Margate - A Gate of the Sea and a Haven of Health

Once a small fishing village, with the large partly twelfth-century church of St John's up the hill from what is now the High Street, and a track down to the cluster of houses round the harbour, the famous resort of Margate or ‘Meregate', as it is said to have been called originally, has expanded hugely. This was the result of the passion for sea bathing, which grew from the 1730s onwards, with hoys, or sailing vessels, and later, from 1815, steamships and eventually trains, bringing countless visitors down from London.

The Royal Sea Bathing Hospital, beyond the west end of the harbour, and now mainly converted into flats, bears imposing witness to the advantages of inhaling the ozone. Margate is crammed with places of historic and architectural interest, and today Margate Sands and the pier and Droit House (the attractive little building at the commencement of the pier) are as fine a sight as ever, particularly when seen with great cloudscapes billowing overhead or when eating a delicious seafood sandwich on the beach. Don't lose an opportunity, either, to walk down the Harbour Arm, as the pier of 1810-15 is now known. You can see the area near the pier where J.M.W. Turner lived, a major fan of Margate, with his landlady and companion, Mrs Sophia Booth, and inspect the plans for, and model of, the new Turner Contemporary Gallery in the well-run Droit House. Nearby, work is in progress on this exciting new building.

Margate has always been looking to entertain its visitors - particularly in what became the celebrated Dreamland, originally called The Hall-by-the-Sea, and presided over by the self-styled ‘Lord' George Sanger, circus proprietor and menagerie owner par excellence. A splendid monument, featuring a mourning circus pony, can be seen to members of the Sanger family in Margate cemetery, which is well worth a visit. A major revival and new lease of life is hoped for Dreamland in the next few years. The Theatre Royal dating from 1787, with a charming interior, gives further evidence of early visitor diversions, and is going strong today. Take a walk round the genteel late Georgian Hawley Square, with the Theatre Royal close by, or stroll down towards the seafront and The Parade through the Old Town, where you can see recently renovated intimate small-scale shops, galleries and houses. Dating back to 1911 the Winter Gardens has hosted many famous faces from Dame Vera Lynne, The Beatles, Laurel and Hardy and Status Quo. Not far away is the restored Tudor House, one of Margate's most venerable buildings. To try to work out what appears to be an insoluble mystery and to experience a real surprise, visit the Shell Grotto, in Grotto Hill near Dane Park. Is it an eighteenth-century folly, or if not, what is it? Make your own decisions, but don't miss!

John Betjeman once referred to strolling in Margate ‘As soft over Cliftonville languished the light/Down Harold Road, Norfolk Road, into the night'. If you have time to visit Cliftonville, part of Margate's later Victorian and Edwardian expansion, on no account omit a visit to the grand Walpole Bay Hotel dating back to 1914, with its museum and its splendid teas, and its décor mostly unchanged since Betjeman's visits to the area, and indeed before.

It is difficult in a short space to indicate the history, variety and slightly raunchy vivacity of Margate, which has much interest; regeneration is continuing here and the future looks lively. Support the town by visiting it and speaking up for it, as famous artist and one-time resident Tracey Emin has done - help it to re-shape itself by exploring it, for a day, or perhaps weekending