilion, with five of the crew killed and four injured in the crash. A special memorial service was held for the crew by the Mayor of Margate and veterans organisations on 27 April 2009 at the war memorial overlooking the crash site.

In 1975, five historic church bells were transferred to St Saviour's Church from the Holy Cross Church in Canterbury, which had closed in 1972. Three of the bells date back to the early 17th century and one was cast in the 14th century.[25] From the 1970s to the 1990s, the Westgate Pavilion was a bingo hall, after which it closed and became derelict. In 2001, a group of volunteers formed a charitable trust to repair the pavilion and it was eventually reopened as a theatre.[21]

Geography

A view of Westgate-on-Sea from the neighbouring village of Birchington-on-Sea

Westgate-on-Sea is located on the coast of the Thames Estuary. It is bordered by the town of Margate to the east and the village of Birchington-on-Sea to the west. The town is built beside the two sandy bays of St Mildred's Bay and West Bay, which both have a sea wall and groynes to prevent coastal flooding. Chalk cliffs are present in between the bays and either side of the bays. The whole of the north-east Kent coast has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[26]

The town is situated on the Isle of Thanet, a separate island from mainland Kent until around two hundred years ago, when the channel in between silted up. The geology of Thanet consists mainly of chalk, deposited when the area was below the sea. The Isle of Thanet was formed when the English Channel was formed by the sea breaking through, an island of chalk being left on the east side of the county. It was separated from the rest of Kent by the Wantsum Channel.[27]

Transport links

Westgate-on-Sea railway station is on the Chatham Main Line, which runs between Ramsgate in East Kent and London Victoria. Westgate-on-Sea is around 1 hour and 45 minutes to London by fast-service train. A National Express coach service runs between London Victoria and Ramsgate,[28] and a selection of trains run to London's Cannon Street station, primarily for business commuting. There is a bus service running to neighbouring Birchington and Margate, and a service running between Broadstairs and Canterbury via Westgate-on-Sea.[29] The A28 road runs between Hastings and Margate via Ashford, Canterbury, Birchington and Westgate-on-Sea. Four miles south-west of Westgate-on-Sea, the A28 crosses the A299 road, which leads along North Kent towards London, becoming the M2 motorway at Faversham.[30]

Economy

As a seaside resort, the economy is mainly based around tourism; there are several hotels and guest houses near the seafront, to accommodate the influx of visitors during the summer. The High Street has a variety of shops and services, and there are a small number of factories. The elderly population has led to many health and social care jobs at local care homes. At the 2001 UK census, 6.9% of the population resided in a medical or care establishment, compared with the national average of only 0.8%.

Carlton Cinema

Education

St Saviour's Church

The town's secondary school is Ursuline College, a specialist sports college and Roman Catholic-aided comprehensive school, with nearly 800 pupils and facilities for boarding students.[31] Many secondary students commute to schools in other nearby towns, especially to the grammar schools in Ramsgate and Broadstairs. The Westgate College For Deaf People for students aged 16 and over[32] closed on 11 December 2015.

The primary state schools are St Crispin's Infant School and St Saviour's Church of England Primary School,[33] which is owned by the church but run by Kent Council.[34] Chartfield School is an independent primary school, educating children from 3 to 11 years.[35]

Culture

The town has sandy beaches at both St Mildred's Bay and West Bay. The larger of the beaches is at St Mildred's Bay, where it is possible to hire beach huts, deck chairs and jet-skis. The beach is a short distance from tennis courts and a golf putting course. At West Bay, there are many small rock pools, which are popular with children. Each beach has nearby cafés, restaurants and public houses, and a European Blue Flag Award is shared between them due to their cleanliness and safety.[36]

The town centre has several Victorian canopied shops, a library and the three-screen Carlton Cinema. In addition to the theatre, the Westgate Pavilion is a venue for discos, yoga, indoor bowls and dance classes.[21]

Formed in 1896,[37] Westgate and Birchington Golf Club has an 18-hole 4,889-yard course on the cliff tops between Westgate and Birchington.[38] Based at Hawtreys Field, Westgate-on-Sea Cricket Club runs two Saturday teams and two Sunday teams. In the 2007 season, both Saturday teams played in the Kent Cricket Feeder League East; the Saturday 1st XI team in Division 1C and the Saturday 2nd XI in Division 2C. The Sunday teams do not play in competitive matches.[39] In 2006, Thanet Council opened a free skatepark at the Lymington Road recreation ground. Designed by local young people, the park caters for skateboarders and in line skaters of all ages and skill levels.[40]

