This post features: Margate, Tonbridge, Tudeley, Rochester, Folkestone, Hythe, Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Dover, Sandwich, Faversham, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Canterbury and Tenterden
Margate
At St Pancras to catch a high-speed Javelin train to Margate. Only in Britain would the only dedicated high speed railway line run to somewhere as mundane as Margate…Margate station: an odd place for a Philippine Airlines advertWelcome to MargateThe 1970’s alive and well…The statue of the lifeboatman looking out to sea at the Nayland Rock is one of Margate’s enduring landmarks. It commemorates the tragic capsize of the lifeboat Friend To All Nations in December 1897, with the loss of nine lives.What future? Well – Dreamland is destined for a grand re-opening in 2015…The old town is nice, however, with lots of charm and characterThe Lifeboat has only been open for 4 years – prior to that it was a wine bar & prior to that a shoe shopInside it’s a traditional, old style pubA fine selection of ales and cidersI had an excellent foaming pint of Gold Top from Old Dairy Brewery, Tenterden, KentBrewer and Banker and philanthropist Cobb’s Bank closed in 1892 after it was taken over by Lloyd’s and the brewery closed in 1968 when it was bought by Whitbread – the destroyer of so many family breweries around the country…A Citroen DS23
Tonbridge
The Castle:
Tonbridge CastleTonbridge CastleThe River Medway flows through the town – according to tradition Men and Maids of Kent lived in the east of the county while Kentish Men and Kentish Maids lived in the west…
The Town:
TonbridgeTonbridgeThe parish church of St Peter and St Paul, in Tonbridge, is open to visitors between 10.00 and 12.00…St Eanswythe – born in 614 she became Abbess of Folkestone…
Tudeley
All Saints, Tudeley: the only church in the world to have all of its windows designed by Marc Chagall, the Belarus artist (born in Vitebsk) – I visited his house (now a museum) and an art gallery that features some of his work…All Saints, TudeleyAll Saints, TudeleyAll Saints, TudeleyThere have been 52 vicars here since 1252: Samuel Vandelure was the perpetual vicar from 1660 to 1700
Marc Chagall:
The east window at Tudeley is a memorial tribute to Sarah d’Avigdor-Goldsmid who died aged just 21 in a sailing accident off Rye. Sarah was the daughter of Sir Henry and Lady d’Avigdor-Goldsmid; the family then lived at Somerhill (now a school) which is situated nearby.Chagall came to stained glass work relatively late in his long career. Some of his finest work in the medium is at the synagogue of the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, depicting the Twelve Tribes of Israel…Sarah and her mother saw the designs for the Hadassah windows at an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris in 1961, and were enthralled by them. After Sarah’s death in 1963, Sir Henry and Lady d’Avigdor-Goldsmid commissioned Chagall to design the magnificent east window.Chagall was initially reluctant to take on the commission, but was eventually persuaded – and when in 1967 he arrived for the installation of the east window and saw the church, he said, ‘It’s magnificent. I will do them all.’And over the next 15 years, Chagall designed all the remaining eleven windows, collaborating as usual with glassworker Charles Marq of Reims.The only other Chagall glass in Britain is a window at Chichester Cathedral…
Rochester
The Cathedral:
Rochester Cathedral and castle from the stationThe first Cathedral here was built in 604ad by Ethelbert, King of Kent…The cathedral we see today dates from 1080 and was built by a French monk called Gundulf (or Gundulph)..It’s not the most exciting inside
The Castle:
The castle dates from 1087 and was also built by Gundulf (who also built the Tower of London) – the Keep was built in 1127 by William of Corneille, the Archbishop of CanterburyThe castle was badly damaged under siege in 1215 from King John…The Rochester bridge over the Medway…The cathedral from the castle
The Old Town:
Rochester High Street is very attractiveRochester High StreetThe Eastgate House dates from 1590 and is open to the publicNo date on this building but the curator at Eastgate House reckons it is mid-1550’sThe landlady at The Eagle Tavern bought me a beer – the food I had ordered took longer to arrive than expected, so she gave me a free beer (a St Austell Proper Job)…The Guildhall Museum is very good and entry is free…The Huguenot Museum, on the other hand, wasn’t very good – not much to see…Looking up the Medway to the M2 bridge
Folkestone
