Ramsgate Montefiore Heritage: Shipwreck

Why did Moses and Judith Montefiore choose Ramsgate for their maritime residence? This question is often asked. They still maintained their home in London in Park Lane, not far from Judith's sister, Hannah Rothschild, in Piccadilly. One of the considerations in their choice of Ramsgate must have been the travelling time to and from London.

The town had always been readily accessible by land and sea. By sea, the Margate Hoy had been the favoured form of transport from London, until the coming of the steamboat in 1816 had made the journey by water quicker, but not necessarily safer. The choice was stage coach or steamboat. The Montefiores appeared to have used both; the first regular steamboat service to Ramsgate started in 1820. By 1827, there were daily sailings between London and Margate and twice weekly sailings for Ramsgate with regular sailings to Ostend, Calais and Boulogne from the latter port. The Essential Guide for Travellers by Steamboat of 1831, tells us that there are departures from two London wharves: London Bridge and St Katherine's Dock near the Tower. The usual starting time was nine in the morning but on Saturdays an additional vessel left at two in the afternoon for the husbands joining families at the weekend.

The Montefiores were as vulnerable as everyone else to the dangers of the sea, as on their ill-fated journey back to town from Margate at 9 o'clock on a foggy October morning in 1836, there was a collision just beyond Margate and their boat had to be abandoned. They were taken off by a fishing smack and taken to Sheerness where they could find no sort of conveyance and were obliged to go by boat to Chatham and thence by post-chaise into London where they arrived after one in the morning. Montefiore writes: "My poor dear wife conducted herself with her usual admirable courage."

Coleridge, the author of 'The Ancient Mariner' favoured the steamboat; fortunately, he, himself, does not appear to have been exposed to any danger on the Ramsgate run. He disliked the cramped conditions of the coach, we are told by Allan Clayson in his book 'Wish you were here'.

Happily, by the 1850s, a third option, the railway, had arrived, providing a quicker and safer form of travel. The journey by boat from London to Ramsgate took six and a half hours, weather-permitting, compared with only two and a half to three hours by train, in most weathers. The coming of the railways made Ramsgate Sands more accessible to many more visitors and with the opening of the Ramsgate Harbour railway station, virtually on the beach, the town became the popular resort some may still remember; it lasted until the 1960s, when cheap flights and the warmer climes of the Costa del Sol attracted the popular summer visitor.

Written by:
Mark Negin,
Ramsgate Montefiore Heritage