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Concept
History of Ramsgate
Summary
For Ramsgate as a whole, see the main article Ramsgate.
Ramsgate as a name has its earliest reference as 'Ramisgate' or 'Remmesgate' in 1275, from Anglo-Saxon 'Hraefn's geat, or 'Raven's cliff gap', later to be rendered 'Ramesgate' from 1357.
Before the accession of George III, Ramsgate was little more than an off-shoot of the parish of St Lawrence, under the jurisdiction of Sandwich. But doctors were starting to advocate the benefits of sea-bathing as an all-round tonic and a cure for a wide variety of ailments. So, by the 1750s, seaside towns and hamlets were vying with each other to attract wealthy visitors. The first recorded evidence of this fad in Ramsgate was in 1764, when James Hawkesley was “rated” for two sheds where female clients could undress and wait for a bathing machine to become vacant. Papers, periodicals and refreshments were available and there were boatmen for hire to row gentlemen bathers out into deeper water.
The business grew and by the beginning of the 19th century, the number of bathing machines on offer at Ramsgate sands had risen to over 20. The new proprietors, Messrs Barling, Foat and Wells, replaced the sheds with more respectable “Bathing Rooms” and removed the chalk promontory to put in a small row of shops, a bazaar and even a billiard room.
At the same time, Ramsgate began to construct a new harbour. Following the calamitous storm of 1748, a petition was sent to Parliament to build a safe haven at Ramsgate for vessels navigating the Thanet coast and the Goodwin Sands. Despite fierce opposition to the idea from Sandwich, the required act was eventually passed and work started on the port in 1760. It was not a resounding success, as it was in constant danger of being overwhelmed by silt. So in 1774, John Smeaton, the pre-eminent civil engineer of his age, was consulted on the problem. After a number of false starts, Smeaton's new designs for a harbour with piers, sluices and an inner basin were adopted and the bulk of the work was completed by 1790.
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