With Papa’s Fish & Chips, due to open soon in the part that was empty next to Wetherspoons. I thought I should do a post about it.
Anyone who has lived in Ramsgate is likely to have memories of it. I first remember it as The Show Bar in the 1960s (The Golden Goose comes to mind, is that right?).
Sometime in the 1970s I worked for a bit in Stardust amusement arcade that was in the bit where the fish and chips are going. I certainly remember the nightclub that was there for a while, see the picture with the banana. And of course Tiberius Casino especially for their superb breakfasts after working in a nightclub. And more recently going to Wetherspoons to have a meal and do a watercolour sketch of the inside. When it first opened in 1903 its main function was a theatre. See the picture showing the inside with the stage in the distance.
There is a very good full page spread advertisement in the 1904 tourist guide to Ramsgate, we publish a cheap modern reprint of this guide here at Michaels Bookshop so you can always come in and give that a browse.
The main snag with the building is that it's a bit too low relative to spring tides and tidal surges, picture 2009. As you can see from the picture, even during a normal spring tide the water gets very close. In the 1953 tidal search storm it was washed through completely and was left in a position where it looked like it was in the middle of the beach.
