First, the Pavilion, here shown by night in a lovely image showing the pier (and obelisk, and even the toilet block) all lit up, and most importantly of course, throngs of people enjoying the amenities. The windows are now all blocked in, but this card shows just how it could be brought back to life given half a chance:
The second card, from 1911, shows the elegant Hotel St Cloud, before half of it vanished. A lift down to the pier, delightful gardens in the foreground, and a little inset of the view of the harbour from the hotel. Who wouldn't want to stay there?! Note the small tents on the beach - are these poor folks' bathing machines? Or posh folks temporary beach huts, maybe rented from the hotel? Or just a wandering troop of scouts (a newish thing in 1911)? More information about the hotel and its history in this publication from Michael's Bookshop (of course)
I know it's a little sad always wishing we could turn the clock back to some mythical bygone era when everything was nicer, but then again . . .
4 comments:
Ah, those were the days! And they didn't vanish all that long ago. The bright lights of Ramsgate shone within living memory, as the DVD I bought off eBay a while back - 'Nostalgic Films of Thanet' - clearly shows.
The company that publishes the DVD have moved from Ramsgate to Colwyn Bay, though. A rather backward move, if you ask me.
Zumi I am publishing Don Longs Occasional Ramsgate writings this week, one of the chapters being about Hotel St Cloud and thought it would interest you to know where some of it went so have published this article as a sample from the book. Hope you enjoy it http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/orw/
Thanks Michael, I've put the link at the end of the article for the benefit of those that don't trawl through comments like we do!
Fascinating story of the hotel, how annoying it must have been that locals kept on pronouncing it in a defiantly English way, rather than the elegant French manner it was designed for. My nostalgia gene seems to be working overtime at the moment(which is weird, being a newcomer to the area...).
Wow, those are amazing.
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