Hotels Whitstable
Hotels in the town of Whitstable, Kent England are often needed for short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to get a place to stay at a luxury hotel or a cheap hotel. Some tourists may want to stay at hotels that have a good reputation. Some may want to stay at a hotel that has a decent reputation. Some may want to stay at hotels that are known for good reviews. Some may want to stay a hotels that have good parking and entertainment access. Some tourists may want to see the culture and history of the town.
Hotels in the town of Whistable are often required for tourists who a place to stay for short term accommodation. Some may want to stay at hotel that near the town or in the town of Whitstable. Many may want to stay Whitstable hotels that reflect the culture of the town. Some may want to see the large hotels or small hotels. Some may want to stay hotel that have good prices and access to tourist attractions.
Whitstable is a seaside town in northeast Kent, southeast England. It is 8 kilometres north of the city of Canterbury and 3 kilometres west of the seaside town of Herne Bay.
Whitstable is located on the northeast Kent coast. The town lies to the east of the outlet of The Swale into the Thames Estuary. The town is 3 kilometres west of the seaside town of Herne Bay, 8 kilometres northeast of the town of Faversham and 8 kilometres north of the city of Canterbury; several small villages lie in between. The suburbs/villages of Tankerton, Swalecliffe and Chestfield are at the eastern end of the town, Seasalter at the west, and South Street at the south. Chestfield has its own parish council. An area of protected woodland and grassland called Duncan Down lies to the southeast. The geology of the town consists mainly of London Clay (which covers most of North Kent). The western part of the town is built on low lying marshland resulting from The Swale outflow, and sea walls are in place to prevent coastal flooding.
The town has shingle/sandy beaches flanking the harbour, where sunbathing, swimming and water sports are popular. A notable feature of Whitstable is The Street, a natural strip of shingle bank which runs out to sea at right angles to the coast, for a distance of about half a mile. Located to the east of the harbour, it is revealed only at low tide, when it is possible to walk out along it. A view of The Street can be seen on the hilltop lawns of Tankerton Slopes. The Slopes are home to the largest population in England of the rare Hogs Fennel.
Known as the "Pearl of Kent", Whitstable is famous for its oysters, which have been collected in the area since at least Roman times. The town itself dates back to before the writing of the Domesday Book. Whitstable's distinctive character and ambience is popular with tourists, and its maritime heritage is celebrated with the annual Oyster Festival in July. After a period of decline, the oyster fishery industry is now thriving again, and freshly caught shellfish are available throughout the year at several seafood restaurants and pubs in the town.
In 1830, one of the earliest passenger railway services was opened by the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company and, in 1832, the company opened Whitstable harbour and extended the line to enable passage to London from the port. The railway has since closed but the harbour still plays an important role in the town's economy.
The
town was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, under the name Witenestaple,
meaning the meeting place of the white post, which referred to a local landmark.
At that time, Witenestaple was an administrative area which stretched from the
coast to the village of Blean, 3 kilometres north of Canterbury. The area contained
three manors at Seasalter, Northwood and Swalecliffe. The Seasalter and Swalecliffe
manors were owned by the church, and the manor at Northwood was run by noblemen
on behalf of the king. Fisheries were located at the Seasalter manor, saltworks
were at the Northwood manor, and pigs were farmed at the forest in Blean By 1226,
the name of the area had evolved into Whitstaple. Around 1300, saltworks were
opened at the Seasalter manor, and, in 1325, a sea wall was built there to prevent
coastal flooding.
By 1413, the three manors had combined, forming the Whitstaple manor, and had been sold to a religious foundation in Essex. In the 1500s, the manor was seized by King Henry VIII during his suppression of the church, and was given back to the nobility. In 1574, a Royal Patent was granted to the manor owner for the fishing of its oyster beds. In the same year, the lands at Tankerton were incorporated into the manor. A copperas works was established at Tankerton in 1588 which operated until about 1830. By 1610, the name Whitstaple had become Whitstable.