St Mary and St Eanswythe:
The church of St Mary and St Eanswythe – St Eanswythe a local saint, was born around 614 and was Abbess of Folkestone – the monastery was completed around 630 and was the first women’s monastery in England…Despite the sign, all 4 church doors were locked – which isn’t that welcoming…
Town Centre:
FolkestoneFolkestoneThe centre of Folkestone on a busy Saturday morning…Fancy war memorial – the statue is looking out to sea rather than having to contend with the grim view behind her…The old part of Folkestone is niceThis bar – Kipp’s – is a real gem, selling local beers straight from the barrel – I had a Mad Cat Brewery IPA (Faversham) – sadly, it wasn’t very nice There’s my pint of Mad Cat IPA defying me to enjoy it… The local authority seems to be overly concerned with over-height vehicles damaging the viaduct…Tontine Street: the sinister setting for many macabre murders…Where the good folk of Folkestone meet…Why do the little people always get the blame…It’s a matter of perspective…
The Harbour:
FolkestoneFolkestoneThe end of the line…Folkestone Harbour Station closed in 2001 and the line was closed in 2009Folkestone harbourFolkestone sea viewI wonder what a “legal high” is and why, if they are legal, their use isn’t allowed here…
Hythe
The Royal Military Canal in Hythe – it was built between 1804-09; is 45km long; stretches from Hastings to Folkestone and was part of our defences against that bounder Napoleon…St Leonard’s in HytheYou can just about see two Martello Towers that were also part of the defence against Napoleon…The Mackeson brewery was in Hythe – most famous for Mackeson Stout – bought by Whitbread, the brewery closed in 1968…
Tunbridge Wells
The Pantiles:
The Corn Exchange dates from 1802 and was formerly the Tunbridge Wells Theatre…The Royal Victoria was formerly the Sussex Hotel – the coat of arms are those of the Duke and Duchess of Kent…This area is known as The Pantiles – pantiles were clay tiles baked in a pan. Tunbridge Wells became famous in 1606 after Dudley Lord North “discovered” the chalybeate spring and it became popular with royalty and the aristocracy…The chalybeate spring building – chalybeate basically means that the water contains iron amongst other minerals…
The Opera House:
The Opera House opened in 1902 before becoming a bingo hall in the 1960’s – it has been rescued from ignominy and restored by Wetherspoon…Interior photos of the Opera House – it’s clearly undergoing renovation and, with the added complication of social distancing measures, it’s difficult to get some clear shots…
Two Stations:
The former Tunbridge Wells West station opened in 1866 and is now a hotel – where I’m staying…The Spa Valley heritage railway runs between Tunbridge Wells and Edridge (9km). See: https://www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk/As claims to fame go, this is a bit odd…
The Town:
The Cotswold clothing store is pretty fancy – the building dates from 1847, when it was built as a church – it has been used by various retailers since the 1980’sThe parish church of King Charles the Martyr – not open despite the signs indicating that it is – the church was built in 1676-84 but then doubled in size between 1688-96…
Maidstone
The Archbishop’s Palace:
The River Medway – a view of the 14th century Archbishops PalaceAnother view of the Archbishops Palace on the banks of the MedwayPart of the Archbishops Palace is now a museumPart of the Archbishops Palace is now the Register OfficeWhat do you do with a 14th century area of huge historic importance? Turn it into a car park, obviously…
All Saints Church & College:
The 14th century church of All SaintsThis Yew tree in the churchyard at All Saints is, allegedly, 2,400 years old – it’s clearly old but not that old…The 14th century College of All SaintsEntrance to the 14th century College of All Saints
Town Centre:
The statue of Queen Victoria dates from 1862 – the NatWest bank building is particularly impressiveBank Street has quite a lot of medieval timber framed buildings – the effigies here are of Lord Avebury, Lawrence Washington, William Caxton and Archbishop Courtenay…The town centre Wetherspoon pub dates from 1827 – “Muggleton” is the name used by Charles Dickens to describe Maidstone in The Pickwick Papers…The Fremlin’s brewery closed in September, 1972 and now it’s a shopping centre – note the elephant weather vaneCorpus Christi Hall dates from 1422…Corpus Christi Hall is now a Spanish restaurantMaidstone Museum is based in the 1562 Chillington Manor House – the building was in poor condition when it opened as a museum in 1858 but was transformed over the next 40 yearsThis building dates from 1680Lovely floral displayThe Royal Star Arcade was formerly a 16th century coaching innSmashing little café in the Royal Star ArcadeThis Art Deco gem dates from 1938 – it was built as a Rootes Group garage and showroom (Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam)…It’s now empty and derelict awaiting redevelopment…
