Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs old phots

 Starting with Broadstairs 

These two are from the 1937 official Broadstairs guide (we do a cheap reprint of this so link to buy the guide)

Broadstairs is difficult to date so the old guides help a lot.

Expanding this picture it looks to be early 1920s there is what looks like a small circus tent next to the end of the disused station

I think this one is probably 1910s

1940s?

1930s I think

We got a snack and cuppa at Café G £10.50  in Margate yesterday as we went to the old Bank bookshop.

Here Michael's bookshop in Ramsgate today which is where I work the usual eclectic batch of books coming and going this is the link to the ones we put out for sale today.

Old Thanet Photos, The Ghost Bookshop and another Bakers in Ramsgate

Its been one of those Mondays, yesterday The Observer newspaper which is part of the Guardian newspaper published an article on closed shops which featured a photo of Michael's Bookshop where I work in Ramsgate and of course is very much an open shop.

Difficult for us as our customer base is very broad geographically, so the walk in customers,  phone calls, emails and messages from all over the town, Thanet, county, country and even some from abroad have been coming thick and fast.

I have spent most of the day explaining to people that we are open albeit 4 days a week, that we are not ghosts and so on.

Link to the article  

Link to our opening hours

On to the old Thanet photos

This first set of three, all pretty much the same view from around the same time, note the large fish market next to the clock house 

Someone asked me when the marina lift was built. That is the one that used to go between Nero's or the marina swimming pool and the East cliff

This is Lipton's in Margate in 1905

This is 1911 and shows gentleman being transported to their bathing machines where they would change into Edwardian swimming costumes leaving the bathing machine from the other side into the sea

Note the person maintaining the tram cables

And yes another baker in Ramsgate, I didn't notice it open so it may have been open for some time. I think I've lost count of how many we've got and I don't think Canterbury has got any.

Here where I work in Michael's bookshop Ramsgate it's been a reasonably busy Monday despite the guardian or observer saying we are a ghost shop

In the unlikely event that you are a fan of Billy Bunter

Here is the link to the pictures of the books we put out today

Ramsgate and Margate old photos

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The current bandstand Wellington crescent was built in 1939 this is the previous one

The Royal Oak hotel in Ramsgate later The Oak hotel recently sold.

Sangers Ramsgate High Street demolished to make way for Fine Fare supermarket later Tesco

 Link to pictures of the books we put out today

I'm having a fairly normal day at work here in Michael's bookshop Ramsgate neither particularly quiet or busy with a steady flow of book buyers.

Old Ramsgate and Margate photos + Ramsgate Royal Sands progress yesterday

 So starting with the old pictures of Ramsgate and Margate while I tried to think of something to say about Ramsgate seafront development and café culture.

Many thanks to Christopher Sparrow for this carte de visite

On Wednesday I was talking to one of my customers about Ramsgate seafront, because of his age he seldom goes beyond the bottom of harbour Street. 

So one of his questions was. What is the situation with the commercial properties underneath the Royal Sands?

I think there is a sense where you have to look at the pub restaurant and café culture along the seafront in Ramsgate as a whole.

In recent years it's expanded quite a bit the biggest one lump expansion being Wetherspoons. Just at the moment, with all the pressure on on this particular side of the entertainment sector, it's very hard to see how further expansion of a similar sort of size to Wetherspoons could happen in a relatively short time.

Two major factors in all this will be the hotel which should be being built as the next stage of the royal sands and the two remaining units that are not Wetherspoons but in the royal Victoria pavilion.

As you can see from the picture above only one of the the shop fronts has gone in so far and that is the furthest one along towards Augustus stairs.

Another factor with the Royal Sands development is that the ground floor has some very large blank wall areas which are not shop front. Not to be confused with the the boarded up openings for the shop fronts.

All in all I think it will be interesting to see how this all pans out, my guess is that the rents for the commercial units will be fairly high but that the available business there will be both seasonal and weather dependent. 

Here at Michaels Bookshop, where I work in Ramsgate, a fairly large batch of books went out for sale today. For book readers here is the link to the photos of the books

There is no doubt that Ramsgate is reviving at the moment, both town centre and harbour front wise and I think there may be some potential to continue the revival along the sands, but in a very seasonal way. In the winter I think apart from people living there with their own parking space, any evening activity will be difficult. 

Some old pictures of Ramsgate and Margate sands and the view of Broadstairs from Deal.

 So starting with summer sands pictures, as it's wet and wintery. 

We went to Deal yesterday, mainly for the Oxfam bookshop where we buy a certain amount of books for ourselves and a certain amount of books for Michael's bookshop in Ramsgate.

I had a bit of a wander around and took a few photographs, the main batch of photographs being from the land would end of deal pier.

Smartphone cameras get better all the time and I realised while taking photographs of Ramsgate from Deal that beyond Ramsgate you could see Broadstairs with the wind farm in the background.

If you've got a bit of time and you do a certain amount of clicking on the photos below to expand them you will see just what I mean.

Today back at work here at Michael's Bookshop in Ramsgate I did get the time for a quick sketch after René Magritte and before work.

Finally for any book readers link to pictures of the books we put out for sale here at Michael's Bookshop in Ramsgate