Around the mid-1700s, goods and passengers began
to be transported by ship between London and Whitstable, and a toll road was built
to the cathedral city of Canterbury. These improvements in transport led to the
town's development as a seaside resort; the first advertisements for bathing machines
at Whitstable appeared in 1768. In 1790, the manor was sold to private landowners.
The rights to harvest the oyster beds were bought in 1793 by the newly established
Oyster Company of Free Fishers and Dredgers.
On 3 May 1830, the world's
first steam-hauled passenger and freight railway service was opened by the Canterbury
and Whitstable Railway Company. The line ran from Westgate in Canterbury to Whitstable
town centre. The six-mile (10 km) railway was designed by William James and built
at a cost of £83,000. The railway line's initials, C&WR, and Whitstable's
shellfish industry eventually led to its nickname: 'The Crab And Winkle Railway'.
At first, trains were pulled along on ropes by steam-driven stationary winding
engines up the inclined planes and by a locomotive for the rest of the journey.
The winding engines were located at Tyler Hill and Clowes Wood. The locomotive
used was the Invicta, an 0-4-0 inclined cylinder tender locomotive built by Robert
Stephenson of Newcastle for £635, which pulled three carriages.
Whitstable harbour was opened by the railway company in 1832, and the rail line was extended, enabling goods to be directly transferred from ships onto the trains. The harbour provided shelter for around 20 sailing ships of up to 150 tons, and had sidings for around 80 rail wagons. A dock was built for transferring freight between sea-going and river vessels. Whitstable harbour's main trade was importing Northumberland coal, which was then taken to Canterbury or transported by the South Eastern Railway to Croydon and Reigate.
In 1834, the world's first season tickets were issued for the C&WR line. They were sold to Canterbury residents travelling to Whitstable beach during the summer season.[7] Until its demolition in 1970, Whitstable was home to the world's oldest railway bridge.
In 1840, the Invicta locomotive was retired and replaced by horses until a third winding engine was built at South Street. The Invicta was kept for scrap, but in 1898 work began on its restoration. The restoration continued intermittently, until it was finally completed in 1977 in York by the National Railway Museum. The locomotive was returned to Canterbury on 3 May 1980 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the line. It is now displayed at the Canterbury Museum
In 1845, the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company was bought by the South Eastern Railway, who then introduced steam locomotives capable of operating along the entire length of the railway. These locomotives were coke-fired, so two ovens were built near the harbour to convert coal into coke. Coke production continued until 1880 when coal-fired locomotives took over. The ovens and their chimneys were demolished in 1892. On 16 November 1869, 71 buildings in the town were destroyed by a fire started at a shop near the harbour.
The Sea Cadet Corps traces its origin to the town. In about 1856, the Naval Lads' Brigade was started in Whitstable by the Reverend Henry Barton. In 1904, it was renamed the Sea Cadet Corps.
In 1936, a plant to manufacture tarmacadam was built beside Whitstable Harbour, on the site of the old coke works, but after World War II, the harbour gradually fell into decay.
A traditional windmill on Borstal Hill, built in 1815, is used as a motel. It is a well known landmark in the area.
Island Wall, the closest street to the seafront, has numerous buildings dating from the mid-19th century including the Neptune and Wall Tavern pubs, and the Dollar Row cottages, which were built from the proceeds of a salvage operation on a ship carrying silver dollars. The street is home to the Favourite, one of the few remaining Whitstable oyster yawls. Built in 1824, it is now managed by the Favourite Trust, a charitable trust who undertake fund raising to maintain the historical vessel.
The town is criss-crossed by numerous small alleys, once used by fishermen to reach the beach. Many of these are now registered as public rights of way and are still in frequent use. Squeeze Gut Alley, through which most people have to walk sideways due to its narrowness, is one of the more notable
Whitstable Town F.C. is a football club based in Whitstable, Kent, England. The club was established in 1885.
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