Sandgate was first noted as Sandy Gate in the 13^th Century as a Guard post, but it’s history really began in 1539 when Henry the eighth built the Castle as one of a chain of defences along with Walmer-Deal-Sandown and Camber to defend the coast from the Spanish.

The accounts for the building of the Castle are held in the British Museum and show that it was built mainly using the stone from demolished Priories, particularly from St. Radigunds in Dover. In addition, they used 147,000 bricks, the total cost was £5,544.  It was never attacked except by the sea which has done a great deal of damage to it over the centuries. Elizabeth 1 visited on 25^th August 1573.

An estate map of 1697, shows an empty stretch of coast, and inland part of the estate of Lord Radnor.  In 1773, Fabian Clayton Wilson, a shipbuilder, acquired the lease of the beach and land behind it from the Radnor estate.  He built 30 weather boarded cottages at the bottom of Sandgate Hill for his workers. Some of these still exist as private dwellings.  He was soon followed by 3 other shipbuilders along the beach.

Wilson built 2×28 gun frigates and 1×16 gun frigate.

Steward and Hall built 2×28 gun frigates.  One of these, The Dido, is depicted in a painting in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich showing it in battle off Minorca in 1795.

Phineus Jacobs built 1×28 gun and 1×16 gun frigate.

Colledge built 3×16 gun frigates.

All were built on the beach and fully manned before launch.  They also built fishing boats and trade lasted about 100 years.

The boat building history of Sandgate ended in the 1930s when Dick Graves was building rowing boats in a shed at the eastern end of the Riviera.

Not only were ships built in Sandgate, but a number of notable shipwrecks occurred along its coast.

On the 31^st May 1878, the German warship GROSSER KURFURST was sunk following collision with her sister ship the KONIG WILHELM. Members of the Folkestone fishing fleet went to their aid; 85 crew were saved, 3 dying later of exhaustion, 276 perished, including 7 officers.  The massed grave of the victims is marked by a grey stone obelisk, set aside from other memorials in Folkestone Cemetery. The names on it were desecrated due to anti German sentiments in WW1, now it only records the incident.

In 1825 The Lady of Calcutta, and East Indiaman sank with the loss of all 790 on board.

In 1891, the 2000 ton, fully rigged Benvenue was caught in mountainous seas and an 80mph gale.  She broke away from the tug and sank 450 yards off Wellington Terrace.  Twenty- seven crew climbed into the rigging and attempts to launch the Lifeboat were unsuccessful.  It was taken to Hythe to use the tidal current, but it capsized and a young crew member Charles Fagg was washed overboard and drowned.  Due to the 80 mph winds, attempts to launch were abandoned; 17 rockets were fired in an attempt to get a rope over to her.  About 8.00pm the storm abated and the lifeboat was launched.

The 27 crew had spent 15 hours in the rigging through one of the worst storms of the 19^th century.  The rest of the crew perished.  The master, Captain Modrel is buried in St Martin’s churchyard in Cheriton.

An interesting history for such a small place!