51A, HIGH STREET

History

Ramsgate is situated on the east coast of the Isle of Thanet, facing France and the Low Countries. Originating as a fishing village within the medieval parish of St Laurence, Ramsgate’s development from the C16 was driven by the strategic importance of its coastal port. Ramsgate became associated with the Cinque Ports as a limb of Sandwich from the C14. Late C17 trade with Russia and the Baltic resulted in a wave of investment and rebuilding in the town. In 1749 the construction of a harbour of refuge from storms in the North Sea and Channel was approved, and a cross wall and inner basin were completed in 1779 to the design of John Smeaton. Later improvements included a lighthouse of 1794-1795 by Samuel Wyatt and a clock house of 1817 by Wyatt and George Louch. From the mid-C18 Ramsgate became increasingly popular as a seaside resort, its expansion being accelerated by road improvements and faster sea passage offered by hoys, packets and steamers. During the Napoleonic Wars Ramsgate became a busy garrison town and a major port of embarkation. The arrival of the South Eastern Railway’s branch line in 1846 opened up Ramsgate to mass tourism and popular culture, bringing a range of inexpensive, lively resort facilities. New schools, hospitals and services were also built. The thriving town attracted diverse faith communities; Moses Montefiore founded a synagogue and a religious college at East Cliff Lodge, while AWN Pugin St Augustine’s Church and the Grange as part of an intended Catholic community on the West Cliff. Ramsgate remained a popular holiday destination until the advent of cheap foreign travel in the post-war decades. Falling visitor numbers were exacerbated by the decline of the town’s small trades and industries, fishing and boat-building. However, a ferry and hovercraft port and the large marina created in the inner harbour in the 1970s have continued to bring life to the area.

In the C18 Ramsgate High Street was known as West End and formed one arm of the cruciform arrangement of the town’s four principal streets; the other three were East End (which equates with Harbour Street), North End (King Street) and South End (Queen Street). Hardres Street, which extends north-east from the High Street, was built up in the first half of the C19

Details

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 14 May 2024 to add historical background, enhance the description, add a new source and to reformat the text to current standards

TR 3865 SW
9/172

No. 51A HIGH STREET (east side), RAMSGATE

13.8.68/13.9.74

GV II

A three-storey house within a terrace, built around 1810.

MATERIALS: stock brick with rusticated render to the ground floor and a slate roof.

EXTERIOR: three storeys on a rusticated ground floor with a cornice, and with rendered cill bands and a parapet to the roof, with a chimney stack to the north-east. Two bow windows each to first and second floors, each with eight-over-eight glazing bar sashes and gauged heads. Two arched openings on the ground floor, one with a six-over-six sash window and the other a C20 doorway with a panelled door between fluted pilasters. To the left-hand-side is a six-panelled door with a semi-circular fanlight in a fluted Doric surround with a cornice.

INTERIOR: not inspected.

Listing NGR: TR3820665065

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

171801

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Busson, C, Book of Ramsgate, (), 67
Franklin, G, Ramsgate, Thanet, Kent: Historic Area Assessment, (Historic England Research Report Series, 31-2022), (2022), https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/31-2022

End of official list entry

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