Westgate on Sea, Kent
Historical Description
Westgate-on-Sea, a watering-place on the N coast of Kent, with a station on the L.C. & D.R., 72 miles from London, and 2 from Margate, and a post, money order, and telegraph office. The town is built upon a range of chalk cliffs, and is noted for the salubrity of its air. Sea-walls have been built along the curves of St Mildred's Bay and Westgate Bay, forming two promenades over a mile in length. The sands are firm, and afford excellent sea-bathing. The ecclesiastical parish of St James, Westgate, was formed out of Margate in 1873. Population, 2670. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The church is an elegant structure of stone in the Gothic style, containing some handsome stained glass windows. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £280 with residence. Patron, the Vicar of Margate. The church of St Saviour was erected in 1884, and is a building of stone with a tower. The living is a vicarage; gross value, £500. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. There are Congregational and Wesleyan chapels. Westgate has of late years become very popular as a seaside resort, and has three first-class hotels, numerous boarding and lodging houses, and a good club.
Maps
Online maps of Westgate on Sea are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:
- Kent & Sussex Courier
- Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald
- Dover Express
- Kentish Gazette
- Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald
- Kentish Chronicle
- Maidstone Telegraph
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.