Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, ...

. It is north of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the ...

and east of

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of 3 ...

. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and

Reculver Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...

and is part of the

City of Canterbury The City of Canterbury () is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. As well as Canterbury itself, the district extends north to the coastal towns of Whistable and Herne Bay. History The district was formed on 1 April 1 ...

local government district, although it remains a separate town with countryside between it and Canterbury. Herne Bay's seafront is home to the world's first freestanding purpose-built

Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

, built in 1837. From the late Victorian period until 1978, the town had the second-longest

pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...

in the United Kingdom.Herne Bay Pier
at www.theheritagetrail.co.uk (accessed 7 July 2008) The town began as a small shipping community, receiving goods and passengers from London en route to Canterbury and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidston ...

. The town rose to prominence as a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...

during the early 19th century after the building of a pleasure pier and

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

by a group of London investors, and reached its heyday in the late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...

. Its popularity as a holiday destination has declined over the past decades, due to the increase in foreign travel and to a lesser degree exposure to flooding that has prevented the town's redevelopment. In 2011 the town had a population of 38,563.

History

The town of Herne Bay took its name from the neighbouring village of Herne, two kilometres inland from the bay. The word ''herne'', meaning a place on a corner of land, evolved from the Old English ''hyrne'', meaning corner. The village was first recorded in around 1100 as Hyrnan. The ''corner'' may relate to the sharp turn in the minor

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

between Canterbury and

at Herne. One of the oldest buildings in Herne Bay is the late 18th-century inn The Ship, which served as the focal point for the small shipping and farming community that first inhabited the town. During this time, passenger and cargo boats regularly ran between Herne Bay and London and boats carrying coal ran from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. From Herne, there was easy access by road to the city of Canterbury. Herne Bay clock tower

The 1801 census recorded Herne Bay, including Herne, as having a population of 1,232. During the early 19th century, a smugglers' gang operated from the town. The gang were regularly involved in a series of fights with the preventive services until finally being overpowered in the 1820s. In the 1830s, a group of London investors, who recognised Herne Bay's potential as a seaside resort, built a wooden

and a promenade on the town's seafront. This and the subsequent building of a railway station led to the rapid expansion of the town; between 1831 and 1841 the town's population grew from 1,876 to 3,041. The London businessmen intended to rename the town St Augustine's, but the name was unpopular with residents and the name "Herne Bay" remained. In 1833, an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament be ...

established Herne Bay and Herne as separate towns. Local landowner Sir Henry Oxenden donated a piece of ground for the site of the town's first church, Christ Church, which was opened in 1834. In 1837, Mrs Ann Thwaytes, a wealthy widow from London, donated around £4,000 to build a clock tower on the town's seafront. It is believed to be the first freestanding, purpose-built clock tower in the world. Tower Gardens, Herne Bay - geograph

During the 1840s, steamboats began running between Herne Bay and London. There was a type of beach boat unique to Herne Bay and nearby

Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College * Thanet Cana ...

, known as the Thanet

wherry A wherry is a type of boat that was traditionally used for carrying cargo or passengers on rivers and canals in England, and is particularly associated with the River Thames and the River Cam. They were also used on the Broadland rivers of No ...

, a narrow pulling boat about long. These boats were mainly used for fishing; however, with the advent of tourism and the decline of fishing, they became mainly used for pleasure trips. A document dated 1840 records the town as having the following schools, all of which are now defunct: Haddington (boarding school), Oxenden House, The British School, Prospect Place and Herne Street School. The village of Herne was often called Herne Street around this time. The same document also mentions the still-existing Rodney Head, The Ship and Upper Red Lion inns. In 1912, the first "Brides in the Bath" murder by

George Joseph Smith George Joseph Smith (11 January 1872 – 13 August 1915) was an English serial killer and bigamist who was convicted and subsequently hanged for the murders of three women in 1915, the case becoming known as the Brides in the Bath Murders. As we ...

was committed in Herne Bay. BBC scriptwriter Anthony Coburn, who lived in the resort, was one of the people who conceived the idea of a police box as a time machine for ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

''. During World War II, a sea-fort was built off the coast of Herne Bay and Whitstable, which is still in existence. The coastal village of Reculver, to the east of Herne Bay, was the site of the testing of the

bouncing bomb A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-deter ...

used by the " Dam Busters" during the war.

