Ramsgate - Margate - Broadstairs



Dickens House Museum, Broadstairs. Despite the name, it is unlikely that Dickens stayed there. But he used to call on the owner, Mary Pearson Strong, a woman of resolute character who used to chase the donkeys away from the grassy clifftop. In David Copperfield, Miss Strong became Betsy Trotwood, though he moved her home to Dover. Museum includes his sideboard and a sitting-room furnished as in Dickens' day. Open April to October-2.30 pm to 5.30 pm.


Drapers Mill, Margate, is one of Thanet's only two surviving mills - the other is at Sarre - and, near the school of that name, was saved from demolition in the sixties by the late headmaster and a group of enthusiasts. Open Sundays May till September and Thursday evenings July and August.


Italianate Greenhouse, Ramsgate. In King George VI Park, the former East Cliff Lodge home of Sir Moses Montefiore. This used to house tropical and sub-tropical plants, but it fell into disrepair in the 1960s and might have been destroyed had not the Ramsgate Society stepped in with a conservation plea. As a result Thanet District Council decided in 1978 to spend £15,000 to restore the superb l9th century conservatory, one of only a few in the country.

Jacob's Ladder, Ramsgate. In 1754, during the building of Ramsgate harbour a timber staircase called `Jacob's Ladder', after Jacob Steed, the carpenter who built it, was placed at the end of the west pier for access to the harbour works from the cliff top. But it fell into decay and the present stone staircase later replaced it.

Kingsgate  Castle, Broadstairs. Originally built by Lord Holland, father of Charles James Fox as an imitation of an Edward I castle. In 1900 bought by Lord Avebury, the banker who instituted August Bank Holiday, who virtually re-built it. Later it became a hotel, changing to present flats in the fifties.

Lavender Farm, Cliffsend, Ramsgate. Opposite the monument commemorating the landing of St Augustine in AD597. Lavender products can be purchased from the farm shop.

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