March 20th Talk on the National Coastwatch Institution
2025-03-20 19:00 - 20:00 UTC | San Clu Hotel, Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8DT, United Kingdom
Thanks to Becky Wing for permission to use her photo taken after the recent high winds swept along our East Cliff. It is easy to see what the gale has done but what is happening inside the National Coastwatch station? Who are they? What do they do? How do they fit alongside the Coastguards and RNLI etc.?
The National Coastwatch Institution first became a presence in Ramsgate in August 2023 with the attendance of an exhibition trailer near the main beach. The organisation has 56 Lookout Watchstations around the Coast and the one on the East Cliff was added less than a year ago.
Our talk at the San Clu on March 20th will be led by Dave Coupland in a session which promises a multi-media combination of slides, display boards, video and some hands-on equipment. The Watchstations are entirely run by volunteers and he will be joined by their membership secretary, Yvonne Smith.
Following an increase in cost for both room hire and the booking system the fee for booking all talks will now be rounded up from £2:88p to a straight £3 (something that many of you have recommended all along!)
As usual, the event takes place at The San Clu Hotel with doors open at 6:30pm and the talk itself from 7pm to 8pm. Non members of the society are requested to consider an additional voluntary donation of £3 or to take the opportunity at the talk to join the Society.
Book here in advance to attend: https://bit.ly/CoastwatchTalk

Chine to Chine Litter Pick
2025-03-23 10:00 - 12:00 | The Clock House, Royal Harbour, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8LS, United Kingdom
As our contribution to the Great Ramsgate Spring Clean (March 21st to 30th) we will be repeating our Chine to Chine Litterpick on Sunday March 23rd.
Meet at the Clockhouse from 10am to 12 noon and spreading out between the chines either end of Ramsgate to collect as much litter as possible. All equipment will be provided.
Everyone welcome – especially families – with sweets and stickers available at the end of the event.

April 24th Talk on the Ramsgate RNLI
2025-04-24 19:00 - 20:00 | San Clu Hotel, Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8DT, United Kingdom
For our next talk we welcome John Ray from the RNLI to talk about the past and present saving of lives by the Ramsgate lifeboat crews.
John has been actively involved with the RNLI for over 40 years in a variety of roles and is currently Ramsgate RNLI’s archivist and a water safety education advisor. His talk will cover the history and work of lifeboats at Ramsgate since 1802.
This May there will be much celebration in the town of the 85th. anniversary of the rescue of British and allied troops from Dunkirk so his history will include the unique role of Thanet’s lifeboats during Operation Dynamo.
As usual the talk will be at the San Clu Hotel with doors open at 6:30pm and the event running from 7pm to 8pm. Booking is required in advance at £3 per person. Non-members of the Ramsgate Society will be invited to make a further donation on the day or we can accept credit cards to join you up there and then!
Pre-booking is essential for this talk here: https://bit.ly/RNLITalk or click on the website code below.

Announcing The Little Ships Film Festival at The Granville Theatre
2025-05-19 19:00 - 2025-05-21 19:00 | The Granville Theatre, Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8DG, United Kingdom
Over the last few months, we have gently trailed some of the events that will be taking place in Ramsgate between May 15th and May 26th to commemorate the 85th anniversary of Operation Dynamo. As we get closer to these dates, more and more events are being confirmed and we will send all Ramsgate Society members a detailed list of these in early May.
Central to the activity will be over 70 of the original Little Ships, and the rather larger Medway Queen, that will be assembling in our Royal Harbour from May 15th. They will then join a similar number of support vessels and a naval escort to head to Dunkirk from 6am to 10am on May 21st (weather permitting). Most will then return to Ramsgate on May 26th between 2pm and 4pm (again weather permitting).
Over the same period from May 15th to 26th there will be numerous activities for locals and visitors to enjoy. Most of these will be free and this includes The Little Ships Film Festival at The Granville Theatre that will run each evening from Monday May 19th to Wednesday May 21st.
The Granville Theatre have made a significant donation through the waiver of three days venue hire. They will be running the festival: setting up, running and packing up the cinema equipment, managing the audience experience, paying their staff, heating and cleaning the venue, etc. for free.
The Ramsgate Society is paying for equipment hire and film licensing costs. Ramsgate Town Council is paying for promotional design and materials. Ramsgate Working History has donated the films in BluRay format, plus research, planning and coordination effort.
We hope that you will support this film festival – it is totally free, no tickets in advance so just turn up in good time on the days and tell your friends and family. Children are welcome within the limits of each of the film classification certificates.
Finally, we want to thank Nick Rankin. The film festival was his idea and he has done an amazing job in working to bring it about.
Terry Prue
Communication Lead