The pier

The original wooden pier had to be dismantled in 1871 after its owners went into liquidation and sea worms had damaged the wood. A shorter -long iron pier with a theatre and shops at the entrance was built in 1873. However, it was too short for steamboats to berth at. The pier proved to be unprofitable and in 1896 construction began on a replacement iron pier which would be longer and feature an electric tram. At , this pier was the second longest in the country, behind only the pier at

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

The town's heyday as a seaside resort was during the late Victorian era; the population nearly doubled from 4,410 to 8,442 between 1881 and 1901. Much of the resulting late Victorian seafront architecture is still in existence today. In 1910, a pavilion was added to the landward end of the pier. By 1931, the town's population had grown to 14,533. At the beginning of World War II, the army cut two gaps between the landward end of the pier and the seaward terminal as a counter-invasion measure. The pier's two gaps were bridged for pedestrians after the war. 1963 marked the end of steamboat services from the pier. In 1970, a fire destroyed the pier's pavilion and plans were made to replace it with a sports centre, which was opened in 1976 by former Prime Minister

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

. The centre section of the pier was torn down by a storm in 1978, leaving the end of the pier isolated in the sea. It has not been rebuilt due to the cost; however, residents and businesses in the town have campaigned for its restoration. The sports centre was demolished in 2012, leaving a bare platform.

Governance

Since 1983, Herne Bay has been in the North Thanet constituency, represented by

Roger Gale Sir Roger James Gale (born 20th August 1943) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for North Thanet since 1983. He had a career in journalism and broadcasting from 1964, around the same time as he joined the ...

. Herne Bay, along with Whitstable and Canterbury, is in the

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

, although it remains a separate town, with countryside between it and Canterbury. The town contains the five electoral

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Heron,

Herne and Broomfield Herne and Broomfield is a civil parish and electoral ward within the City of Canterbury. The parish is situated to the north of Canterbury in Kent. The seaside town of Herne Bay is the other side of the A299 road, Thanet Way that marks the northe ...

, Greenhill and Eddington, West Bay and Reculver. These wards have thirteen of the fifty seats on the

City council. As at the 2011 local elections, twelve of those seats were held by the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

and one by the Liberal Democrats.

Geography

Herne Bay is in northeast Kent, on the coast of the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

. The town is east of the town of

and north by east of the city of

. The village of Herne is about to the south, and the village of

is about to the east. The town's suburbs are

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia * Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick * ...

, Greenhill and Studd Hill in the west, Eddington and Broomfield in the south, and Beltinge and Hillborough in the east. The drowned settlement of Hampton-on-Sea once existed beside what is now Hampton. The landscape of the town has been largely influenced by the Plenty Brook, which flows northward through the centre of the town and into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegia ...

. It is thought to have been a much larger stream in

ancient times Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

. The coastline has two distinct bays, separated by a jut of land created by silt from the outflow of the brook into the sea. The first buildings in the town were built along the east bay, a short distance from the brook outflow, where the road from Canterbury met the sea. The town has since spread across both bays, across the Plenty Brook valley and onto the relatively high land flanking both sides of the valley. The land to the east of the valley reaches a height of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

and to the west reaches . Cliffs are formed where this high land meets the sea. The seaward end of Herne Bay pier

The rising land beside the coast, between the valley and the eastern cliffs, is known as 'The Downs' (no relation to the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...

). This area has been named a Site of Scientific Interest and a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

for birds. The whole of the north-east Kent coast has been designated a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle o ...

. The geology of the town consists mainly of

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...

, overlaid with brickearth in the west. The sand and clay of The Downs are subject to

landslip Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

s. The Plenty Brook passes through the town's drainage system, allowing buildings to be built over the top. The brook has been prone to flooding during heavy rain, especially in inland areas, which regularly causes problems for people living in the Eddington area in southern Herne Bay. Stormy weather can cause the sea level by the coast to rise by up to two metres. In the past, this has caused disastrous flooding in the town, the worst in the town's history being in 1953. Coastal defences were subsequently constructed including

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concr ...

sea wall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservatio ...

s and

shingle beach A shingle beach (also referred to as rocky beach or pebble beach) is a beach which is armoured with pebbles or small- to medium-sized cobbles (as opposed to fine sand). Typically, the stone composition may grade from characteristic sizes rangin ...

. In the 1990s, these defences were deemed to be inadequate and an offshore breakwater, now known as Neptune's Arm, was built to protect the most vulnerable areas of the town.