Sevenoaks
I worked for a short time at this Tesco in ‘78 or ‘79 and it’s now closed…St Nicholas’ ChurchKnole House
Ramsgate
The Royal Harbour:
Ramsgate Royal Harbour – the only royal harbour in the country – with the maritime museum in the background (temporarily closed)…The Starbuck was built for the Admiralty in 1943 but decommissioned after the war – eventually rescued and restoredThe Smack Boys Home was built in 1881 – the smack boys were apprenticed to Ramsgate fishing smack skippers…The tourist information office in the old Customs House
The Town:
Building of St George’s Church began in 1824 and was completed in 1827 thanks to government supportThe Chatham and Clarendon grammar schoolA glorious mock Tudor building adjacent to the grammar school
Broadstairs
Accountants and pub in one building – handy – it’s an old Lloyds bankColourful plaster workExcellent little bar where I had a refreshing pint of Kent Brewery “session pale” – only 3.7%abv but lots of flavour – brewed at Birling, near West Malling – very friendly, chatty bar lady, too…
Dover
The Transport Museum:
Dover has a sweet little transport museum – run by volunteers – it’s a little way out of the town but worth going to if a) you’re in Dover and b) museums like this interest you…It has about 50 vehicles in the collectionThere are motorbikes and old machinery, tooAnd sweet little side displays like this oneLots of models and a big train set…
The Castle:
Sandwich
Sandwich is one of the 40 “Gem Towns” in England…
Sandwich is a very pretty town – I didn’t allow enough time to do justice to Deal, Dover and Sandwich today but it was nice to revisit…St Peter’s Church was not only open they were allowing visitors to climb the tower. Only 112 steps…The church clock mechanism
Faversham
Bizarrely, Faversham isn’t a “Gem Town” – somehow it didn’t make the final 40, unlike Sandwich…
The Glorious Town Centre:
The Guildhall was built in 1574 and remodelled in 1814The town centre is pedestrianised-ish…This building dates from 1697 – hope it gets reopened and restored soon…
St Mary of Charity:
St Mary of Charity – only open for services but it does have a lovely churchyard to wander around…It is believed that the remains of King Stephen are buried here. He was originally buried in Faversham Abbey but following its dissolution in 1538 his tomb was ransacked and it is said that his bones were collected and reburied in the church https://www.bbc.co.uk/…/uk-england-leicestershire-19487335
The Mean Streets:
Remains of the eastern gatehouse, built around 1250, incorporated into Arden HouseThe Anchor has been a pub for over 300 years – young by Faversham standards…
Quayside:
Faversham quayFaversham Creek www.favershamcreektrust.comFaversham CreekThis warehouse was built around 1475 to store goods coming into or out of the port at Faversham
Shepherd Neame:
The Shepherd Neame Brewery dates from 1698 and is the oldest brewery in the country…
Whitstable
Whitstable is famous for its oystersWhitstable is a delightful town but it’s best not to visit on a hot sunny day in summer when the whole world is there enjoying the Thames estuary, the seafood and its quaint charms…
Herne Bay
The clock tower at Herne Bay dates from 1837 and donated by a local benefactor – it was later turned into a Boer War memorial and restored in 2014
Canterbury
The Cathedral:
St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury arrived in 597 and, once established, built the first cathedral. It was subsequently rebuilt in 1070 after a fire destroyed the previous one but it wasn’t until 1170 and the murder of the Archbishop Thomas Becket that it became famous…Some of the stained glass panels have been dated to the mid-12th century and are believed to be some of the oldest stained glass windows in the world – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57768815
City Walls and City Gate:
Canterbury city wallCanterbury city wallView of the Cathedral from the city wall
City Centre:
The old weaver’s house on the banks of the River Stour – there are 5 rivers in the country called StourThe Royal Museum and Library is a more modern building than you might suppose, dating from 1897…