Our June Talk: From Vacancy to Vibrancy – The Role of Ramsgate Space in Local Regeneration
2025-06-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Oddfellows Hall, 142 High Street, Ramsgate, Kent, CT119TY, United Kingdom
This talk will be led by Louise Brookes, a Founder and Executive Director of Ramsgate Space CIC, who brings over 15 years of expertise in town centre revitalisation and a track record of transforming empty shops across the UK into thriving community assets. She will introduce other members of the team with equally impressive credentials on the night.
Ramsgate Space is a grassroots initiative working to bring Ramsgate’s empty shops back into use quickly, creatively, and with long-term ambition. Louise and her team will explore how they are using pop-ups, testing trading, and cultural events to activate disused spaces while building a pipeline toward more permanent solutions.
Alongside stories from Ramsgate Space HQ and other early interventions, the talk will look at the structural barriers to reuse; from fragmented ownership to slow legislation, and discuss what tools, funding streams, and policy changes could unlock further progress. As more towns grapple with high street decline, they will consider what regeneration really means at street level, and how local people can help shape it.
As part of the evening, they will invite attendees to take part in a short interactive activity: “Shops We Miss, Spaces We Imagine.” You’ll have the chance to share memories of much-missed local shops and contribute your ideas for how empty spaces in Ramsgate could be used in the future. Your insights will help inform the ongoing work of Ramsgate Space CIC.
We believe this is such an important talk that we are transferring to a larger venue at the Oddfellows Hall 142 High St, Ramsgate CT11 9TY so there should be no problem fitting everyone in but we must still ask you to pay £3 to book your place.
As usual doors open with bar at 6:30pm and the talk will run from 7pm to 8p
Tickets https://bit.ly/RamsgateSpaceTalk or click the website URL listed below

Ramsgate Society 2025 Annual General Meeting
2025-07-09 19:00 - 20:00 | San Clu Hotel, Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8DT, United Kingdom
All members should have received notification of our AGM at 7pm on July 9Th at the San Clu Hotel together with details of how to nominate people to join the executive committee.
No booking required for this event, but you must be a member to attend. A reminder of the agenda for the meeting:
1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Apologies for Absence
3. Minutes of the 2024 AGM & Any Matters Arising
4. Chairman’s Report for 2024-25.
5. Any Proposed Changes to the Constitution
6. The Hon. Treasurer’s Report and Accounts for 2024
7. Election of the Executive Committee for 2025-26
8. Election of the Officers of the Society for 2025-26
9. Members’ Questions, Comments and Suggestions
10. Any Other Business

Heritage Open Day Talk by Clive Aslet: "If Walls Could Talk....Ramsgate's Architectural Secrets"
2025-09-15 19:00 - 20:00 | Oddfellows Hall, 142 High Street, Ramsgate, Kent, CT119TY, United Kingdom
Heritage Open Days (HOD) is England’s largest festival of history and culture and runs for ten days every year. This year the dates are Friday 12th to Sunday 21st September and, as always, there will be free access to heritage events and activities across England. The national theme this year is ‘architecture’ and could have been chosen especially for our town!
There is so much of architectural interest in Ramsgate and we are dighted to have Clive Aslet to be our guide to some of the more unusual, or simply just forgotten, gems in our town.
Clive Aslet will be familiar to many of you as President and past speaker at previous events of the the Ramsgate Society. He is also a writer on British architecture and life, a Visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge and publisher of Triglyph Books. For 13 years he was the Editor of Country Life magazine and currently co-hoasts the podcast ‘Your Places or Mine’ with John Goodall, the current architectural editor of Country Life.
Clive was educated at King’s College School in Wimbledon and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he earned a degree in the history of architecture.He has regularly broadcast on radio and television current affairs programmes including Newsnight. He is also Chairman of The Lutyens Society.
The talk will take place at the Oddfellows Hal, 142 High St and, in keeping with the HOD ethos, will be free of charge – but we do still need you to book so that we can control the numbers. Book at https://bit.ly/CliveAsletTalk or use the website link below.
Doors will open at 6:30pm and the talk, including Q&A will run from 7pm till 8pm

