Ramsgate Matters Ramsgate Society Bi-annual Journal Spring 2021 Ramsgate Royal Harbour 200 Years Contents P2 Chairman. p16 Art & The Harbour P3 Ellington Park, RTC p18 Looking Two Ways p4 Does Age Matter? p20 Brussels House: Vale Square p5 Harbours Act 1964 p21 The Vale, Who am I? p6 Clock House & Harbour p22 Who am I ? The solution p7 Royal Revelations, Obelisk p23 Slavery p8 Thanet or Tane’tus, Dover Boat p24 Why Ramsgate? Piracy off Ramsgate p9 The Goodwins p25 Sea Views The Ramsgate Society p10 Pegwell Bay p26 Memories: Hazel, David, Len. Registered Charity p12 Thorne: a Mediaeval Manor p27 Contacts: Committee No.1138809 p15 A view from Scotland 1857 planted trees now blowing cheerfully in the sunshine along the Western Esplanade. There have been a couple of instances of vandalism but these trees will be replaced as soon as possible. We recently launched an “Adopt a Tree Scheme” so if you would like to support the project by adopting a tree please go to our website <www.ramsgate-society.org.uk> for more information. It seems that vandalism is a sign of the times and we have certainly had more than our fair share of damage to the promenade shelters during the Covid pandemic, From the Chairman’s Desk but we will be reglazing and repainting in the early As Aristotle famously said “We walk backwards into Spring to get the shelters ready for the influx of visitors the future” and this truism does seem to fit the world that Thanet is bracing itself for this coming Summer. of lockdown, as we carefully analyse what we have The future of Manston Airport is in a state of limbo: experienced over the last twelve months while we Ramsgate is now known around the world of airports consider moving very gently and hopefully forward into for being the first community to succeed in stopping a 2021and beyond. Development Consent Order (DCO). The Government Our normal length for Ramsgate Matters is 20 pages but has withdrawn from the Judicial Review process on the as we come out of lockdown we have so much catching grounds that it failed to give coherent reasons for the up to do that the current edition with 28 pages is barely Secretary of State’s Decision and the interested parties sufficient to enable us to fit everything in. find themselves in uncharted waters. The Secretary of State has three months to decide what to do next and There are however reasons to be cheerful, including we await his further consultation with interest. the sight of the scaffolding around the Clock House as the Society carries out urgent repair work, courtesy of The history of the Royal Harbour, is currently being a grant from Historic England. We are quietly confident researched by the Society. In this issue there are that our project for the complete restoration of the scholarly referenced articles, one of which takes the Clock House as the new Heritage Centre for Ramsgate is history of Ramsgate back some 700 years to when starting to gain momentum and we hope that in about a armies embarked from Ramsgate for wars abroad. If year’s time things will start to move forward much more you are interested in the research or any of the articles positively. or illustrations please contact the Editor at the address on page 27. The Ellington Park Restoration project is now well advanced, as you will see in this issue, and preparations Harbour owner, Thanet District Council is currently are underway for the celebration of the 200th looking at the future of both the commercial Port and Anniversary of the Royal Harbour through the summer. the Royal Harbour and Marina. The Society is engaged, The Society recently completed The Ramsgate with others, in a major consultation exercise to look Conservation Area Tree Planting Scheme and 50 newly at possible solutions for these important assets. Can 2 we create a new Harbour with unique architecture, driven this place and now they can help revive it through buildings and landscapes? Can we innovate with green leisure and tourism, sport, the countryside, and coastal technology, energy, design, education and training for a activities. sustainable future? As we walk backwards into the future we can sense that Narratives about Ramsgate and its involvement with art, things are about to change. literature, and new technologies can become attractions John V Walker not in a passive showground sense but with participative Chairman. hands-on creativity. Nature, water and wind have always The Ramsgate Society Ellington Park The Ramsgate Society has had a close relationship with The Ramsgate Society the Friends of Ellington Park for many years, so we are Registered Charity delighted to tell you of the wonderful progress of our No.1138809 Lottery-funded project to regenerate the park. The bandstand is almost