Margate

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Margate has changed and developed over the last century Margate was one of the first English seaside resorts. From the 1730s it set out to attract visitors, particularly from London, who came by coach and sailing ship to take advantage of the fine sandy beaches and healthy air. Fashionable squares and terraces overlooking the sea were built to house the visitors and much of this Georgian and Victorian heritage remains, and is illustrated in this book.The book starts with a pictorial description of Old Margate, based on a walk described in The Steam Boat Companion published in 1834. The two following chapters describe the expansion of the town westward to Westbrook and eastward to Cliftonville. The pairs of old and new pictures show a town with a long history making a new future for itself.