Portal:Kent/Selected article

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Ramsgate is an English seaside town on the Isle of Thanet in east Kent. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. Ramsgate's harbour is a defining characteristic of the town. The construction of Ramsgate Harbour began in 1749 and was completed in about 1850. Because of its proximity to mainland Europe, Ramsgate was a chief embarkation point both during the Napoleonic Wars and for the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.

The town began as a fishing and farming hamlet and it's name has its earliest reference as Hraefn's ate, or cliff gap, later to be rendered 'Ramisgate' or 'Remmesgate' around 1225 and 'Ramesgate' from 1357. The Viking leaders Hengest and Horsa landed in the 5th century. The Christian missionary St. Augustine landed in Ramsgate in 597 which marks the beginning of Christianity in England.