Margate 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 ...

in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east 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 ...

and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significant maritime port since the Middle Ages, and was associated with

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 Maidstone ...

as part of the Cinque Ports in the 15th century. It became a popular place for holidaymakers in the 18th century, owing to easy access via the Thames, and later with the arrival of the railways. Popular landmarks include the sandy beaches and the Dreamland amusement park. During the late 20th century, the town went into decline along with other British seaside resorts, but attempts are being made to revitalise the economy.

History

Margate was listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as lying within the hundred of Thanet and the county of Kent. Margate was recorded as "Meregate" in 1264 and as "Margate" in 1299, but the spelling continued to vary into modern times. The name is thought to refer to a pool gate or gap in a cliff where pools of water are found, often allowing swimmers to jump in. The cliffs of the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in an ...

are composed of chalk, a fossil-bearing rock. Margate gives its name to the relatively unknown yet influential Battle of Margate, starting on 24 March 1387, it was the last major

naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

of the Caroline War phase of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantag ...

. Despite the battle being named after Margate, very little actually happened near the coastal town - the battle is named after Margate as this was where an English fleet of 51 vessels that was anchored at Margate

Roadstead A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5 ...

first spotted a

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ...

- Castilian-

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

fleet of around 250-360 vessels. The English gave chase after the undermanned wine fleet and finally defeated the fleet a day later on 25 March 1387 off the coast of Cadzand,

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The town's history is tied closely to the sea and it has a proud maritime tradition. Margate was a "limb" of

in the ancient confederation of the

Cinque ports The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier ( Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

. It was added to the confederation in the 15th century. Margate has been a leading seaside resort for at least 250 years. Like its neighbour

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 populatio ...

, it has been a traditional holiday destination for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

ers drawn to its sandy beaches. Margate had a Victorian jetty which was largely destroyed by a storm in 1978. In the late 18th century, the town was chosen by the physician John Coakley Lettsom as the place in which he would build the Royal Sea Bathing Hospital, which was the first of its kind in Britain. Like Brighton and Southend, Margate was infamous for gang violence between mods and rockers in the 1960s, and mods and skinheads in the 1980s. The Turner Contemporary art gallery occupies a prominent position next to the harbour, and was constructed there with the specific aim of revitalising the town. The

Thanet Offshore Wind Project The Thanet Wind Farm (also sometimes called Thanet Offshore Wind Farm) is an offshore wind farm off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. On commissioning it was the world's largest offshore wind farm. It has a nameplate capacity ( ...

, completed in 2010, is visible from the seafront.

Government

Since 1983, the Member of Parliament for North Thanet, covering northern

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 Canal, ...

and Herne Bay, has been the

Conservative 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 in ...

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 C ...

. At the

2017 General Election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

, in North Thanet the Conservatives won a majority of 10,738 and 56.2% of the vote. Labour won 34.0% of the vote, and

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

4.5%. Margate was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1857. This was abolished in 1974, since which date Margate has been part of the

district of

. The town contains the seven electoral wards of Margate Central, Cliftonville West, Cliftonville East (both Cliftonville wards were formally Margate Cliftonville from 1973 to 2003), Westbrook, Garlinge, Dane Valley and Salmestone. These wards have seventeen of the fifty six seats on the Thanet District Council. At the 2007 Local Elections, nine of those seats were held by the Conservatives, seven by Labour and one by an Independent.

Climate

Margate experiences an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfb'') similar to much of the United Kingdom. Like almost all of southern Britain, Margate experiences mild temperatures, and is complemented by a high amount of sunshine; a nickname for the town is "Sunny Margate". Rainfall is quite low, making Margate one of the driest towns in Kent.

Demography

At 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 UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

: Margate had a population of 40,386. The urban area had a population of 46,980 at the 2001 census, increasing to 49,709 at the 2011 census (5.8% increase). The

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish th