Above engraving, circa 1830s.

Above engraving circa 1853.

Above print, circa 1850.

Above print 1850.

Above photo date unknown.

Above picture taken from a stereo card, date unknown.

Kentish Weekly Post or Canterbury Journal, Friday 22 March 1811.

DEATH

March 16, at Margate, Mr. ------- Irish, many years landlord of the Tap at Kidman's Hotel.

Morning Post 01 July 1823.

MARGATE, JUNE 29.

This place has felt the backwardness of the season in the absence of its accustomed visitants; but, if the company has not been so numerous, it has been more select. Among the arrivals at the "Royal Hotel" are the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, Mr. Irving, M.P., The Earl of Winchelsea, Mr. Finch, Mr. Harman, the Hon. George Watson, Sir John Palmer, the Hon. G. F. Milles, the Rev. Wheeler, Capt. Donellan, etc; and the "York Hotel" boasts as fashionable a list. The steam-boats are now bringing large importations, and the lodging-houses are filling fast, A new range of buildings have been erected since last year on the Fort, which, from the extensive prospect they enjoy, are in universal request.

From the https://www.margatelocalhistory.co.uk accessed 11 January 2021.

The Report in the Daily News stressed the past history of the Assembly Rooms:

The destruction by fire of the old Royal Assembly Room in Margate will be regretted by visitors who have a kindly eye for associations with the past. It was erected in 1769, together, as an adjoining mural tablet records, with the solid, comfortable-looking, red-brick houses of "Cecil-square," of which the Assembly Room formed one side. This spot, now hidden away behind the houses in the upper part of the town, was long afterwards the very centre of the life and gaiety of this seaside resort. As it appeared then so the Assembly Room continued to appear till the other day, with its conspicuously broad front and its row of quaint white wooden pillars extending over the roadway of the square; but its former functions had suffered decline, and of late it had been mostly used for occasional concerts and semi-dramatic entertainments. A guide to the sea-bathing places of England, published in the year of the Battle of Waterloo, describes its principal room on the first floor as “a splendid apartment eighty-seven feet long, forty-three feet broad, and of proportionate height, adorned with busts of his present Majesty and the late Duke of Cumberland.” It was a cherished tradition of the place that the "first gentleman in Europe" had more than once danced a cotillion on its chalked floor; not to speak of other distinguished though less exalted "votaries" — as our great grandfathers liked to express it — "of the Terpsichorean art." It was the under­standing that the season could by no possibility commence earlier or later than the King's birthday, the fourth of June, and that the last ball night must be in October. Nor was it less de rigueur that the first dance should commence at eight o'clock, and that the ball should finish at twelve precisely, even though that should entail breaking off in the middle of a dance. Margate was severe moreover in the matter of etiquette; for it was sternly exacted “that on ball nights no ladies be admitted into the great room in habits; nor gentlemen in swords, boots, or pantaloons — military gentlemen only excepted." Those visitors who preferred to play at whist or quadrille in the card rooms were required in all cases to pay eleven shillings for two packs of cards, and seven shillings for a single pack; and on no account was any one permitted to use a pack left by another party. Those were days when “excursions” were unknown, and going to Margate, whether by coach or by the old "Hoy” whose captain and passengers have been so picturesquely described by Charles Lamb, was a serious business, implying, as a rule, an intention to make a sojourn of more or less duration. For such visitors evening amusements were as essential as the sands and the fresh air for the morning walk. Altogether the old Assembly Room may be said to have done useful service in its day, entitling it to respectful sympathy under the calamity that has at last overtaken it.

From the https://www.margatelocalhistory.co.uk accessed 11 January 2021.

The final report, that from the Illustrated Police News, presents a summary view of the fire:

DESTRUCTION OF THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS, MARGATE.