Climate

Herne Bay experiences an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfb). The nearest Met Office station is at Manston, 10 miles east. In

east Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Fordwich and Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe skul ...

, the warmest time of the year is July and August, when maximum temperatures average around 21 °C (70 °F); the coolest months are January and February, when minimum temperatures average around 1 °C (34 °F). East Kent's average maximum and minimum temperatures are around 1/2 °C higher than the national average. Herne Bay is sometimes warmer than other parts of

as it is backed by the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and ...

to the south, causing a Foehn effect when winds are from a south or south westerly direction. Between 1999 and 2005, Herne Bay recorded the highest daily temperature in the United Kingdom nine times. East Kent's average annual rainfall is about 728 mm (29 inches), the wettest months being October to January. This was lower than the national average annual rainfall of 838 mm (33 inches), and recent droughts have led to

hosepipe ban An outdoor water-use restriction is a ban or other lesser restrictions put into effect that restricts the outdoor use of water supplies. Often called a watering ban or hosepipe ban, it can affect: *irrigation of lawns * car washing *recreationa ...

s by Mid Kent Water. The highest temperature recorded in Herne Bay was in August 2003 when the temperature hit during the 2003 European heatwave and the lowest temperature being in January 1940 with recorded during a notably cold winter that affected the UK.

Demography

As of the

2001 UK census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organis ...

, Herne Bay area

had a population of 35,188 and a population density of 11.3 persons per hectare. Of the town's 14,732 households, 48.7% were married couples living together, 8.4% were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increa ...

couples and 8.3% were lone parents. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.5% had someone living alone at pensionable age. 27.7% of households included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education. The average household size was 2.74. The ethnicity of the town was 98.5% white, 0.6%

mixed race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% black and 0.3% Chinese or other. The place of birth of residents was 96.3% United Kingdom, 0.6% Republic of Ireland, 0.3% Germany, 0.6% other Western Europe countries, 0.2% Eastern Europe, 0.6% Africa, 0.3% Far East, 0.3% South Asia, 0.2% Middle East, 0.2% North America and 0.2% Oceania. Religion was recorded as 77.3% Christian, 0.3% Muslim, 0.2% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.1% Jewish and 0.1% Sikh. 14.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 7.4% did not state their religion. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. The age distribution was 6% aged 0–4 years, 14% aged 5–15 years, 4% aged 16–19 years, 29% aged 20–44 years, 25% aged 45–64 years and 22% aged 65 years and over. The town had a high percentage of residents over 65, compared with the national average of 16%. As a seaside town, Herne Bay is a popular retirement destination; many modern retirement complexes are located near the seafront. The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 36% in full-time employment, 13% in part-time employment, 9%

self-employed Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return n ...

, 3% unemployed, 2% students with jobs, 3% students without jobs, 18% retired, 7% looking after home or family, 6% permanently sick or disabled and 2% economically inactive for other reasons. This was roughly in line with the national figures, except for the number of people in retirement. This figure nationally was significantly lower at 14%. Of the town's residents aged 16–74, 12% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 20% nationwide. According to

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for t ...

estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002 the average gross weekly income of households in the Herne Bay area was £516 (£26,906 per year).

Economy

The advent of overseas travel and changes to holiday trends eventually caused the town's economy to decline after the 1960s; regular flooding of the Plenty Brook prevented redevelopment of the town centre. However, extensive seafront regeneration in the 1990s followed the creation of the Neptune's Arm sea defence jetty. The jetty has created a small harbour used by leisure boats and from where tourists can take

sailing yacht A sailing yacht (US ship prefixes SY or S/Y), is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applie ...

trips to a seal-watching site in the Thames estuary. The Victorian gardens on the seafront were then able to be fully restored. The Central Bandstand, built in 1924, was refurbished after years of disrepair and closure to the public. A swimming pool and cinema were added to the town centre in the early 1990s. In 2005, a wind-farm with thirty 2.75 MW

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. W ...

s was built off the coast of Herne Bay and

, generating a total of 82.5 MW of electricity. The recent upgrades by the Council have helped improve the image of the town and raise its profile. It is hoped this will attract new investment in tourism and business by the private sector, and lead to the regeneration of the town's economy. In 2006, Canterbury City Council began a public consultation to discuss the regeneration. A concern raised by the council is that the shopping centre is incoherent and fails to attract the tourists who come for the seafront. Other issues raised are the lack of holiday accommodation,

car parks A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

and clear pedestrian routes between the three main attractions in the town: the seafront, Memorial park and shopping centre. The council is considering relocating the sports centre from the pier and replacing it with other

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

s. As of the 2001 census, the industry of employment of residents of Herne Bay was 19% retail, 14% health and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

, 11% manufacturing, 10% construction, 9% real estate, 8% education, 8% transport and communications, 5%

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

, 5% hotels and restaurants, 4% finance, 1% agriculture and 5% other community, social or

Personal Services ''Personal Services'' is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland, about the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne ...

