old Ramsgate and Margate pictures etc.

The answer to yesterday's question was Granville Marina, the organist Ken Stroud, I wonder if he was any relation to the landlord of the Royal Oak 

My own focus this weekend has mostly been on Harbour Parade here in Ramsgate

If you live in Ramsgate during a heatwave then there isn't much better all round than basing whatever family is about at The Royal Victoria Pavilion aka Wetherspoons and doing the beach from there.

This photo of the Pav has to be after 1952 because of the Bedford CA bottom right

Ramsgate did what it does so I took some photos

Link to rest of photos

Back to work in the bookshop tomorrow

Link to the photos of the books we put out Saturday 

I am expecting a quiet day at work because of the heatwave continuing, but it's been a busy and unpredictable year so far.

Love Lane Margate for anyone who doesn't know

This Margate Flower Show in 1905

Guess where in Thanet the picture was taken

time wise probably mid 60s

On to earlier times

This photo shows the crowds on Ramsgate sands before 1860 The coastguard station station bottom right was demolished before 1860

link to the 1849 map which helps sort this out

Busy day today on the sands

link to today's photos 

So busier than before 1960?

Still down the harbours

 I think it's paining a picture of Harbour Parade Ramsgate that has got me a bit fixated on this part of Ramsgate

 I had forgotten about the changes to the road layout at the end of Harbour Street in the mid 1990s

 And the incomprehensible roundabout outside the then casino, I wonder why it was built so big.

 In a way the older archive photos are easier to relate to

 Does anyone else remember the strange curved huts on Pier Yard, I think one was tourist information for a while. Was that before it moved to Harbour St? I know it was in Queen St at the end of York St for a while.

 It does make you wonder how much of the local government funded changes bring much improvement. I would think the main expense for the town council would be paying the rent on The Custom House

 I guess the main side effect of all of this municipally funded road work was the blocking off of the one way road from Harbour Parade via Marina Esplanade and Marina Rd to Victoria Parade, wiping out all of the free seafront parking about 100 spaces.

There was a rumour at the time that Ramsgate's rival resort towns had clubbed together to finance this work, but actually it was grant funded.

It's a funny old world though, we went for a walk this evening and I think Ramsgate was as busy as I have seen it for years, most of the sit down eateries were pretty much full up. You could almost say that Harbour Street was busy enough to be connecting the seafront with the town.

Link to photos

On the bookshop front Michael's bookshop where I work in Ramsgate will be closed tomorrow and Monday because of the bank holiday