Notable residents

Notable residents of the town have included:

  • the 19th-century surgeon Sir Erasmus Wilson, who spent the latter part of his life in the town until his death in 1884.[41]
  • former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple, who died in the town in 1944.[42]
  • In 1888, the astronomer and journalist Joseph Norman Lockyer built an observatory on the side of his house in Westgate-on-Sea, from where he took observations that formed the basis for his book, The Sun's Place in Nature.[43]
  • British composer Arnold Cooke attended Streete Preparatory School in the early 20th century.[44]
  • Ann Dowling, the first woman to be President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, attended Ursuline Convent School in the town.[45]
  • The artist Sir William Quiller Orchardson painted several of his most well-known pictures while living in Westgate-on-Sea. He was buried in the town in 1910.[46]
  • In 1957, suspected serial killer Dr John Bodkin Adams spent two weeks in hiding in the town (to escape the press) following his controversial acquittal at the Old Bailey.[47] [48]
  • Actress Juliette Kaplan, known for her role as Pearl Sibshaw in the long running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine lives here.

References

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  1. ↑ "Margate Ward population 2011". http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13692882&c=Westgate-on-Sea&d=14&e=62&g=6439334&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1443867356251&enc=1. Retrieved 3 October 2015. 
  2. ↑ Peel, Mark (1996). The land of lost content: the biography of Anthony Chenevix-Trench. Edinburgh: Pentland Press. ISBN 1-85821-400-9. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mirams, Michael (1984). Old Margate. Maresborough Books. 
  4. ↑ Crouch, Dr Dawn (2008). Historic Westgate on Sea : The Built Environment. Westgate on Sea Heritage Centre. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The British Seaside: Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century (Studies in Popular Culture). Manchester University Press. 2000. ISBN 0-7190-5169-X. 
  6. ↑ "The Boltons and Redcliffe Square area - The Gunter estate, 1864–78". British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=50024. Retrieved 28 May 2001. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "A vision of Westgate on Sea CP". VisionOfBritain.org.uk. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10228591. Retrieved 28 May 2007. 
  8. ↑ "An Abbreviated History". St James' Church. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070716183542/http://www.stjameswestgate.org.uk/page5history.htm. Retrieved 22 April 2007. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Limited, Beachshore Design. "St Saviour's Parish Church : Westgate on Sea Heritage Centre : Museum on Isle of Thanet Kent". http://www.westgateheritagecentre.org.uk/st-saviours-church.php. 
  10. ↑ "Weather: this week in history". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 September 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050905142950/http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/weather/history/weeklyfacts17.shtml. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  11. ↑ "The Boltons and Redcliffe Square area: The area after 1878". British-History.ac.uk. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=50025. Retrieved 29 May 2007. 
  12. ↑ "Wellington House School WW1 and WW2". Imperial War Museum. http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.34912/fromUkniwmSearch/1. Retrieved 19 September 2014. 
  13. ↑ Evans, Nick (11 August 2008). "Canings and compulsory daily runs - welcome to my school days!". Kent Online (Rochester, Kent: KM Group). http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/canings-and-compulsory-daily-runs---welcome-a104348/. Retrieved 19 September 2014. 
  14. ↑ Eminent Georgians: The Lives of King George V, Elizabeth Bowen, St John Philby, and Lady Astor. Palgrave Macmillan. 1997. p. 132. ISBN 0-312-17685-6. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Streete Court School". streetecourtschool.co.uk/. http://www.streetecourtschool.co.uk/. Retrieved 23 May 2007. 
  16. ↑ "The Westgate Pavilion". WestgatePavilion.org.uk. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lOe27Jzjv54J:www.westgatepavilion.org.uk/history.asp+Westgate+Coronation-Bandstand&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "History of Ursuline College Westgate". Comenius-St-Angela.org. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071008204648/http://www.comenius-st-angela.org/schools/hiswestgate.php. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  18. ↑ "Carlton Cinema". CinemaTreasures.org. http://cinematreasures.org/theater/15032/. Retrieved 27 May 2007. 
  19. ↑ "Kent International Airport". AirportGuides.co.uk. http://www.airportguides.co.uk/guides/kent-international/. Retrieved 29 May 2007. 
