The Isle of Thanet

A warm welcome to the Isle of Thanet, so named because it was indeed once an island, cut off from the mainland by what was called the Wantsum Channel, but which, over centuries, has silted up. So, we are no longer an island, but still proud of the title. Thanet has a remarkable history, beginning as far back as the Bronze Age, through to the Romans, the landing of the Jutes Hengist and Horsa, and then the arrival of the great Christian missionary from Rome, St Augustine, who reached the Island in 597. St Augustine's Cross was, erected in 1884, to commemorate this landing, can still be seen in a tranquil meadow area near Cliffsend.

Thanet is full of fine architecture that illustrates the wide range of its past. There are churches dating back to Norman times and, a few centuries further on, splendid Regency and early Victorian terraces, marking the emergence of towns in the area as health-giving seaside resorts. In addition, spread across the attractive rural parts of the Island are brick-built Dutch and Flemish gabled cottages and farms, many of the seventeenth century. In Ramsgate you can visit The Grange, the beautifully restored home of Augustus Pugin (1812-1852), famous for designing the interiors of the Houses of Parliament, plus the church he built nearby from 1845, and in Margate what could be more intriguing than a visit to its mysterious and extraordinary underground Shell Grotto, not a building as such, but a structure to remember. Don't forget too, the later arts and crafts and Art-Deco derived houses of Cliftonville.

 History is emotively recorded at many sites here, for example, at Manston airfield, near Ramsgate, which was set up in 1916. It is still a rather romantic experience to watch the planes go in and out, perhaps whilst relaxing after a visit to the two excellent museums there. Margate cemetery, supported by a loyal group of Friends, has some moving and impressive memorials, such as the one to ‘Lord' John Sanger (died 1889) of the famous circus family. There are many other places where you can look and learn more about Thanet's heritage, which you can discover on our other pages...

Historic associations with this area are legion, and a large number of famous people have visited or lived here; amongst those who came include - and there are many more - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Dickens, J.M.W Turner, Wilkie Collins, Baroness Orczy, the artist Jean-Jacques Tissot, Queen Victoria (as Princess), F.C. Burnand, Edwardian editor of Punch, T.S. Eliot, Vincent Van Gogh and Thomas Crampton, railway engineer.

We hope that when you read our pages, to which this one is just an introduction, you will feel inspired to come to the Isle of Thanet and explore its history and beautiful buildings. On the Island, we feel that our past leads to our future; we cherish it and want to share it with you.

Thanks given to Catriona Blaker of The Pugin Society for putting together the text for the website