. Compared to national figures, the town had a relatively high number of workers in the construction and health/social care industries and a relatively low number in manufacturing and real estate. Many residents commute to work outside the town. As of the 2001 UK census, 14,711 of the town's residents were in employment, whereas there were only 8,104 jobs within the town. One of the largest employers is the centrally located supermarket, which as of January 2006 was considering further expansion. It is one of the major attractions to the town's shopping centre, however there are fears that its expansion could lead it to become too dominant, at the cost of smaller shops in the town. Apart from tourism and retail, many jobs are also provided in the

manufacturing industry Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a rang ...

, mainly located in

industrial estates An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...

on the outskirts of the town, which produce goods such as kitchen furniture and factory machinery. A high number of construction jobs have been created by redevelopment of the seafront, which is expected to continue with the proposed regeneration of the town centre. The elderly population of the town has led to many

Health and Social Care Health and Social Care (often abbreviated to ''HSC'' or ''H&SC'') is a term that relates to services that are available from health and social care providers in the UK. This is a generic term used to refer to the whole of the healthcare provision ...

jobs at local care homes and at the town's Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital. As of the 2001 census, 1.9% of the town's population resided in a medical or care establishment, compared with the national average of only 0.8%.

Landmarks

The seafront has a shingle beach, which has been awarded a European Blue Flag and the yellow and blue Seaside Award for its safety and cleanliness. The seafront features a Victorian bandstand and gardens, amusement arcades, and children's play areas. Landmarks by the seafront include the

, the sea defence jetty, the off-shore World War II sea fort and the off-shore

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...

. There are seaside cafés, fresh seafood restaurants, guesthouses, beach huts and numerous water-sports facilities. The Memorial Park, situated near the centre of the town, incorporates a children's play area, a large shallow

duck pond A duck pond is a pond for ducks and other waterfowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for water fowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink. Typically, such ponds are round, oval or kidney-shaped. An example is the lily pond in th ...

often used for

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

boats, basketball and tennis courts and a large expanse of grass for field games. The park has a monument and an 'Avenue of Remembrance' as memorials to the town's residents killed during the two world wars. Reculver Country Park is about east of Herne Bay, and is home to the cliff-top remains of

St Mary's Church, Reculver St Mary's Church, Reculver, was founded in the 7th century as either a minster or a monastery on the site of a Roman fort at Reculver, which was then at the north-eastern extremity of Kent in south-eastern England. In 669, the site of the fo ...

, with its distinctive twin towers, sited within the remains of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

fort; a

visitor centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

offers information on the local geology, history and wildlife.

Wildwood Discovery Park Wildwood Discovery Park now known as the Wildwood Trust, is a woodland discovery park in Herne, near Canterbury Kent, England. It features over fifty species of native British animals such as deer, badgers, wild boar, wolves and brown bear. It ...

is about south of Herne Bay on the A291 road between there and

Sturry Sturry is a village on the Great Stour river situated northeast of Canterbury in Kent. Its large civil parish incorporates several hamlets and, until April 2019, the former mining village of Hersden. Geography Sturry lies at the old Roman jun ...

, and features over 50 species of native British animals, such as deer, badgers,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

and wolves. Herne Mill, a late 18th-century Kentish

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This type ...

overlooking the village of Herne from a hilltop, is usually open to visitors on Sunday afternoons between April and September. A concrete funnel-shaped

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conjun ...

overlooks Herne Bay from the top of Mickleburgh Hill. This water tower is now used as a base for

radio transmitters In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to t ...

Transport

Herne Bay railway station is on the Chatham Main Line, which runs between

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a population ...

in East Kent and

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...

. It is also served by Southeastern high speed services to

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...

. Other stations on these lines include

Broadstairs Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 of ...

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significant m ...

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British ...

