Margate

Margate is a town on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, England (Population about 57,000). It was known as Meregate (in 1254), later becoming Margate (from about 1293), and its name's meaning may be translated as "a pool gate or gap in a cliff where pools of water are found". The cliffs of the Isle of Thanet are composed of London Clay, a fossil-bearing rock.

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Cinque Ports

Margate was a "limb" of Dover in the ancient confederation of the Cinque ports. It was added to the ports in the 15th century.

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Margate and the Sea

Between 1890-1939 about 30 pleasure boats operated from Margate beach. The main builder of Thanet wherries was Brockman of Margate, who turned them out in large numbers before the Great War. They developed two distinct types of these Thanet beach boats, the wherry, with its high sides, and the wherry punt, with low sides. The hulls were traditionally varnished, a practice employed by boatmen from Thanet to Devon. Some boatmen would construct a wider beam into the design to assist fishing.

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Although employing a clinker-built hull, the shape was similar to the Deal galley and the Thames waterman's skiff. The last wherry in service at Margate was operated by a Dusty Miller of Westgate, and built by an apprentice of Brockman's of Margate in 1939. "She was only about 12 ft long and being small was sometimes called a skiff."

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The town's history is tied closely to the sea and it has a proud maritime tradition. The record of the vessel, Friend to all Nations, and the Margate Surfboat disaster of 1897 are noteworthy events in Margate's past.

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Isle of Thanet: :For the district of the same name, see Thanet (district)....

London Clay: The London Clay is a marine deposit which is well known for the fossils it contains....

Dover: This article is about the English port town. For other uses see Dover (disambiguation)....

Margate related Images and Photos (experimental)

The Pier Margate 1868

A View of Margate from the Pier 1868

London Bridge and the Custom House with the Margate Steam Yachts Pub. 1820 by Colnaghi and Co