Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour has been designated as a national Heritage Harbour, only one of 14 locations across the United Kingdom to receive this important designation.
Heritage Harbours is a joint initiative between local groups and Historic England, the Maritime Heritage Trust and National Historic Ships. Its aims include: protecting heritage assets at risk; attracting investment and heritage funding, supporting local business growth; increasing tourism; and improving community cohesion and inclusion.
Heritage Harbours supports the safeguarding and conservation of the UK’s most historic coastal and waterway locations, along with the buildings, quays, shipyards, and environments that make them special.
They are where you can see traditional ships and boats still in operation, and the buildings, facilities and people that make this possible.
Ramsgate will be celebrating the Grade II* Royal Harbour’s new status, which was awarded in July, as part of Heritage Open Days, England’s largest festival of history and culture, from September 6-15th .
There will be talks, tours, workshops, guided walks, a special exhibition of historic maritime artefacts, and access to parts of the harbour not usually open to the public.
More details at www.heritageopendays.org.uk/whats-on/search-2024-events.html
All Heritage Open Day events are free.
Spring 2025 anniversary event
In spring 2025 Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour will host the 85th anniversary return of the Dunkirk ‘Little Ships’ with more than 50 of the original vessels that took part in “Operation Dynamo” to bring Allied soldiers back from beaches in France, together with around 100 other historic watercraft.
The Royal Temple Yacht Club was the base for coordinating the ‘Little Ships’ and now hosts the south coast’s popular ‘friendly’ annual regatta – Ramsgate Week. The event welcomes crews from across the globe and has been running for over 120 years.
Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour is home to many historic boats and ships on the National Register of Historic Vessels, including the steam tug Cervia and the trawler Starbuck. A regular mooring for others, the historic tall ship Bessie Ellen and replica vessels, Thames sailing barge, The Blue Mermaid, and Spanish Galeón Andalucía have already docked and invited visitors on board in 2024.
Plans are being drawn up to welcome more heritage vessels and to host regattas and other events for historic ships and boats in the Royal Harbour in the future.
Also at the harbour, the Georgian Grade II* Clock House dominates the quayside. In 1819 it was the endpoint for Ramsgate’s own meridian line – 5′ 41″ ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. Today it is the home of the Clock House Museum, reopening in 2026 with objects and stories from across the history of the Royal Harbour.
Until then, exhibitions and events will be at various venues in and around the harbour.
A potted harbour history
Ramsgate harbour is Grade II* listed and is the only royal harbour in the world, an honour bestowed by King George IV in 1821.
Its history dates back to before Roman times, but it has always played a major part in the area’s commercial, military, and tourist activities. In the Napoleonic wars it was a base for the Sea Fencibles (naval defence units), and in the First World War for the Dover Patrol.
During the Second World War it was the landing place for many of those soldiers brought home from Dunkirk by the ‘Little Ships’.
The construction of the Royal Harbour in its present form began in earnest after a violent storm in December 1748 led ships in the Downs (between the Goodwin Sands and coast) to seek shelter at Ramsgate. Many vessels and lives were saved and petitions were made to Parliament for Ramsgate as the site for a new harbour to provide refuge for those in need.
Today the Royal Harbour combines the maritime heritage with the activities of a 21st century harbour and a thriving waterfront café culture. Windfarm operations, a RNLI station, shipbuilders, boat yards and a local fishing fleet are neighbours to a Georgian powder store and the 18th century Smeaton crosswalls, sluices and dry dock.
The Victorian architecture of the Royal Temple Yacht Club, the Sailor’s Church and Smack Boys’ Home sit side-by-side with the many restaurants and bars that line the water’s edge.
Discover stories of Ramsgate past
Ramsgate was named by Time Out Magazine as one of the best places to visit in 2024, with over 450 listed buildings, parks and monuments to explore.
Augustus Pugin, architect of the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben clock tower, designed and built his own home, The Grange, on the West Cliff. Visit the National Pugin Centre to discover his vision and explore the Shrine of St Augustine which hosts Pugin Week with mini-pilgrimages, talks and architecture tours – all free of charge during Heritage Open Days every September.
Walk in the footsteps of the many famous residents and visitors from Ramsgate’s past: Queen Victoria, Vincent van Gogh, Jane Austen, Samuel Coleridge, Wilkie Collins, Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Fry, Charles Darwin and Sir Ernest Shackleton to name a few. Learn about their lives and achievements, and their connection to Ramsgate on a guided walk with expert local historians around the Royal Harbour and the town’s historic streets. Or download one of several self-guided tours available free of charge from the USEUM app – search for “Ramsgate” to access.
Book a tour at Ramsgate Tunnels, the UK’s largest network of civilian wartime tunnels. Discover stories from underground living in the dark days of the Second World War when part of the system evolved into an underground city with over 1,000 permanent residents. Find out about the exploits of later urban explorers who couldn’t resist the adventure of the unique atmosphere of the Wind Tunnels.
Find out more
“Clock House Ramsgate” on Facebook
www.maritimeheritage.org.uk/heritage-harbours.
Article with thanks to The Ramsgate Society
