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Margate, award-winning sandy beach, lively waterfront and harbour, once a favourite with artist JMW Turner. Margate HarbourThere has been a harbour here for over 700 years and because of the sailing hoys regularly plying their trade from London, Margate developed into the first seaside resort for Londoners by the 1730’s.
The introduction in 1814 of ‘Steam Yachts’ caused rapid expansion, which continued throughout the 19th Century, with the construction of the wooden jetty in 1824 and then the famous iron jetty in 1855, which allowed visitors to disembark from the visiting steam packets. The iron jetty was destroyed by storms in 1978. |
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| Early painting of Margate Harbour |
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| Margate Harbour |
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JMW Turner, one of the greatest painters of seascapes, was educated in Margate and later lived here for twenty years between 1827 and 1847 with Sophia Booth his landlady and mistress. Here, he said , he could paint ...dawn clouds to the east and glorious sunsets to the west... the loveliest skies in Europe... Mrs Booth’s house occupied a site to the landward side of the Droit House. |
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