Our next Litter Pick: October 25th at Jackey Bakers Field
2025-10-25 10:00 - 12:00 | Jackey Bakers Recreation Ground, Highfield Road, Ramsgate, CT126QL, United Kingdom
Meet us at the car park next to the playground on Highfield Road at 10am on Saturday 25th October for our next Litter Pick.
A fun couple of hours for all the family that also encourages good civic behaviour without being preachy!
We provide the equipment and ‘rewards’ for children taking part.
We recommend long trousers and good gloves as there are areas of rough ground and brambles

Launch of Commemorative Book of Dunkirk Little Ships 2025
2025-11-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Royal Temple Yacht Club, 6 Westcliff Mansions, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 9HY, United Kingdom
This is not a Ramsgate Society event but as we were closely involved with the commemorative events in May, which we know many of you attended, we are passing on an invitation to the launch of the official commemorative book at the Royal Temple Yacht Club on Friday, November 7th, from 6–8p. There is also an opportunity to purchase this book at a discounted price if you pre-order by 8th October.
Dunkirk Little Ships 2025 is a hardback, A4 landscape book, created by award-winning photographer Mike Goldwater. The book features over 300 images capturing the Little Ships crossing, as well as events held in both Ramsgate and Dunkirk. Every Little Ship that took part in the 85th Anniversary Return is included in the pictures in the book.

“These photographs capture the presence and meaning of the Little Ships with great poignancy. May they stand as a lasting tribute to the spirit of Dunkirk, and ensure this remarkable legacy continues to inspire future generations.”
Prince Michael of Kent

To help with printing numbers, Mike would be very grateful if you could pre-order your copies via the link below. Deadline for pre-orders due to printing schedule is 8th October 25.
Pre-ordering gives you the option to either:
Collect your signed copy (£20) at the launch or
Have it posted (£26) to you.

Click to pre-order here

November Talk: The World's Finest Shelter of its Time
2025-11-27 19:00 - 20:00 | San Clu Hotel, Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8DT, United Kingdom
Historic England Image of Merrie England in 1932: Ramsgate Tourism is booming but dark days are coming!
For our next talk we are delighted to welcome Max Streatfield to talk about “The World’s Finest Shelter of its Time”. We are sure you will be quick to guess he means the Ramsgate Tunnels – you know where they are but how much do you really know about their history?
Max himself has a long personal connection with the place. He has been a volunteer there since 2016 but his involvement goes way back. To quote directly:
“My Parents were Tunnel Rats and my Grandfather was in the Fire Service for WW2. I first entered the Railway Tunnel aged 11 and later became a local firefighter which involved entering the Tunnels officially from 1982. My passion has grown for the Tunnels from continuing to research their history.”
He will be joined for the Q&A session by Garry Saunders who added much in the way of new research about the lesser-known connections between the Ramsgate Tunnels and those in Barcelona at the time of the Spanish Civil War. There is an exhibition about this connection at the tunnel entrance until the end of October which we hope will whet your appetite for this talk.
From the talk you will learn why Ramsgate needed these Tunnels and about the 3 Men that took on the Government to make it happen.
1) The story will start with WW1 and how Ramsgate became the most Bombed Seaside Town in the Country.
2) The Vision of what Ramsgate would need in regard to the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) for the possible WW2.
3) How the design came from the Spanish Civil War
4) The Construction.
5) The Ultimate Test.
To quote again from Max: “We are still Learning and seeking the answers on how this happened here in Ramsgate. My Parents were saved, so that is why I am alive and can look forward to talking to you on November 27th”
This talk on November 27th will be at the San Clu Hotel with doors opening 6:30pm and the talk plus Q&A running from 7pm to 8pm. Pre-booking is essential at £3 for Ramsgate Society members and £5 for non-members.
Click Here to Book

2026 January Talk: Monkton Nature Reserve - Thanet's Hidden Gem
2026-01-22 19:00 - 20:00 | San Clu Hotel, Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8DT, United Kingdom
For our first talk of 2026, Dr Clive Nuttman, will share some lesser known aspects of the Reserve’s history, nature and achievements.

