Copyright Kent Past 2010
Kent Past
The History of Kent
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History of Ramsgate
Ramsgate comes from the Old English ‘geat’ meaning ‘gate, gap’ with either ‘Hraefn’ as a warlord or ‘Hraefn’ as ‘of the raven’; therefore, either ‘Hraefn’s gate’ or ‘gate of the raven’.
Ramsgate’s oldest church is a Grade: I listed building and dedicated to St Laurence.
Foundations date to 1062, and originally consisted of the nave and a tower, with
the side aisles and chancel added in the 12th and 13th centuries. They heightened
the tower around 1439, having been damaged by lightning during a storm. As a young
girl, Queen Victoria worshiped at the church.
Construction of Ramsgate harbour commenced
in 1749, and not completed until 1850. It has the distinction of being the only royal
harbour in the United Kingdom. Armies used it extensively during the Napoleonic wars
as an embarkation point, due to its proximity to France. There are many mass graves
from the period in the St Laurence churchyard.
Following parliamentary approval for
the South Eastern Railway to create a branch line from Ashford to Margate, Ramsgate
Town station opened on 13th April 1846. On 5th October 1863, the London, Chatham
and Dover Railway, opened its station at Ramsgate Harbour. Following rationalisation
of the newly formed Southern Railway in 1924, Ramsgate Town station closed…. more