|
Whitstable is a town in Kent,
England with a population of 30,000. It is a seaside resort, situated on the North Sea coast, facing Essex across
the Thames estuary and the
Isle of Sheppey across The Swale. It is technically within the city
limits of Canterbury six miles inland.
The town was recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) as `Witenestaple' and held three manors: the one at Seasalter included eight fisheries, Northwood supplied seven
saltworks, and at Swalecliffe pigs were kept using `pannage'. The ancient town continues to support an agricultural and fishing
community.
The name Witenestaple evolved into Witstapel according to 1184 sources, and Whitstapl' by 1226. Records from 1610 make
reference to the modern name, Whitstable. The name comes from 'the meeting place of the white post', a commonly used landmark at
the time of its inception.
The town is best known for its oysters, formerly harvested offshore and still served
in restaurants in the town.
The Whitstable Oyster Fisheries is one of Europe's oldest commercial ventures, and its oysters were exported across the
Roman Empire during the Roman occupation of Britain.
In 1480 Whitstable acquired a fish market in Saint Margaret's Street, a tradition which lasted until the mid-nineteenth
century. The town's connection with the sea extends to watersports, and the annual Waterskiing Championships takes place during
the summer.
Offshore, the Maunsell forts stand out of the water, visible from the shoreline. They were constructed during World War Two,
to defend the South coast from Nazi invasion. The forts were made redundant in the late 1950s and were used in the 1960s by a
pirate radio station, some now housing webservers.
More recently, the Whitstable coast is set to be the site for an offshore windfarm, consisting of thirty 140 metre high
turbines, providing electricity for half of the homes in the Canterbury district.
In 1830 the world's first steam-hauled passenger railway opened, linking the town with the cathedral city of Canterbury, 7 miles to the south.
The Canterbury and Whitstable line, was operated on by the Invicta locomotive. Whitstable was home to the world's oldest
railway bridge, but this was demolished during the 1970's. Whitstable harbour was built in 1832 and was incorporated in Kents
first passenger railway service, locally named 'the Crab and Winkle line', that ran from Canterbury to London by means of a steam
ship passage from the harbour.
It was on the evening of Wednesday 16th November 1869 that those present in the small village of Whitstable were witness to
the worst fire in living memory, the scene of the incident being the closely built area along ‘The Wall’, west of the
Harbour.
Addtional Information:
The Great fire of Whitstable
Whitstable as an English seaside resort.
The towns first official football match took place in 1885 and with the name "Whitstable United", the club played against the
Whitstable College. Regular matches were held on a Friday at "Mr Saddleton's field" (near the railway station) until the club
obtained a home, to become named the 'Belmont' ground from 1888. A century on, and the club is still competing against its local
rivals on the North Kent coast.
|