completed, and looks beautiful. Cast-iron steps will be installed as soon as the path repairs are finished and music events and entertainments will be able to begin again. The café and toilets will be open during the summer, and the new natural-play children’s area, just below the terrace, will be ready for fun and games. to this point” said Bev Perkins, Chair of the Friends of The wildlife area has been increased with a copse of Ellington Park. new trees, creating a small wild flower meadow and encouraging wider biodiversity. The Friends are looking “Work is progressing at a pace and we hope it will for volunteers for this 3-year project, so if you would like be concluded by July this year (weather and Covid to be involved do contact them (details below). permitting) and we will be able to welcome you back to a revitalised park.” “We would like to thank The Ramsgate Society, and John Walker in particular, for their support during the seven Email: [email protected] years it has taken to get the park’s regeneration project Tel: 07577 852797 Ramsgate Town Council Under rather sad circumstances I find myself promoted from Vice-Chair to Chair of Ramsgate Town Council (RTC). Most of you will know that our colleague, Councillor Peter Campbell, died last month. Both as a resident and councillor I have a lot of reasons to be grateful to him. Indeed, there’s a lot to be grateful for in Ramsgate generally and especially in its forward thinking, green-focused Town Council. Not only is it committed to planting trees and keeping our open spaces in team around in our electric, repurposed milk floats, excellent condition, but it does as much as it can to tackling all sorts of jobs in all weathers. We should assist volunteer groups like The Ramsgate Society, applaud them. and lots of other incredibly good ones, in tidying up, planting and sponsoring. I am grateful for the pride they put into their work and I hope I can do Ramsgate and Peter as proud as I take Who are the people in RTC doing all of this work? The on my new role. answer is our amazing technicians - an extremely hard-working group that includes apprentices learning Anne-Marie Nixey specific skills to develop their role. You may see the Chair of Ramsgate Town Council 3 Does Age Matter? As Ramsgate celebrates the 200th anniversary of Ramsgate Royal Harbour we consider if a 1,200-year celebration might be more accurate. William Archibald Scott Robinson wrote in his Kentish Archaeology of 1898 “Ramsgate and Manston are more ancient than anyone suspects.” Dover boats came to major burial sites around Ramsgate before Stonehenge or the Pyramids were built. Sea routes that converge around Ramsgate have been central to maritime activity for over 2,500 years. Ramsgate itself grew from a small, natural gap in the cliffs to become a harbour of refuge from the troubled waters of the English Channel, used by small vessels and maintaining a low but significant profile in commerce, fishing, innovation, national interests, naval and military action. Ownership of Historic Ports • Military Ports, like Portsmouth and Plymouth have a Queen’s Harbour Master; • Municipal Ports, are owned by local authorities such as Thanet District Council; • Trust Ports such as Dover and Poole are independent statutory bodies; • Private Ports are owned by private companies like ABP and Peel Ports. 4 The Harbours Act of 1964 The Harbours Act of 1964 places on all of the various owners of Historic Ports a responsibility to consider the environment in their management of a port or harbour, including having regard to any building, site or object of archaeological, architectural or historic interest. 5 The Clock House: The Clock House was originally erected as a watchtower. Then a spire was added, a clock, two wings with meeting rooms, slated gable roofs, and, before topping out, a fireproof store, for inflammables used on Trinity House beacons and buoys, was excavated into the chalk below the structure while scientific equipment went into the central gap beneath the tower. A later conservatory- like wooden extension to the rear faced the harbour to monitor and receive fish catches. Clock House and Harbour: • Smeaton designed his own early diving bell and used it to build the harbour. • During the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy improved quayside access to facilitate rapid boarding and built reinforced quayside powder stores for faster, safer loading. • Nathaniel Gott designed the “Vinegar Bottle” in 1820. Visible in many prints of the period, it was used to blend pitch and tar for dockside repairs. • Observatory and navigational aids were installed in the Clock House under a founding member of the Royal Society, Sir William Curtis, who had a house above the Harbour.