Ramsgate - Touched by Royalty and Saved by its Tunnels, Ramsgate, England

The Royal Harbour of Ramsgate in Thanet, Kent is a picturesque jumble of boats, buildings and arches. After enjoying the panorama from Military Road above the harbour I walked down Jacobs Ladder to the water’s edge. Jacobs Ladder was built by John Shaw in 1826 to replace the original wooden staircase that was built around 1750. John Shaw was responsible for building most of the harbour including the lighthouse and the obelisk. The latter was dedicated to George IV for making Ramsgate a Royal harbour after he visited the town in 1821. He visited the town several times and was impressed by the hospitality he received there. The steps of Jacobs Ladder emerge by the Sailors’ Church which is next to the old home of the Smack Boys. Both reflect the sea-faring heritage of the town. Smack boys were the apprentices on the fishing smacks and Ramsgate was unique in its provision of its home to care for them. Later this building was used to care for rescued sailors, mostly from ships that went down on the Goodwin Sands. During the First World War it was used to look after survivors of the war. Today the church is open to the public and holds services during the summer months

Attracted by a building with a clock tower I made my way across the harbour. This building, I discovered, is the Clock House and was built during the early nineteenth century by some of the most famous civil engineers and architects at the time. This iconic Clock House had its own particular Mean Time as it was the last clock sailors would see before leaving the harbour. This Mean Time is 5 minutes and 41 seconds ahead of Greenwich which became the official mean time. The Clock House became the home of the Maritime Museum which re-opened in 2012 after being closed for several years. Now under the auspices of the Steam Museum Trust the museum houses an interesting collection of items recalling the history of the town and harbour and exhibits collected from a ship that sank on the Goodwin Sands during the Great Storm of 1703. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).