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The Bay
St Margaret's Bay has a wealth of local and maritime interest and in the nearby
Museum an exhibition of Noel Coward who was once a celebrated resident of
St. Margaret's Bay in the early 1950's. The Bay and surrounding area for
centuries was the haunt of smugglers, and the coastline was the scene of
many wrecks, lying as it does off the Goodwin Sands, maps are displayed upon
our walls along with much other interesting historical information,. As France
is only twenty miles across the English Channel, placing The Coastguard "Britain's
nearest pub to France", this part of the coast has seen a good deal of activity.
At the time of the Napoleonic Wars, invasion was considered a distinct possibility
and troop encampments occupied the Foreland Valley. The nearby Pines Gardens
were an early 19th century military campsite.
During WWI and WWII there was obviously much military movement in the area
leaving its unique mark upon the landscape, nearby Dover Castle is well worth
a visit although in the St Margaret's area there is still much to see and The
Coastguard is an ideal location to base whilst visiting these local points
of interest and many many others.
The Village of St Margaret's Bay
At the western end of St Margaret's Bay is the Coastguard Station at Langdon
Battery which monitors the Straits of Dover and much of the land behind the
Bay is owned by the National Trust. The Saxon Way long-distance coastal walk
crosses some of that land.
Local tradition claims that the first of the Huguenot refugees to arrive in England
landed here. Could be. It is far more certain that smugglers used the Bay and
the village behind it, though we are back to tradition when we recount the old
story of a certain parish clerk who is said to have stored in the church tower
ropes and tackle for hauling smuggled goods up the cliffs from the beach.
The illicit but very popular trade must have been seriously inconvenienced, though
probably nothing more, when Capt Philemon Phillips, RN, persuaded the government
of his day to set up a coastguard station, with six men and a boat, there in
1737.
In was in the Bay that the Channel Tunnel Co began the first test boring in 1865.
The bore discovered coal and the Channel tunnel project was pigeon-holed - again!
St Margaret's Bay joined the modern world in 1865 when Lord
Granville, then the new Warden of the Cinque Ports, decided the
little fishing village should blossom into a popular seaside
resort. The Granville Hotel still stands as a memorial to his
lordship's dream and the resort that developed became home, at
different times, to such famous residents and visitors as Lord
Arthur Cecil, Lord Byron, Max Beerbohm, Noel Coward, Ian Fleming
and Peter Ustinov.
In 1918, the last bomb to be dropped in England in WW1 fell on St Margaret's
and when WW2 began the area, like many others along the south coast, was evacuated
of all unnecessary civilians and occupied by troops in readiness for the expected
invasion.
Big Guns
It was here that
the big naval guns, nicknamed Winnie (after the popular abbreviation
of Winston Churchill's name) and Pooh (after Winnie, of course)
were sighted on France. When they were fired they did more damage
to local property than they did to their target area, but there
is a story that after Winnie fired her first salvo of the war,
her commander telephoned the Prime Minister to report a direct
hit. Back came the query: 'Direct hit on what?' 'On France, Sir!'
was the reply.
By road
Motorway
Junction: M20 Jnct 13 10.5 miles (16.8 km)
The village of St Margarets is situated 1.5 miles west of Dover.
Off the A258 Deal to Dover road, through St. Margarets village. On arriving in St. Margarets continue through
the village, heading towards the sea.
You will go down a steep road to the public
car park at the bottom. Having come down the bay road, turn right
into our car park. The Coastguard is located on the right hand
side.
multimap
By rail
Main Railway Station: Dover Priory 5.5 miles
(9.3km)
Branch line Railway Station: Martin Mills 2miles (3.2km)
By air
Airport: London Manston 13.7 miles (22 km)
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