Carlton Cinema, Westgate-on-Sea

The Carlton Cinema, in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, England dates from 1910. The extension of the railway into East Kent in 1871 led to the creation of a number of seaside resorts along the Kent coast to the west of Margate. Westgate-on-Sea was built in the 1870 by the London-based developers Corbett & McClymont. In 1910, a town hall was constructed but within 2 years, the building had been converted into a cinema. Originally named the Town Hall Cinema, it was renamed the Carlton in the 1930s. It remains a, privately owned, functioning cinema and is a Grade II listed building.

Carlton Cinema
"An extraordinary mélange" - John Newman
TypeCinema
LocationWestgate-on-Sea, Kent
Coordinates51°22′56″N 1°20′12″E / 51.3821°N 1.3366°E / 51.3821; 1.3366
Built1910
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameNos 25 to 35 (Odd) Including Carlton Cinema
Designated22 September 1973
Reference no.1094678
Carlton Cinema, Westgate-on-Sea is located in Kent
Carlton Cinema, Westgate-on-Sea
Location of Carlton Cinema in Kent

History and description

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The north-east Kent coast had been a popular holiday resort for Londoners since the establishment of Margate as one of England's first seaside resorts in the early 18th century.[1] The 1860s saw the completion of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway with its terminal at Margate opening in 1863.[2] This led to the construction of a number of resorts along the Kent coast to the west of Margate, including Westgate-on-Sea. Developed by the firm of Corbett & McClymont, which had a large property development and construction business in West London, many of the buildings in the town were designed by the company architect Charles Beazley.[3]

The town hall does not have a recorded architect but was built in 1910. Within two years, it had been converted to a cinema and it remains a privately run cinema a century later.[4] John Newman, in his Kent: Northeast and East Pevsner, describes the Carlton as "an extraordinary mélange of disparate motifs".[3] A central, crenellated clock tower is flanked by two-storey, gabled wings[5] with chimneystacks of an "outsized" Tudoresque appearance.[3] Beneath the clock face is a statue of a trumpeting angel.[5] To the rear is a range of windows in a Moorish Revival style.[3] Margate's Civic society describes the overall architectural effect as "Swiss-Gothic".[6] The cinema is a Grade II listed building.[5][7]

References

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  1. ^ Barker et al. 2007, p. 1.
  2. ^ McCarthy & McCarthy 2007, p. 125.
  3. ^ a b c d Newman 2013, p. 596.
  4. ^ "Carlton Cinema". Thanet District Council. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Historic England. "Nos 25 to 35 (Odd) including Carlton Cinema (Grade II) (1094678)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Autumn 2013 Newsletter" (PDF). Margate Civic Society. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Listed Buildings: Westgate-on-Sea". www.westgateonseacaag.org.uk. Westgate-on-Sea Conservation Area Advisory Group. Retrieved 13 August 2020.

Sources

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