Ramsgate, United Kingdom

The Official Illustrated Guide to South-Eastern and North and Mid-Kent Railways (June 1863) by George Measom describes Ramsgate thus: "It is impossible to speak too favourably of this first-rate town, its glorious sands, its bathing, its hotels, libraries, churches, etc. etc. not forgetting its bracing climate...The streets of Ramsgate are well paved or macadamed and brilliantly lighted with gas."

The architect Augustus Pugin and his sons lived in Ramsgate and built several important buildings there, including St Augustine's Church, The Grange, St Augustine's Abbey, and The Granville Hotel.

The artist Vincent van Gogh moved to Ramsgate in April 1876, at age 23. He boarded at 11 Spencer Square, which is identified by a blue plaque. He obtained work as a teacher at a local school in Royal Road, where he received his post. In one of his letters to his brother Theo, he described his surroundings: "There's a harbour full of all kinds of ships, closed in by stone jetties running into the sea on which one can walk. And further out one sees the sea in its natural state, and that's beautiful."

In 1901, an electric tram service, one of the few inter-urban tramways in Britain, was introduced on the Isle of Thanet. The towns of Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs were linked by 11 miles of track.

In the First World War, in 1915–1916, early aircraft began to use the open farmland at Manston as a site for emergency landings. The location near the Kent coast gave Manston some advantages over other previously established aerodromes. During the same War, Ramsgate and its harbour were the target of bombing raids by Zeppelin airships and German Navy torpedo boats. By 1917 the Royal Flying Corps was well established and taking an active part in the defence of Britain. As RAF Manston, the aerodrome played an important role in the Second World War. It is now called Kent International Airport, but is currently not operational.

In 1923, Ramsgate elected its first woman Mayor, Janet Stancomb-Wills, after whom the Dame Janet Primary Academy on Newington Road is named. As the Second World War approached, Ramsgate Borough Council embarked on plans to create a network of Deep Shelter tunnels linking to a former railway tunnel which would provide shelter for 60,000 people. The tunnels were opened on 1 June 1939. In 2014 (75 years later), part of this network was opened to visitors.

In October 1939, the Royal Navy established a Coastal Forces base at Ramsgate called HMS Fervent, which operated Motor Torpedo Boats, Motor Gun Boats and Motor Launches until September 1945. From 27 May 1940, Ramsgate harbour was the main assembly point for the build-up of small craft needed for Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. Once the evacuation was under way, Ramsgate became the second-busiest port after Dover, and just under 43,000 men passed through the port, transported onwards by 82 special trains.

In 2017 Ramsgate was chosen as one of the first ten Heritage Action Zones (HAZ) by Historic England, with the aim of stimulating economic growth by taking advantage of Ramsgate's historic environment. Part of this project included a Historic Landscape Characterisation Study which assessed and mapped the patterns of historic character in the town, using geological and topographical surveys, and covering aspects from the Neolithic, medieval, Georgian, Victorian, and through to the First and Second World War periods.