Seldom if ever, in the history of Margate has such a calamity visited the borough as that which occurred on Friday week. The calamity is not only disastrous on account of the amount of property destroyed, but also on account of the historical link with the past when perhaps Margate took a higher rank as a fashionable watering place than she had ever done before, or has ever done since, when Royalty recruited itself by the pure air, the sea bathing, and the amusements which were then provided — which, as with a breath, has been destroyed in one night. To Londoners the Assembly Rooms, Margate has long been familiar; and from one end of the country to the other, its fame has spread, while for Margate it has done perhaps as much as any other places of amusement in providing for the wants of the visitors seeking relaxations. For that reason alone the destruction which has overtaken the handsome and familiar rooms in which it has been the custom to hear the great works of our greatest masters given in a manner worthy of the works themselves, and where so many thousands have spent the evening in dancing to the strains of a first-class band, dinners, and public meetings, and entertainments of all kinds have for over a century been held, will excite feelings of deep interest and regret. Unfortunately the conflagration was not confined to the Assembly Rooms, but spread in both directions — up Cecil-street and along Cecil-square — until six houses were included in the mournful catalogue of destruction, and now the southern side of Cecil-square is a heap of ruins. The origin of the fire will probably remain a mystery; it is believed that it may have been caused by some careless smoker emptying his pipe or throwing away his light either from the billiard-room or from the lavatory, the entrance to which was under the main staircase, where it is said that there was a grating over a cellar which contained a quantity of straw and rubbish. However that may be, when once the fire had obtained a hold no earthly power could have saved it from destruction; the building an old one, above the ground floor was of wood — lath and plaster chiefly — and with such materials to hand the devouring element had little difficulty in igniting the whole rooms. A remarkable circumstance connected with the ignition of the rooms was that the fire passed with such wonderful rapidity against the wind from the western to the eastern end of the building. But in addition to there being all the conditions necessary for the preparation of a great conflagration, the wind was blowing a gale, carrying the sparks for hundreds of yards to the west, spreading the flames and the heat to an alarming extent, even to the broiling of the houses on the opposite side of the square, rendering it impossible for persons to stand in Queen-street or the Upper Marine-terrace; while to this must be added, as an aggravating evil, the alleged shortness of the water supply, which greatly nullified the efforts of the firemen and their numerous ready and willing assistants, though undoubtedly the firemen were prevented from using their appliances with proper effect on account of the amazing heat which prevented them approaching very close to the flames, and the strong wind which blew the jets of water away from the blazing mass, thus leaving the fire to work its way almost unhindered. With respect to the water supply it is difficult to tell where the fault lay. The Waterworks department did their utmost, the pumping engines being at work all night and keeping up the store at 20,000 gallons, and it is believed that the pressure in the mains was 14 lb to the inch; the supply to all other districts but those in the immediate vicinity of the fire was cut off, and so the whole force was concentrated in two mains, from which however at least a dozen jets were taken, each of course diminishing the pressure upon the others. The hydrants, however, were only turned on at two thirds, and even then the pressure was sufficient to frequently burst the hose while two engines in the square could not use all the water which ran into the dam from which they worked. By the time the servants in the hotel had been awoke, and had thrown some wraps around them, the smoke in the stairs and passages of the hotel had become so dense that a candle would not burn, and they had to grope their way out of the house in the dark, and through the blinding smoke. The inmates of the hotel were received by Mr. Searles, 12, Cecil-square. In a very short time the whole side of the rooms facing Queen-street was in flames. In less than half an hour the whole building, roof and all, was ablaze, and it was very evident that nothing could save it. The efforts of the brigade were first devoted to preventing the fire spreading up Cecil-street, but the paucity of water then did much to frustrate their efforts. The fire soon spread to the "Royal Hotel" and to Edgbaston House, so well known as a scholastic establishment for young ladies, conducted by Miss Smart; the boarders were safely got out, and after being housed by Mrs. Foord for a time were taken to the "Grosvenor." Some attempt was made to save some of the furniture, but this was only very partially successful, only a few books, papers, and some valuables being saved, and the great bulk of furniture in both places has been destroyed by fire and water. When this block of buildings was blazing, the sight was grand in the extreme — perfectly indescribable in fact — showers of sparks (many of them a foot in length) filling the air all around and being carried by the driving wind in fantastic eddies over the western part of the town, while the glass of the gaseliers and the looking-glasses which adorned the walls were heard amidst the roar of the flames to be cracking with a continuous rattle of explosions. When the great geselier in the centre of the room fell with a crash, a sensation of horror ran through the crowd, and soon after the roof and walls fell in with a crash, the dense smoke and blinding showers of sparks filling the square and making it difficult for a time to breathe. The fire soon extended to the cellars where the bottles could be heard for a long time exploding like the firing of skirmishers in an army. The wall between the rooms and hotel stood for a long while, but eventually fell with a deafening crash.