  20. ↑ Military Airfields of Britain: South East Kent,Hampshire,Surrey,Sussex. The Crowood Press. 2005. p. 266. ISBN 1-86126-729-0. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "The Westgate Pavilion". WestgatePavilion.org.uk. http://westgatepavilion.co/about-us/. Retrieved 17 November 2015. 
  22. ↑ "Manors and other estates". British-History.ac.uk. 1992. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=18624&strquery=westgate-on-sea. Retrieved 29 May 2007. 
  23. ↑ Jagdgeschwader 52: The Experten. Osprey Publishing. 2004. p. 31. ISBN 1-84176-786-7. 
  24. ↑ The Luftwaffe Fighters' Battle of Britain. Crecy Publishing Ltd. 2001. p. 200. ISBN 0-947554-81-5. 
  25. ↑ "Westgate-on-Sea, St Saviour". Church Bells of Kent. Archived from the original on 10 November 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20061110184056/http://kent.lovesguide.com/westgate.htm. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  26. ↑ "Geological Sites Map". Natureonthemap.org.uk. http://www.natureonthemap.org.uk/map.aspx. Retrieved 24 April 2007. 
  27. ↑ "Isle of Thanet". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2006/05/15/thanet_history_feature.shtml. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  28. ↑ "Timetable". National Express. http://www.nationalexpress.com/bp/b2.cfm?id=84618113. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  29. ↑ "Stagecoach Bus". Stagecoach. http://www.stagecoachbus.com. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  30. ↑ "Map". Yahoo.com. http://maps.yahoo.com/broadband/#mvt=m&q1=51.3832,1.3353&trf=0&lon=1.261196&lat=51.359241&mag=6. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  31. ↑ "Ursuline College". Ursuline College. http://www.ursuline.kent.sch.uk/. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  32. ↑ "The Royal School for Deaf Children Margate". rsdcm.org.uk. http://www.rsdcm.org.uk/. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  33. ↑ "UK Schools and Colleges Database". Schoolswebdirectory.co.uk. http://www.schoolswebdirectory.co.uk/postcode.php?searchword=ct8&action=Search. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  34. ↑ "Schools and the Church of England". Church of England. http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/education/schools/. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  35. ↑ "Chartfield School". IndependentSchools.com. http://www.independentschools.com/england/chartfield-school_1482.html. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  36. ↑ "West Bay, Westgate" (PDF). BlueFlag.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202549/http://www.blueflag.org.uk/beach2007.asp?beachid=221. Retrieved 29 March 2007. 
  37. ↑ "Westgate and Birchington Golf Club". Westgate and Birchington Golf Club. http://www.westgate-and-birchington-golfclub.co.uk/. Retrieved 6 June 2007. 
  38. ↑ "Westgate and Birchington Golf Club". intotherough.co.uk. http://www.intotherough.co.uk/course-guide/westgate-and-birchington-golf-club/. 
  39. ↑ "Westgate-on-Sea Cricket Club". Westgate-on-Sea Cricket Club. http://westgateonsea.play-cricket.com/home/home.asp. Retrieved 6 June 2007. 
  40. ↑ "Take off for Westgate Skate Park". Thanet Council. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071031161536/http://www.thanet.gov.uk/news/press_release_archive/westgate_skate_park.aspx. Retrieved 23 April 2007. 
  41. ↑ "Wilson, Sir William James Erasmus". Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online. http://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/biogs/E000207b.htm. Retrieved 23 April 2007. 
  42. ↑ "William Temple". SchoolNet.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070423154254/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REtempleW.htm. Retrieved 23 April 2007. 
  43. ↑ Agnes Mary Clerke and the Rise of Astrophysics. 2002. pp. 53–55. ISBN 0-521-80844-8. 
  44. ↑ "Arnold Cooke Biography". Musicweb-international.com. http://www.musicweb-international.com/cooke/page2.htm. Retrieved 23 April 2007. 
  45. ↑ Ashton, James (2 November 2014). "Ann Dowling - interview: ‘Engineering should be central to society’". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/ann-dowling-interview-engineering-should-be-central-to-society-9834528.html. Retrieved 29 July 2016. 
  46. ↑ Dictionary of National Biography: Second Supplement. Volume 3. Adamant Media Corporation. 2001. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-543-88108-3. 
  47. ↑ Cullen, Pamela V., A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams, London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
  48. ↑ Louis Wain, 1897-1939, the man who drew cats and illustrated many children's book, lived in West gate at Adrian Square, then in 1895 he moved to Collinwood Terrace, now known as Westgate Bay Avenue
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