Dr Clive Nuttman describes himself as a semi-retired Environmental Biologist now volunteering to help the renaissance of Monkton Nature Reserve following ‘near extinction’ in the Covid pandemic.
His former research was in Pollination Ecology at St Andrew’s University and he worked for a number of years in the Zoology Department at Cambridge University for the Tropical Biology Association, a conservation charity working to train young scientists in East Africa and Madagascar.
Earlier this year, Monkton Nature Reserve celebrated the 40th anniversary of its opening ceremony. Now run by the Thanet Countryside Trust (a registered charity), the organisation has built on the work of the earlier Thanet Conservation Group and countless volunteers to provide a vibrant site for visitors.
With conservation and education as driving influences, the reserve has welcomed over 13,000 visitors this year including over 3,000 local schoolchildren on organised trips.
At the Ramsgate Society we feel the description ‘hidden gem’ is so appropriate and we hope you will come to learn more about this local landmark that is so much more than just a holiday attraction.
Tickets must be purchased on advance from https://bit.ly/MonktonTalk (see also Website URL link below). Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7pm start. Ticket cost of £3 is for Ramsgate Society members. For non-members it is £5.
Drone photo of the Monkton Reserve by Nik Mitchell

March Talk: Kathryn Ferry on Seaside Architecture
2026-03-26 19:00 - 20:00 | San Clu Hotel, Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8DT, United Kingdom
The next Ramsgate Society Talk takes place on March 26 at The San Clu and we welcome a historian specialising in architecture, design and seaside culture. Author of numerous books she also shares her research through magazine articles, radio, television, podcasts, social media and, of course, lectures to a wide range of audiences from national museums to local history and community groups.
We are delighted that she has agreed to come to Ramsgate to expand upon her 2025 book on ‘Twentieth Century Seaside Architecture: Pools, Piers and Pleasure around Britain’s Coast’.
She describes this publication as a nostalgic exploration of Britain’s distinctive and architecturally significant seafront buildings from the 1920s to the new millennium. Told chronologically, she explores how resort architecture around the UK coast kept pace with changing fashions and the increasing competition of foreign destinations.
As seaside towns like ours ponder the future and as climate change and the soaring cost of living provoke changing attitudes to travel, she believes this is the perfect time to champion the architectural legacy of our domestic tourism.
Booking in advance is essential at https://bit.ly/KathrynFerryTalk and tickets are £3 for Ramsgate Society members andd £5 for Non-members. Note that doors open at 6:30pm with the talk itself with Q&A from 7pm to 8pm. Kathryn will also bring some books to the talk.

April Talk: David Wilson on Local Government Reorganisation
2026-04-23 19:00 - 20:00 | San Clu Hotel, Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8DT, United Kingdom
On April 23rd we welcome David Wilson to take us through the issues and opportunities presented by the proposed Local Government Reorganisation. David is a former Canterbury City Councillor, and a campaigner on local issues. He has lived in Canterbury since 2012. He has extensive experience in Local Government as an officer and political activist, in authorities including Aberdeen, Hull and Haringey. He has written extensively on the question of Local Government Reform and reorganisation. He is currently a director of a charity creating homes for Porchlight’s clients to support their “Housing First” programme.
He describes current proposals as the largest shake up of Local Government in our area for 50 years and it is coming in 2027. District Councils and the County will be replaced by a Kent wide Mayor and three or four Unitary Councils. How will this work, and how will it affect the residents of Ramsgate and East Kent? Dave Wilson will explain what the changes entail, what options the Government is considering, the timetable and impact for the change programme, and what opportunities that creates for Town and Parish councils and for residents.
To book for this very important event go to https://bit.ly/LocalGovTalk Cost is £3 for Ramsgate Society members and £5 for non-members.
It will be at the San Clu Hotel and, as always, it is essential that you book in advance. Doors will open at 6:30pm on April 23rd with the talk, including Q & A, running from 7pm to 8pm,
