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 | |
| Type | Cinema |
| Location | Westgate-on-Sea, Kent |
| Coordinates | 51.3821°N 1.3366°E |
| Built | 1910 |
| Governing body | Privately owned |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Nos 25 to 35 (Odd) Including Carlton Cinema |
| Designated | 22 September 1973 |
| Reference no. | 1094678 |
  Location of Carlton Cinema in Kent | |
History and description
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
- Barker et al. 2007, p. 1.
- McCarthy & McCarthy 2007, p. 125.
- Newman 2013, p. 596.
- "Carlton Cinema". Thanet District Council. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- Historic England. "Nos 25 to 35 (Odd) including Carlton Cinema (Grade II) (1094678)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- "Autumn 2013 Newsletter" (PDF). Margate Civic Society. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- "Listed Buildings: Westgate-on-Sea". www.westgateonseacaag.org.uk. Westgate-on-Sea Conservation Area Advisory Group. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
Sources
- Barker, Nigel; Brodie, Allan; Dermott, Nick; Jessop, Lucy; Winter, Gary (2007). Margate's Seaside Heritage. London: English Heritage. ISBN 978-1-905-62466-9.
- McCarthy, Colin; McCarthy, David (2007). Railways of Britain: Kent and Sussex. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-3222-4. OCLC 931370894.
- Newman, John (2013). Kent: North East and East. The Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18506-5. OCLC 1114904691.