MARGATE, a sea-port and market-town and parish, in the cinque-port
liberty of DOVOR, of which it is a member, though locally in
the hundred of Ringslow, or Isle of Thanet, lathe of St. Augustine,
county of KENT, 44 miles (E. N. E.) from Maidstone, and 72 (E.)
from London, containing, according to the last census, 7843
resident inhabitants, and, at the present time (1830), 9500. This
place, formerly a small fishing village, was distinguished
by a mere, or stream, having its influx into the sea j
from which circumstance it obtained the name of Meregate,
and, subsequently, Margate. About the middle of
the last century it became much frequented as a bathing-
place, from the fineness of the beach and the
purity of the air; and, though originally consisting of
one scattered and irregular street, it has, by the erection
of new buildings at various times, to meet the
wants of the increased number of visitors, attained its
present importance. A pier of timber was constructed
at a very early period, and, for its preservation, two
pier-wardens and sub-deputies were appointed by the
lord wardens of the cinque-ports, and certain rates on
corn, and other imported produce, were granted in the
reign of Elizabeth, In 1787 an act was passed for the
general improvement of the town, and the rebuilding
of the pier, when the entire property and management
of the latter were vested in the commissioners for paving
and lighting the town, and under this act the old
wooden pier was cased with stone; but in a violent
storm, on the 14th of January, 1808, it was irreparably
injured. In July, 1812, an act was obtained for "separating
the management of the pier and harbour from
the concerns of the town, and establishing a joint-stock
company of proprietors," with a court of fifteen directors,
who were empowered to raise money for the building
of a new pier, and to levy certain tolls on goods and
passengers, to be applied to the liquidation of the original
capital and the interest thereon, and the surplus to
accumulate until it amounts to the sum of £20,000, as
a fund for the future repairs of the pier; this effected,
the company will be dissolved, and the pier again placed
under the control of the commissioners of the town, as
heretofore. Under this act a new pier was projected, on
an entirely new site, by the chairman of the directors,
Daniel Jarvis, Esq., M.D., and carried into execution from
a design by Mr. Rennie and Mr. Jessop, engineers; the
work, which had been commenced April 6th, 1810, was
completed in 1815, at an expense of £100,000; it is a
handsome and substantial stone structure, nine hundred
feet in length from east to west, in its plan forming a
portion of a polygon, and well calculated to afford protection
to the vessels in the harbour; it is divided into
two stages of buildings, the lower forming a quay,
and the upper a promenade, defended on the sea side
with a stone parapet, and on the land side by iron
railing: this promenade, which, as a marine walk, is
probably unrivalled, was designed by Mr. Thomas Edmunds,
builder, of Margate. To the east of the pier is
"Jarvis' landing-place" for passengers, when the depth
of water will not allow vessels to reach the pier. This
important work was executed in the year 1824, without
any additional toll, or cost to the public, by the Pier
Company, at an expense of £8000; it is constructed
entirely of English oak, and extends northward into the
sea one thousand one hundred and twenty feet from, the
shore, forming, at low water, a most delightful promenade.
An act of parliament has been obtained, by which
certain regulations are enforced to preserve order during
the landing and embarking of passengers. At the extremity
of the pier, a stone lighthouse has lately been erected,
from a design by Mr. William Edmunds, architect, of
this town, the shaft of which forms a Grecian Doric column,
placed on an octagonal base, serving as a lookout
house; the column is surmounted by an ornamental
chamber, or lantern of iron. A new pier-house has
also been built, under the superintendence of the same
architect, for the use of the directors and their officers,
having a bell-turret, and a clock with four illuminated
dials. At the entrance of the landing-place, a
handsome cast-iron archway has been placed, by the Pier
Company, in compliment to their talented and spirited
chairman, Daniel Jarvis, Esq., and, as a further mark of
respect, a granite column has been erected, on which
is inscribed a detailed account of the principal improvements
that have been effected in the town chiefly through
the exertions of that gentleman. The harbour, though,
from its situation, much exposed to storms from the
north-east, has been greatly improved by the construction
of the new pier, and affords good shelter for vessels:
several trading vessels are constantly sailing between
this place and the Dutch coast. This being the nearest
and most convenient port for the passage to the opposite
coast, caused it to be formerly, and again recently,
selected as the station for the Ostend mail packets,
but this distinction it does not at present enjoy.
