Whitstable
Whitstable photos (17 available)
Whitstable maps (2 available)
Map of Kent
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
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Whitstable books (9 available)
- 7 photos on Whitstable appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Whitstable
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Whitstable and Kent
Whitstable memories
Read and share memories of Whitstable and Kent inspired by Frith photos
Childhood beach hut
This scene of the old fishermen's beach huts shows my family's beach hut on the left. The lady just about to enter the beach hut was my grandmother, I am playing on the beach and my sister is in the pushchair next to the lady. Families had all the necessary facilities in the beach huts and almost every day of the summer holidays was spent down there. My grandfather belonged to the Angling Society and there were frequent fishing competitions between the Society, the Ambulance Brigade, the Fire Brigade and the Police. As a child, I was given the job of polishing the silver cups presented to the winners.
This scene has changed vastly since the 1950s. A sea wall ...read more here
Contributed by Jan Talikowski
Kent memories
Childhood beach hut
This scene of the old fishermen's beach huts shows my family's beach hut on the left. The lady just about to enter the beach hut was my grandmother, I am playing on the beach and my sister is in the pushchair next to the lady. Families had all the necessary facilities in the beach huts and almost every day of the summer holidays was spent down there. My grandfather belonged to the Angling Society and there were frequent fishing competitions between the Society, the Ambulance Brigade, the Fire Brigade and the Police. As a child, I was given the job of polishing the silver cups presented to the winners.
This scene has changed vastly since the 1950s. A sea wall ...read more here
A memory of Whitstable contributed by Jan Talikowski
Tankerton Slopes
I was 8 in 1964 & used to Cycle down from Castle Road for a swim.
I remember Tankerton for the fun of the slopes & the amazing water for swimming.
I visit about twice a year.
I reccommend a stay in the Marine Hotel on the road by Slopes
A memory of Tankerton contributed by paul croft
Memories of good times
Coming across this picture sparked memories of such happy times I had as as a child spending my summer holidays in a chalet at Seaview. It was not unusual to stay for four or more weeks in one of the chalets and spend practically every waking hour being on the beach or walking into either Whitstable or Herne Bay. I remember rummaging along the beach finding bits of pottery from the houses that fell into the sea where the cliffs had been eroded towards Herne Bay, and the time British Rail sent our luggage to Chesterfield in Derbyshire only to be located some fortnight later. Even the mud at low tide had its attraction and the huge shallow pools left behind ...read more here
A memory of Swalecliffe contributed by Roger Steer
Extracts From Whitstable & Kent books
A feature of beaches in the 1950s was the
religious gatherings. Here the Whitstable
United Christians hold a beach gathering;
on the sheet at the back it says ‘Suffer
little children to come unto me.’ The
gentleman on the right is holding a
trumpet, waiting to add his contribution
to the religious meeting.
An extract from from"Around the Kent Coast".
To the right of this
photograph is a poster
advertising the film
You Were Meant for Me,
starring Jeanne Crain
and Dan Dailey, and
showing at the Embassy
cinema. Next to it is a
fish and chip shop, with
a slate saying: ‘Frying
today, gurnet, rock
salmon, plaice, cod
fillet’. On the left is Aunt
Pat’s shop.
An extract from from"Around the Kent Coast".
Once a boat builder’s
premises, it obtained
a licence to sell beer
in 1897. It was swept
away in a great flood.
The new Old Neptune
was a conversion
of two cottages;
at the time of this
photograph it was a
local brewer’s Tomson
& Wotton’s house.
An extract from from"Around the Kent Coast".
The Old Neptune pub (centre left) has not changed much since the photographer snapped this picture. However, the houses on the right would not fare so well three years later when high winds hit the coast, rendering the new sea wall completely inadequate. This coastal town, famed for its oysters, was one of many to suffer in the great tides of 1953, which damaged many homes and businesses.
An extract from from"Kent Revisited Photographic Memories".
By the 1960s, traffic in
Whitstable is beginning to get
heavy. The Nelson in Harbour
Street is in the centre of the
photograph. Landlords here
included Henry Hills, Mrs
Emily Jane Parsons, and Miss
L Parsons. To the right is Duffy,
the butcher’s. Whitstable
suffered badly in the tidal
surge of February 1953, when
water poured over the sea wall
and flooded the town. The
famous Whitstable oyster beds
were polluted in 1962, but they
have since recovered.
An extract from from"Around the Kent Coast".