View from the East cliff, c.1900
Same view in 2006
Granville Hotel, c.1900
Granville Hotel, 2006 ---
Wellington Crescent, c.1900
Wellington Crescent, 2006
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Eastcliff Promenade, 2006 ---
Madeira Walk, c.1900 
Madeira Walk, 2006
It is clear to see a lot more growth in the shrubbery here compared to last century, with the trees and shrubbery no longer cut back so much, but slowly taking over!
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Corner of madeira walk, c.1900
Same view in 2006.
Again, the trees and shrubbery are a lot higher, obscuring the view - no longer seems as ornamental and neatly tended as the new growth in the original picture
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Another veiw of Madeira Walk, c.1900
Madeira Walk, 2006---
The Waterfall (Madeira Walk), c.1895
Exactly the same in 2006!
Another picture of the waterfall, c.1900
Waterfall, 2006---
Madeira Walk, c.1900
Madeira Walk, 2006---
The Peace Memorial, Albion place, c.1920
The Peace Memorial, 2006 ---
Compare the houses from the original photo and the modern one, and it is clear to see the gap in the terrace. Perhaps these two properties were destroyed by bombs in WW2? The buildings here are all listed now.
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Granville Hotel, c.1900 
Granville Hotel, 2006
The ornamental garden guarded by the two lion statuettes to the right of the original picture is now the corner of the Granville Theatre (cinema) shown to the right of the modern picture. The Granville Hotel has since been converted to residential appartments for some years now
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The old Ramsgate station from the Eastcliff, c.1900
Ramsgate harbour, 2006
The blue roofed building in the background (now the casino) was the original station building. When the railway closed, the terminus and railway tracks were transformed into the pleasurama amusement arcade around the 1930's, which then burnt down in an arson attack in the late 1990's. The overgrown patch of ground is where it used to stand prior to it's demolition. The land has now been set aside for luxury apartments and development.
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Winterstoke Gardens, 1926
Winterstoke Gardens, 2007
Much the same, with the fountain turned off!
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Winterstoke Gardens Pavillion, 1926
Another view of Winterstoke Gardens Pavilion, 1926
Winterstoke Gardens Pavilion, 2007
Quite a sorry sight compared to it's original glory days! In it's heyday in the '20s and '30s it was a pleasant spot to congregate and watch bands and concerts in the park. Those days are long gone and nowadays it is popular as an unofficial skate park... with the walls covered in graffiti
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They are really interesting. It is amazing how much of the ornamentation is now missing. I prefer the fuller shrubbery but agree it could be cut back a bit. How nice it is that the fountain is working, when I first came to Ramsgate to live it was out of action for a long time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments! I think Ramsgate is looking very nice these days too. However, it is amazing to see how it looked a century ago - with everything so ornate and well cared for.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping to add further sections soon, including Pegwell Bay, and the beaches, when I get some spare time!
Vince
Fascinating stuff. Not a lot has changed, apart from the crumbling state of the cliff top opposite Wellington Crescent, above the Pleasurama site.
ReplyDeleteBut where have all the people gone? There's not a single person in the 2006 shots!
I stumbled across your website whilst searching on Granville Theatre.
ReplyDeleteMy brother and I have many happy childhood memories of Ramsgate as
our parents took us on holiday for some 10 or 12 years during the 1950's.
We travelled to Ramsgate by "Timpson Coaches" whose depot was located in Boundary Road. Owning a car in those days was for the rich??
I remember my Dad pulling heavy cases up the hill to the junction of Bellvue Road. We always lodged at the same B & B at no.54 Bellvue Road which was run by a lady called Mrs Buckley. Most of the
bedrooms had no running hot and cold water, we had a Pitcher and Bowl or alternatively the use of the common bathroom.
My grandparents also accompanied us on these family holidays.
I remember every morning walking down Bellvue Road towards the town to the newsagents with my dad to get the "Daily Sketch". At that time they were running a promotion of "Guinea Girls".Models who visited British Seaside resorts daily and if spotted, you challenged them answered a simple question and the Guinea was yours.
The Granville Hotel was a favourite of the family, it was one of the few places that allowed children into the bar. I particularly remember the ornate chimney.
The promenade and seafront with its many beach cafe's providing trays of teas for the beach and childrens amusement arcades and fairgrounds have all sadly gone
now. My husband and I visited Ramsgate during 2003 and all that was left of the front was a car park? So Sad.
The Wellington Crescent appears relatively unchanged but the occupants I guess are not the wealthy gentry of years gone by.
I am 59 years of age now and live only a few miles from Southend on Sea. Southend, Westcliff and Leigh on Sea are surviving and flourishing as British
Seaside Resort with the added attraction of "The Cliffs Pavilion" Theatre, The
Westcliff Casino" and the Cockle sheds at Leigh.
I found your website absolutely fascinating and I thank you for enabling me to relive the part of my childhood.
Best regards
Jean Arnold
Please alter your description of Destiny. It was unveiled by Dame Janet Stancomb-Wills as a Peace Memorial, to all the inhabitants of the town, and the animals - it is not a war memorial.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that information, Anonymous. Consider it corrected...
ReplyDeleteI too have childhood memoriesof holidays in Ramsgate in the 60s. My Dad lived in Ramsgate for a few years in the 30's until moving back to Stoke during the war. As someone said before the Granville was amust because of the childrens room, We used to get spooked going downstairs to the toilets, but loved the floral dispalys that used to be held.
ReplyDeleteI think its really intersting i would love to go back in time.
ReplyDeleteHi All - Just wanted to say thankyou for all your positive comments and questions. Sorry I haven't been able to reply to individual questions as yet, but will try to do so as soon as I get some time!
ReplyDeleteStay tuned, as there are more updates to the site pending! ;-)
Many thanks for uploading the photo's, are there any copies which I could see? If so, where abouts?
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteFirst went to Ramsgate in 1946 Dad had just got demobbed after the war.He wanted to take Mum & me to the places he had been before the war. And wanted remember his friends that had been landed at Ramsgate from Dunkirk.He read some of his friends names carved on the wall on east cliff.We then went back there on holiday till 1960 by that time i was 18 and my last holiday there but went back with my wife and son and his family in 1999 and was disappointed to see how rundown Ramsgate was.
i love the pictures of old Ramgate.id like to know if there are any pictures of Hardres street around number 4.it was a tailors shop in the late 1880's - early 1990's.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics i remember them all as a kid espealy the great storm that flooded ramsgate open air swimming pool
ReplyDelete