, Gillingham, Rochester, Bromley South,

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is th ...

and Stratford International. Herne Bay is around 1 hour and 40 minutes from London Victoria and 80 minutes from St Pancras. A selection of trains run to London's

Cannon Street Cannon Street is a road in the City of London, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, about north of it, in the south of the City. It is the site of the ancient London ...

and London Blackfriars, primarily for business commuting. There is Stagecoach South East bus services Triangle/6/36 running to neighbouring Whitstable and to Canterbury, where many Herne Bay residents go to work and shop. The 36 bus route runs to Margate, another popular seaside resort Also an infrequent bus service 7 formerly linked Herne Bay to Canterbury but Triangle/6 routes were more frequent, quick and direct. The 7 was shortened significantly in June 2022. The A299 road, also known as the Thanet Way, runs between Ramsgate and Faversham via Herne Bay and Whitstable. The road merges with the

M2 motorway This is a list of roads designated M2: Europe * M2 motorway (Great Britain), a motorway in England * M2 expressway (Hungary), a motorway in Hungary * N2 road (Ireland)#M2 motorway, a motorway in the Republic of Ireland * M-2 highway (Monteneg ...

at Faversham. In the late 1990s, the road was converted into a

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

and redirected to avoid passing through urban areas of Herne Bay and Whitstable.

Education

Herne Bay's secondary school is the modern Herne Bay High. It is a mixed ability

foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools. Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framewor ...

with about 1,500 students. In 2002, Herne Bay High was designated a

specialist school Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...

and

Sports College Sports Colleges are senior secondary schools which promote sports alongside secondary education. United Kingdom Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The programme enabled secon ...

. In 2005, 14% of the school's pupils gained at least five

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private s ...

at grades A*–C including English and maths, ranking it 107th out of Kent's 120 secondary schools. Many students commute to schools in other nearby towns, especially to the

grammar schools A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school, ...

in Faversham, Ramsgate and Canterbury. Herne Bay Junior School, situated in the town centre, has about 500 students. It was originally established in the late Victorian era and was formerly joined with the neighbouring Herne Bay

Infant school An infant school is a term used primarily in England and Wales, for the education of children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular area. It is sometimes a department in a larger primary schoo ...

. In 2006, Herne Bay Junior School's

Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. England and Wales Legal definition The t ...

results ranked 139th out of Kent's 386 state primary schools. The village schools are Herne Primary School, Herne Church of England Junior School, Herne Church of England Infant and Nursery School, Briary Primary School in Greenhill, Hampton Primary School and Reculver Church of England Primary School. The Church of England schools are

voluntary controlled A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...

(that is, owned by the church) but, like the other schools, are run by

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council ...

. In 2006, Reculver Church of England Primary School achieved the best Key Stage 2 performances of the schools in the Herne Bay area, ranking 133rd out of Kent's 386 state primary schools. Canterbury College @ Herne Bay is a branch of

Canterbury College Canterbury College may refer to: * Canterbury College (Indiana), U.S. * Canterbury College (Waterford), Queensland, Australia * Canterbury College (Windsor, Ontario), Canada * Canterbury College, Kent, England * Canterbury College, Oxford, Englan ...

in Herne Bay

town centre A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus st ...

, which provides a range of short information technology courses to adults. Whitstable

Adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

Centre runs adult learning courses at various Herne Bay locations.

Religion

The Church of England has two parishes in Herne Bay: Christ Church with St Andrew's, and St Martin's with St Peter's. The Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is in Clarence Road. There are

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...

churches in Spenser Road and in Reynolds Close. There is a United (

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

and

United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

) Church in Mortimer Street. There is also a United Reformed Church in The Meadows, Broomfield. Herne Bay

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Corps is based in Richmond Street. The Canopy Church is in South Road. The Beacon Church meets at Briary School, Greenhill, Herne Bay. Herne Bay Evangelical Free Church meets in Sunnyhill Road. Herne Bay Christian

Spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) b ...

Church is in Avenue Road.