Above print showing the destruction of the Assembly Rooms in 1882.

Another print showing the fire destruction in progress, 1882.

Assembly Rooms fire 27 October 1882.

Above painting showing the scene after the fire.

Above photo, after the fire showing the remains of the "Royal Hotel" on the left.

Above photo showing the remains of the Assembly Rooms, 1882.

From the https://www.margatelocalhistory.co.uk accessed 11 January 2021.

It is reported that Mr H. E. Davis, who has offered to the directors of the "Royal Hotel" and Assembly Rooms Company the sum of £2,000 for the site of its late premises which were consumed in the conflagration of October 27-28th last, and has subsequently increased his offer to £2,300, has now made an alternative offer, whereby he proposes to sell his interest in the lease of the destroyed premises for £1,000. It is anticipated that this offer on his part to sell out his interest will be accepted. Thirty-four architects have, we believe, sent in plans to the proprietors of the Hotel and Assembly Rooms, in response to their invitation for plans to be supplied gratuitously. The chances are that in the event of the company accepting Mr. Davis’s offer to sell them his lease they will not re-build, but that the site will come to the hammer, and a large portion of it, it is to be hoped, may be purchased by the Town-council for the improvement of Cecil-square. The widening of Queen-street at the expense of the Tramways Company seems to be a contingency of a very remote character, but now that it is possible, and if rumour is true, even probable that Mr F. C. Cobb will not re-build his premises, the opportunity for widening Queen-street and squaring Cecil-square is one that may never occur again.

Above photograph showing a ceremony in Cecil Square, circa 1883, on the left is the vacant plot in front of the former Assembly Rooms where the "Shanty" would have been set up.

I believe the building on the left was the "Shanty" building.

From the https://www.margatelocalhistory.co.uk accessed 11 January 2021.

LICENSING AT MARGATE.

The case of Morell v the Margate Licensing Justices came on for hearing on Tuesday at the East Kent Quarter Sessions, Canterbury. When Messrs Morell and Mouillot purchased the Royal Assembly Rooms, Margate, they bought with them the whole of the site of the old "Royal Hotel" and Assembly Rooms, destroyed by fire in 1882, together with the licence which had been attached to the property for over 100 years. To keep the licence alive, on what was left as vacant enclosed land when the New Assembly Rooms were built, a “shanty" was erected, and the licence renewed year after year, until the last Licensing Session in September, when Messrs Morell and Mouillot were met with unexpected opposition. It had originally been intended to build a hotel on the vacant site, but they were approached by the Margate Town Council, who were desirous of effecting an improvement by the widening of Cecil-square, and long negotiations ended in Messrs Morell and Mouillot disposing of their land for £2,000, which sum they agreed to spend, and have actually employed, in the building of a colonnade on the Cecil-square side of the theatre. On their part, however, they made it a condition of the sale that the licence should be renewed to them, and that they should be allowed to open a buffet bar, shown on the plan passed by the Council, with doors opening on to the footway under the colonnade. On the assurance that the renewal of the licence was assured, as the members of the Council and the Licensing Committee were practically the same (although, of course, the latter could not pledge the Licensing Committee to any line of action), negotiations were concluded, and the contract entered into and their land was thrown into the square. Messrs Morell and Mouillot made the bar entrances, and then were met with the statement that as the land had been sold to which the licence had been attached — they already had the usual limited licence for the interior bars of the theatre — and as it was not intended to build a hotel there, the licence was no longer needed, and the committee refused to renew it. Against this Messrs Morell and Mouillot appealed. Mr. Kisch, barrister, appeared for the appealants, and Mr. Hohler for the respondents. Evidence was given by Mr. Mouillot and the Mayor of Margate, who corroborated the statement that the renewal of the licence was to be a condition precedent to the sale of the land. After a hearing lasting six hours his Honour, Judge Sir W. L. Selfe, said the committee had come to the almost unanimous conclusion that the appeal should be allowed and the licence renewed, with costs against the Corporation. An application to his Honour to state a case was refused.