Amongst the distinguished persons who have embarked,
or landed, at Margate are, the Elector Palatine
and his consort, in the reign of James I,; William III.;
George I.; George II. and his queen Caroline; the Duke
of Marlborough; the late Duke of York, on his expedition
to Flanders, in 1793; Admiral Duncan, after his
victory off Camperdown, in 1797; and the troops on
the expedition to Walcheren, in 1809; the wounded from
the battle of Waterloo were also landed here, in 1815.
The town is pleasantly situated, partly on the acclivities
of two hills, and partly in the valley below; it is
lighted with gas, well paved, and abundantly supplied
with excellent water from wells. Considerable improvements
have been effected, and others are still in
progress, by the commissioners for paving and lighting,
under the authority of numerous acts of parliament;
sea-defences have been erected, new roads formed,
streets widened and Macadamised, public pumps
erected, the open areas in the squares and other places
enclosed with handsome iron railings, and shrubberies
planted; insomuch that the town presents, in general,
an appearance of neatness and order highly creditable.
The London entrance is, in particular, distinguished
by an esplanade, equalled only in extent and beauty
by the celebrated work of that nature at Weymouth;
it is protected by a stone wall, and lighted with gas, presenting,
at night, an imposing appearance, and forming an
extended crescent, which is terminated by the pier: the
whole of the sea-defences are constructed of stone, and
exceed a mile in length, having cost upwards of £20,000
The market is held on Wednesday and Saturday, under
a grant obtained in 1777. The town hall and marketplace
were rebuilt in 1821, at an expense of £4000 i a
prison is attached, for the temporary reception of criminals
prior to their removal to Dovor. The public
subscription library, in Hawley-square, is a handsome
building, and there are also three other excellent libraries,
affording the usual accommodation. The bathingrooms
in High-street, on the New-road, and the more
recently-constructed and extensive works of that kind
on the Fort, are all of the best description: the warm
baths have every modern improvement for the comfort
and accommodation of those who frequent them; while
the cold bathing unites with the most powerful local
advantages the best description of machines, drawn by
horses. The theatre is a neat building, erected in 1787,
at an expense of £4000. The subscription and assembly
rooms, attached to the Royal Hotel, are very spacious;
the ball-room is ninety feet in length by fortythree
feet wide, with card, ante, and refreshment, rooms:
the whole comprise a most splendid suite, and are under
the direction of a master of the ceremonies. Independently
of the various hotels and numerous inns
and taverns in the town, there are many public and
private boarding-houses of the first class. Several handsome
bazaars and boulevards have lately been erected
by individuals at considerable cost. Adjoining the town,
the Tivoli Gardens have been recently opened, and
possess the advantages of a most delightful situation,
of ornamental sheets of water, and thick plantations.
In 1815 steam-packets were established; the number of.
passengers in that year was twenty three thousand five,
hundred, and, in 1830, the number amounted to ninety-,
five thousand; these vessels now ply daily between
London and Margate, making the passage in about six
hours and a half, and, in the season, two thousand persons
frequently arrive in one day. The trade of the
town is almost entirely connected with the resort of
visitors; here are, however, a very extensive brewery,
a rope-manufactory, and some establishments for shipbuilding,
&c. A large number of sea-faring men obtain
their subsistence in winter by rendering aid to vessels
in distress, which is locally called " Foying," and "in
summer by fishing and taking out pleasure parties in
open boats.
Margate being a member of the port of Dovor, the
mayor of that town appoints one of the inhabitants to
act as his deputy, and the town is subject in all matters
to the jurisdiction of that port, and of its sessions;
although, by a late act of parliament, appeals in certain
cases are allowed to be tried at the Canterbury quarter
sessions. In 1811, local magistrates were appointed,
two of whom are now resident. A court of requests
is held, for the recovery of debts under £5, the jurisdiction
of which extends over the parishes of St. John
(Margate), St. Peter the Apostle, Birchington, and the
ville of Wood; and a court leet for the manor or
Minster, which comprises most of the parishes in the
island, is held annually about Michaelmas.