Culture

Herne Bay Festival happens every August with ten days of almost every event being free, including

live music A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

, performance, creative commissions, cultural treats, family fun, workshops, competitions, walks, talks, exhibitions and family entertainment. Other summer events include Happy Days, a programme of bandstand concerts and family entertainment, Herne Bay Carnival through the town centre, a travelling funfair at the Memorial Park and Herne Bay Bus Rally. Each summer, the council runs a gardening competition, "Herne Bay in Bloom", which encourages residents and businesses to keep the town looking well presented. The town is home to the Herne Bay Little Theatre, a playmakers drama society and member of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain who have a 72-seat theatre in Bullers Avenue. In 2007, the theatre won a large grant from the

Big Lottery Fund The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for "good causes". Since 2004 it has awarded over £9 billion to ...

to renovate and extend their building and provide improved disabled access. The theatre also has an active youth theatre and between them, they put on at least eight productions every year including a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

. Theatrecraft, a local theatre group, produce three shows a year including an annual pantomime at the King's Hall theatre. Other groups and touring companies often put productions on at the open-air 'Theatre in the Park' on the grounds of Strode Park House in Herne. Between the 1960s and the 1990s The Herne Bay Operatic Society contributed to the town and its cultural life, performing regularly at The King's Hall and also at The

Marlowe Theatre The Marlowe Theatre is a 1,200-seat theatre in Canterbury named after playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. It was named a Stage Awards, 2022 UK Theatre of the Year. The Marlowe Trust, a not for profi ...

, Canterbury. As theatrical tastes changed the society morphed into The Herne Bay Musical Theatre Society. The town's only cinema, the Kavanagh, is part of a Greco-inspired building that incorporates the Heron's swimming pool and the council offices. There are a number of drinking venues, especially in the town centre and on the seafront. There are nightclubs,

social clubs A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity. Examples include: book discussion clubs, chess clubs, anime clubs, country clubs, charity work, criminal ...

and many pubs, including one in the recently renovated seafront bandstand.

Sports

The town is a popular destination for

water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

; it has clubs for sailing, rowing and yachting. The town has hosted the Zapcat powerboat racing championships. Fishing is popular on the pier and Herne Bay Angling Association competes nationally in beach and boat fishing competitions. Herne Bay Hockey Club, Greenhill Gymnastics Club, Herne Bay

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Club and Herne Bay Youth Football Club are located at Herne Bay High School, a specialist sports college, and also the new sports arena called The Hub. The hockey club runs a ladies' team and five men's team, the highest of which plays in the Kent Sussex Regional 1st XI League. Herne Bay Cricket Club runs two junior teams, a men's Sunday team and two men's Saturday teams; the Saturday teams play in the Kent Cricket Feeder League East. Herne Bay water in December 2007

Herne Bay Youth Football Club has 22 teams, and more than 320 players aged 6 to 18. Four teams play in the Kent Youth League and the remainder in the East Kent Youth Mini Soccer & 11 Side Leagues. Herne Bay Tennis Club is situated on the outskirts of town and runs multiple teams in the Kent League, East Kent League and Dover & District League. Their facilities include four all-weather courts (two floodlit), up to six astroturf courts and a purpose-built clubhouse. The club offers junior coaching and runs regular club nights for players of all ages and abilities. Herne Bay Basketball Club has teams for men, women and juniors in the East Kent Basketball League. Herne Bay

Golf Club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety ...

has an eighteen-hole course on the outskirts of the town. The Memorial Park contains a sports field, eight tennis courts and a

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...

which can be used free of charge. Herne Bay Bowling Club is situated next to the Memorial Park and hosts several lawn

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

Open Tournaments each year. There is a council owned sports centre, The Bay Sports Arena, opened in September 2011. There is another privately owned gymnasium in the town centre. Herne Bay Judo Club is located near the railway station and the same venue also holds clubs for table tennis and badminton. There are also two other table-tennis clubs in the town. Bujinkai karate classes are held at Herne Bay Junior School. Herne Bay Football Club, based at Winch's Field, play in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 teams ...

Division One South. They were Kent League champions in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998 and 2012. Also playing at Winch's Field is

Canterbury City F.C. Canterbury City Football Club is a football club based in Canterbury, Kent, England. They are currently members of the and currently play at Sittingbourne's Woodstock Park ground. Affiliated to the Kent County Football Association, the club ...

The town is the founder of the Roller Hockey sport with the "''Herne Bay Roller Hockey club''" being the first to exist in the world.Herne Bay Roller Hockey Club
at www.thebayrollerhockey.co.uk (accessed 20 May 2008) Herne Bay Judo Club, located next to the town's railway station, has been active in the town since the 1960s. The club originated underneath the old St Marys college on station road until it moved into the purpose-built dojo where it still resides.

