Heritage · Maritime · Literary

The History of Ramsgate

A town shaped by storm and shelter, royalty and revolution, artists and architects — where two thousand years of history meet the sea.

900+
Listed Buildings
1
Royal Harbour in the UK
43,000
Troops via Ramsgate, 1940
Most
Blue Plaques outside London

The Harbour

1749
Maritime

The Royal Harbour

Ramsgate's harbour is the only Royal Harbour in the United Kingdom. Following a devastating storm in 1748 that wrecked ships along the Goodwin Sands, construction began on a Harbour of Refuge — a place where vessels could shelter from the brutal Channel weather.

In 1821, King George IV departed from Ramsgate with the Royal Squadron en route to Hanover. So impressed was he by the town's hospitality that he decreed the harbour be declared "Royal" — a unique distinction in mainland Britain that it holds to this day.

Visit

Walk from The Falstaff down Addington Street to reach the Royal Harbour in under five minutes. The harbour arm and marina are open year-round.

Architecture

1843
Gothic Revival

Augustus Welby Pugin

The great Gothic Revival architect Augustus Pugin came to Ramsgate in 1843, drawn by the sea, the light, and the possibility of building a Catholic community on the Kent cliffs. What he created here stands among the most important architectural heritage in England.

Pugin designed the interiors of the Houses of Parliament and was one of the most influential architects of the Victorian age. In Ramsgate, he built The Grange — now considered the country's first "modern house" — as his family home, and funded the construction of St Augustine's Church next door entirely from his own pocket. His sons continued his work, adding St Augustine's Abbey, the first Benedictine monastery built in England since the Reformation.

Pugin died at the age of just 40, on the same day as the Duke of Wellington. His legacy in Ramsgate is extraordinary — and you can follow it all on the free Pugin Town Trail.

Visit

The Grange (Landmark Trust) offers guided tours on Wednesday afternoons. St Augustine's Church and the National Pugin Centre are open to visitors. The Pugin Town Trail is free and self-guided.

Wartime

1940
Operation Dynamo

The Little Ships of Dunkirk

On 27th May 1940, Ramsgate harbour became the main assembly point for the extraordinary fleet of small civilian craft needed for Operation Dynamo — the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the beaches of Dunkirk.

Ramsgate became the second-busiest port after Dover during the evacuation. Just under 43,000 men passed through the harbour, transported onwards by 82 special trains. The courage of ordinary people — boat owners, fishermen, weekend sailors — who sailed into a war zone to bring soldiers home remains one of the most stirring chapters in British history.

Visit

The harbour itself tells the story. Look out for the memorial plaques along the harbour arm and the historic vessels that return for anniversary events.

Underground

1939
WWII Tunnels

The Ramsgate Tunnels

Carved into the chalk beneath the East Cliff, the Ramsgate Tunnels are the largest network of civilian wartime tunnels in the United Kingdom. What began as railway tunnels was expanded during the Second World War into an underground city capable of sheltering thousands.

At their peak, over 1,000 people lived permanently underground — with their own sanitation, electricity, a hospital, and even a concert hall. The tunnels are a remarkable testament to community resilience during the darkest days of the war.

Visit

Ramsgate Tunnels Museum is located at the base of the East Cliff, a short walk from the Royal Harbour. Guided tours run regularly — booking is recommended.

Art

1876
Art History

Vincent van Gogh

In April 1876, a 23-year-old Dutchman arrived in Ramsgate to work as a language teacher. His name was Vincent van Gogh. He lodged at No. 11 Spencer Square, a handsome Regency address overlooking the sea, and spent his time teaching, sketching the town, and writing long letters home.

Van Gogh was not yet a painter — that transformation lay ahead. But the light and atmosphere of Ramsgate clearly moved him. His sketches of the harbour and the sea are among the earliest surviving works by one of history's most celebrated artists.

Visit

Spencer Square is a short walk from The Falstaff. The blue plaque at No. 11 marks Van Gogh's lodging. The square remains one of Ramsgate's most elegant Georgian crescents.

Royalty

1820s
Regency

Queen Victoria & the Royal Seaside

In the 1820s, Ramsgate became one of the most fashionable seaside resorts in England, fuelled by the Regency craze for sea-bathing. Among its most distinguished visitors was the young Princess Victoria, who stayed in the town several times as a child.

Those childhood visits left a lasting impression. After ascending the throne, Queen Victoria purchased the painting "Ramsgate Sands" by William Powell Frith — a vibrant depiction of the beach scene — perhaps as a memento of happy days by the Kent coast.

Visit

The Regency architecture along the seafront, the Royal Crescent, and the elegant squares of the West Cliff all date from this golden period. Victoria Parade is named in the queen's honour.

Literature

1837
Victorian

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was a frequent visitor to the East Kent coast, staying regularly at nearby Broadstairs. His visits to Ramsgate inspired the short story "The Tuggses at Ramsgate" (1837), a comic tale of a family whose social ambitions are tested by a seaside holiday.

The Thanet coast runs through Dickens' work like a thread — the sea air, the eccentric lodging houses, the characters on the beach. When you walk the harbour at Ramsgate, you are walking through the same landscape that fired one of the greatest literary imaginations in the English language.

Visit

Broadstairs hosts the annual Dickens Festival every June. In Ramsgate, the Victorian seafront he would have known remains remarkably well preserved.

Further Afield

AD 43
Roman

Richborough Roman Fort

Just five miles from Ramsgate lies Richborough — the site where the Roman invasion of Britain began in AD 43. The massive walls of the Saxon Shore fort still stand, and the site includes the remains of a triumphal arch that once marked the gateway to Roman Britain.

597
Saxon

St Augustine's Landing

In 597 AD, St Augustine landed on the shores of Thanet, bringing Christianity to England. This momentous event is commemorated across the area, and the Augustine Camino walking route traces the journey from Ramsgate to Canterbury.

2017
Heritage

Heritage Action Zone

In 2017, Ramsgate was chosen as one of the first ten Heritage Action Zones in England by Historic England — recognition of the town's extraordinary concentration of architectural and cultural heritage, and a commitment to using that heritage to drive the town's renewal.

Your Base for Exploring

The Book Hotel at The Falstaff, Ramsgate sits at the heart of the historic quarter — every attraction on this page is within walking distance or a short trip away.

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