A brief history of Broadstairs

Broadstairs is perhaps best known for its Blue Flag beaches, high-quality pubs and restaurants, a thriving tourism scene, and its fascinating history which, of course, includes its association with Charles Dickens, who famously lived here for a brief period.

Bleak House is arguably one of Broadstairs’ most famous landmarks and is steeped in a rich history.  Charles Dickens spent his summer holidays at ‘Bleak House’ during the mid-nineteenth century, and he is known to have penned David Copperfield whilst here.  The building was known as ‘Fort House’ during the years Dickens spent time at the residence.  In the early part of the 20th century, the building underwent a vast extension and was renamed ‘Bleak House’.  The house that you see today, having doubled in size during the aforementioned extension, is one Dickens would not recognise as his beloved Fort House.

The change of name was due to speculation that the bleak house that’s mentioned in the Dickens’ novel of the same name, was referencing his Broadstairs holiday home.  The claim is not confirmed, but the building’s moniker was amended and has stayed the same ever since.  Today, Bleak House functions as a high-class bed and breakfast with unrivaled views of Viking Bay.

In the Community

Broadstairs has a wonderful heritage, and it prides itself on having such a tight-knit, close community.  Nowadays, a lot of towns have lost that warm feeling of belonging, where everybody knows each other, but not Broadstairs.  Friendly faces everywhere, if you hail from this alluring seaside town, it’s more than likely you’d struggle to walk through it and not recognise at least a couple of people.

Events throughout the year keeps Broadstairs thriving.  There’s the ever-evolving Wheels & Fins festival at Joss Bay which just gets bigger and better year upon year, Broadstairs Blues Bash which continues to go from strength to strength and has recently had its tenth year (see our article on the Blues Bash here), and, of course, Folk Week, which has now been going for over 50 years and really brings the whole town together.

Aside from these events, there are also food fairs, fireworks throughout summer, a host of events at the town’s very own theatre (Sarah Thorne) and, if you like music, then look no further!  Broadstairs’ pubs seem to have a never-ending stream of musicians passing through their doors and at the weekend you are nearly always spoilt for choice of where to go.

What about the people of Broadstairs?

Pierremont Stores c.1980

There are a lot of people that do lots of things within the town to keep up the community spirit that is so ingrained.

Pierremont Stores, now the Chef & Butcher, which stands on the corner of High Street and Pierremont Avenue and opposite the beautiful Pierremont Park, was an old-fashioned hardware and gardening shop owned by a couple named Derek and Pauline Burch.  They moved from London via Upnor before setting up shop (literally) in Broadstairs.  Having first purchased the shop in  the late seventies, they became well-known in Broadstairs.  Their pleasant, friendly attitude and

Pierremont Stores c.1979

knowledge of their trade meant they were appreciated and respected, and they were pillars of society.  A few years ago, with Derek and Pauline being my grandparents, I posted to the Broadstairs History page a picture of them.  Quickly, many people remembered their faces saying how wonderful they were, and, even though the photograph posted was, probably, at least twenty years after they’d left the shop, there was an undeniable feeling of warmth towards them – a testament to the couple’s impact on their town.  In fact, an old assistant of their’s who worked in the shop as a teenager even commented saying how much support Derek and Pauline had given him in his formative years, and how sad he’d been upon hearing about Derek’s passing (in 2005).

It’s people like Derek and Pauline who help maintain a town’s reputation, and there are many more people throughout the years who’ve had the same impact.  With big corporations taking over high streets across the UK, Broadstairs has remained as independent as it possibly can in these changing times, and we hope that the local shops continue to thrive, and the community spirit remains in place for years to come.

By Nick Foreman

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