Monument record TR 37 SE 395 - Marine Palace, Margate

The Marine Palace was a baths complex on the seafront, built in 1886 and destroyed in the great storm of 1897. The only elements to survive the storm were the restaurant and the pump house but these were presumably demolished shortly afterwards.

A watching brief by Oxford Archaeology on geotechnical test pits in 2006 found a concrete layer probably associated with this structure. (1)

The Marine Palace, sited at the Rendezvous, Margate was a large seaside entertainment complex built in around 1876. The site was built on land reclaimed after the building of the new sea wall and provided two swimming baths, aquarium, ballroom, billiard room and a skating rink. The architect may have been Alfred Bedborough, who also designed the Winter Gardens. The Palace could be accessed by a bridge from the pier/jetty. A storm in November 1897 destroyed the building and it was never replaced. There is currently (2007) a car park and lifeboat station on the site. [2-6]

<1> Oxford Archaeology, 2006, Turner Centre, Margate, Kent: Desktop Assessment & Watching Brief Report (Unpublished document). SKE18289.

<2> Historic England, Margate's Seaside Heritage (Website). SKE57054.

<3> Lynn Pearson, 2007, The people's palaces : the story of the seaside pleasure buildings of 1870-1914 (Bibliographic reference). SKE58699.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1862-1875, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 1st Edition : 1862-1875 (Map). SWX11831.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1893-7, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 2nd edition : 1893-1898 (Map). SWX11832.

<6> Ordnance Survey, 1905-10, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 3rd edition: 1901-1912 (Map). SWX11833.