Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook.
The town has been a significant maritime port since the Middle Ages, and was associated with Dover as part of the Cinque Ports in the 15th century. It became a popular place for holidaymakers in the 18th century, owing to easy access via the Thames, and later with the arrival of the railways. Popular landmarks include the sandy beaches and the Dreamland amusement park. During the late 20th century, the town went into decline along with other British seaside resorts, but attempts are being made to revitalise the economy.
History
Margate was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as lying within the hundred of Thanet and the county of Kent.
Margate was recorded as "Meregate" in 1264 and as "Margate" in 1299, but the spelling continued to vary into modern times. The name is thought to refer to a pool gate or gap in a cliff where pools of water are found, often allowing swimmers to jump in. The cliffs of the Isle of Thanet are composed of chalk, a fossil-bearing rock.
Margate gives its name to the relatively unknown yet influential Battle of Margate, starting on 24 March 1387, it was the last major naval battle of the Caroline War phase of the Hundred Years' War. Despite the battle being named after Margate, very little actually happened near the coastal town - the battle is named after Margate as this was where an English fleet of 51 vessels that was anchored at Margate Roadstead first spotted a Franco-Castilian-Flemish wine fleet of around 250-360 vessels. The English gave chase after the undermanned wine fleet and finally defeated the fleet a day later on 25 March 1387 off the coast of Cadzand, Zeeland, Netherlands.
The town's history is tied closely to the sea and it has a proud maritime tradition. Margate was a "limb" of Dover in the ancient confederation of the Cinque ports. It was added to the confederation in the 15th century. Margate has been a leading seaside resort for at least 250 years. Like its neighbour Ramsgate, it has been a traditional holiday destination for Londoners drawn to its sandy beaches. Margate had a Victorian jetty which was largely destroyed by a storm in 1978.
In the late 18th century, the town was chosen by the physician John Coakley Lettsom as the place in which he would build the Royal Sea Bathing Hospital, which was the first of its kind in Britain.
Like Brighton and Southend, Margate was infamous for gang violence between mods and rockers in the 1960s, and mods and skinheads in the 1980s.
The Turner Contemporary art gallery occupies a prominent position next to the harbour, and was constructed there with the specific aim of revitalising the town. The Thanet Offshore Wind Project, completed in 2010, is visible from the seafront.
Government
Since 1983, the Member of Parliament for North Thanet, covering northern Thanet and Herne Bay, has been the Conservative, Roger Gale. At the 2017 General Election, in North Thanet the Conservatives won a majority of 10,738 and 56.2% of the vote. Labour won 34.0% of the vote, and United Kingdom Independence Party 4.5%.
Margate was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1857. This was abolished in 1974, since which date Margate has been part of the Thanet district of Kent. The town contains the seven electoral wards of Margate Central, Cliftonville West, Cliftonville East (both Cliftonville wards were formally Margate Cliftonville from 1973 to 2003), Westbrook, Garlinge, Dane Valley and Salmestone. These wards have seventeen of the fifty six seats on the Thanet District Council. At the 2007 Local Elections, nine of those seats were held by the Conservatives, seven by Labour and one by an Independent.
Climate
Margate experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to much of the United Kingdom. Like almost all of southern Britain, Margate experiences mild temperatures, and is complemented by a high amount of sunshine; a nickname for the town is "Sunny Margate". Rainfall is quite low, making Margate one of the driest towns in Kent.
Demography
At the 2001 UK census:
Margate had a population of 40,386. The urban area had a population of 46,980 at the 2001 census, increasing to 49,709 at the 2011 census (5.8% increase).
The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity.