It is almost impossible to exaggerate the vital role Ramsgate has played in England’s rich history, and yet the town’s importance is often overlooked.
It is, after all, right by the spot where Caesar’s invasion force came ashore, and where Napoleon sought to emulate him, but was dissuaded. It is also where St Augustine landed on his mission to establish Christianity in England.
In the nineteenth century, Ramsgate was one of the finest resorts in the land. As the numerous blue plaques that dot the town’s elegant crescents and squares attest, the town was once frequented by kings and queens; nobility; prime ministers; and authors, artists, scientists and radicals of the utmost eminence.
What of the stories behind those plaques, and those visits?
Secret Ramsgate explores a Ramsgate that deserves to be much better known: revealing why, for example, the future Queen Victoria almost died here, and examining the crucial role of a Ramsgate doctor in saving her life.