Media

There are four local weekly newspapers: YourCanterbury, the paid-for ''Herne Bay Gazette'', providing news related only to the town, and the free ''KM Extra'' and ''Canterbury Adscene'', providing news on the wider Canterbury district area. The

KM Group KM Media Group is a multimedia company in the county of Kent, England which originated as the publisher of the Kent Messenger. The Group now produces local newspapers, radio stations and websites throughout the county. Iliffe Media acquired KM ...

owns ''Herne Bay Gazette'' and ''KM Extra'', while Trinity Mirror owns ''Canterbury Adscene''. KMFM Canterbury is a radio station on frequency 106FM which serves Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay. The station was founded in September 1997 as ''CTFM'', but was rebranded after a takeover by the KM Group. Cabin FM is the town's radio station aimed at Herne Bay listeners. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to the town and surrounding villages on 94.6 FM and around the world on the Internet. On 15 June 2016, OFCOM announced that Cabin had been successful in their bid to obtain a Community Radio Licence. They began broadcasting on FM, in April 2017.

In popular culture

Due to the town's traditional seaside appearance, Herne Bay has often been used as a setting for television programmes and films. The seafront has been featured in programmes such as the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', the 1984 BBC seaside comedy ''Cockles'',

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7– ...

's '' The Tweenies'' and

the BBC ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

comedy '' Little Britain''. The town's railway station was seen in an episode of the 1970s comedy ''

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, including two Christmas specia ...

''. The town has featured in films such as

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

's ''French Dressing'', and ''The Medusa Touch'', starring

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable ...

. In fiction,

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie ...

from the stories by

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...

regularly holidays at the town, spending much of his time there fishing. Herne Bay was the hometown of the three

main characters A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

in the 1990s BBC sitcom, '' Game On''. To celebrate

Anthony Coburn James Anthony Coburn (10 December 1927 – 28 April 1977) was an Australian television writer and producer, who spent much of his professional career living and working in the United Kingdom. He is best remembered for writing the first ''Doctor ...

's contribution to the ''

'' series,

BBC South East BBC South East is the BBC English region serving Kent, East Sussex, most parts of West Sussex and southern parts of Surrey. The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter (formerly part of the BBC S ...

celebrated 50 years of ''Doctor Who'' by screening the first ever episode ''An Unearthly Child'', at the Kings Hall theatre on 22 November 2013. Beach scenes for the 2022

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a film ...

series Heartstopper were filmed in Herne Bay.

Twin towns

Herne Bay is twinned with the towns of: *

Wimereux Wimereux (; vls, Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the ba ...

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cal ...

, France; *

Waltrop Waltrop is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approximately 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund. Division of the town The t ...

, Germany. Since 1994, the Herne Bay/Wimereux Twinning Association has aimed to promote friendship between the people of the two towns by organising activities, such as cycling trips and quiz evenings. Herne Bay and Waltrop have been twinned since 1976, although as at February 2007, their twinning association was not in operation. However, Herne Bay

Rowing club A rowing club is a club for people interested in the sport of Rowing. Rowing clubs are usually near a body of water, whether natural or artificial, that is large enough for manoeuvering the shells (rowing boats). Clubs usually have a boat house ...

promote friendship with the Waltrop rowing club by organising rowing events and visiting in each other's towns.

Notable people

The actor and presenter

Bob Holness Robert Wentworth John Holness (12 November 1928 – 6 January 2012) was a British-South African radio and television presenter and occasional actor. He presented the British version of '' Blockbusters''. Early life Holness was born in Vryheid, ...

lived in the town as a child and attended Herne Bay Primary School until moving to Ashford.

Nicki Chapman Nicola Chapman, known professionally as Nicki Chapman (born 14 January 1967) is an English television & radio presenter, talent show judge and public relations agent who previously worked in the British pop music industry. Chapman was a judg ...

, the judge on the UK television series ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

'' and ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'', was born and raised in the town. Originally from London,

Daniel Tammet Daniel Tammet (born Daniel Paul Corney; 31 January 1979) is an English writer and savant. His memoir, ''Born on a Blue Day'' (2006), is about his early life with Asperger syndrome and savant syndrome, and was named a "Best Book for Young Adul ...

, the subject of the UK documentary ''The Boy with the Incredible Brain'', has now moved to the town. He is an

autistic savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

with outstanding abilities in mathematics, sequence memorising and

language learning Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to ...

