San Diego Sarah on 21 Dec 2017  •  Link

Margate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in Kent, England. It lies 38.1 miles (61.3 km) east-north-east of Maidstone, on the coast along the North Foreland. Margate comes from the Old English ‘mere’ meaning ‘sea or water’ with ‘geat’ as ‘gate’; therefore, a ‘gateway to the sea’. Records in 1254 show Margate as Meregeat. In the 15th Century, Henry VI added Margate as a limb of Dover in the confederation of Cinque Ports. As a ‘limb’, or administrative part of the port and town of Dover, Dover was responsible for the implementation of law in Margate. This was a constant irritant to the town, and even after receiving its Charter of Independence, the complexities of the Cinque Port System were such that the inhabitants of Margate were sent to Dover for trial and were imprisoned in Dover jail. The painter JMW Turner described the Thanet skies as the "loveliest in all Europe." Margate has been served by several windmills over the centuries. Humber's (or Chamber's) Mill was marked on Robert Morden's map of 1695, Harris' map of 1719 and Bowen's map of 1736. It was at Lydden, north east of Fleete village. There is a 16th-century 2-storey timber-framed Tudor house built on a flint plinth in King Street. For more information and photos, see http://www.margatelocalhistory.co…