The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry
and diocese of Canterbury, rated in the king s
books at £8, and in the patronage of the Archbishop
of Canterbury. The church, dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, is a spacious building of flint and stone, with
a square tower and low spire, erected at various periods
and in different styles; it was originally a chapel
of ease to Minster, and was made parochial in 1290:
there are several monuments of great antiquity, and a
fine organ. At the east end of the north aisle is a strong
building of stone, which, from 1661, till 1761, was used
as a magazine for gunpowder, but is now appropriated
as a vestry-room. To the taste and influence of the
present vicar, the Rev. W. F. Baylay, the town is indebted
for much of the improvements which it has
undergone during the last twenty years. The new
church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was completed
in 1829, from a design and under the superintendence
of Mr. William Edmunds; it is an elegant structure
of Bath stone, in the early style of English architecture,
and consists of a nave nearly sixty feet high, and
two side aisles, elaborately groined: the east end is
terminated by a recess for the altar, having a noble
window filled with stained glass; and at the west end is
a deep recess for the organ, which represents a shrine,
having, in front, a stone screen, with pierced arches,
buttresses, and finials with elaborate carving; the organ
forms part of the architecture of the church. The side
windows are adorned with stained glass, representing
the armorial bearings of the principal subscribers, which,
with the east window, are considered to be splendid specimens
of the art, the expense having been defrayed by
private subscription. The exterior of the building is
decorated with buttresses, pinnacles, and carved finials.
The tower rises to the height of one hundred and
thirty-five feet, and, from the commanding site on which
it is built, is seen at a very considerable distance, being
the first object perceivable on approaching the English
coast. The church contains two thousand  sittings, of
which one thousand two hundred are free; and its total
cost was about £ 28,000, towards which the parliamentary
commissioners contributed A 10,000, £ 6000 was
raised by private subscription, the Pier Company
gave £ 2000, and the remainder was levied by parish
rates. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage
of the Vicar of St. John's, who appointed the
Rev. F. Barrow first incumbent. A charity school, established
by subscription in 1787, for thirty girls and
thirty boys, afterwards extended to forty of each' sex,
has, since the adoption of the National system of education,
afforded instruction to three thousand children.
Drapers' hospital, about half a mile from the parish
church, was founded in 1709, by Michael Yoakley, a member
of the Society of Friends, for aged women, who'are
accommodated in nine comfortable dwellings, and are
supplied with money, clothes, and fuel: in the centre
is a chapel for the Society of Friends. The Royal seabathing
infirmary was instituted in 1792, and opened
in 1796, under the patronage of his late Majesty,
George IV.; the building consists of a centre and
two wings, capable of accommodating two hundred
patients. There are likewise numerous charitable bequests
for the relief of the poor, an account of which
has recently been published by a committee of gentlemen,
in order that the intentions of the founders may
not be frustrated by neglect, or otherwise.
About a mile and a half to the south-west of the
town is Dandelion, the fortified mansion of a family of
that name in the reign of Edward I., of which a gatehouse,
flanked with four tpwers, rejnains in good preservation.
About a quarter of a mile to the south of the parish
church is Salmstone Grange, where are the remains
of a chapel, or oratory, formerly belonging to the monastery
of St. Augustine; and in the middle of a field,
about a mile and a half further, at a place called Chapel
Bottom, are the ruins of Dene chapel, held under a license
from the abbey of St. Augustine, in 1230, by Sir
Henry de Sandwich. It is supposed that a severe battle
was fought between the Danes and the Saxons in this
neighbourhood, from the number of graves discovered
on both the hills contiguous to the town. Various
coins and other antiquities have, at different times,
been found; and, on the excavations being made for
Trinity church, two urns, filled with human bones, standing
in, and likewise covered with, patera, were found, in
a fine state of preservation, having the name of the
Roman Emperor Maximilian impressed on the different
pieces.