. Lydia Cecilia Hill (1913–1940), known as Cissie Hill, lived at Westcliff; she was a favourite of

Ibrahim of Johor Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al-Masyhur Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah (17 September 1873 – 8 May 1959) was a Malaysian sultan and the 22nd Sultan of Johor and the 2nd Sultan of modern Johor. He was considered to be "fabulously ...

and former dancer. The Yorkshire-born writer

Will Scott William Scott (1893–1972) was an English footballer and football manager who managed in England in the 1940s and 1950s. Scott began his career as an amateur with South Shields prior to the First World War, but joined the Navy in 1914. He gue ...

lived and wrote in Herne Bay until his death in 1964. During the late 1960s, many rock and jazz bands were formed around the city of Canterbury, creating a subgenre of music known as the Canterbury sound. Some of these musicians were residents of Herne Bay, including Dave Sinclair and Richard Coughlan of Caravan, and

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–1967 ...

. George W. M. Reynolds, one of the most popular British authors of the early Victorian era, moved to Herne Bay in 1854 and became one of the town's Improvement Commissioners. The children's writer Evelyn Whitaker was born there in 1844. Héctor García Ribeyro, the Mayor of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of th ...

in Peru during the 1950s, had part of his schooling at the now defunct Herne Bay

International school An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body an ...

. Colin Dixon, the depot manager held hostage with his family during the £53 million

Securitas depot robbery The 2006 robbery of Securitas depot in Tonbridge, England, was the UK's largest cash robbery. It began with a kidnapping on the evening of 21 February and ended in the early hours of 22 February, when seven criminals stole almost £53million. T ...

of February 2006, lived in Herne Bay at the time. Frederick Christian Palmer, known professionally as Fred C. Palmer, was the main public photographer of Herne Bay in the early years of the 20th century. He photographed the detective Edmund Reid, who had hunted for

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...

and who also lived in the town. Ann Thwaytes paid for the construction of the Clock Tower. F. W. J. Palmer, Surveyor to Herne Bay Urban District Council 1891–1915, designed both phases of The King's Hall in 1904 and 1913. Gabrielle Davis was Sheriff of Canterbury 2009–2010 and helped to save local museums from closure in 2010.

William Matthew Scott William Matthew Scott (30 September 1893 – 7 May 1964), pen name Will Scott, was a British writer of stories and books for adults and children, published from 1920 to 1965. Towards the end of his life he was best known for ''The Cherrys'' seri ...

(1893–1964) was a local author living at High View Avenue, and architect Ernest Trevor Spashett lived next door to him between 1959 and 1965. William Sidney Cooper painted local scenes and is buried at Eddington cemetery.

H. Kempton Dyson Herbert William Charles Kempton Dyson, M.I.Struct.E. (1880–1944), known professionally as H. Kempton Dyson, was an English structural engineer, civil engineer, architect, editor and author who specialised in reinforced concrete structures. He ...

designed the Central Bandstand. The fictional character Jeeves, from the ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves#Jeeves canon, "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV (TV network), ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the ...

'' stories by

, stated in the stories that he took his holidays in Herne Bay.

References

Bibliography

* Bundock, M., ''Victorian Herne Bay'': Herne Bay Past Series 6 (Herne Bay Historical Records Society, 1 February 2011) * Gough, H., ''Herne Bay's Piers'': Herne Bay Past Series 1 (HBHRS, October 2008) * Gough, H., ''Mills and Milling in the Herne Bay Area'': Herne Bay Past Series 3 (HBHRS, April 2010) * Fishpool, J., ''A Town at War: Herne Bay in the Second World War'': Herne Bay Past Series 5 (HBHRS, 3 December 2010) * Fishpool, J., ''Herne Bay's Hotels and Public Houses'': Herne Bay Past Series 2 (HBHRS, August 2009) * Fishpool, J., ''Schools and Colleges in the Herne Bay Area'': Herne Bay Past Series 4 (HBHRS, August 2010) * Gough, H. and Fishpool, J., ''Smuggling in and Around Herne Bay'': Herne Bay Past Series 7 (HBHRS, October 2011)

External links

*
Canterbury City Council

English Heritage, Aerial Photo Explorer
(Enter "Herne Bay" in search box) {{Authority control Towns in Kent Beaches of Kent Populated coastal places in Kent Seaside resorts in England Unparished areas in Kent City of Canterbury