Architectural disaster

Having just discovered the very interesting Margate architecture blog where the latest posting is related to what was demolished to make way for Argos, Somerfield and Iceland in Margate I thought I would post something about what was on the site of the Ramsgate Argos. I have taken the illustrations above from my publication Ramsgate & Broadstairs by Camera and Pen by J Bavington Jones which was first published in 1904.

I was astonished that that the grand Sanger’s Hotel and Sanger’s Amphitheatre (pictured above) was demolished in 1960 to make way for the supermarket (Fine Fare) now Argos.

It is a sad that the supermarkets and chain stores have, over the last 50 years, caused so much damage to the Thanet towns, both by their developments and eventual closures.

The word that comes to mind here is parasite, feeding of the host town until it's dead and then moving out of town.

Rolling Stock

We now have the first of our new Japanese arrivals for testing, as a schoolboy a popular joke was, the train standing at platforms 1 to 20 has come in sideways, whereas now I am trying to get my ideas about them straight.

The new bullet trains which look to be going to knock about 20 minutes of the journey time from Thanet to London nearly all of the time saving being on the stretch between Ashford and London.

I asked around a few engineering friends why there would be hardly any time saved between Ramsgate and London and have formed the impression that a further 20 minutes could be saved by two new investments on the line.

The first being updating the signalling system between Ashford and Thanet, apparently it is very antiquated and means that trains have to wait for very long lengths of line to be clear of a train before the next one can enter.

The second being straightening out the approaches to those stations where the line curves round platforms instead of running straight between them.

It also looks as though there is an intention to run the new trains on slow local services, which would appear to be a bit of a waste of money.

I may have got this all wrong so am interested in any comments from those who know better.

John Smeaton Ramsgate Dry Dock

Looking at Ramsgate dry dock leaking badly during the recent tidal surge I was reminded of reading John Smeaton’s account of its first test in 1787 and the subsequent disaster.

Back in the 1700s the building of harbours and docks was the rocket science of the day and many things went wrong. In the case of the dry dock the builder ignored the advice of Smeaton the civil engineer with fairly spectacular results click here to read it or you can read it in the reprint of An Historical report on Ramsgate Harbour 1791 By John Smeaton that I publish. It is a most charmingly account of a man explaining the failings of others.

Thanet’s tidal surge

The tidal surge was fortunately a bit of a non-event here in Thanet Ramsgate only had a slightly higher tide than the spring tide back in September that was much more spectacular due to the larger waves. I did notice that the dry dock in Ramsgate harbour was leaking pretty badly and suspect it needs some maintenance.
Here are some pictures there are also some on Thanet Life Eastcliff Richard and Zumi blogs

The Mansion of Mirth

Today’s featured publication is The Mansion of Mirth -
Sandgate as Seen Through the Eyes of the Alhambra Music Hall and Rex Cinema
By
Martin Easdown, Eamonn Rooney and Linda Sage

You can read sample pages from the book by clicking here

You can leave comments about the book or communicate with other people with an interest in the book or Sandgate’s history by commenting here.

Apart from Martin & Co’s excellently researched and interesting text the book contains many pictures: - Sandgate – Hythe Horse Tramway, Sandgate Hill Lift, Sandgate High Street 1860s & 1903, Turnpike Toll House, Sandgate Esplanade, Sandgate Hill (Upper Folkestone Road), Martello Terrace, The Bevan Hospital, The Star and Garter Home, Damage to May Terrace 1923, Rex Cinema, Demolition of Sea Point Café, Tower Flats and More.

I have just noticed 2 interesting pictures of old Sandgate on Zumi’s excellent local blog

Crazy plans for the Pleasurama

Looking through the various crazy plans for the Pleasurama site, according to the book Old Ramsgate by Michael Mirams 1984. In 1926 when Ramsgate Harbour Station closed plans were drawn up for an Indian village on the site, complete with snake charmers and elephant rides.

Pleasurama Update

For those of you who don’t know I have had an ongoing debate with Thanet District Council about a proposed development on Ramsgate seafront click here to read about it.

I still haven’t received the up to date plans that I asked for in March however TDC have sent me what they describe in the accompanying letter as the approved plans for the Pleasurama building

I hadn’t seen these approved plans before and they are the craziest so far, they show a building which when viewed from the side is 17.5 high when viewed from the front is 16.25 meters high when viewed from the rear is 16.5 meters high inside at one end it’s 17.5 meters high the other 16.25 meters high.

One drawing shows a vehicle embedded in the car park ceiling and another several people with their heads embedded in the ceilings.

I gather that these approved plans have also finally been sent to the Environment Agency who asked for them so that they could make a formal flood and storm risk analysis.

The idea is that the Environment Agency who can only officially comment on the approved plans will use them to work out how safe the building is relative to their predicted flood levels.

I have tried to do this using the height of the top of cliff behind the new building, which I have been promised that the roof of new building will be below.

With all the inconsistencies on the plans I couldn’t do it so I showed them to a qualified professional architect who for obvious reasons doesn’t wish to be named neither he nor I could work out the level of the bottom of the building to within 2 meters the lowest level being on the beach, the highest level still being liable to flooding.

His final comments were. “To build this dangerous ill conceived, badly designed structure that has the look and many of the features of some of the worst structures of the 1970s on that site is truly obscene.”

There has obviously been a further delay to work starting both on the cliff repairs and the temporary access road to the site both of which were due to start last month.
I can only presume that TDC won’t send me the up to date plans because the show something that they don’t want me to see, in view of the approved plans it’s hard to imagine that they could be worse.

Book buying rambles with camera

If you stand on the cliff at Ramsgate and look to your right the furthest bit of coastline you can see is the town of Deal, on a clear day you can see Deal pier. I have a great affinity for our Deal neighbours having published several books about the Deal boatmen. Anyway I went to Deal yesterday and took a few pictures of Deal click here to see them the visit culminated in a visit to the Golden Hind bookshop click here to view their website their stock is entirely antiquarian and Kent topography. I bought a copy of The History of Deal by Stephen Pritchard 1864 with the intention of reprinting it when I get some contemporary pictures, any help with this would be appreciated.