Tankerton Information Board - Marine Parade, Tankerton, Whitstable, Kent, UK
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 51° 21.883 E 001° 02.300
31U E 363438 N 5692210
On the clifftop in Tankerton is this information board describing the area.
Waymark Code: WMEC7J
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/06/2012
Views: 4
The information board reads as follows:
'From here you can see a panorama of passing ships, distant Southend and the remains of two wartime forts. For centuries people have stood here and enjoyed the changing scenery.
The beacon to your left was part of a national early-warning system; this replica shows the type of pitch-pot which Edward III introduced around 1330. The beacons were lit in 1588 to warn of the Spanish Armada and were kept in readiness at the time of Napolean. This vantage point was never fortified; the cannons are purely decorative and the nearby "Castle" is a house dating from the 1790s.
The open and once deserted seashore below you was called Smugglers Bay, and a coastguard watch-house was built nearby.
The natural stretch of shingle which you can see at low tide is called "The Street". It marked the eastern end of the Whitstable oyster grounds. A navigation mark on the cliffs below helped ships navigate to anchor in Whitstable Bay.
It is a splendid walk along "The Street" - but take care when the tide is coming in! There is a legend that "The Street" was a causeway for unloading cargo in Roman times when the coastline was much further out. Another legend speaks of a sunken village called Le Craston, or Greystone. There is no evidence for either.
The area around you was farmland until 1890, when it was sold to the Tankerton Estate Company. They planned the grid of parallel roads as a basis for a grand seaside resort.
There was, for a time, a little pier, a bandstand, and a place for summer shows near the Tankerton Arms. The resort was fairly busy between the two wars. The beach huts have always been popular; in those days owners could sleep in them as though at home.
If you walk eastwards you will find a patch of very rare plant called Hog's Fennel. Further on, at the strangely named Priest and Sow Corner, prehistoric stone and bronze implements, and even older mammoth's tusks, have been found. Beyond that, at Long Rock, there is a stretch of undeveloped beach. To the west you will find "The Castle" and summer tea-gardens with an information panel about the copperas industry. Beyond that it is only a short distance to the harbour and the old fishing town of Whitstable.
This Panel is one of a series provided by the Whitstable Improvement Trust. Each panel presents the background story of part of the town. Together they build up a picture of Whitstable and its history. You can learn more at the Museum and through local publications available from the Whitstable Improvement Trust.
The map gives directions to other panels nearby. We hope you will stroll round and enjoy the character of our town.
Text written by Geoffrey Pike and Mike Page, with illustrations by Norma Fryer. Designed & Produced by Albion Design, Whitstable.
This panel has been sponsored in loving memory of Gertrude Ann Russell, by her son Alan.
Whitstable Improvement Trust 1992.'
The information board is illustrated with Hog's Fennel, Axe Heads, a view across the bay showing the old bandstand and with a map of the immediate area.
Type of Historic Marker: Information Board
Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Whitstable Improvement Trust
Age/Event Date: 01/01/1992
Related Website: [Web Link]
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